Anniversary of .срб Domain Marked and Almono RNIDS Gifted to the Internet Community

The fourteenth anniversary of the .срб domain was marked by the “Serbian National Internet Domain Registry” Foundation (RNIDS) on 27 January 2026, by giving the gift of “content that creates content.” This year as well, internet users were gifted another new, contemporary and distinctive Serbian Cyrillic typeface — Almono RNIDS. With this addition, the existing collection of free RNIDS fonts has been expanded and now includes a total of seven typefaces primarily intended for on‑screen use. The new typeface is available for free download at иманаћирилици.срб.

Almono RNIDS – the first monospace typeface by a local author

During the event, the typeface author Ana Prodanović, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Applied Arts of the University of Belgrade, explained that Almono RNIDS is a sans‑serif monospace typeface. All characters have equal widths, both within a single font and across styles, meaning upright and italic variants in all weights. It includes seven weights, in upright and italic styles, making a total of fourteen fonts.

In recent years, this category of typefaces has become widely popular and frequently used, resulting in the emergence of many interesting monospace fonts around the world. However, this is the first monospace typeface created by a domestic author.

The author explained how she came up with the idea to design such a typeface: “This category of fonts first intrigued me in 2018, when I attended a conference where the IBM Plex typeface was presented. The monospace variant of that typeface struck me as particularly authentic.”

While preparing a lecture in 2022, she realized that among typefaces available for free download created by domestic authors, monospace fonts were not represented. “That is why I already began thinking back then about creating my own monospace typeface. The idea seemed challenging to me, because designing such fonts involves rules different from those we follow when creating standard variants,” the author explained.

Are the most famous typefaces “cringe”?

The audience had the opportunity to listen to an exceptionally engaging lecture by Andrej Dolinka, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Applied Arts, University of Belgrade, which shed light on the process behind the creation of some of the most famous, almost legendary, typefaces that internet users know very well — such as Helvetica, Arial, and Comic Sans.

He spoke about the typeface Areal, published last year by a Berlin studio as a kind of “refined” version of Arial, as well as the reactions and criticism that followed the project. However, he also pointed out that the project was in some way initiated by nostalgia, as it re‑actualized a typeface that shaped how generations consumed on‑screen content.

Interestingly, the Berlin studio’s typeface bears the same name as the typeface created by Professor Olivera Stojadinović — Areal RNIDS — which RNIDS had already presented back in 2020. This opened a discussion about font naming and the fact that it is quite difficult to find an original name given the vast number of existing typefaces. At the same time, it was emphasized that there are actually not many Serbian Cyrillic fonts that adequately represent the specific characteristics of our script, which further highlights the importance of the initiatives that RNIDS and the Tipometer organization have been implementing for years. Consequently, the discussion also touched upon copyright protection of typefaces and the differences that exist between the United States and Europe in this regard.

He explained that what is often referred to as “cringe,” in the sense of excessive or inappropriate use, meaning fonts predefined in software and operating systems we use or used to use, also has another side. The audience learned how Comic Sans came into existence, a typeface that found its place in “meme culture,” but also that due to its irregularities, this typeface actually helps people with dyslexia read text more easily. The overall impression was that the authors of these “legendary” typefaces truly deserve homage, considering that their work has shaped digital communication for multiple generations.

IDNs – a dream that is yet to come real

In the continuation of the program, Regina Fuchsova, Industry Relations Manager at EURid, presented the IDN World Report, which the .eu domain registry has been producing for years in cooperation with numerous organizations and domain registries. From the report, we learned that growth in internationalized domain names is largely stagnating; national registries, or ccTLDs, show no remarkable growth, while generic domains are experiencing a decline. The report states that the top five IDN registered globally are within .рф, .com, .de, .cn, and .中国.

Regina also addressed the fact that a lack of awareness about internationalized domain names, technical challenges, and deeply rooted user habits are some of the main reasons why their adoption and use remain limited.

How difficult it is to change user habits, and how much accredited registrars can contribute to the popularization of IDNs, was the topic of the panel discussion that followed. The discussion was moderated by Dijana Milutinović from RNIDS, and the panel was joined by Dijana Todorović, Country Manager for Serbia at Loopia, an RNIDS‑accredited registrar. Dijana Todorović pointed out that interest among end users in internationalized domain names is not particularly high. On the other hand, she emphasized the importance of preserving multilingualism on the internet and the readiness of registrars to contribute and support registrants. She noted that the choice of an IDN is not driven by price or offers, but rather by awareness of their existence, their practical value, and the adequacy of the broader ecosystem in which domain names are used. Regina Fuchsova praised RNIDS’s activities in promoting IDNs, ranging from free fonts and hackathons to educational initiatives.

The panelists agreed that a joint effort by domain registries and registrars is desirable. Nevertheless, efforts by a much broader community are needed ‑ primarily by dominant global platforms and service providers ‑ for IDNs to reach their full potential and achieve wider adoption. It was concluded that the conversation about IDN domains will continue for a while as this is a process developing in parallel with efforts toward full implementation of Universal Acceptance.

About RNIDS fonts

Almost eight years ago, RNIDS established cooperation with the Tipometer organization, with the aim of providing a continuation of Tipometer’s project “Cyrillic as a Gift.” Since then, the authors gathered by Tipometer have created seven Serbian Cyrillic typefaces that have been gifted to users. The first gifted typeface was Areal RNIDS by Professor Olivera Stojadinović, as well as her typeface Neo Geo RNIDS. The gifted collection also includes Lingva RNIDS by Petar Vasilić, Etar RNIDS by Petar Stošić, Manument RNIDS by Lazar Rakonjac, and the very popular Orto RNIDS by Ana Prodanović.

About the .срб domain

The Cyrillic internet domain .срб is the second national domain of the Republic of Serbia, as well as the second national domain in the world (ccTLD) whose names can be registered in Cyrillic script. It is part of the family of Internationalized Domain Names (IDN), meaning domains whose names are not written in the English alphabet. Registration of .срб domain names began on 27 January 2012.