I’ve garnered some serious eye rolls for suggesting in meetings that using .co/.tv/.io is a business risk - it turns out most people very much do not care about the semantic differences between...
I’ve garnered some serious eye rolls for suggesting in meetings that using .co/.tv/.io is a business risk - it turns out most people very much do not care about the semantic differences between country code and generic domains and what that means for their governance - so I’m feeling a gentle sense of vindication reading this. I also never realised .su was a thing, despite that level of nerdiness, so that’s a cool little tidbit!
I’d be surprised if they actually delete something as heavily used as .io, though. I’d expect it to be grandfathered in as a special-case generic (there’s at least one major existing exception to the ISO standard: .uk/.gb), possibly with existing domains being allowed renewal while not taking new registrations (see x.com as a very topical example: single character .com domains were disallowed, but the few that got in early are allowed to remain as long as they renew).
Huh, today I learned. .co is Columbia .tv is Tuvalu - which, at the current rate of sea level rise, will be underwater within a 100 years. Before that though, saltwater intrusion will make life...
Huh, today I learned.
.co is Columbia
.tv is Tuvalu - which, at the current rate of sea level rise, will be underwater within a 100 years. Before that though, saltwater intrusion will make life way harder for inhabitants. They're working super hard on climate change survival but it's going to be difficult since none of the big players are interested in helping in meaningful ways.
Maybe tech folks who value their multimillion .io and .tv domains should contribute some of their earnings towards helping make sure Mauritius and Tuvalu stick around.
Fun fact: .tv is one of Tuvalu's main sources of income. They make a few million dollars a year off it, I think. So the .tv domain might be one of the things keeping the country around right now.
Fun fact: .tv is one of Tuvalu's main sources of income. They make a few million dollars a year off it, I think. So the .tv domain might be one of the things keeping the country around right now.
Oh they have a .ck ! Then folks must have registered domains like luck and muck and duck and such :) I don't feel brave enough to link or visit those but if you have favorite punny domains of .ck...
Oh they have a .ck ! Then folks must have registered domains like luck and muck and duck and such :) I don't feel brave enough to link or visit those but if you have favorite punny domains of .ck let me know
Perhaps...my point was more if someone wants to register a generic Cook Islands business domain... .co was Colombia because it's now a generic business TLD, e.g., .co.uk, .co.ru, or in the case of...
Perhaps...my point was more if someone wants to register a generic Cook Islands business domain...
.co was Colombia because it's now a generic business TLD, e.g., .co.uk, .co.ru, or in the case of the Cook Islands...
I use a .uk TLD, because I'm just a person, not a .co. or an .org. or whatever. I've just recently finished a 2 year long task of divesting myself of a very old, formerly heavily used gmail...
I use a .uk TLD, because I'm just a person, not a .co. or an .org. or whatever. I've just recently finished a 2 year long task of divesting myself of a very old, formerly heavily used gmail address to my own domain. I better not find that .uk is under threat, I really don't want to go through all that pain again. Next auto renewal is in 2027
You’re safe, .uk is an official exception to the rules! Not because of the .uk/.co.uk/.org.uk thing, though - those are internal details, fully allowed by the standard to be included or omitted;...
You’re safe, .uk is an official exception to the rules! Not because of the .uk/.co.uk/.org.uk thing, though - those are internal details, fully allowed by the standard to be included or omitted; any country can add or remove bits before its own TLD at the registry level if they want, that’s one of the advantages of each one being managed locally (I was talking about Colombia’s .co TLD when I mentioned it in the first post, btw!).
The real issue is that TLDs are assigned to a country based on their ISO two letter code, because IANA very sensibly realised they do not want to be on the hook for mediating international bickering over who has more right to a given two-letter combo, especially when someone else had already done the job for them. Problem is, UK universities were a significant chunk of the very early internet and the dudes running JANET had already started using .uk (because common usage) rather than .gb (the ISO standard) before that decision to defer to ISO was made.
Forty years later, Britain still gets special treatment under international rules because of a unilateral decision made by a few people in elite universities decades prior - and really, what could be more on brand than that? Well, other than the US keeping the global top level .edu and .gov domains for local entities, because obviously the US is the world’s default country, of course…
Probably a smart move, because GB is a geographical signifier of the island of Great Britain, while UK refers to the whole United Kingdom. Northern Ireland would have been very upset to have to...
Problem is, UK universities were a significant chunk of the very early internet and the dudes running JANET had already started using .uk (because common usage) rather than .gb (the ISO standard) before that decision to defer to ISO was made.
Probably a smart move, because GB is a geographical signifier of the island of Great Britain, while UK refers to the whole United Kingdom. Northern Ireland would have been very upset to have to register as part of Britain.
That’s a great point, actually - and a perfect example of the kind of can of worms that IANA didn’t want to end up being responsible for mediating. Makes me wonder how Northern Ireland feels about...
That’s a great point, actually - and a perfect example of the kind of can of worms that IANA didn’t want to end up being responsible for mediating. Makes me wonder how Northern Ireland feels about GB being the ISO code/currency code/olympic team name/etc.
Yep, the Irish rugby team (and presumably other sports, as you mentioned) uses a different flag to represent all the counties, as well as a different national anthem about unity. It's a great...
Yep, the Irish rugby team (and presumably other sports, as you mentioned) uses a different flag to represent all the counties, as well as a different national anthem about unity. It's a great song. When I went to the Rugby World Cup, it seemed like everybody from every country would sing along with the Irish anthem.
I've owned both generic TLD domains (had some really good ones from the early days!) and domains in my country's TLD, but got rid of both of those types of domains years ago because neither felt...
I've owned both generic TLD domains (had some really good ones from the early days!) and domains in my country's TLD, but got rid of both of those types of domains years ago because neither felt reliable. Let me remind everyone once again that most novelty generic TLDs are owned and run by a single private equity firm, Ethos Capital.
These days, my sole criterium for selecting a TLD is how stable/reliable it is. Though I manage a few domains for other people, these are the TLDs I use for myself:
.net : Do I trust Verisign? Kind of. This registry isn't exactly benevolent, however it's incredibly safe in that there is absolutely zero chance .net is ever going anywhere (or .com for that matter). I own one single old .net domain and I feel OK with keeping it.
.eu : Most EU citizens don't take advantage of the fact that they are entitled to register .eu domains. They're cheap, country-agnostic, not run by a commercial interest and have free built in anonimity. There is support on multiple registrars but I recently moved to porkbun and am really happy with the service.
.org : Though you say you're not an org, you should reconsider this one. It's run by a relatively benevolent concern and has already resisted takeover by Ethos Capital once. Unlike Verisign, which inflates their prices as much as they're allowed, I believe PIR uses fixed registry fees. The reliability of this TLD rests not only in its age but also in the sheer amount of nonprofits using it, which creates a powerful incentive for keeping it stable.
That said, I'd still trust .uk a hundred times more than my own country's TLD.
My own country's TLD is relatively reliable, but they had some paperwork in the past to prove you were a citizen or otherwise connected to the country that made most registrars skip over...
My own country's TLD is relatively reliable, but they had some paperwork in the past to prove you were a citizen or otherwise connected to the country that made most registrars skip over supporting them. Although that changed a couple of years ago, in terms of major registrar support there is basically Gandi. Which was fine while Gandi were a trustable company, but after their 100+% price hikes last year, I've moved all my other domains away from Gandi to Porkbun.
I do have one at my country's TLD though, but most of the registrars that support it other than Gandi are local businesses that may as well be operating out of a shed for how long term reliable they appear, along with a couple that exist to gouge IT departments of local non-tech companies.
Ironically, one of the few exceptions is my ISP, but if you'd told me 5 years ago I would be seriously considering transferring domains from Gandi to my ISP, I would have laughed.
I think you'll be safe, as .UK is the fifth most popular TLD with at least 10 million existing now. What I find strange is that London has its own TLD .london for just those in the city.
I better not find that .uk is under threat, I really don't want to go through all that pain again. Next auto renewal is in 2027
I think you'll be safe, as .UK is the fifth most popular TLD with at least 10 million existing now. What I find strange is that London has its own TLD .london for just those in the city.
Yeah, I think those both count as generic from a standards perspective - anyone can apply to create a new generic TLD as long as they've got $200k lying around and an enthusiasm for paperwork....
Yeah, I think those both count as generic from a standards perspective - anyone can apply to create a new generic TLD as long as they've got $200k lying around and an enthusiasm for paperwork.
It's still not a free for all: if I tried to register .chicago as a random person with no official connection to the city, the mayor of Chicago would presumably object when ICANN put it up for public consultation, but gTLD assignment like that works at a level roughly similar to corporate trademarks, whereas ccTLDs are right up there as part of the geopolitical landscape.
Is it naive to wonder why IANA wouldn't just re-designate the TLD as a non-country TLD? Mauritius already has their own (.mu), so they're not losing anything because I can't imagine they were...
Is it naive to wonder why IANA wouldn't just re-designate the TLD as a non-country TLD? Mauritius already has their own (.mu), so they're not losing anything because I can't imagine they were seeing a dime from the .io fees anyway. There hardly seems to be any rhyme or reason to TLDs these days with stuff like .xyz, .ninja, .bike, etc. So why not retain .io?
The country codes cited as historic examples weren't really heavily in use outside of their former country, so it was a clean break. But .io is overwhelmingly used outside of its former country. Not to mention the Soviet Union broke up when the web was in its infancy, and even Montenegro's independence took place in a very different and earlier era of the web.
Two letter TLDs are usually reserved for country code TLDs (which are assigned to political countries and territories) with only a couple of explicit exceptions. If .eu is allowed, then maybe...
Two letter TLDs are usually reserved for country code TLDs (which are assigned to political countries and territories) with only a couple of explicit exceptions.
If .eu is allowed, then maybe Mauritius can create a coalition of Indian Ocean island countries for running .io!
Note that for all the exceptions (.eu, .uk, .su), they also have exceptions in ISO-3166-1 (the standard list of country codes), so I think Mariitius would have to petition ISO to give them an...
Note that for all the exceptions (.eu, .uk, .su), they also have exceptions in ISO-3166-1 (the standard list of country codes), so I think Mariitius would have to petition ISO to give them an extra reservation. On the one hand, they have done it for France, the UK and Spain a few times, but on the other hand, these are usually based on long standing codes used in other standards bodies.
Fellow foolish .io holders among us, do you plan to migrate right away or wait and see how things shake out? Any good migration strategies for email domains aside from keeping the old one alive as...
Fellow foolish .io holders among us, do you plan to migrate right away or wait and see how things shake out?
Any good migration strategies for email domains aside from keeping the old one alive as long as possible and tracking when it receives mail?
I’ve garnered some serious eye rolls for suggesting in meetings that using .co/.tv/.io is a business risk - it turns out most people very much do not care about the semantic differences between country code and generic domains and what that means for their governance - so I’m feeling a gentle sense of vindication reading this. I also never realised .su was a thing, despite that level of nerdiness, so that’s a cool little tidbit!
I’d be surprised if they actually delete something as heavily used as .io, though. I’d expect it to be grandfathered in as a special-case generic (there’s at least one major existing exception to the ISO standard: .uk/.gb), possibly with existing domains being allowed renewal while not taking new registrations (see x.com as a very topical example: single character .com domains were disallowed, but the few that got in early are allowed to remain as long as they renew).
Huh, today I learned.
.co is Columbia
.tv is Tuvalu - which, at the current rate of sea level rise, will be underwater within a 100 years. Before that though, saltwater intrusion will make life way harder for inhabitants. They're working super hard on climate change survival but it's going to be difficult since none of the big players are interested in helping in meaningful ways.
Maybe tech folks who value their multimillion .io and .tv domains should contribute some of their earnings towards helping make sure Mauritius and Tuvalu stick around.
Fun fact: .tv is one of Tuvalu's main sources of income. They make a few million dollars a year off it, I think. So the .tv domain might be one of the things keeping the country around right now.
Oooh very fun fact I love it!
It's Colombia, there's no
uin it mate.British Columbia is where I grew up because it's English speaking.
Today I learned it's Colombia, named after Cristoforo Colombo. Thx
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/colombia/article56269340.html
.ai is also a ccTLD.
Correction,
.cowas Colombia.The best domain, by far, bar none, no possible other contenders, is the Cook Islands'
.ck. Because .ck isn't just .ck.Oh they have a
.ck! Then folks must have registered domains like luck and muck and duck and such :) I don't feel brave enough to link or visit those but if you have favorite punny domains of.cklet me knowHow come
.cowas Colombia ?Perhaps...my point was more if someone wants to register a generic Cook Islands business domain...
.cowas Colombia because it's now a generic business TLD, e.g., .co.uk, .co.ru, or in the case of the Cook Islands...I use a .uk TLD, because I'm just a person, not a .co. or an .org. or whatever. I've just recently finished a 2 year long task of divesting myself of a very old, formerly heavily used gmail address to my own domain. I better not find that .uk is under threat, I really don't want to go through all that pain again. Next auto renewal is in 2027
You’re safe, .uk is an official exception to the rules! Not because of the .uk/.co.uk/.org.uk thing, though - those are internal details, fully allowed by the standard to be included or omitted; any country can add or remove bits before its own TLD at the registry level if they want, that’s one of the advantages of each one being managed locally (I was talking about Colombia’s .co TLD when I mentioned it in the first post, btw!).
The real issue is that TLDs are assigned to a country based on their ISO two letter code, because IANA very sensibly realised they do not want to be on the hook for mediating international bickering over who has more right to a given two-letter combo, especially when someone else had already done the job for them. Problem is, UK universities were a significant chunk of the very early internet and the dudes running JANET had already started using .uk (because common usage) rather than .gb (the ISO standard) before that decision to defer to ISO was made.
Forty years later, Britain still gets special treatment under international rules because of a unilateral decision made by a few people in elite universities decades prior - and really, what could be more on brand than that? Well, other than the US keeping the global top level .edu and .gov domains for local entities, because obviously the US is the world’s default country, of course…
Probably a smart move, because GB is a geographical signifier of the island of Great Britain, while UK refers to the whole United Kingdom. Northern Ireland would have been very upset to have to register as part of Britain.
That’s a great point, actually - and a perfect example of the kind of can of worms that IANA didn’t want to end up being responsible for mediating. Makes me wonder how Northern Ireland feels about GB being the ISO code/currency code/olympic team name/etc.
I think some of them compete under team Ireland and that the olympics isn't the only event that happens for.
Yep, the Irish rugby team (and presumably other sports, as you mentioned) uses a different flag to represent all the counties, as well as a different national anthem about unity. It's a great song. When I went to the Rugby World Cup, it seemed like everybody from every country would sing along with the Irish anthem.
I've owned both generic TLD domains (had some really good ones from the early days!) and domains in my country's TLD, but got rid of both of those types of domains years ago because neither felt reliable. Let me remind everyone once again that most novelty generic TLDs are owned and run by a single private equity firm, Ethos Capital.
These days, my sole criterium for selecting a TLD is how stable/reliable it is. Though I manage a few domains for other people, these are the TLDs I use for myself:
.net : Do I trust Verisign? Kind of. This registry isn't exactly benevolent, however it's incredibly safe in that there is absolutely zero chance .net is ever going anywhere (or .com for that matter). I own one single old .net domain and I feel OK with keeping it.
.eu : Most EU citizens don't take advantage of the fact that they are entitled to register .eu domains. They're cheap, country-agnostic, not run by a commercial interest and have free built in anonimity. There is support on multiple registrars but I recently moved to porkbun and am really happy with the service.
.org : Though you say you're not an org, you should reconsider this one. It's run by a relatively benevolent concern and has already resisted takeover by Ethos Capital once. Unlike Verisign, which inflates their prices as much as they're allowed, I believe PIR uses fixed registry fees. The reliability of this TLD rests not only in its age but also in the sheer amount of nonprofits using it, which creates a powerful incentive for keeping it stable.
That said, I'd still trust .uk a hundred times more than my own country's TLD.
My own country's TLD is relatively reliable, but they had some paperwork in the past to prove you were a citizen or otherwise connected to the country that made most registrars skip over supporting them. Although that changed a couple of years ago, in terms of major registrar support there is basically Gandi. Which was fine while Gandi were a trustable company, but after their 100+% price hikes last year, I've moved all my other domains away from Gandi to Porkbun.
I do have one at my country's TLD though, but most of the registrars that support it other than Gandi are local businesses that may as well be operating out of a shed for how long term reliable they appear, along with a couple that exist to gouge IT departments of local non-tech companies.
Ironically, one of the few exceptions is my ISP, but if you'd told me 5 years ago I would be seriously considering transferring domains from Gandi to my ISP, I would have laughed.
Man I miss the old Gandi :(
I think you'll be safe, as .UK is the fifth most popular TLD with at least 10 million existing now. What I find strange is that London has its own TLD .london for just those in the city.
That's not unique to London, as .berlin exists too iirc, though I haven't actually noticed anyone using it.
Yeah, I think those both count as generic from a standards perspective - anyone can apply to create a new generic TLD as long as they've got $200k lying around and an enthusiasm for paperwork.
It's still not a free for all: if I tried to register .chicago as a random person with no official connection to the city, the mayor of Chicago would presumably object when ICANN put it up for public consultation, but gTLD assignment like that works at a level roughly similar to corporate trademarks, whereas ccTLDs are right up there as part of the geopolitical landscape.
Is it naive to wonder why IANA wouldn't just re-designate the TLD as a non-country TLD? Mauritius already has their own (.mu), so they're not losing anything because I can't imagine they were seeing a dime from the .io fees anyway. There hardly seems to be any rhyme or reason to TLDs these days with stuff like .xyz, .ninja, .bike, etc. So why not retain .io?
The country codes cited as historic examples weren't really heavily in use outside of their former country, so it was a clean break. But .io is overwhelmingly used outside of its former country. Not to mention the Soviet Union broke up when the web was in its infancy, and even Montenegro's independence took place in a very different and earlier era of the web.
Two letter TLDs are usually reserved for country code TLDs (which are assigned to political countries and territories) with only a couple of explicit exceptions.
If .eu is allowed, then maybe Mauritius can create a coalition of Indian Ocean island countries for running .io!
Oh yeah I guess that's true. I really like Indian Ocean coalition idea!
2 letter domain names are reserved for ISO country codes, which is why all generic TLDs are at least 3 letters.
There are some exceptions. .eu is the most salient, I think.
Note that for all the exceptions (.eu, .uk, .su), they also have exceptions in ISO-3166-1 (the standard list of country codes), so I think Mariitius would have to petition ISO to give them an extra reservation. On the one hand, they have done it for France, the UK and Spain a few times, but on the other hand, these are usually based on long standing codes used in other standards bodies.
Fellow foolish
.ioholders among us, do you plan to migrate right away or wait and see how things shake out?Any good migration strategies for email domains aside from keeping the old one alive as long as possible and tracking when it receives mail?