Applied-for gTLD strings in ASCII must be composed of three or more visually distinct characters. Two-character ASCII strings are not permitted, to avoid conflicting with current and future country-codes based on the ISO 3166-1 standard.
The profits gained from sales of .io domains has come under increasing scrutiny given that the UK’s control over the archipelago itself is under threat.
Chagossian refugee groups (former inhabitants forcibly removed in the 1960s and 1970s) petitioning the UK government for the right of return have recently extended their grievances to the return of the .io domain as well (Chagos Refugees Group United Kingdom et al. vs. Internet Computer Bureau Limited Citation 2021).
Additionally, Mauritius is also attempting to gain control over .io by petitioning IANA for redelegation (Bowcott Citation 2022).
However, while these groups fight for control over the .io domain, a recent UN ruling challenging British sovereignty over the island threatens the existence of the ccTLD itself.
While I agree with you in that ICANN will probably save .io through some policy change it isn’t as easy as just saying “screw all our policies, this ccTLD is now a gTLD.” considering the fighting going on regarding it.
Maybe. But it’s up to ICANN and their rules, money might not be relevant to them, and with .io, there literally isn’t a single person or company that uses it “correctly” as country TLDs are primarily intended to be used by entities connected to that country, and the territory has no permanent residents, unlike with .su.
On the flip side, that might work for the case too as well - maybe ICANN decides to make it a generic TLD, like .com or .org instead as it’s not really directly connected to a country?
We shall see.
Because money means influence. Whether it’s the nation to benefit or the myriad of US tech companies that want it to stay, or other international interests, it’s way too much potential influence and I suspect cannot be ignored for some strict adherence to rules that no one really would care to defend.
as country TLDs are primarily intended to be used by entities connected to that country
Primarily, sure, but quite a few of them get abused, check the notes column. A glaring one these days is .ai, as are youtu.be and, of course, goatse.cx.
Still, too much money on
.ioto be shutdown..iois just too big to fail.Well, they should have chosen a gTld
So they could just transform .io to a gTLD without causing any downtime.
EDIT: Apparently not that easy :(
2.12 Can a New gTLD name be 2 letters?
Applied-for gTLD strings in ASCII must be composed of three or more visually distinct characters. Two-character ASCII strings are not permitted, to avoid conflicting with current and future country-codes based on the ISO 3166-1 standard.
Either way a policy change is needed.
luckily those are their internal rules and now international laws that can’t be broken.
THere’s literally 0 reason they can’t just go “well, this tld is too big. it’s generic now”
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23738871.2023.2238723
While I agree with you in that ICANN will probably save .io through some policy change it isn’t as easy as just saying “screw all our policies, this ccTLD is now a gTLD.” considering the fighting going on regarding it.
You sweet summer child…
Maybe. But it’s up to ICANN and their rules, money might not be relevant to them, and with .io, there literally isn’t a single person or company that uses it “correctly” as country TLDs are primarily intended to be used by entities connected to that country, and the territory has no permanent residents, unlike with .su.
On the flip side, that might work for the case too as well - maybe ICANN decides to make it a generic TLD, like .com or .org instead as it’s not really directly connected to a country?
We shall see.
Hilarious.
Why would how much money Mauritius might or might not make be any relevance to ICANN, a US non-profit?
Because money means influence. Whether it’s the nation to benefit or the myriad of US tech companies that want it to stay, or other international interests, it’s way too much potential influence and I suspect cannot be ignored for some strict adherence to rules that no one really would care to defend.
Primarily, sure, but quite a few of them get abused, check the notes column. A glaring one these days is
.ai, as areyoutu.beand, of course,goatse.cx.Tuvalu make around $10 million a year- about one-sixth of their gdp- from licensing
.tv.