Quiz: "pillar" or "post"?

The correct answer is: pillar

The ".com" suffix may be about to lose its position as the pillar of the basic web address.

In architecture, a pillar is an upright structure that supports a superstructure or is used for ornamentation. More generally, something which is said to be a pillar offers support, or occupies a central or responsible position. People can be pillars, too: Barack Obama, for example, is a pillar of the US government.

The domain suffix ".com" currently forms the pillar of domain names, with a 92.7 per cent share of websites. However, custom domain suffixes are about to be introduced on the web. We may soon start seeing ".eco", ".love",  ".god", ".sport" and ".gay". While the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in California is finishing talks on how to do this, interested organizations are already considering where to stake their claims in what is being called an "internet land rush".

"Our job is to protect competition and give extra choices for consumers and entrepreneurs," Peter Dengate Thrush, chair of the ICANN board of directors, told The Washington Post. 

pillar = Stütze, Säule

A post can also be used for support, but it is usually much smaller than a pillar.

"I had a bad day today. It all started when I backed my car into a post."

post = Pfosten, Pfahl

If someone goes goes from pillar to post, they are forced to keep moving from one place to another, often without any results.

"I've been running from pillar to post for the last five months trying to get an answer from the company. I give up."

from pillar to post = von Pontius zu Pilatus