59 ms·

I think what really happened here is that someone at the Libyan domain authority decided they wanted the name and made up a story in order to seize it. I've he

by pg 16y ago

I think what really happened here is that someone at the Libyan domain authority decided they wanted the name and made up a story in order to seize it. I've heard of other cases of .ly names being confiscated, and for this reason we advise YC startups not to depend on them.

dotBen 16y ago
Yes, this is what I think happened too (I'm the original owner of vb.ly and that's my blog post linked above) EDIT: and therefore I do feel Bit.ly need to be worried - perhaps they'll be able to do a deal rather than have their domain removed but clearly something is stirring here thus ".ly domain space to be considered unsafe".
citricsquid 16y ago
Does this not apply to all ccTLDs though? My understanding was that the majority of ccTLDs are controlled in a way that they are able to easily "reclaim" any domain they want at any time without breaking any "rules"...
- oasisbob 16y ago
  I took a quick look at the ToS for my .ch domain (Switzerland), and it seems sane and protective. For a .ch, you're at the mercy of the Swiss court system. Sounds OK to me.
  - greendestiny 16y ago
    Yeah I'm not sure how keen bit.ly would be to transfer over to that TLD.
- kijeda 16y ago
  Each ccTLD is delegated to a competent operator within the country it is designated. In almost all cases (except some historic ones) this is to an entity with approval of the national government of the country. They in turn set their own regulations on domain eligibility criteria, pricing and so forth. So when you buy a .ME domain, you are subject to the relevant law and regulation of Montenegro, for .CO in Colombia, for .LY in Libya and so forth. If those countries elect to allow registrations outside their borders, that is their choice, but there is no external regulation on how they do that. They are accountable internally to the local Internet community of the country, and the local laws. ICANN, on the other hand, is responsible for regulating many aspects for generic top-level domains (currently TLDs with 3 or more characters, such as .COM, .NET, .INFO).
claes 16y ago
Same for Nunames, taking back attractive .nu-domains ten year after registration. ICANN should really act on this.
borism 16y ago
any evidence?
- answerly 16y ago
  I have evidence as this is essentially what happened to us. We purchased .ly variant of our domain name through an authorized Libyan registrar about 10 months ago. It was seized back without explanation a few days later. When I contacted the registrar I was told that the domain was available for "four figures" through domains.ly (an aftermarket .ly reseller service that is operated by the same authorized registrar we used to purchase the domain initially). The domain wasn't critical, so we didn't pursue it any further.
swombat 16y ago
Alternative explanation: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1765420 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1765420 "Violet Blue is an adult site".
- kaerast 16y ago
  Yes, and that's the reason given for this domain name being reclaimed. Drinking alcohol and women showing bare arms are both illegal under Sharia law, and the front page showed Violet Blue drinking beer and showing bare arms. It's difficult for many foreigners to know exactly what is and isn't legal under Sharia law, so it's difficult to know if a domain would be ok or not. However nic.ly are now also warning they don't allow ownership of short .ly domains by foreigners, only Libyan nationals. This sounds to me like they want more money or an excuse to take down domains they simply don't like, but is a real problem if they ever decided they want in on the bit.ly action. The vb.ly site owners keep claiming that the content may be adult but that the domain name isn't. This is a weak argument in my mind, and I believe there's a precedent of domain names registered exclusively for the act of malware propagation being taken down.
  - jonhendry 16y ago
    Sharia law doesn't necessarily enter into it. You can't sell dildos and vibrators in Texas, and it's not because of Sharia law. Hindu activists in India made death threats and stormed theaters because of a film about a lesbian relationship. Sharia law is not the only reason for repressive attitudes toward sex. I mean, really. They're, what, 30-40 years behind the cultural norms of the US, in this case? You don't really need to pin that on Sharia, when it's far more likely that it's just cultural. It wasn't that long ago in the US that nothing was open on Sundays.
    - alanh 16y ago
      > You don't really need to pin that on Sharia, when it's far more likely that it's just cultural. (emph. added) Because cultural reasons are completely separate from religion? Religion is the only reason people like to tell others what they can and can’t do in private, especially in a democracy like Texas, where it shouldn’t be considered Constitutional to outlaw "dildos and vibrators."

by pg 16y ago

dotBen 16y ago

Yes, this is what I think happened too (I'm the original owner of vb.ly and that's my blog post linked above) EDIT: and therefore I do feel Bit.ly need to be worried - perhaps they'll be able to do a deal rather than have their domain removed but clearly something is stirring here thus ".ly domain space to be considered unsafe".

citricsquid 16y ago

Does this not apply to all ccTLDs though? My understanding was that the majority of ccTLDs are controlled in a way that they are able to easily "reclaim" any domain they want at any time without breaking any "rules"...

oasisbob 16y ago
I took a quick look at the ToS for my .ch domain (Switzerland), and it seems sane and protective. For a .ch, you're at the mercy of the Swiss court system. Sounds OK to me.
- greendestiny 16y ago
  Yeah I'm not sure how keen bit.ly would be to transfer over to that TLD.
kijeda 16y ago
Each ccTLD is delegated to a competent operator within the country it is designated. In almost all cases (except some historic ones) this is to an entity with approval of the national government of the country. They in turn set their own regulations on domain eligibility criteria, pricing and so forth. So when you buy a .ME domain, you are subject to the relevant law and regulation of Montenegro, for .CO in Colombia, for .LY in Libya and so forth. If those countries elect to allow registrations outside their borders, that is their choice, but there is no external regulation on how they do that. They are accountable internally to the local Internet community of the country, and the local laws. ICANN, on the other hand, is responsible for regulating many aspects for generic top-level domains (currently TLDs with 3 or more characters, such as .COM, .NET, .INFO).

claes 16y ago

Same for Nunames, taking back attractive .nu-domains ten year after registration. ICANN should really act on this.

borism 16y ago

any evidence?

answerly 16y ago
I have evidence as this is essentially what happened to us. We purchased .ly variant of our domain name through an authorized Libyan registrar about 10 months ago. It was seized back without explanation a few days later. When I contacted the registrar I was told that the domain was available for "four figures" through domains.ly (an aftermarket .ly reseller service that is operated by the same authorized registrar we used to purchase the domain initially). The domain wasn't critical, so we didn't pursue it any further.

swombat 16y ago

Alternative explanation: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1765420 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1765420 "Violet Blue is an adult site".

kaerast 16y ago
Yes, and that's the reason given for this domain name being reclaimed. Drinking alcohol and women showing bare arms are both illegal under Sharia law, and the front page showed Violet Blue drinking beer and showing bare arms. It's difficult for many foreigners to know exactly what is and isn't legal under Sharia law, so it's difficult to know if a domain would be ok or not. However nic.ly are now also warning they don't allow ownership of short .ly domains by foreigners, only Libyan nationals. This sounds to me like they want more money or an excuse to take down domains they simply don't like, but is a real problem if they ever decided they want in on the bit.ly action. The vb.ly site owners keep claiming that the content may be adult but that the domain name isn't. This is a weak argument in my mind, and I believe there's a precedent of domain names registered exclusively for the act of malware propagation being taken down.
- jonhendry 16y ago
  Sharia law doesn't necessarily enter into it. You can't sell dildos and vibrators in Texas, and it's not because of Sharia law. Hindu activists in India made death threats and stormed theaters because of a film about a lesbian relationship. Sharia law is not the only reason for repressive attitudes toward sex. I mean, really. They're, what, 30-40 years behind the cultural norms of the US, in this case? You don't really need to pin that on Sharia, when it's far more likely that it's just cultural. It wasn't that long ago in the US that nothing was open on Sundays.
  - alanh 16y ago
    > You don't really need to pin that on Sharia, when it's far more likely that it's just cultural. (emph. added) Because cultural reasons are completely separate from religion? Religion is the only reason people like to tell others what they can and can’t do in private, especially in a democracy like Texas, where it shouldn’t be considered Constitutional to outlaw "dildos and vibrators."