.st
 |
|
| Introduced | 1997 |
|---|---|
| TLD type | Country code top-level domain |
| Status | Active |
| Registry | Bahnhof ST Registry |
| Sponsor | Tecnisys |
| Intended use | Entities connected with  São Tomé and Príncipe |
| Actual use | Used in São Tomé and Príncipe, but marketed worldwide for various purposes |
| Registration restrictions | None |
| Structure | Registrations are made directly at the second level |
| Documents | Policy and rules |
| Dispute policies | The registry obeys court orders, and judges disputes themselves for a fee |
| Website | .ST domain registration |
.st is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for São Tomé and Príncipe. The code is marketed worldwide as an abbreviation for various entities.
Second-level domains[edit]
Registrations are taken directly at the second level, but some names have been reserved for use in specialized third-level registrations (though not all of these are actually in use at present):
- nic.st: Official ST domain registry
- gov.st: Government of São Tomé and Príncipe
- saotome.st: Island of São Tomé
- principe.st: Island of Principe
- consulado.st: São Tomé and Príncipe consulates
- embaixada.st: São Tomé and Príncipe embassies
- org.st, edu.st, net.st, com.st, store.st, mil.st, co.st
Other uses[edit]
The .st domain is being marketed as a general-use domain, with a number of meanings suggested including the abbreviation of "street", "state", short for "Star Trek" and more. The .st domain is also commonly used to create domain names that spell words ending in st, such as "[bur.st]". The Smalltalk programming language uses the .st extension, and several websites about it use the .st domain. The Washington Post uses .st as part of their URL shortening domain wapo.st, serving as a redirect to lead readers to various articles on their site, and other sites use similar URLs.
Styria[edit]
The state of Styria, in Austria, has ST as its unofficial but common abbreviation. Therefore, the .st extension is used by some small businesses located in Styria, despite Austria's own .at. Also some registrations in South Tyrol, an autonomous, chiefly German-speaking Italian province, use the .st extension to abbreviate the German name of Südtirol in opposition to Italy's .it.
Stockholm[edit]
There is limited usage of .st in Stockholm, Sweden, by smaller businesses and private people. Falck Emergency in Stockholm uses .st for all their employees in the ambulance service of the Swedish capital Stockholm. A new top level domain, .stockholm has been registered and is excepted to get operational during 2017.
