---
id: "opennic"
kind: "glossary-term"
title: "OpenNIC"
language: "en"
category: "Alternative naming systems"
updated: "2026-10-04T14:01:23Z"
canonical: "https://tldlog.com/glossary/opennic/"
translations:
  es: "https://tldlog.com/es/glosario/opennic/"
  de: "https://tldlog.com/de/glossar/opennic/"
  fr: "https://tldlog.com/fr/glossaire/opennic/"
  it: "https://tldlog.com/it/glossario/opennic/"
  pt-BR: "https://tldlog.com/pt/glossario/opennic/"
  ru: "https://tldlog.com/ru/glossariy/opennic/"
  zh-Hans: "https://tldlog.com/zh/cihui/opennic/"
---

# OpenNIC

A volunteer project, started in 2000, that runs an alternative DNS root. Its servers answer for the normal TLDs and also for its own endings, such as .geek and .libre. Those extra endings are not in the DNS root, so they work only for users who switch to OpenNIC resolvers.

## related terms

- [alternative root](https://tldlog.com/glossary/alternative-root/)
- [root zone](https://tldlog.com/glossary/root-zone/)
- [resolver](https://tldlog.com/glossary/resolver/)
- [name collision](https://tldlog.com/glossary/name-collision/)
- [namespace](https://tldlog.com/glossary/namespace/)