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Archived updates for Friday, January 18, 2008

.UM ccTLD Reopens for Registration

Um . . . got guano?

In January 2007, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers reportedly dropped the .um domain from the master list of domain names[1]. Now, according to the website of the United States Minor Outlying Islands Registry, "Registration is OPEN in the .UM space on an experimental basis" for an Annual Account Maintenance fee of USD $1,200.00.

This collection of uninhabited islands was claimed by the US under the Guano Act of 1856. They are not administered collectively, nor do they share a single cultural or political history beyond being currently uninhabited islands under the sovereignty of the United States. And, as noted in the CIA Factbook, "public entry [to the islands] is by special-use permit from US Fish and Wildlife Service only and generally restricted to scientists and educators; visited annually by US Fish and Wildlife Service."

More on guano here, more on .um here.
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