I want to know how I/we can obtain an *.org domain.
I've read we have to be a non-profit organization. We need more
informations, e.g. if this is mandatory or not, and if yes, we need
more precise informations about it.
If a  Google Researcher wants more clarifications on his question, no
problem, I'll explain with more details.

P.S. Important: we are in Italy.

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Request for Question Clarification by maniac-ga on 12 Jul 2005 17:46 PDT

Hello BBujani,

According to the FAQ at
  http://www.internic.net/faqs/domain-names.html
(scroll down or search for "rules for registration")

the .org top level domain is "open' to all organizations. There was a
move at one point to return to the original restriction of non-profit
organizations - see
  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/03/02/fury_at_icann_verisign_over/
for an article in March 2005 that describes this, but apparently this
restriction has not been enforced.

Based on this, do you want me to point you to domain registration
companies based in Italy or provide a different solution?

Thanks.
  --Maniac

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Clarification of Question by bbujani-ga on 13 Jul 2005 00:22 PDT

Ok, I write "we are in Italy" precisely to know if there are
particular differences to assign domains in different countries. Not
necessarely we need to buy the domain from a registration companies
based in Italy. The important is that, as seems from the document you
show me (www.internic.net/faqs/domain-names.html) this is possible. I
am substantially satisfied from your answer.
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By the way, do you know (in this myriad of web hosting provider) one
you know is serious and economic ? (You are free to answer or not, in
any case I repeat I am substantially satisfied from your answer).

Hello Bbujani,

Let me recap the answer briefly and then suggest some registrars / web
hosting sites that should be suitable for your use.

The top level domain (.org) is available to any organization [at this
time]. As described at
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_top-level_domain
The .org domain was one of the first six top level domains (.com,
.edu, .gov, .mil, .net, and .org). At that time, the .org domain was
for organizations that were not clearly in one of the other categories
- primarily non-profit organizations. That restriction was removed
several years ago and so .org is available to any organization.

 From your clarification, it is not so clear if you need a registrar
or a web hosting provider, so I will describe the differences and
suggest a few alteratives to consider.

A domain registrar is a company that can do tasks including:
 - reserve a name from the list of possible names for a domain (e.g.,
.org) for your use [and keep others from reserving it]
 - can update one or more domain name servers so that references to
your domain name or web site (e.g., invalid.mynonprofit.org) will be
resolved to a specific IP address
The domain name server that actually responds with your IP address may
be one you control, one at your web hosting provider, or one at the
registrar [some provide that service].

The web hosting provider is a company that provides:
 - a computer (or part of one) to host your web pages
 - a good connection to the internet, preferably two or three connections
 - may provide the domain name server
 - may work with a registrar (or be one) to register your host name

The oldest and one of the largest registrars is Network Solutions LLC
  http://www.networksolutions.com/
which provides domain registration and web hosting, as well as other
services such as custom web site design. I did a quick search at that
site and noted that
  bbujani.org
is available as a domain - but you can search using that site or
another to get the domain name you really want. This is certainly a
reputable organization but you may be interested in a lower cost
provider or one hosted closer to your group and the user's you are
expecting.

The list of registrars at
 http://www.internic.net/origin.html
show three companies that are hosted in Italy (and have web pages /
registration in Italian). They are:
  http://www.aruba.it/
  http://we.register.it/
  http://www.tuonome.it/
All of these are pretty large companies with quite a few customers
(thousands to hundreds of thousands); check the "About Us" link at
each site for some details.

I cannot directly comment on the italian companies but if you search
with a phrase (translate to Italian first...) such as
  [registrar name goes here] bad service
  [registrar name goes here] awful
or similar phrases (e.g., swear words) to find customers who have had
problems. If a provider seems to have many more than another, that is
a good indication of a provider to stay away from.

To find out the information for this answer I used phrases such as:
  top level domain restrictions
  org domain non profit restricted
  top level domain history
  org registrar italy

If some part of the answer is unclear or you need further
clarification - do not hesitate to make a request for clarification
and I will follow up with additional information. Good luck with your
work and your organization.

  --Maniac