.maker

The mission and purpose of this TLD is to expand consumer choice by providing a clear namespace associated with people and organizations that create or produce. Registrants may include creators, manufacturers, craftspeople, educators, suppliers and customers. The purpose is sustainable because making and production are enduring economic and creative activities. The gTLD is not dependent on a single industry, technology, or business model and can accommodate evolving uses as technology and Internet activity develop. Applicant designated Identity Digital as the RSP. Identity Digital enjoys a reputation of excellence as a domain name industry contributor and innovator. Applicant, along with Identity Digital’s team, will support this purpose through reliable registry operations, appropriate security and abuse-mitigation measures, transparent registration policies, and compliance with applicable ICANN requirements. We are committed to the successful expansion of the Internet, the secure operation of the DNS, and the creation of a new segment of the web that will be admired and respected.

The mission of .MAKER is to provide a namespace associated with the applied-for string. The .MAKER gTLD is intended to serve a broad range of registrants and users, including individuals, businesses, organizations, communities, projects, and other entities that identify with, relate to, or wish to be associated with the concept represented by the applied-for string. The purpose of .MAKER is to enable registrants to establish online identities using domain names that correspond to this concept. To achieve this purpose, Neigh Sayer, LLC will make .MAKER available for registration through registrars and other appropriate distribution channels; maintain a secure, stable, and reliable registry infrastructure; implement registration and operational policies that support the availability, security, and integrity of the namespace; and provide ongoing administration of the gTLD to enable registrants to register and use domain names within the namespace. The purpose of .MAKER is sustainable over time because the applied-for string is broadly recognized and has broad applicability across a wide range of contexts. As society, technology, and methods of communication evolve, organizations and individuals will continue to establish online identities associated with the applied-for string.

1. Describe the mission and purpose of the applied-for gTLD. .maker helps independent builders, crafters, and product creators establish a clear and memorable online presence for the things they design and make, making it easier for buyers, collaborators, and fellow creators to discover and recognize their work. It turns a name into a statement of authorship, connecting the maker directly to what they produce. Intended Registrants: Independent craftspeople, product designers, hardware inventors, hobbyist builders, small-batch manufacturers, workshop and studio operators, and the makerspaces, tool brands, and marketplaces that serve them. Intended Users: Buyers of handmade and custom-built goods, fellow builders seeking tutorials and community, students and educators in design and fabrication, and audiences discovering the person or workshop behind a finished product. Related Activities Supporting the Purpose: • Awareness-building among maker communities, craft fairs, and fabrication events • Registrar distribution to reach independent creators and small workshops • Registrant education on pairing a .maker name with portfolios, shops, and project logs • Community outreach with makerspaces, design schools, and hardware collectives .maker is built for the people who turn raw materials and ideas into finished things. It gives builders, crafters, and product creators a web address that states plainly what they do: they make. Where a generic extension leaves a creator blending into a crowded namespace, a name like studio.maker or jamie.maker frames the person as a producer of tangible work, not just another seller. The purpose is to give makers a recognizable presence that connects their name directly to their craft, helping them stand out to buyers, collaborators, and fellow builders. On one end sits the hobbyist documenting a woodworking build or a 3D-printing project; on the other, a small-batch manufacturer taking custom orders or a hardware inventor showcasing a prototype. A .maker address suits portfolios, project logs, commission pages, and direct-to-buyer shops, letting the work and the maker share one clear identity. It signals authorship: a reminder that behind every object is someone who designed and built it. For makerspaces, tool suppliers, and craft marketplaces, .maker offers a way to align their brand with the community they support and to house maker directories, membership hubs, or curated showcases under a name that speaks the community's language. 2. Explain how this purpose is sustainable over time. The durability of .maker rests on creative expression as a form of personal and professional identity. To call oneself a maker is to claim authorship over physical or original work, and that claim carries meaning across craft traditions, product design, engineering, and the hands-on hobbyist culture that continues to grow around fabrication tools and shared workshops. A woodworker, a jeweler, a hardware tinkerer, and a small-batch producer may work in different materials, but each defines themselves by the act of building something real. That self-definition does not fade when tools or techniques change; a maker who once worked only by hand and later adopts a laser cutter or a 3D printer remains, in their own eyes and their audience's, a maker. The label absorbs new methods rather than being replaced by them, which keeps the concept steady even as the practice evolves. The maker identity is also reinforced by community and commerce working together. Buyers increasingly seek out the person behind an object, valuing provenance, craft, and the story of who made it. Makerspaces, craft marketplaces, fairs, and design education keep drawing new participants into the practice and giving them a shared vocabulary. Because the word describes both a role people hold and a culture they belong to, its pull is self-sustaining: makers teach makers, buyers celebrate makers, and institutions organize around them.

MISSION The mission of .maker is to give makers worldwide — the people and organizations who design, build, create, and produce things — a dedicated, memorable, and trusted namespace to establish their identity and share their work online. .maker offers makers of every kind a clear home on the internet that signals what they do. PURPOSE, INTENDED REGISTRANTS, AND USERS .maker is an open, generic top-level domain available to anyone who identifies with making and creating. Intended registrants and users include individual makers, artisans, crafters, and hobbyists; makerspaces, hackerspaces, fab labs, and workshops; hardware, electronics, 3D-printing, woodworking, and small-scale manufacturing businesses; designers, inventors, and independent creators; educators and STEM/STEAM programs; and maker fairs, clubs, and online networks. Registrants will use .maker domains to publish portfolios and project logs, sell products, document builds and tutorials, host club and event sites, and connect with customers and collaborators. RELATED ACTIVITIES To achieve this purpose, the registry operator will operate .maker through an experienced ICANN-accredited back-end registry service provider on secure, standards-compliant infrastructure; distribute domains through ICANN-accredited registrars on a first-come, first-served basis under clear, non-discriminatory registration policies; implement all required rights-protection mechanisms, including a Sunrise period and Trademark Claims service via the Trademark Clearinghouse; maintain DNS-abuse prevention and mitigation, a published abuse point of contact, and periodic zone monitoring; and conduct outreach to maker networks, events, and educational programs to encourage adoption. The operator will also cross-promote .maker alongside its affiliated .build registry to reach the adjacent audience of builders and creators. SUSTAINABILITY OVER TIME The purpose of .maker is sustainable because it rests on a broad, durable, and growing global interest in making — spanning craft, DIY, hardware, and technology — rather than any single trend, registrant, or use case. The registry is operated by a team with direct registry experience: Workbench Ventures LLC is under common control with Plan Bee LLC, operator of the .build TLD, giving .maker access to proven operational, technical, and financial capabilities. Startup and long-term operations are funded by the applying entity, and the use of a professional back-end provider ensures continuity, security, and compliance with the Base Registry Agreement, including registry-continuity and data-escrow protections. A diversified base of registrants across many maker segments, combined with disciplined operations and open registration, supports steady long-term growth without dependence on any single customer or market.