What Do Different Domain Names Indicate?
- COM-Commercial organizations. These sites are trying to sell you something, whether it is a particular product(s), like Amazon, or sites like Facebook that generate their particular revenue from ads. While many .coms offer information and content for free, they are oftentimes less trustworthy due to the fact they are so easy to obtain and because there is direct monetary gain from your traffic.
- EDU-Educational organizations. (Like www.lindsey.edu) These are normally excellent places to get research as they are directed towards learners. Watch out for private pages hosted by the school/other entity. Facts may not always be presented accurately or up-to-date and these personal sites could contain untrue or unhelpful opinions and advice.
- GOV-Government organizations, like the CDC or the White House. These should be trustworthy, accurate sources for any essay or homework assignments.
- NET-While .net used to mean it was a networking group (like an internet service provider), nowadays anyone can purchase a .net domain. Be careful about these websites if you are unfamiliar with the provider.
- ORG-Nonprofit organizations. These are oftentimes trustworthy, however nonprofits can operate in a lot of different spheres and may or may not have agreeing opinions on topics like environmental studies, laws, etc. Be sure your organizations are nonbiased and reputable before using.
