Why do so many Lemmy instances use weird TLDs?
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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Why does ICANN allow so many weird domains to begin with? Domains used to be a good way to tell if you were going to the legit website.
.com - commercial entity .gov - government only .edu - educational entities only .net - network providers (ISP) only .org - non profit only
Those days are gone.
Now there’s Startrek.website and Startrek.com — how does the user know which one is owned by Paramount/Star Trek?
For me, it's the .zip domain. (recently added at the request of google)
That one in particular is a bomb waiting to blow. Is this link to a webpage or to a malicious download? Who knows! Guess we'll just have to click on it and see if anything starts downloading.
Using file extensions for your TLD should be a big no-no for a lot of reasons, that being one of them.
That is what I said about .com.
Yeah but nobody uses .com files anymore. Its a dead format. Any that still do are for specific users and rare instances.
But they were still in wide use when the world wide web was born.
huh, Windows still distributes a handful of .com programs. Neat.
I liked .com back in the day because it was easy to write assembly and dump it through the MSDOS 'debug' program to create an executable.
.com is a file format?
At one point it time. Back in the early Windows days it was how applications were distributed. These days it's all .exe files.
.com was a common file extension for MS-DOS executables, which was still in common use when the Internet started taking off.
Are you aware that opening any webpage, regardless of TLD, can cause a file to start downloading?
That's the best thing ever - next let's do .exe.
I feel like that's been the case for a while now. You pretty much need a search engine and some sort of bookmarks tool to use the web.
I don't know immediately if The Verges website URL contains a "the" or if BBC uses a .com or a .uk. I search both when looking for news at work so I don't accidentally end up on porn.
Most TLDs have no requirements. .gov is special.
Hasn't .com always been the commerce/business. Would a Google search for Star Trek actually bring you to Startrek.website? It seems like anyone with half a brain would know the difference. Legit companies/entities are going to stick to known domains.
Because marketing dweebs in powerful companies now own the internet.
That's not how the internet works. Any schmuck can buy those domain names except for .gov and .edu
I'm not an ISP, but I can get any .net domain for $11 a year. And then put ads and malware on the site. If someone else hadn't snatched it already I could even register disney.net if I wanted to. There is zero guarantee that Disney is behind a Disney domain.
You'll also find a hundred other Disney domains that are not owned by Disney. Big companies usually register a handful of domains for countries they do business in. And darn, some guy already registered disney.world :)
.ie is another one, you can't get them from a lot of registrars and have to prove you're genuinely based in Ireland.
It’s the way it used to work. Re-read my comment. That was my point.
It didn't. I can't find a single reference that .net registration was ever restricted to networking companies at all (it might be the intention of the name, but there was never a requirement for it). Same for .com, you could just register them back in the day too.
Hell, .net was even free to register at first before they started charging for domains.
Well one is a forum with a little mouse at the top and the other one is a website with official logos, branding, a shop, and news.
You're not gonna get recommended startrek.website unless you're specifically looking for it or a star trek lemmy instance in general.