One of my weekend indulgences is buying Internet domains that sound interesting.
www.rodinhood.com is one of them 🙂
This Sunday, I was anxious to get hold of some .ly domains coz they ‘spell well’
Think of dangerous.ly or fruga.ly etc etc…
Interestingly, godaddy.com – the place I buy domains DID not offer .ly extensions!
That got me curious and I did some sniffing around, only to be shell shocked:
.ly is the natural domain of sites for LIBYA and of late, the LIBYAN government has been acting up and arbitrarily shutting down sites that do not BEHAVE they way the Libyan govt believes they should!!
WILL YOU TRUST HIM WITH YOUR DOMAIN??
One of my farouritist sites – bit.ly could also be in trouble!
For example, if your site has photos of women whose hands are uncovered or has say a bottle of beer in it or maybe the word Sex – then the Libyan government can kaboom – zap and shut your site!!!
This made me sit and think – while I believe that the Internet is the world’s greatest democracy and allows people to be WHO they are, it may not really be true in certain (x) kind of Countries!!
Different countries still impose their own rules on their VIRTUAL properties also – so better understand the kind of firecrackers you are playing with, before you light them up – for all you know, some may explode in your face!
This also brings into focal point unanswered intellectual property rights concepts about who governs certain assets in Cyber Space? hmm… who does Cyber Space actually belong to??
Extra reading – https://huff.to/trh-huff
Also – read the impact on what we wrote about the Impact of Internet shutting down in Egypt – https://www.therodinhoods.com/forum/topics/the-pharaohs-ban-on-the
Kiran Bhanushali
The same is applicable in US too – case in point with the wikileaks shutdown across the board – hosting by amz, bank accounts by boa, credit card transfers by visa mastercard paypal.
Kiran Kumar
When we decided to go for Trol.ly we deliberated on these risks. We reckoned that since users will find us primarily via links on online shopping sites and through facebook newsfeeds, we could take the risk.
But yes there is a risk and we have a backup domain.
aidnani
well said alok, add to that the number of foreign nationals and companies that are not registered in India squatting on .in domains makes it very hard to find one in your own country…
Alok Rodinhood Kejriwal
Libya shuts down Internet…. U heard it first on therodinhoods.wpengine.com on the 11th of January!!
Alok Rodinhood Kejriwal
Exactly what the world was fearing…
Check out this mail that Adepto Solutions CEO Kiran received today:
From: “Libyan Spider, LLC”
Date: 17 March 2011 3:24:48 AM GMT+05:30
To: Kiran Kumar Konduru
Subject: update-Recent events in Libya and their temporal impact on .ly domain names
Dear Kiran Kumar Adepto Solutions Pvt. Ltd,
With recent events of unrest in Libya, many of our clients and also our partners have reached out to us concerned for our well being and safety. We would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all those who have reached out to us and truly appreciate whole-heartedly for their attention and compassion.
We realize and understand the concerns that .ly domain owners might have regarding the future of .ly and whether they are in any danger of malfunctioning. We, at Libyan Spider, felt it was necessary to release a statement to answer and put at ease the worries that you may have regarding your .ly domains.
Read more by clicking or copy paste the link https://ls.ly/fnfkdd
Update – 16/03/2011
this is to let you know that you can now check the whois using the following link: https://whois.nic.ly/
To answer common questions asked by our existing clients during this time.
I am not able to update my DNS
– You can check your WhoIs through https://whois.nic.ly and create a ticket using your account with the changes you require (old DNS and new DNS) and we will make the necessary changes for you.
I am a new client, All domains that I am checking show up as unavailable.
– The WhoIs server that our system is using is hosted locally and our server is hosted abroad. The two are unable to communicate currently and so we have to do the registrations manually. To register your domain, you must fill out the following form found on this link: https://libyanspider.com/m/register.php to create your account.
– After you created your account, you can then submit a ticket requesting to place an order for you. Your ticket should include the domain name you are interested in and the DNS you want to use.
– After we have received your ticket, we will place the order and send you the invoice where you can complete the payment. After we have received confirmation of payment, we will register the domain name.
I am an existing client and I wish to register a new domain name but it shows as unavailable.
– The WhoIs server that our system is using is hosted locally and our server is hosted abroad. The two are unable to communicate currently and so we have to do the registrations manually. To register a domain name, you can submit a ticket requesting to place an order for you. Your ticket should include the domain name you are interested in and the DNS you want to use.
– After we have received your ticket, we will place the order and send you the invoice where you can complete the payment. After we have received confirmation of payment, we will register the domain name.
How can I check the WhoIs for my .ly domain(s)?
– to check the WhoIs, go to the following site: https://whois.nic.ly
The issues regarding the WhoIs are temporary and we are looking forward to it being resolved soon. We understand the inconvenience this is causing you and we sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding during this difficult time. If you have any further enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us at lydomains@libyanspider.com
Best Regards,
Hadi Naser
CEO of Libyan Spider, LLC
Akshay
well these domains are also priced crazi.ly starting at $75 and oh yes anything of 4 letters or below is reserved for locals 🙂 again quite ridiculous.ly