4 ms·

> YC startups are abandoning .com They are not "abandoning" .com domains. They are just really hard to find available or cheap enough to buy, so they launch wi

by vlucas 2mo ago

> YC startups are abandoning .com They are not "abandoning" .com domains. They are just really hard to find available or cheap enough to buy, so they launch with something else instead! .com will always be king

manueltgomes 2mo ago
Bingo. either you bough a .com a while ago or you have to pay a lot. A while ago we had the .ly domains. Now .ai. Things change depending on "fashion" if you can call it that.
- DanielHB 2mo ago
  Oh god my company just switched to .io and that was a huge PITA. I hope we don't go .ai...
  - robin_reala 2mo ago
    You just switched to .io knowing that it might be decommissioned in the not-too-distant future?
    - computomatic 2mo ago
      Perhaps they finally finished their migration off .su
    - applfanboysbgon 2mo ago
      It would shock me if that domain were actually allowed to be killed off by pure bureaucracy. I would like to believe that at some point bureaucracy must give way to concerns for the humans it serves, and if nothing else there is enough money involved with the industry that uses it that they'll probably be able to lobby effectively, one way or another.
    - DanielHB 2mo ago
      wait what? I know nothing about this.
      - robin_reala 2mo ago
        https://www.theregister.com/off-prem/2024/10/10/the-io-domain-isnt-going-anywhere-in-the-next-few-years/479311 https://www.theregister.com/off-prem/2024/10/10/the-io-domai... is a reasonable summary.
charlieyu1 2mo ago
Maybe. Still wild to find startups getting millions can’t afford to buy a .com domain
- jeffyaw 2mo ago
  it's not that they can't afford to buy one. it's that they're not available. and now a lot of other tlds have gained traction so it's now reasonable to consider others.
  - layer8 2mo ago
    I would assume that for most foo.ai domains, foo-ai.com would also be available. So it’s more about naming preferences, and sometimes lack of imagination for coming up with an available name.
    - ksbd-pls-finish 2mo ago
      foo-ai.com looks like a phishing domain targeting foo.ai
    - xboxnolifes 2mo ago
      A hyphen in a URL is a non-starter.
      - ButlerianJihad 2mo ago
        "non-starter"? In a URL? You mean URLs and not domain names? Why are these "non-starters"? What is special or wrong about hyphens? Do you avoid clicking these for moral reasons? You do understand that they are perfectly legal anywhere, and acceptable in the character set by all RFCs? What makes them so odious to you?
- xhkkffbf 2mo ago
  The squatters really jack up the prices. Yet somehow they pay pennies to squat on domains for decades. It's really a scandal.
khy 2mo ago
Nobody goes there anymore, its too crowded.
4d4m 2mo ago
Agreed, this is just a way to save cash until it makes sense to buy the actual desired tld .com from the current owner

by vlucas 2mo ago

manueltgomes 2mo ago

Bingo. either you bough a .com a while ago or you have to pay a lot. A while ago we had the .ly domains. Now .ai. Things change depending on "fashion" if you can call it that.

DanielHB 2mo ago
Oh god my company just switched to .io and that was a huge PITA. I hope we don't go .ai...
- robin_reala 2mo ago
  You just switched to .io knowing that it might be decommissioned in the not-too-distant future?
  - computomatic 2mo ago
    Perhaps they finally finished their migration off .su
  - applfanboysbgon 2mo ago
    It would shock me if that domain were actually allowed to be killed off by pure bureaucracy. I would like to believe that at some point bureaucracy must give way to concerns for the humans it serves, and if nothing else there is enough money involved with the industry that uses it that they'll probably be able to lobby effectively, one way or another.
  - DanielHB 2mo ago
    wait what? I know nothing about this.
    - robin_reala 2mo ago
      https://www.theregister.com/off-prem/2024/10/10/the-io-domain-isnt-going-anywhere-in-the-next-few-years/479311 https://www.theregister.com/off-prem/2024/10/10/the-io-domai... is a reasonable summary.

charlieyu1 2mo ago

Maybe. Still wild to find startups getting millions can’t afford to buy a .com domain

jeffyaw 2mo ago
it's not that they can't afford to buy one. it's that they're not available. and now a lot of other tlds have gained traction so it's now reasonable to consider others.
- layer8 2mo ago
  I would assume that for most foo.ai domains, foo-ai.com would also be available. So it’s more about naming preferences, and sometimes lack of imagination for coming up with an available name.
  - ksbd-pls-finish 2mo ago
    foo-ai.com looks like a phishing domain targeting foo.ai
  - xboxnolifes 2mo ago
    A hyphen in a URL is a non-starter.
    - ButlerianJihad 2mo ago
      "non-starter"? In a URL? You mean URLs and not domain names? Why are these "non-starters"? What is special or wrong about hyphens? Do you avoid clicking these for moral reasons? You do understand that they are perfectly legal anywhere, and acceptable in the character set by all RFCs? What makes them so odious to you?
xhkkffbf 2mo ago
The squatters really jack up the prices. Yet somehow they pay pennies to squat on domains for decades. It's really a scandal.

khy 2mo ago

Nobody goes there anymore, its too crowded.

4d4m 2mo ago

Agreed, this is just a way to save cash until it makes sense to buy the actual desired tld .com from the current owner