[ih] [Ext] Re: Pre-1997 TLD manager records

[Kim Davies]

Hi,

IANA looked through the Computer History Museum collections some years ago and did not find anything responsive to how top-level domains were allocated.

We have also been, over a number of years, been pursuing access to Postel's archives at USC to identify if there are additional records on how IANA allocations were made that weren't originally transferred to ICANN when it was established. We have some records, but it is unclear whether there is more available or we've already been provided the entirety of what exists.

kim

On 5/8/26, 05:17, "Internet-history on behalf of Eric Gade via Internet-history" <internet-history-bounces at elists.isoc.org <mailto:internet-history-bounces at elists.isoc.org> on behalf of internet-history at elists.isoc.org <mailto:internet-history at elists.isoc.org>> wrote:


Hello all, hello Nigel!


I'm not clear on exactly which time period you are interested in (just NSI
1990-1997, or earlier too?) but I do have one lead that might make sense.
Back in 2010 Jake Feinler donated her materials to the Computer History
Museum, and there is quite a lot of documentation in there. You can find an
overall finding guide online here
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102706170/__;!!PtGJab4!8TtW6azfhJ5vISU9M6GdDVxOeUc32Yt7Hb0hs-Bc42L-dYUbxloIhiPCBDhA8XLwLOWour4qg15stJJLTtFkcmC7kSct2c1PIOSrnUM$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102706170/__;!!PtGJab4!8TtW6azfhJ5vISU9M6GdDVxOeUc32Yt7Hb0hs-Bc42L-dYUbxloIhiPCBDhA8XLwLOWour4qg15stJJLTtFkcmC7kSct2c1PIOSrnUM$> [computerhistory[.]org]>. While
several of the subcollections might be applicable (The SRI NIC
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/600001139/__;!!PtGJab4!8TtW6azfhJ5vISU9M6GdDVxOeUc32Yt7Hb0hs-Bc42L-dYUbxloIhiPCBDhA8XLwLOWour4qg15stJJLTtFkcmC7kSct2c1PemB8L3A$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/600001139/__;!!PtGJab4!8TtW6azfhJ5vISU9M6GdDVxOeUc32Yt7Hb0hs-Bc42L-dYUbxloIhiPCBDhA8XLwLOWour4qg15stJJLTtFkcmC7kSct2c1PemB8L3A$> [computerhistory[.]org]> and Special
NIC Collections
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/600001155/__;!!PtGJab4!8TtW6azfhJ5vISU9M6GdDVxOeUc32Yt7Hb0hs-Bc42L-dYUbxloIhiPCBDhA8XLwLOWour4qg15stJJLTtFkcmC7kSct2c1PsFuyUlY$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/600001155/__;!!PtGJab4!8TtW6azfhJ5vISU9M6GdDVxOeUc32Yt7Hb0hs-Bc42L-dYUbxloIhiPCBDhA8XLwLOWour4qg15stJJLTtFkcmC7kSct2c1PsFuyUlY$> [computerhistory[.]org]> will be
the most important), I also recommend the Feinler email collection
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/600000220/__;!!PtGJab4!8TtW6azfhJ5vISU9M6GdDVxOeUc32Yt7Hb0hs-Bc42L-dYUbxloIhiPCBDhA8XLwLOWour4qg15stJJLTtFkcmC7kSct2c1PqPYMfGI$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/600000220/__;!!PtGJab4!8TtW6azfhJ5vISU9M6GdDVxOeUc32Yt7Hb0hs-Bc42L-dYUbxloIhiPCBDhA8XLwLOWour4qg15stJJLTtFkcmC7kSct2c1PqPYMfGI$> [computerhistory[.]org]> in
addition to everything else. I had the amazing luck to read through these
when they were first being ingested at CHM in the summer of 2010 (with Jake
Feinler present!). They are basically accordion paper printouts of a lot of
her emails during her time at the NIC and I don't think they are available
digitally.


That said, this is mostly going to be the SRI/DDN era of the NIC, and I
don't recall coming across much material after 1990.


If you are able to physically make it to CHM and spend a couple of days in
the archives I highly recommend it.


-- 
Eric
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