@mttaggart @mwl well that's alarming

@mttaggart @mwl ... from a .to domain, no less! 🤣

@mttaggart @mwl tbh, I think .io should continue to exist, but just like .dev or .tech, just changing who administrates it, otherwise they'll cause so much link rot and break the web.

@mttaggart Yesss

@mttaggart @mwl wow .io was a real fad for awhile.... though they may all be Salesforce.com subsidiaries at this point...

@mttaggart @mwl that’s literally gonna break billions of links. Why kill it for geopolitical reasons?

@mttaggart @mwl … just like the .su TLD went away?

@mttaggart@infosec.exchange @mwl@io.mwl.io Why did .su stay online but .io can't?

@mttaggart @mwl i feel like with the proliferation of vanity TLDs, an argument could be made of moving it into the same vein as the new ones, no longer country-designated.

@mttaggart @mwl Save this toot for future fact-checking: I seriously doubt .io will really be deleted.

@mttaggart @mwl

Won't someone think of all the techbros who move fast and break things?

Where will they register their quick SaaS apps? .xyz ? .zip ?

@mttaggart

This is good! But wholesale discontinuation seems like a unique circumstance that hasn’t been observed before to my knowledge. For instance I think it’s still possible to register .su TLDs for the soviet union country code

@mttaggart @mwl I had no idea that was a region indicator as I'd only ever seen it in something like a "github.io" context where it clearly meant an automated service endpoint.

I feel like it really needs to be an all or nothing deal at this point. The top level domains should *all* be like this or none of them. No more bare .com , it's .com.us or similar and then the problem largely solves itself.

@mttaggart @mwl wonder whats gonna happen to github.io now

@mttaggart @mwl One can only hope that the UK will give up Anguilla next and they change their name back to Malliouhana, rendering the .ai country code extinct.

@mttaggart @mwl I don't think this is actually going to happen.

There's so much stuff relying on .io at this point that I won't be surprised if major DNS providers just sidestep ICAN and take matters into their own hands.

ICAN isn't omniscient and omnipotent, if the majority of the world decides that they shouldn't be in charge of DNS any more and that we'd rather use a different set of root servers, their power basically goes away.

@mttaggart Uh oh. This sounds like it's going to make a mess.

@mwl

@mttaggart @mwl

@mttaggart @mwl .io is load bearing, unlike .su. I suspect it'll stick around.

@mttaggart @mwl
> It will also automatically begin the process of retiring existing ones.

Do we know what this "retiring" will look like?

This feels like it will be a major blow to a lot of people, in particular many of the creators who host our work on itch.io. For instance, I have physical zines that I sold years ago with my itch URL printed in the back as my contact info.

@mttaggart @mwl it's not a good reason. What sovereign nation is responsible for .pizza?

@mttaggart @mwl@io.mwl.io will be interesting to see how long that takes.

Last time I checked #dotSU still allowed registrations!

- Also I think the Islands shoud've been surrendered to their native inhabitants

@mttaggart @mwl

The .io domain rightfully belongs, like the islands themselves, to the Chagossians.

@mttaggart @mwl

I find it somewhat ironic that this article is on a domain using the Tongan TLD. :P

Really, `.io` doesn't mean anything, it's used for apps that cover a wide range of things, that can be just replaced with .com
And nobody uses it for its real use.

@mttaggart @mwl On the flip side, "Any established public or private organization that meets eligibility requirements anywhere in the world can apply to create and operate a new gTLD Registry."
ie. re-register the `.io` TLD.

@mttaggart @mwl I cannot see a single good reason

@alienmelon Did you read the part about the heist by Solvenian academics to take control of the .yu ccTLD from the University of Belgrade? Wild.

This is really interesting though, I will be trying to keep an eye on this as it unfolds.

I do think that transitioning this to be a generic TLD (possibly administered by Mauritius if they want the extra income) as others have suggested here seems like the best path forward without breaking the internet, but we'll see what happens.

@mttaggart

@mttaggart @mwl

I think this article is clickbait. It's claiming at the top that IANA "will" do all those things and then at the bottom admits IANA might not do those things.

I clicked because I knew .io might be on the chopping block and thought this article was saying IANA had announced formally what they were going to do, and I think I got had.

You might consider editing your post for folks who (most reprehensibly) boost without reading to the end.

@mttaggart @mwl I think the only reasonable option is to create a .yo top level domain name an move everything there...

@mttaggart @mwl @mcc, does that mean that Chagosians can finally return to their atoll?

@mttaggart @mwl the article only suggests that it might. it is not certain.

if IANA should remove .io , it would be a great case for going opennic and i've been waiting for that to find adoption.

@mttaggart @mwl be careful when picking your top level domain said people on the every.to domain :polarbear:

@mttaggart @mwl Why can't they just convert it to a non-country-based TLD?

@mttaggart @mwl sigh

@mttaggart @tom This a week after I sign up for NextDNS.io!

@mttaggart oh no all the dumb tech companies will have to use some other domain now! I suggest .info

@mttaggart What does qualify as a good reason? Why not rather than forcing businesses and open source projects to change tld and maybe name, convert it into a gTLD? We have so many useless gTLDs what's wrong with having one more that's actually useful?

@mttaggart @mwl Koinly.io work out uk tax on crypto currency. Pretty good service. Good bye @koinly #Koinly

@mttaggart @mwl Given the impact on the internet infrastructure, and the amount of money it represents, it would be much better to either assign it to Mauritius/Chagos, or the Regional Internet entity (RIPE / ARIN equivalent on the area) and use the benefits to help with internet development in the Indian Ocean.

@mttaggart @mwl

Oh no! what will all the tech startups do??

@mttaggart @mwl

It will also automatically begin the process of retiring existing ones.

Ugh, that sucks. More link rot.

Listen.

Yes there's every possibility something will intervene to make IANA not follow their stated policy (again), despite them showing every intention of not repeating that mistake. But that is different than a belief that big things can't happen because they are too big. Do not let a status quo bias overly influence your thinking about the future.

@mttaggart how many iot devices have hardcoded update url's under an .io domain?

@mttaggart @mwl this fucking sucks

@mttaggart @mwl This is crazy how if the territory changes the domain goes poof. That's insanity to me. Especially with Global Warming .TV is going to be underwater.

@mttaggart @mwl Good riddance, if it does disappear. Continued use of .io in spite of the ethical considerations, or most usually the ignorance thereof, has been a source of disappointment.

@mttaggart @mwl for those interested in “historical precedents—such as.. breakup of Yugoslavia” : I’ve squirreled more info here : https://wiki.techinc.nl/TacticalMediaRoom#History ; plus video “From .yu to .me” https://vimeo.com/95833310 cc @mejs

@mttaggart @mwl
As somebody who's responsible for a sizable .io site...this is not great news to see today.

@benedikt_io oO

Looks like @buttplugio needs a new domain.

ONE QUIBBLE and this is not semantics: the "new owners" of the island are the indigenous people of those islands; many of them forcefully repatriated by the Brits.

they are not new, nor owners. they are the peoples for whom those islands are their ancestral homeland.

@mttaggart @mwl

@mttaggart the funniest possible result is browser vendors implement a work-around and put IANA in the same dustbin as the W3C