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When I try to register a domain name in register.com that is less than 3 characters, it displays this message: "The domain name must not be less than 3 characters"

Why it's not possible to register a domain name less than 3? hp.com is only 2 characters?

How's that possible?

evilReiko
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  • How is this off topic? sure its a duplicate, but OT? When did domain names not fall under the category of networking? – TheLQ Jul 11 '11 at 14:19

3 Answers3

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There's no technical reason; as you observe, hp.com is registered, as is x.org. The rule is put in place simply to avoid fights over excessively short domain names, which would be particularly valuable.

As an aside, I believe that all .com names of four characters or less are already registered...

womble
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    [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-letter_second-level_domain) lists all the single letter SLDs, and notes that all 676 two-letter SLDs in .com have been taken since 1998. Many two letter domains can be purchased and have an estimated price tag just under $10m USD (though obviously this depends on which one and who currently owns it). – Chris S Jul 09 '11 at 22:20
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HP.com was registered on March 3, 1986. That was the ninth domain name to be registered.

I don't think they needed to worry about any Johnny-come-lately registrars back then.

Theodore
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Each registry (top-level domain) has its own rules. The rules for generic TLDs, e.g., .com/.net/.org/.info/.biz/etc. are largely set by ICANN. The rules for country code TLDs, e.g., .uk, .us, .af, etc. are (in theory) defined by national bodies. You don't say what TLD you're trying to register in, so it's difficult to determine what rules you're running into.

Theobroma Cacao
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    To add to this, some registrar's may have their own limitations in place to prevent abuse or for other reasons. Double-check on what the registry's rules actually are first and if so, you can just about always get the registrar to follow those. – uzzi09 Jul 09 '11 at 17:28