The Pioneer Domains Program — pioneer.domains.asia — was conceived to encourage visionaries from all fields to design innovative and relevant websites with the best .Asia domains. Applicants were invited to submit a brief proposal for the domain of their choice, and measures are in place to protect the rights of others (a challenge process) and curb abuse. This concept marks a departure from the conventional first-come-first-served allocation model to directly motivate the adoption and positive usage of the domain names.
The program also offered businesses and entrepreneurs the ultimate first-mover advantage for e-commerce in Asia. DotAsia’s Pioneer Domains Program marks the first time ever a domain registry is opening its doors for domains based on the quality of proposals received for any domain name of choice. The idea has since been popularized and referred to as “founders program” or “RFP process”.