Why does this website use such a strange Top Level Domain?

A TLD is the end of an Internet address, most frequently ".com", ".net" and ".org". A common query for this website is why is the website not located on one of these three TLDs. Jarvisisland.net is occupied by a Jarvis Island website owned by Lieutenant Colonel Steven Higley of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the United States. The domain was registered on November 29th ^[1], 2001. Jarvisisland.com has been registered since at least September 22 of the same year.^[2] Jarvisisland.org has existed since at least December 8, 2004. Both the .com and .org variants of the domain are currently in the possession of monetized Internet domain name parking companies.

The way these controversial businesses operate is by registering desirable website names and placing advertisements on the main page of the website. The hope of these companies is that instead of using a search engine to look up "Jarvis Island", an individual will simply type in the input box of his or her web browser "jarvisisland.com". This is referred to as "type in traffic". The companies typically receive about a dollar per click. Another way one might end up on a parked domain page instead of for instance Mr. Higley's website is by unknowingly typing the ubiquitous ".com" instead of the less commonly used ".net". Jarvisisland.org and Jarvisisland.biz are both owned by "Future Media Architects", a holding company which parks some 100,000 valuable Internet addresses. Jarvisisland.com is owned by a similar company, "Name Administration Inc.", that also "parks" domains. I advise you not to visit any of these "parked" webpages. They make money every time an advertisement is clicked on, but even a visit to the website might make the owner reluctant to let go of the name. If these websites receive minute or no traffic at all, the owner is more likely to let the domain expire and for it to be picked up by a person with more respectable business practices. However these people know what they are doing, and through vast computer networks and their own private domain registration companies, a person not "in the know" is unlikely to register the desired domain after it expires.

This website has sent messages to both companies in reference to acquiring the domain names in question, one of which can be found below:

To whom it may concern, It has come to my attention that many domains with the phrase "Jarvis Island" are registered by a person(s) with this email address. The only domain I am interested in however is " jarvisisland.org", which is where I would like to place my website containing information about the United States Minor Outlying Territory, Jarvis Island. My website, a not-for-profit containing no advertisements is currently located at http://jarvisisland.info/, and a prime location for this Internet website would be "jarvisisland.org", which is currently part of a monetized domain parking operation. On the premise that the former scheme would provide more information to the Internet than the latter I would like to make a proposal to acquire " jarvisisland.org" for my personal use as an informational website relating to the uninhabited little known territory of Jarvis Island.

However a note was later discovered on the homepage of Future Media Architects mentioning that none of their domain names are for sale.^[3] Indeed, No response was received from the owners of either of these domains. An irony of Jarvis Island domains being used in this matter is that no relevant advertisements can be displayed, as no profit can be made from the island: travel arrangements are not possible and no profitable publications are in print on the subject.

Jarvis Island collectively with other islands owned by the United States is assigned a Country Code Top Level Domain (CCTLD). The domain is ".um", an abbreviation of US Minor Outlying Islands. This website requested the domain "Jarvis.um" from the registrar, but registration is apparently not possible at the time of the inquiry.

5, February 2007 Hello. I am interested in the domain name "Jarvis.um" for an educational website focused on Jarvis Island. The website in its current stage is not yet finished, however I think it is sufficient at the moment. The current website can be found at: [http://jarvisisland.info]

A response to the above inquiry was promptly dispatched:

5, February 2007 Thank you for your interest. We are not taking registrations at this time. When registrations open, we will keep you posted. -Bill Manning

However, in late January of the same year news surfaced that the .um CCTLD would be discontinued.^[4] Strangely no real websites exist on the .um TLD. A message is accessible at the address www.um stating the purpose of the top level domain and includes hyperlinks to the CIA World Factbook which contains information about outlying islands and other items of interest. The only other known website hosted on .um is nic.um. NIC stands for Network Information Centre and is traditionally the location of where domains are registered for and information is gained on that particular TLD. In this case the domain appears to be managed by ep.net. Notice that both pages are the same. Following the "About Us" page reveals that EP.net, a limited liability company, is co-owned by Mr. Manning.