Although i-names have some similarity to domain names, they also have significant differences. This page explains the rules of i-name formats.
= and @
There are two i-name registries: one for people and one for businesses and organizations. Personal i-names begin with "="; business i-names begin with "@".
=personal.name
@organization.name
Except the starting symbol, all other formatting rules are the same.
Letters, Digits, Dots, and Dashes
An i-name may contain any combination of letters and digits, however the only punctuation characters allowed are dots and dashes, and they must not be used consecutively, or at the start or end of an i-name.
| Allowed | Not Allowed |
|---|
| =example.name | =example.name. |
| =example-name | =example-name- |
| @example.company-name | @example..company--name |
| @example-org-name | @example-.org-name |
| @exampleorgname | @-exampleorgname |
Although not required, XDI.org recommends the use of dots to separate names that would typically be separated by spaces. This is the same convention often used with email addresses, i.e., first.last@example.com
| Recommended | Not Recommended |
|---|
| =example.name | =examplename |
| @example.company.name | @examplecompanyname |
Also note that the use of dots makes it easy to create simple, memorable, globally-unique names even if the exact name you would like has already been registered.
=example.name
=example.q.name
=example.middle.name
=example.name.jakarta
=example.name.alaska
=example.name.koala
International Characters
Besides Latin characters, an i-name may contain characters from any international character script supported by the XDI.org Global Registry Service. The initial supported scripts include:
Han (Simplified Chinese)
Han (Japanese)
Hangul (Korean)
To prevent "phishing" (registration of lookalike i-names in different languages), the XDI.org Global Registry Service automatically maps lookalike characters. See the XDI.org GRS language tables page for more information.
Capitalization
i-names are "case-insensitive," i.e., it is the same i-name regardless of whether it is spelled with uppercase or lowercase letters. For example, "=example.name" and "=Example.Name" are equivalent. This is true for both Latin letters and those of other character scripts that support case.
Community i-names (*names)
Individuals and businesses who register global =names and @names can in turn assign lower-level i-names to others. These are called community i-names, because they are unique within the community of digital addresses created by the top-level name.
The community i-name character is "*", so these are often called "*names". Following are examples.
=example.name*son
=example.name*daughter
@example.company.name*division
@example.company.name*division*sub-division
Note that the ability to assign community i-names is a feature available from your i-broker. Ask your i-broker for more information.
Return to i-names webpage
