For Sale .CA Registration history!

[TheLegendaryJP]

Ok, so I am sitting here and looking at yet another premium .ca I have and preparing to sale

And did a little google on it and alexa says registered in 1998 and archive shows pages from 99.

So question is, does anyone have a " TOP XXX " first registered .ca list based on date ? Who has the facts on when .ca was first available etc.

Thanks

 

[lotsofcoffee]

My understanding is this:

Prior to 2000, .ca domains were free but there were a number of restrictions on who could register them.

In 1999 CIRA was formed and took control of the .ca space in 2000. All holders of .ca domains at that time basically had to re-register their domains or they would lost them. That is why you won't find a .ca domain with an "approval date" prior to 2000.

Also, I recall once seeing a list of all (or perhaps many) of the domains that were re-registered in 2000 - that would confirm that a domain was originally registered prior to 2000. I'm not sure how you would find the original date it was registered though.

 

[TheLegendaryJP]

Thanks, makes sense why older or first reg'd .ca's show 2000 in whois but why when one looks deeper you can find a " first use " and archive from prior to 2000.

So mine was 1998, wonder what the first year .ca was offered period ?

My understanding is this:

Prior to 2000, .ca domains were free but there were a number of restrictions on who could register them.

In 1999 CIRA was formed and took control of the .ca space in 2000. All holders of .ca domains at that time basically had to re-register their domains or they would lost them. That is why you won't find a .ca domain with an "approval date" prior to 2000.

Also, I recall once seeing a list of all (or perhaps many) of the domains that were re-registered in 2000 - that would confirm that a domain was originally registered prior to 2000. I'm not sure how you would find the original date it was registered though.

Found this on Wikipedia...

History
The domain name was originally allocated by Jon Postel, operator of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), to John Demco of the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1988.

In 1997, at the Canadian annual Internet conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the Canadian Internet community, with a view to liberalize registration procedures and substantially improve turnaround times, decided to undertake reform of the .ca Registry.

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is a non-profit Canadian corporation that is responsible for operating the .ca Internet country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) today. It assumed operation of the .ca ccTLD on December 1, 2000 from UBC. On April 15, 2008, CIRA have registered its one millionth .ca Internet domain name.[1]

Any .ca registration has to be ordered via a certified registrar.

Which means approx 1997-98? was when it was made available to others ? That point is unclear still. Seems it was available prior but exactly to whom or how many took advantage of it is the question.

 

[onlinestoreca]

From what I remember, you had to have a business number and you could only register one name per business. I think it was run by a group at Univ. of BC. I remember looking into it before it went to CIRA.

I am suspicious of how some names were given out when I see that certain people own so many premium names, that weren't available when CIRA first started. I also believe that some people from UBC did very well which seems very questionable to me, but isn't that typical of how the world works. JMHO.

 

[TheLegendaryJP]

From what I remember, you had to have a business number and you could only register one name per business. I think it was run by a group at Univ. of BC. I remember looking into it before it went to CIRA.

I am suspicious of how some names were given out when I see that certain people own so many premium names, that weren't available when CIRA first started. I also believe that some people from UBC did very well which seems very questionable to me, but isn't that typical of how the world works. JMHO.

Where there is a will there is a way lol

Perhaps those individuals opened several shells and registered a domain for each ? PO Boxes etc. But how any one person prior to 00 managed to get a wack load is a good question. I wonder if they ( UBC ) maintained a data base of registrations prior to 00 ?

Wonder who we can go to and ask? It would be very interesting to see.

 

[katherine]

.ca appears to have been in the root since 1987 if it helps
http://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/ca.html

UBC.ca must have been around since the early days.

 

[TheLegendaryJP]

Thanks, ya saw the 1987 date and read on the founder who passed away in 98 I think. Someone must have the data on reg's from that time to 00.

 

[theinvestor]

Unfortunately i do not think there is an added value just because a name archives prior to 2000. No one actually looks at that.

Just like there are archived domains that may go as far back as 1997 yet whois shows 2007 since they were dropped at one point.

 

[TheLegendaryJP]

It may or may not add value that would all depend on several factors including the name, more for interest sake.

 

[whitebark]

If it's old AND indexed in the search engines for years then it would have value for development purposes. k:

 

[Anthony Ng]

Taken from Webnames.ca:

The most recognizable symbol of Canadian identity on the Internet, .CA was conceived in 1987 by John Demco, Computer Facilities Manager at UBC who had the foresight to protect a uniquely Canadian presence on the World Wide Web. Back in the old days - that is, before 2000 - all .CA domains were personally administered and registered on a voluntary basis by John in his UBC office, faxes stacked to the ceiling.

 

[TheLegendaryJP]

Thanks, wow wonder who held all the records

Mind you wouldnt that info had to be handed over in 2000?

 

[katherine]

Many ccTLDs began like that. It was almost basement business lol :yo: