Mastodon instance Queer.af is shutting down because the country that provides the domain is now ruled by the Taliban.

When registering a country code domain, keep in mind where the domain is being registered. A shift in government or geopolitics can have serious consequences.

  • BlazeEnglish
    1104·
    11 months ago

    That’s an old story, and if I remember correctly the title was misleading, it was more of a decision of the instance admins to not renew it rather than the Taliban having anything to do with it

    • Sean Tilley@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      467·
      11 months ago

      Yeah, they didn’t want their money going to the Taliban, and it’s a little shaky as to whether the Taliban’s Ministry of IT would take a stricter content enforcement on their ccTLD. For a while, it was only possible to renew domains, not buy new ones.

      Still, I stuck with the title because the Taliban is still the reason.

    • spujb@lemmy.cafeEnglish
      131·
      11 months ago

      the misleading title you are remembering was closer to “queer.af is shutting down, killed by the taliban”

    • foggy@lemmy.worldEnglish
      91·
      11 months ago

      It’s more like just because you can make a funny domain name out of a specific top level domain like .af Make sure some country doesn’t have dibs on it first.

      Like it wouldn’t be smart to start a business selling che Guevara merch at comra.de.

        • Alto@kbin.social
          81·
          11 months ago

          I think the point is politics in a nation can change at any time, and as such you may lose the domain/no longer feel safe supporting that nation. Just because they wouldn’t now doesn’t mean they wouldn’t in the future. (Especially with how well AfD is polling and how much CDU/CSU seem to be starting to cooperate)

          • yetAnotherUser@feddit.deEnglish
            21·
            11 months ago

            How are non-ccTLDs, like .com any safer? A fascist like Trump could decide to nationalize managing them at any time

        • foggy@lemmy.worldEnglish
          429·
          11 months ago

          1. Che Guevara’s Ideology: Che Guevara is known for his Marxist and revolutionary ideology. He was a key figure in the Cuban Revolution and is often associated with anti-capitalist and socialist movements.

          2. Germany’s Political System: Post-World War II Germany, particularly West Germany and the reunified Germany, has been a capitalist, democratic nation. East Germany (GDR) was a socialist state, but it no longer exists since Germany’s reunification in 1990. Modern Germany is part of the European Union and is considered a strong advocate of democratic values and a free-market economy.

          So, using a German country code top-level domain (like .de) for a website selling Che Guevara merchandise creates an amusing contrast. It’s the juxtaposition of a domain associated with a country known for its capitalist and democratic principles being used to sell merchandise symbolizing a figure who opposed those very principles. This contrast is what makes the joke humorous and pointed, highlighting the importance of being mindful of the historical and political connotations of country code top-level domains.

          There, I had chat GPT explain it for you.

          Edit, also: “comrade”, Germany. Idk, Google it?

          • Timwi@kbin.social
            105·
            11 months ago

            The way you equate capitalism with democracy, and then tacitly imply that Che Guevara must therefore have stood against democracy, is American propaganda.

            • foggy@lemmy.worldEnglish
              35·
              11 months ago

              Che Guevara stood against Imperialism, Colonialism, Capitalism, economic inequality, Oppression/dictatorships, social injustice, racial inequality…

              Y’all can downvote all you want. The joke was apt and the commentary was on point.

              Go read a book.

              The comrade pun on the .de and Russia and Germany being enemies in two world wars, and Russian ideology being more in line with Che than any leader of Germany is the icing on the cake

              Just…go Read a book.

              • Norgur@kbin.social
                41·
                11 months ago

                Nothing like a foreigner spouting US centrism trying to explain to me how my country, my values and my culture work.

          • Norgur@kbin.social
            63·
            11 months ago

            That is the most american logic I’ve read all week. Nothing of this makes a sliver of sense to a German. Absolutely none. The whole communism is so evil it has to be banned spiel is absolutely and purely American these days. There is absolutely nothing that qualifies Germany as an example because there is no grounds or will to publicly ban something like this at all. It’s like saying “don’t register a T-Shirt-shop about rivers as me.cong in the US, amirite?” And “comrade” in German would be “Genosse” which is related to the DDR, so…what exactly are you saying?

      • Carighan Maconar@lemmy.worldEnglish
        8·
        11 months ago

        I think “funny” names involving TLDs as a whole just need to be more careful. It should never be what you expect.

        Like, if someone from the US told me to go a website called “comrade” to buy merch, I’d expect comrade.com. To get me to go to their intended address they’d need to be a German telling me to go to “comra”. That’s utterly unintuitive as far as verbal communication goes.