It’s a long story: from .web to .epic – DNW Podcast #604
Thirty years of .web history collapses into a launch year — and the original applicant ends up with a different string entirely.
Chris Ambler filed for .web before ICANN existed, when the namespace was still a rough frontier. He carried the idea through the 2000s, into the gTLD expansion, and up to the auction that handed the string to Verisign.
Verisign's win was never about who had the better claim. It was about who could afford the auction price and run the registry at scale. Ambler's historical priority, however genuine, was never going to survive that arithmetic.
His consolation string, .epic, may be the more interesting asset. A short, brandable TLD with no baggage can outperform a legacy name that arrives decades late with expectations attached.
The mechanics to watch: .web launches under Verisign this year, which means sunrise periods, trademark claims, and landrush fees. The calendar rewards preparation, not nostalgia.
- The broader signal is that old TLD applications still move at their own pace, regardless of how many years have passed. The system didn't get faster; the winners just finally got tired of waiting.
The reporting is Domain Name Wire’s; the read above is Handlemart’s.
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