Why do so many Lemmy instances use weird TLDs?

spongebue@lemmy.world to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world – 169 points –

I get that some instances use the domain + TLD to make a word, like lemm.ee or to an extent, sh.itjust.works. But I've seen so many TLDs I had no idea existed, like .world, .zone, .social, and yes .works as well.

Is there any real reason for that? Trying to look cool or kinda underground-y? Cheaper and more varied domain options? Something actually kinda functional?

Interestingly, I started on vlemmy.net because I was a scared Reddit refugee and the .net TLD gave me comfort. Then it vanished a few days later without a trace. So here I am on lemmy.world

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Because it's no longer 1996 and there are domains beyond ccTLDs and com/net/org?

It's not 1996 anymore?!! Why didn't somebody tell me? My license is probably expired.

One day it was just 1997. Damnedest thing, there was no vote or anything. Frankly I think it was a bad move.

In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.

We should never have left the oceans.

Don't say that, @FlyingSquid. You're beautiful, and when us primates are doing ruining ourselves, you will inherit the earth and fly over mountains and forests as well.

You can buy .zip if you want to now... that still doesn't sit right with me

I'm still waiting for .rar so I can buy unregistered.rar, which is the way it's meant to be.

I'm waiting for .7z because it doesn't nag me to register it.

Being the registered owner of unregistered.rar really doesn't seem like the way it's meant to be

From what I've heard, .zip is basically only used for malware

Similarly, I've never seen a .xyz that wasn't used for altchans or sketchy porn sites

sopuli.xyz is a sizeable Lemmy instance

Hurts a little that 4k users is "sizeable", but I guess we have to start somewhere.

One of the teachers at my faculty has his academic website, including course materials, on an .xyz domain.

For me, that was .dance and .moe.

And then there's .ninja which so far has been strictly small web animations.

I really wish Randall Monroe acquired xkcd.xyz tho.

Oh, there is a website where somebody created Doom with CSS and that's a .xyz but that tracks, because it's 3D

I'm on lemmy.zip, has been swell.

The whole zip malware hype never came to be. Try it out, your Outlook isn't replacing xyz.zip with a link.

I guess you could manually create a link, but those have never been safe before either as the text can be different from the URL.

I think the complaint is it's just needlessly confusing and ambiguous.

Like everyone would obviously have an issue with it if they introduced a TLD of .txt or .jpg so why is this acceptable?

It really doesn't matter in my opinion.

If you get an email and there is a link that just says "myfile.zip", you wouldn't click it, right? Email doesn't support links for attachments, so it would be a web link either way. And behind that link it can be whatever, like "https://malicioussite.com/download/virus". Actual email attachments have their own spot in your email client.

On top of that, any URL can download a file. If you go to https://fakegoogle.com it doesn't even have to be .zip or .jpg, the moment you get there I could start a download in your browser.

No it's not that URL will download a file it's that a URL can pretend to be a file download.

Then all I need to do is build a website that looks like a word or something, and ask users to fill out their personal address form or something.

It's about the lowest common denominator, and the public are the very most common denominator. Why make life easier for scammers?

It's not like there's a legitimate reason for a .zip domain

No it’s not that URL will download a file it’s that a URL can pretend to be a file download.

Every URL can pretend to be a file download..

I can give you https://mydomain.com/photo.jpg and then deliver you a webpage instead of a .jpg file. The web server decides what you get in return.

Yeah, that domain screams scam emails to me.

here, mr boomer target, click this file

it's a link that redirects to something else

I was surprised it took almost an entire day before appleinvoice. zip got snatched up🤣 I wonder how much appleinvoice or microsoft agreement is worth to some scammer.

Probably not as much as something more generic like "invoices", "emails", "communications"

Edit: I didn't mean to make it a link lol... I actually have the domain blocked until I need a use for it.

There are people who use (regex) blocking for the zip TLD and that other one that google released with it, for the reason that they can be very deceptive.

It's not that hard. Because people out there are still buying domains like tomandkatesfamouspizzacincinattiohio.net

Please don't work please don't work.

I have a few .coms that aren't random letters, that are less than 8 characters. Got em mostly in the last decade.

I own candidvideosofouremployeesjerkingoff.com.

Can't believe it hadn't been nabbed yet.