domain names Archive

This past February we investigated what would happen to “.ly” domains in the event that Libyan officials decided to shut down Internet access within the country. We especially wondered about URL shortener bit.ly to which CEO John Borthwick provided a comprehensive technical reply on Quora. He noted that if Libya had blocked Internet traffic, it wouldn’t affect bit.ly and he continued, “for .ly domains to be unresolvable the five .ly root servers that are authoritative *all* have to be offline, or responding with empty responses. Of the five root nameservers for the .ly TLD: two are based in Oregon, one is in the Netherlands and two are in Libya.”

With a potential new rebel government moving into Libya, could we see issues with accessing .ly domains in a post-Quaddafi Libya?

Tony Zeoli on the NY Tech mailing list (sorry no ability to view a full thread on meetup.com!) wondered what happens to .ly domains during a potential transition to a new government.

Bob Gezelter provided an interesting response, “…The more serious problem is: Who is in charge of a TLD in such a situation? When does the present “authority” loose its authority and how does one transfer its authority? Additionally, what if the “acceptable” registrations policy changes as a result?”

I’ve reviewed much of the Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) website and so far I have been unable to find any specific information for how a government change in a country could or would affect the top-level domain for that country.

I’ve reached out to several subject matter experts and will update this post if I receive any new information. You can also leave a comment or contact me if you have any ideas as to how a government change in Libya might affect their top-level domain.

I am trying to lighten up my domain portfolio a bit and am looking to sell some of the domain names I currently own. Below is a list of the domain names for sale – send an email to (general@centernetworks.com) if interested – all inquiries and offers will be held in strict confidentiality.

Also, the centernetworks.com domain and website (this site!) is available for premium purchase. The sale would include a variety of associated domains – including domains from the UK. I am very interested in a detailed discussion with any interested parties about a purchase of CenterNetworks.

• htmlc.com (registered in 2003)
• androidcenter.com
• codeginsu.com (registered in 2006)
• exploitpress.com
• facebookappcenter.com
• fbookappcenter.com
• fbookcenter.com
• interactionmetrics.net (registered in 2006)
• interactionmetrics.org (registered in 2006)
• letstalkfitness.com (registered in 2002)
• mommygaming.com
• organicstats.com (registered in 2006)
• quoracenter.com
• tweetwrecks.com
• twitteranalytics.com
• webgraphicscenter.com (registered in 2002)
• widgetscenter.com