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Comment by p-e-w | Hacker News Reader

> .io domains are associated with: > - cryptocurrency > - startup culture

So, like .com domains?

> - military occupation > - native population displacement

What utter nonsense. The British Indian Ocean Territory is associated with those things. ".io" domains are in turn associated with the British Indian Ocean Territory. But association is not transitive. If it were, it would be just as correct to say that ".com" domains are associated with slavery and torture.

This whole post is pseudo-moralist manufactured outrage.

> 2021: a very sexually frustrated ethos capital buys donuts and afilias

This line should tell you everything you need to know.

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> But association is not transitive

People are always trying to do this, though. But if you carry it far enough, we're all associated with everyone else and therefore with whoever the literal worst person in the world is right now.

they key difference between .com and .io is that .com stands for "commercial" and .io stands for "indian ocean" - a territory which was occupied

the association is stronger because the occupation of indian ocean territory translated directly into occupation of the .io domain.

> This line should tell you everything you need to know.

that i'm funny & don't take myself that seriously, yep :3

It would've been good if the article brought up the real consequences of buying an .io domain, outside of pure optics for those who are in the know. Supporting ethos, I guess?

Nobody associates ".io" with "(British) Indian Ocean (Territory)". People associate it with "Input/Output", which is why it's so popular with tech websites.

Did you know that .com used to be run by the United States DoD, an organization that regularly commits atrocities that make what happened on Diego Garcia look tame by comparison? And that literally the entire Internet is a byproduct of US military research? And that simply paying taxes in the UK funds the same institutions that are responsible for the forced relocation of the Chagossians?

Just wait until the author finds out about child labor used to mine rare earth metals.

.io only exists as a logical entity BECAUSE the British and US militaries forcibly evicted the indigenous residents of the indian ocean islands.

The "British Indian Ocean Territory" is an absolutely artificial political construct as a direct result of foreign occupation and take over of peoples' traditional territories without their consent. It's not even something that happened very long ago, solid documentary records exist of everything that happened.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Indian_Ocean_Territory

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_expulsion_of_the_Chagos...

From a strictly utilitarian military/strategic point of view Diego Garcia does occupy a very unique location in the world as an air base. But they sure could have built out its facilities in the post-WW2 era without just trampling all over the locals.

If a similar thing was an absolute necessity to build now in the modern era the locals would probably get massive economic subsidies, job training, electricity, air conditioning, modular prefab housing, etc and remain on their islands..

> So, like .com domains?

It might just be me, but I actually do have a slight negative feeling toward .com domains. For me, the ranking is:

1) .edu

2) .org

3) .net; the regional TLD of the country the website is actually associated with (.fr, .de, …)

4) Domain hacks (.me for a personal site, …); Cutesy, unprofessional, generic TLDs like .space

5) .com; .gov; Tech startup-type stuff (.io, .app)

6) Weird TLDs with an advertising / commercial purpose (.flights, .financial, .ai, …)

7) Spammy TLDs like .ml, .xyz, .biz

>1) .edu

I still use my Ivy League alumni email address, and would never have made another (a .com) my primary address if I'd had access to the .edu address the whole time since graduation. Why would I not want to immediately communicate my affiliation to one and all without having to explicitly state it?

> So, like .com domains?

What does this mean?

Very well said.

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