Welcome to the OpenNIC! Those who are new to the project will likely be wondering what OpenNIC is, and those who remember it from past years will be wondering what it has become! To completely answer this question requires others to be answered first, but here it is in a 'nutshell':

OpenNIC stands for Open Network Information Center. The OpenNIC project is a major part of the global network of autonomous user controlled DNS servers working in a co-operative effort to provide a non-national, alternative Domain Name System that encompasses and expands upon the legacy Domain Name System.

The OpenNIC (among other services), provides:

• Alternative Top Level Domain (alt-TLD) Sponsorship;
• Domain name resolution for OpenNIC sponsored alt-TLDs (i.e. .free, .geek, .oss, etc..);
• Domain name resolution for alt-TLDs sponsored by other alt-DNS networks with which the OpenNIC maintains Peering Relationships;
• A forum that serves as the de jure and de facto educational/hobbyist nexus for people interested in learning how to setup an alt-DNS server, provide resolution of alt-TLDs, and create, setup, and manage alt-TLDs.
• Development of open source software specific to the alt-DNS.
• An opportunity to be a part of the bleeding edge of the evolutionary step the Internet and the Domain Name System.
• And last but not least, reliable and secure domain name resolution of all legacy Top Level Domains (i.e. .com, .net, .org, .edu, etc..)