colonialism related to .io domains
If you’re looking for your next domain, maybe consider not using .io as the TLD. The colonial history and status of the British Indian Ocean Territories is… quite terrible.
The UK colonisers forcibly removed the Chagossians from their homeland to create an empty island for a U.S. military base. They still aren’t allowed to return.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Indian_Ocean_Territory
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expulsion_of_the_Chagossians
colonialism and slavery related to .io domains
@toni I've known this for some time, and that's why I chose to NOT get an .io domain, but more folks need to know.
It's a blood diamond domain extension, essentially.
(Maybe not the IDEAL comparison, but... )
colonialism and slavery related to .io domains
@toni woah I had no idea that was what ".io" stood for, I always thought it was a "computer-y" domain like ".tech" or something, TIL!
colonialism and slavery related to .io domains
@toni how does this relate to .io domains?
colonialism and slavery related to .io domains
@toni oh shoot my bad, just looked it up. I had no idea what .io was for other than stupid games online
colonialism and slavery related to .io domains
@toni ...what the fuck.
colonialism and slavery related to .io domains
@toni I don't mean to sound like a .io apologist because i think its kinda silly for people to use unassociated country TLDs for domain hacks, but this doesn't seem like a valid reason to not use it since the current owner has nothing to do with the military base other than that its also based in the UK. If I should't use a domain because its owned by a colonialist country, doesn't that mean I also shouldn't use .us and .uk domains?
colonialism and slavery related to .io domains
@toni Again, I agree colonialism is definitely bad and shouldn't be supported, and personally think people shouldn't use .io domains unless theyre somehow related to those territories, but my (very limited) understanding of the controversy surrounding that domain is that the original owner was somehow related to the invasion and expulsion of the Chagossians, and that is no longer the case since it is now owned by a different group.
colonialism related to .io domains
@toni
Same with the .cx domain. I moved my stuff because what Australia is doing on Christmas Island.
𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚊 
colonialism related to .io domains
Worth mention is the .nu domain aswell.
Swedish IIS currently administrate it, but Nuie does not get a cut of the sales at all.
colonialism related to .io domains
@toni this is why I choose .xyz for stuff recently.
re: colonialism related to .io domains
@toni and from a technical standpoint this quote from an article at https://hackernoon.com/stop-using-io-domain-names-for-production-traffic-b6aa17eeac20 has also deterred me from getting one:
> «To our surprise, we found out that *NIC.io could only be reached via phone between 7 AM to 12 AM UTC Monday through Friday and did not expose any status about the health of the service*.»
Of course, this was from back in 2017, so it's possible they've improved their support availability by now, but still.
colonialism and slavery related to .io domains
Oh, I had forgotten that the Chagossians were originally forcefully settled as slaves on the islands by the French. Even after abolition there was no choice for people on the islands but to work on the plantations. Six generations later the British move everyone to Mauritius, specifically to avoid scrutiny from the UN decolonisation committee, so the US could have a military base in that region.
So, yeah, maybe .io domains look less fancy if you know that history.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expulsion_of_the_Chagossians