Internet question

[KilledWithStyle]

As we all know, the internet is MASSIVE.
There are many IP adresses which are out there and are simplifiied by the creation of domain names.
There are many domain name services, but one thig that really peeves me off.

The domain names have to be registered somewhere, correct?
Where are those domain names registered to? And why does it cost to keep it on there?

This (http://www.dns.net/dnsrd/docs/whatis.html) was the only thing I could pick up on. What exactly regulates these oviousally massive servers for internet adresses?


In my mind, something just doesnt add up. *No, I am not talking about the X-Files where it was in a trailer park

[SailorAlea]

"Internet registration authorities are centralized organizations responsible for coordinating protocol parameters and globally-assigned resources such as IP addresses. The first such organization was the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which was initially in charge of IP address assignment, DNS domain name management and protocol parameters.Today the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has overall responsibility for these activities; the IANA operates under the auspices of ICANN and is still responsible for IP address assignment and parameter coordination."

http://www.tcpipguide.com/free/t_InternetRegistrationAuthoritiesandRegistriesIANA IC-2.htm