WEBVTT

1
00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:10.125
The beginnings of the internet
reach back to the 1960s.

2
00:00:10.610 --> 00:00:14.664
At first it meant that
computers talk to each other

3
00:00:16.210 --> 00:00:18.840
by identifying themselves with numbers.

4
00:00:18.865 --> 00:00:22.474
Every computer had a number
known as an IP number,

5
00:00:22.499 --> 00:00:25.185
and if you knew the computer’s number,

6
00:00:25.210 --> 00:00:28.649
you could send it a message
and someone on the other end would read it.

7
00:00:29.282 --> 00:00:32.602
As the number of computers grew,
this approach was considered impractical.

8
00:00:32.627 --> 00:00:35.476
It's hard to remember
such long numbers and who's who.

9
00:00:35.501 --> 00:00:40.109
Then somehow the people
who were developing the internet,

10
00:00:40.465 --> 00:00:47.487
came up with the idea of using domains.

11
00:00:47.593 --> 00:00:51.651
These are character strings,
simple and familiar, such as

12
00:00:51.692 --> 00:00:55.983
organisation names, surnames, first names, 
etc., and it’s easier to remember them

13
00:00:56.008 --> 00:01:01.215
and also easier to access some
interlocutors and sources on the internet.

14
00:01:01.725 --> 00:01:03.108
And this is a domain system.

15
00:01:03.306 --> 00:01:06.734
Once you have domains,
computers still communicate

16
00:01:06.767 --> 00:01:08.612
via numbers and thus you need

17
00:01:08.830 --> 00:01:10.980
some sort of a system

18
00:01:11.005 --> 00:01:14.193
to map these domains 
to numbers and vice versa.

19
00:01:14.218 --> 00:01:16.218
And that’s called a DNS system.

20
00:01:17.247 --> 00:01:21.333
The DNS system was developed in the ‘80s.

21
00:01:23.145 --> 00:01:26.068
And at the Jožef Štefan Institute

22
00:01:26.092 --> 00:01:30.965
research was conducted in the ‘80s and ‘90s

23
00:01:32.242 --> 00:01:34.320
about the communication between computers.

24
00:01:34.345 --> 00:01:38.383
Back then, the internet wasn't the only way

25
00:01:38.408 --> 00:01:40.436
to do it,
there were many other things

26
00:01:40.461 --> 00:01:42.952
and many studies

27
00:01:43.577 --> 00:01:46.942
about what way and how computers 
communicate with each other.

28
00:01:47.792 --> 00:01:51.507
And some studies were also
in the field of the internet.

29
00:01:51.532 --> 00:01:57.195
The Jožef Štefan Institute
already acquired a top-level domain

30
00:01:58.800 --> 00:02:02.967
for the former Yugoslavia, .yu [ju],

31
00:02:05.123 --> 00:02:07.827
as early as 1989.

32
00:02:09.132 --> 00:02:12.353
And then some experiments were done.

33
00:02:12.833 --> 00:02:15.193
Let me explain, in the case of domains

34
00:02:15.218 --> 00:02:19.958
we have generic domains we all know,
for example the .com domain,

35
00:02:19.990 --> 00:02:25.265
and also www.lufthansa.com, etc.,

36
00:02:25.290 --> 00:02:28.592
then, there are state, national domains,

37
00:02:28.911 --> 00:02:32.314
for example for Slovenia it’s .si,
for France .fr, etc.,

38
00:02:32.740 --> 00:02:37.270
where each country has a register,
which handles these state domains.

39
00:02:37.295 --> 00:02:39.376
This was also the case 
at the Jožef Štefan Institute

40
00:02:39.401 --> 00:02:42.785
In 1989, Yugoslavia still existed,

41
00:02:42.810 --> 00:02:48.667
and the Institute asked
for the Yugoslav domain .yu.

42
00:02:48.692 --> 00:02:51.794
Back then, that was meant
for the whole of Yugoslavia,

43
00:02:51.819 --> 00:02:54.066
since there were only 
a couple of computers at the time,

44
00:02:54.091 --> 00:02:56.663
which were experimentally 
included in the internet

45
00:02:56.687 --> 00:02:58.489
and that was nothing special.

46
00:02:58.513 --> 00:03:04.200
The Jožef Štefan Institute acquired
the top-level domain for Yugoslavia, .yu.

47
00:03:04.440 --> 00:03:07.764
But as soon as it seemed
that Slovenia would become independent,

48
00:03:08.050 --> 00:03:12.080
we wanted to acquire
a Slovenian top-level domain,

49
00:03:12.293 --> 00:03:14.113
any Slovenian top-level domain.

50
00:03:14.558 --> 00:03:17.466
And when we communicated
with colleagues in America,

51
00:03:17.491 --> 00:03:19.708
they said, “Yeah, but that’s 
only going to happen

52
00:03:19.732 --> 00:03:22.669
when you become 
a member of the United Nations.“

53
00:03:23.190 --> 00:03:26.320
As early as in 1992, Slovenia strived to

54
00:03:26.350 --> 00:03:30.013
become a member of the United Nations

55
00:03:30.530 --> 00:03:33.216
and finally succeeded 
on 2nd May 1992, I believe.

56
00:03:33.241 --> 00:03:37.561
But a couple of months before that we
already believed we would become a member

57
00:03:37.850 --> 00:03:42.094
and were able to continue these procedures.

58
00:03:42.330 --> 00:03:46.312
Namely, each country
that’s a member of the United Nations,

59
00:03:46.336 --> 00:03:49.972
is given some codes,
which are useful

60
00:03:49.997 --> 00:03:53.692
in communication protocols,
and other official things.

61
00:03:54.142 --> 00:04:00.257
Based on the 3166 standard,

62
00:04:00.282 --> 00:04:04.713
the International Organisation 
for Standardisation granted Slovenia,

63
00:04:04.737 --> 00:04:07.863
in March 1992, I believe, as we prepared

64
00:04:07.888 --> 00:04:10.804
to become members 
of the UN in two months’ time,

65
00:04:11.789 --> 00:04:14.769
a two-letter code, .si,

66
00:04:14.793 --> 00:04:19.217
a three-letter code, SVN, and

67
00:04:19.305 --> 00:04:22.290
a numeric code, 705.

68
00:04:22.890 --> 00:04:24.540
And these codes...

69
00:04:24.570 --> 00:04:28.057
were not only useful later on for 
the internet, but also for other things.

70
00:04:28.082 --> 00:04:34.366
The SI code was also
the basis for the Slovenian currency code,

71
00:04:34.391 --> 00:04:36.867
SIT, Slovenian tolar.

72
00:04:37.594 --> 00:04:39.594
But that’s no longer relevant.

73
00:04:40.260 --> 00:04:44.141
In short, in March 1992, Slovenia

74
00:04:44.166 --> 00:04:46.589
got that two-letter code

75
00:04:46.614 --> 00:04:50.348
that was then the basis 
for the Slovenian top-level domain.

76
00:04:50.690 --> 00:04:52.173
But, that still wasn’t enough.

77
00:04:52.198 --> 00:04:54.959
If you want to be involved 
in the global internet,

78
00:04:54.984 --> 00:04:56.984
you need to be involved in this...

79
00:04:57.985 --> 00:05:02.966
internet space,
i.e. some top-level server in America.

80
00:05:04.045 --> 00:05:07.593
There was some organisation,
named IANA,

81
00:05:08.422 --> 00:05:12.426
where you could apply for
inclusion in this worldwide web.

82
00:05:12.451 --> 00:05:16.734
As soon as we acquired
the Slovenian top-level domain .si,

83
00:05:16.962 --> 00:05:24.760
we asked IANA to include us
under this Slovenian top-level domain .si.

84
00:05:26.081 --> 00:05:28.392
Back then, this was perhaps
simpler than it is today

85
00:05:28.417 --> 00:05:31.300
for a new state
that wishes to be included.

86
00:05:31.330 --> 00:05:34.165
At IANA, there was an engineer,

87
00:05:34.190 --> 00:05:38.522
Jean Coustel,
with whom we exchanged emails.

88
00:05:38.841 --> 00:05:46.162
He assigned that domain
to trust-worthy persons.

89
00:05:46.193 --> 00:05:49.868
In short, I became
administrative contact of that domain,

90
00:05:49.893 --> 00:05:52.062
Avgust Jauk
became a technical contact.

91
00:05:52.896 --> 00:05:55.139
Although in Slovenia
we agreed,

92
00:05:55.164 --> 00:05:58.620
that ARNES, which was founded
as the public institution

93
00:05:59.544 --> 00:06:02.968
for the internet in the field
of science and education,

94
00:06:03.295 --> 00:06:07.671
would be formally speaking

95
00:06:07.704 --> 00:06:13.172
the holder of this domain for Slovenia
and of this part of the internet.

96
00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:16.297
Yes, so...

97
00:06:16.657 --> 00:06:21.749
Jean Coustel informed us,
I believe at the end of March,

98
00:06:21.774 --> 00:06:24.094
that the matter was settled

99
00:06:24.125 --> 00:06:26.054
and that he would grant 
this domain to Slovenia.

100
00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:28.156
I think it was on 1st April,

101
00:06:28.455 --> 00:06:32.495
when we were included in that
top-level root server in America

102
00:06:32.859 --> 00:06:35.523
as part of the internet 
under the .si. domain.

103
00:06:36.910 --> 00:06:38.030
Now, the thing...

104
00:06:39.051 --> 00:06:41.629
seems simple today,
but back then

105
00:06:41.640 --> 00:06:44.990
despite this inclusion in the internet, 
still only a small part of the manner

106
00:06:45.015 --> 00:06:46.900
in which computers 
communicate with each other.

107
00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:48.540
There were many, many other protocols,

108
00:06:48.577 --> 00:06:51.815
the top-level domain was still valid
for Yugoslavia, etc.,

109
00:06:51.845 --> 00:06:53.521
and then mappings were made,

110
00:06:53.546 --> 00:06:56.076
how certain things are
mapped to each other,

111
00:06:56.101 --> 00:07:01.582
so email could travel between
various addresses and the like.

112
00:07:02.460 --> 00:07:03.687
Now...

113
00:07:03.712 --> 00:07:05.336
the Yugoslav domain...

114
00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:08.940
We always tried our best
to use the Slovenian domain,

115
00:07:08.965 --> 00:07:13.150
but despite the breakup of Yugoslavia

116
00:07:13.174 --> 00:07:18.145
we still had to use 
the Yugoslav domain .yu.

117
00:07:18.170 --> 00:07:19.432
The reason being

118
00:07:20.053 --> 00:07:23.625
when Yugoslavia disintegrated, 
Slovenia and Croatia reached an agreement,

119
00:07:23.650 --> 00:07:27.127
and the rest of Yugoslavia was
mainly Serbia and Montenegro.

120
00:07:27.520 --> 00:07:30.260
And they wanted to have the .yu domain,

121
00:07:30.290 --> 00:07:33.780
but at that time they weren’t recognised
internationally, so they couldn't get it,

122
00:07:33.805 --> 00:07:37.452
and as ARNES, we had to use the .yu domain

123
00:07:37.477 --> 00:07:39.825
until 1994, I believe.

124
00:07:40.600 --> 00:07:45.260
That’s when we were able to migrate it
to the remainder of Yugoslavia,

125
00:07:45.285 --> 00:07:48.600
but that remainder of Yugoslavia
was additionally divided,

126
00:07:48.630 --> 00:07:49.955
between Serbia and Montenegro.

127
00:07:49.979 --> 00:07:53.742
For a while, Serbia used the .cs domain, 
I believe,

128
00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:56.378
and only in 2006, I think,

129
00:07:56.403 --> 00:08:01.901
Serbia acquired its own domain; 
Republika Srpska, .rs,

130
00:08:02.250 --> 00:08:04.320
and Montenegro, the .me domain.

131
00:08:04.345 --> 00:08:07.654
And Croatia the .hr domain and so forth.

132
00:08:09.567 --> 00:08:11.489
There’s another thing I’d like to mention.

133
00:08:11.514 --> 00:08:16.147
When we wanted to have the
Slovenian code for Slovenia,

134
00:08:16.841 --> 00:08:20.296
that two-letter code,
our first wish

135
00:08:20.968 --> 00:08:25.588
was to have SL as Slovenia,
however, we were told

136
00:08:26.468 --> 00:08:29.070
this code was already occupied. 
Sierra Leone

137
00:08:29.095 --> 00:08:31.795
registered it before us. 
We couldn’t get it.

138
00:08:31.820 --> 00:08:34.067
We then looked at what 
was at our disposal,

139
00:08:34.092 --> 00:08:35.887
and so Slovenia got the .si domain.

140
00:08:35.912 --> 00:08:38.184
Well, we've become used to it since then.

141
00:08:39.528 --> 00:08:41.324
Yeah, that's the history.

142
00:08:41.833 --> 00:08:46.560
Later, however, everything grew.

143
00:08:46.584 --> 00:08:48.405
I would also like to mention

144
00:08:48.429 --> 00:08:51.475
which Slovenian domains 
were the first under the .si domain.

145
00:08:52.694 --> 00:08:54.718
There wasn't just one,
there were several,

146
00:08:54.743 --> 00:08:59.476
because there were some domains
already registered under .yu,

147
00:09:00.034 --> 00:09:04.521
I think there were 10,
like ijs.yu,

148
00:09:04.546 --> 00:09:09.361
and the University of Ljubljana
that used uni-lj.yu.

149
00:09:09.386 --> 00:09:13.331
At the end of 1992
we had these first 10 domains,

150
00:09:13.356 --> 00:09:16.328
which were registered under 
the top-level domain for Yugoslavia,

151
00:09:16.353 --> 00:09:19.326
transferred under the top-level domain
for Slovenia .si.

152
00:09:19.351 --> 00:09:22.245
So, those were the first ten domains. 
Basically, they were just

153
00:09:22.275 --> 00:09:26.990
University of Ljubljana, University
of Maribor, ARNES and Jožef Štefan.

154
00:09:27.015 --> 00:09:31.560
And a couple of commercial companies,
I think it was Aster and Pasadena.

155
00:09:31.585 --> 00:09:33.995
In short, these were the first 
10 domains under .si.

156
00:09:34.623 --> 00:09:35.880
And later others.

157
00:09:35.905 --> 00:09:40.339
As other ways of communication
between computers slowly disappeared,

158
00:09:40.364 --> 00:09:43.244
the internet became
basically the only way

159
00:09:43.269 --> 00:09:46.274
in which computers and people behind 
computers communicated with each other

160
00:09:46.299 --> 00:09:48.016
and how we accessed resources, etc.

161
00:09:49.240 --> 00:09:53.920
However, this domain space
has madly expanded

162
00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:57.360
and Slovenia has already a lot
of domains under .si.

163
00:09:57.760 --> 00:10:04.108
There is also a domain loop for
countries in Europe, such as .eu,

164
00:10:04.133 --> 00:10:07.889
and any other country
and generic top-level domains,

165
00:10:07.914 --> 00:10:10.169
i.e., .com that’s 
been around for many years

166
00:10:10.194 --> 00:10:12.840
and many others 
have emerged over the years.