A common name for the
Westarctican network

WNIC is testing a manually reviewed website-forwarding service. You can prepare your registration using this guide, but please wait for the opening announcement before submitting a public application. The draft registration policy remains under review.

Choose the service you need

Prepare a website-forwarding request

1. Choose a name. Use the ledger checker above. Enter only the part before .westarctica.net: 1–63 lowercase letters, digits, or single hyphens, beginning and ending with a letter or digit. Consecutive hyphens are not accepted. A name absent from the ledger is not reserved for you or guaranteed to be approved.
2. Choose your destination. Supply the full public HTTPS URL of a website you control or are authorized to represent. Forwarding changes the browser address; it does not host a copy of the destination site.
3. Prepare your registration file. Using a GitHub account, fork the public registry repository. Add domains/yourname.json, replacing yourname in the filename with your chosen name. Copy the example below, then replace the GitHub username and destination URL.
4. Check and submit when applications open. Review the registration policy, then open a pull request from your fork to westarctica/nic. Explain whom the name represents and confirm your authority to use the destination. Automated checks validate the file; a maintainer reviews the request. A passing check is not approval.
5. Wait for publication. An approved request is merged into the ledger and the forwarding publisher runs separately. A merged entry is not proof of activation: wait for successful publication, then test your new address over HTTPS.

{
  "owner": { "username": "YOUR-GITHUB-USERNAME" },
  "service": {
    "type": "redirect",
    "target": "https://example.org",
    "status": 301,
    "preservePath": true,
    "preserveQuery": true
  }
}

Review, privacy, and later changes

Registration files, pull requests, and their history are public. Include only the information needed for the request. Never publish passwords, API tokens, identity documents, private email addresses, or other confidential evidence.

Names associated with Westarctica are subject to review for eligibility, reserved institutional use, confusion, impersonation, and abuse. Institutional names remain with the office or institution when its administrator changes. Assignments are subdomains, not ownership of the parent domain or ICANN-accredited registrations.

For a destination change, transfer, or withdrawal during the pilot, open an issue in the registry repository describing the requested change without private information. A maintainer must review and arrange publication; editing or deleting a JSON file alone does not update or remove the live service.