3 ms·

Let me get this straight... people whose businesses rely on the existence of the .io TLD are donating to a campaign group that wants the TLD's raison d'être to

Let me get this straight... people whose businesses rely on the existence of the .io TLD are donating to a campaign group that wants the TLD's raison d'être to be abolished? Smart. I mean, consider a hypothetical. Let's say there's a whole swathe of businesses that have no connection to the American South, but for whatever hipster reasons occurred briefly in their subculture, all have brand logos that feature the confederate flag. At some point, someone points out that this flag represents the fight to defend slavery and lots of African-Americans and their supporters are still very upset that justice has not been done. Do the hipster business owners say to themselves: oh dear, I don't like this ugly historical incident that is indicated by a significant part of our branding, and neither do my customers more to that matter, so I'd better stop using that flag and rebrand to something else? Or do they say, actually I think the flag is really pretty and it makes my organisation look modern and cool, so how about I assuage my guilt by donating to a support group that just happens to be also campaigning for the abolition of that flag that I want to continue to use? If you don't think the BIOT should exist, don't stake your business on its continuing existence. And good luck invading Diego Garcia, it's much more heavily defended than the Falklands were.

samatman 6y ago
Actually, let's not consider that hypothetical. Let's consider the actual scenario, in which .io and the BIOT are thoroughly divorced in the minds of basically everyone. In that case, someone with a .io domain might well want to separate the two-letter string from its problematic origins. It's just two letters, after all, and this is the only context in which they are associated with the BIOT. I don't see a movement to abolish stars in heraldry, despite their prominent placement in the Confederate flag and the association with Communism. That seems more germane.
- FearNotDaniel 6y ago
  Well sure, while you're at it let's take .tv away from the Government of Tuvalu. It's just two letters right, nobody else associates it with that island nation either. Funnily enough, the same legal reasoning that claims BIOT should not exist (dividing a colony before granting independence) could also be applied to Tuvalu if you wanted to argue that it has no legal right to be a separate state independent of Kiribati. The only difference is, Tuvalu's separation was in accord with the wishes of its indigenous people whereas the Chagos Islanders were shipped elsewhere. But then, nobody bothered asking the indigenous peoples of the USA how they felt about a new nation being founded on their land, and we all seem to tolerate the existence of that somewhat irritating country.

samatman 6y ago

Actually, let's not consider that hypothetical. Let's consider the actual scenario, in which .io and the BIOT are thoroughly divorced in the minds of basically everyone. In that case, someone with a .io domain might well want to separate the two-letter string from its problematic origins. It's just two letters, after all, and this is the only context in which they are associated with the BIOT. I don't see a movement to abolish stars in heraldry, despite their prominent placement in the Confederate flag and the association with Communism. That seems more germane.

FearNotDaniel 6y ago
Well sure, while you're at it let's take .tv away from the Government of Tuvalu. It's just two letters right, nobody else associates it with that island nation either. Funnily enough, the same legal reasoning that claims BIOT should not exist (dividing a colony before granting independence) could also be applied to Tuvalu if you wanted to argue that it has no legal right to be a separate state independent of Kiribati. The only difference is, Tuvalu's separation was in accord with the wishes of its indigenous people whereas the Chagos Islanders were shipped elsewhere. But then, nobody bothered asking the indigenous peoples of the USA how they felt about a new nation being founded on their land, and we all seem to tolerate the existence of that somewhat irritating country.