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> It feels deceptive, in some way. It does violate expectations, in part because it violates the stated rules of the .edu registrar, and therefore what people
by _delirium 13y ago
> It feels deceptive, in some way.
It does violate expectations, in part because it violates the stated rules of the .edu registrar, and therefore what people expect to find under .edu. But prior to 2001 there was no formal enforcement, and a grandfather clause applies to domains registered up through late 2001. Academia.edu seems to fall in that category, even though the company and site themselves weren't started until after the rule change. Presumably someone was sitting on the domain for a future use. Not sure if they bought it, or the founder was sitting on it for years. Since 2006, transferring grandfathered .edu domains is also prohibited, but it could've been sold in the 2001-06 window.
- hkmurakami 13y agoYup, IIRC the .edu domain is for universities only, but having gone to a small private school in SV, one of the parents registered the school's name under the .edu TLD and donated it to the school. I'm sure there are many elementary/middle/high schools that have .edu domains for similar reasons.
- Crito 13y agoSpecifically the .edu TLD is currently suppose to only be for accredited (recognized by the U.S. Dept. of Education) post-secondary education. So universities such as Cambridge do not have .edu domains.
- _delirium 13y agoA few German universities have .edu as well, e.g. http://www.kit.edu http://www.kit.edu. Maybe also grandfathered?
- steveklabnik 13y ago> Not sure if they bought it, or the founder was sitting on it for years. My understanding was that it was purchased by an LLC, and then the control of the LLC was sold. Ahhh yes: http://www.quora.com/How-did-Academia.edu-get-the-.edu-domain http://www.quora.com/How-did-Academia.edu-get-the-.edu-domai...
- _delirium 13y agoAh right, the ol' shell-company trick. If you buy control of an LLC without dissolving or merging it, that's not a "transfer" of the assets owned by the LLC. Useful for .edu domains; also useful for avoiding re-assessment of California real property under Proposition 13, among many other convenient uses.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]