A Scottish Internet Domain Name

There is currently a movement in support of Scotland attaining its own internet domain name (http://www.dotsco.org/). Scotland, of course needs its own domain code. Yet it needs to have a proper two-letter country code. This is the standard and is referred to as a Country Code Top-Level Domain. If a domain code has any more than two letters, then it is not a Country Code Top-Level Domain, but a Special Interest Domain.

The Catalan people have settled on .cat, which is classified as a Sponsored Top-Level Domain. This is, in essence, a special interest domain and is neither nationally nor territorially assigned. As such, .cat is a code for the Catalan language and culture rather than a code for Catalonia itself. It resides amongst other un-prestigious codes such as the hotel and travel industry (.travel), museums (.museums) and the air transport industry (.aero).

Unfortunately it seems that Scotland is heading down the .sco or .scot route. Personally I feel this would be a mistake as it would relegate Scotland’s status on the internet to being little more than a special interest group. Even the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey have their own internet country codes (.im,.gg and .je respectively) and there is no reason for Scotland to settle for anything less.

If Scotland were to go down the road of accepting either .sco or .scot, simply because they were easier to attain than an actual country code, it would be the equivalent of ignoring the old adage that if you buy cheap then you buy twice. For, when Scotland does attain its independence it is going to have to choose its own proper country domain code, lest it forever be associated with the likes of hotels and museums.