We can all remember numbers, right? Sure, our telephone numbers, street addresses, and zip codes we can all remember. So why can't we remember IP addresses? I can remember some but, the public as a whole can't. That's why we have domain name services and the InterNIC company.
             The parent to the InterNIC company is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). It is a non-profit, private sector corporation dedicated to preserving the operational stability of the Internet and promoting competition. It used to be only one company that sold and managed top level domain names called Network Solutions. Today, there are over two hundred different companies that are accredited by ICANN to sell domains.
             In October of 1998, the United States Department of Commerce and Network Solutions, Inc. modified their agreement, under which Network Solutions had been the only registrar and registry administrator for the .com, .net, and .org top-level domains. This modification to their agreement required the establishment of a Shared Registration System. This system would allow an unlimited number of registrars to compete for domain name registration business. They would all still utilize one shared registry, which Network Solutions would continue to act as the sole administrator.
             In November of 1998, the Department of Commerce identified ICANN as the body that would oversee the transition to competition under the Shared Registration System. Part of ICANN's responsibilities included establishing and implementing a policy and procedure for registrar accreditation that would ensure a shift to a competitive domain name registration system providing continued Internet stability and domain-name durability.
             On March 4, 1999, the ICANN Board of Directors adopted a Statement of Registrar Accreditation Policy, which was developed from the publicly posted Draft Guidelines for Registrar Accr
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