The anecdote goes, that Slovenia wanted the .sl domain, which was unfortunately already taken (by Sierra Leone), therefore Slovenia got the country code .si in the first half of 1992.
Country codes are assigned by the International Standardization Organization (ISO) in Geneva. This organization assigns the official codes to countries and their organizational units. It sets the standard for assigning postal codes, official codes in passports and top-level domain country codes.>
Official data for Slovenia is available here.
The Academic and Research Network of Slovenia (Arnes) was established on 7 May 1992 by a decree in the Official Gazette. One of its activities is “management of the Slovenian address space (SI code) in computer networks”. This makes Arnes the registry for the .si domain.
The Registry manages the database of all domains and their registrants. It also maintains the domain registration system and DNS server for .si, which contains a list of domains and their name servers, which is then distributed to other servers around the world.
Abroad, the term Network Information Center (NIC) is also used. Go to nic.si and see where it takes you. Try entering some other top-level domain and check how it is elsewhere, say nic.it, nic.us, nic.cc.
This action set .si up and running. It is now possible to register .si domains and resolve web addresses.
The official date of registration with IANA is April 1, 1992, this date is considered the birthday of the .si domain.
IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) is an organization that maintains a list of all top-level domains and maintains the root server. This server contains information about all top-level domains and domain servers of those domains. There are quite many top-level domains… Check the IANA list, you will probably be surprised.
Interesting fact – The .yu national top-level domain belonged to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia since 1989. With the disintegration of Yugoslavia, the domain was transferred to the then newly formed Slovenia, as we managed the .yu domain from Ljubljana, but was subsequently returned to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1994. Since then, the domain has been managed by the University of Belgrade.
People often ask us about the first registered .si domain. There was no one first .si domain, there were multiple. They were transferred as a package that included: ki.si, arnes.si, astec.si, ijs.si, zrc-sazu.si, izum.si, pasadena.si, hermes.si, uni-lj. si and uni-mb.si.
ICANN removed the .yu extension from the list of approved national top-level domains in 2006 and offered all website operators a transitional period during which .yu domains could be transferred to the national top-level domains of the emerging countries. Websites under the .yu domain have not been accessible since 30 September 2009.
The rules for the registration of .si domains, which were in force until 31 March 2005, were quite strict, which did have quite a few advantages: they prevented potential disputes over domain entitlement, as well as trademark disputes; the address space is transparent, and the domain “waited” for organizations that discovered the benefits of the Internet later. Most European registries initially assigned their national domains under similar rules. However, with the proliferation of the Internet, the need for greater flexibility in domain registration has also grown.
Strict rules have the disadvantage that a domain cannot be registered by anyone who may be interested in it. Therefore, around the year 2000, individual Internet users in Slovenia expressed a desire to loosen the rules for domain registration. Arnes opened an electronic forum to gather suggestions and wishes from the local internet community. At the same time, we consulted with the interested professional and lay public, lawyers, intellectual property experts, the Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Slovenian Internet Service Providers (SISPA). In a number of lectures, we presented possible domain registration systems and gathered opinions. As a result of the consultations we established, that the Slovenian Internet community favored a more liberal approach in the registration of .si domains.
CENTR is the association of European country code top-level domain (ccTLD) registries, such as .de for Germany or .si for Slovenia. CENTR currently counts 53 full and 9 associate members – together, they are responsible for over 80% of all registered domain names worldwide. The objectives of CENTR are to promote and participate in the development of high standards and best practices among ccTLD registries. Full membership is open to organisations, corporate bodies or individuals that operate a country code top level domain registry.
The project that became CENTR was formed in March 1998 and was informally funded by participant registries. In 1999, it was legally established as a not-for-profit company in the UK. Since 2006, CENTR is registered as a non-for-profit organisation based in Brussels, Belgium. CENTR activities are funded by membership fees, and performed by a secretariat based in Brussels, Belgium.
The organisation has a European focus, but there are no geographical restrictions to membership. In addition to more than forty of the countries in the region, CENTR is very pleased to have as members the country code registries from a number of countries outside of Europe (such as Iran, Japan, New Zealand and Canada). CENTR welcomes the application from all country code managers.
CENTR provides a forum to discuss matters of policy affecting ccTLD registries and acts as a channel of communication to Internet governing bodies and other organisations involved with the Internet. It promotes the interests of ccTLDs and advocates on their behalf.
The rules and registration procedures of ccTLD registries vary considerably and CENTR aims to collect information on, and document the practices of ccTLD registries. It provides a focal point for enquiries on such matters and encourages amongst ccTLDs the provision of better service for users.
CENTR also facilitates collaborative projects on technical managerial and legal issues affecting ccTLDs.
More about CENTR on their website.