domain question

[jeffpan]

I know most Germany prefer .de domains, such as web.de, gmx.de, freenet.de, t-online.de etc. Russian prefer .ru domains such as yandex.ru, rambler.ru, mail.ru etc. Italy has virgilio.it, alice.it, tin.it etc. France, Swiss, Netherlands and many other countries like their location based domains. But why American prefer the .com domain rather than a .us domain? I never see a big site with .us domain name. Even Canada has their .ca domains popular in some fields.

[tdf]

Originally Posted by jeffpan

I know most Germany prefer .de domains, such as web.de, gmx.de, freenet.de, t-online.de etc. Russian prefer .ru domains such as yandex.ru, rambler.ru, mail.ru etc. Italy has virgilio.it, alice.it, tin.it etc. France, Swiss, Netherlands and many other countries like their location based domains. But why American prefer the .com domain rather than a .us domain? I never see a big site with .us domain name. Even Canada has their .ca domains popular in some fields.

Because the Internet originated in the US, and ICANN is in the US.

[Avion]

I suspect that people use their own country domain is because of what they see around them - for example:

TV ads, advertising posters, Internet searches for services, etc.

I daresay that people in Germany would see a lot of .de domains in their daily life and so that reflects personal use also.

In the USA, I don't ever recall seeing the .us domain in my travels there, I'm guessing they use .com domain because that's what corporate America pushes out to them.

Another important point to consider is the The usTLD Nexus Requirements Policy:

The U.S. Nexus Requirement ensures that only individuals or organizations that have a substantive connection to the United States can register .us domain names. To qualify for a .us domain name, you must be meet one of the 3 below requirements:

A natural person (i) who is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States of America or any of its possessions or territories, or (ii) whose primary place of domicile is in the United States of America or any of its possessions.
An entity or organization that is (i) incorporated within one of the fifty (50) U.S. states, the District of Columbia, or any of the United States possessions or territories or (ii) organized or otherwise constituted under the laws of a state of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, or any of its possessions or territories.
An entity or organization (domestic or foreign, including a federal, state, or local government of the United States, or a political subdivision thereof) that has a bona fide presence in the United States. Bona fide presence in the United States means having real and substantial lawful connections with, or lawful activities in, the United States. This requirement is intended to ensure that only those individuals or organizations that have a substantive lawful connection to the United States are permitted to register for .us domain names.

[TenFour]

Most people here in the USA know nothing about these country specific TLDs. Most people and businesses have a .com, .net or .org domain so anything else seems scammy. The power of momentum and first movers.