I couldn't see any reason why David would object to my remailing this to the list; I presuem he was just saving bandwidth; but here's a reference that says that even _NetSol_, wearing their InterNIC hat, said that .org was for non-profits: -----Forwarded message from David Schiffrin <daves@adnc.com>----- This doesn't fit *my* recollection either, but here's a ref: http://rs.internic.net/glossary/#o and a qoute: org The top level domain designated for miscellaneous entities that do not fit under any of the other top level domains. Typically used for non-profit organizations. One of the worldwide top level domains. [see also: Top Level Domain] This *is* from a current page, and I have no idea when or how this definition may have changed over time, but it does seem to be currently accurate. I understand that this doesn't address the question directly, which has to do with historical inentions, but it's all I could find in five minutes of poking about.. Wait a minute.... There is value in never deleting anything :) A domain registration template dated 7/95 reads as follows: in "Section 2 - Complete Domain Name" EDU is for 4-year, degree granting institutions. GOV is for United States federal government agencies. COM is for commercial, for-profit organizations. NET is for network infrastructure machines and organizations. ORG is for not-for-profit and non-profit organizations. This is a historical reference. I can forward the entire text of a "Version Number: 1.0" domain-template if you'd like. -dave -----End of forwarded message----- I suspect that's about as authoritative as we're going to get, for now. Cheers, -- jra -- Jay R. Ashworth jra@baylink.com Member of the Technical Staff Unsolicited Commercial Emailers Sued The Suncoast Freenet "Two words: Darth Doogie." -- Jason Colby, Tampa Bay, Florida on alt.fan.heinlein +1 813 790 7592 Managing Editor, Top Of The Key sports e-zine ------------ http://www.totk.com