Discussion
RE: https://piaille.fr/@benjamin/117171947304939705
So maybe launching with small-web.org and having small-tech.org is not a good idea after all…
So what are safe TLDs? Is there even such a thing? Any TLDs not controlled by the US in one form or another? Any anti-fascist TLDs?
Hey @EUCommission, maybe this is the sort of thing you should be looking into given all your “digital sovereignty”, talk, hmm? Pretty easy one to fix, this one.
@aral @EUCommission @alberto_cottica
Back in 2013 we had a major issue (https://clipperz.is/blog/2013/12/28/leaving-the-us/) and moved our DNS to Island.
We initially tried to move also the applications there, but the available providers were sub-par.
We have been happy with that choice ever since.
Even with the current anti-EU feeling running around , Island seems still a safe bet with regard to freedom of expression.
@rakoo Yeah, I’ve been harping on about how we need a not-for-profit ACME service provider in the EU. It should be independent and funded with our EU taxes.
CC @EUCommission (I won’t hold my breath.)
I should probably bite the bullet and get a .CR backup domain
@aral "Pretty easy one to fix"
Only if the service is provided without payment (or on the basis of barter). The blocking statute didn't work too well so far for Iran.
https://finance.ec.europa.eu/eu-and-world/open-strategic-autonomy/extraterritoriality-blocking-statute_en
@aral @EUCommission > So what are safe TLDs?
.st and .is are pretty much bulletproof.
@EUCommission Right, well, I’ve registered small-web.eu and small-tech.eu as backups for now.
Thankfully, with what I’ve built this year, the Small Web doesn’t need TLDs to work (see https://ar.al/2025/06/25/web-numbers/) but still, here’s hoping it doesn’t come to that because it will be a right hassle to move stuff over.
Buy, hey, better safe than sorry.
And I’m definitely reconsidering my choices when it comes to payment services/merchant of record for Catalyst (the free/open Small Web hosting app I’m building).
#US #fascism #ICAAN #TLDs #internet #web #BigTech #BigWeb #EU #SmallWeb #SmallTech #webNumbers
Are we going to need to bring back the phone number jingle but for IP addresses?
🎶 Oh Three Five! Oh Eight One!
Four-Four dot Fifty! 🎶
@aral @EUCommission Never thought we'd be going back to the pre-DNS /etc/hosts days, but I'm here for it!
@470m @EUCommission If we can achieve the usability of a phone book, I think we’ll be fine. No one remembers phone numbers these days because we don’t have to (and none of us use the Yellow Pages either) :)
@aral @EUCommission Oh shit. We need full spectrum of European alternatives asap.
@aral @EUCommission The safest TLD is nearly always going to be the ccTLD from your own country of residence. For instance, as a Brazilian I can use a .net.br or .com.br domain (.org.br is restricted to registered non-profits), pay with Boleto Bancário (a traditional local payment method) or PIX (the very popular new local instant payment method), and only be subject to Brazilian laws and courts (which I already am subject to, since I live here).
@cesarb @EUCommission I’m not too sure about that: when the US says “jump”, Ireland asks “how high and would you like a blowjob with that, sir?”
@aral @cesarb @EUCommission If your own country is coming after you, you’ve got bigger problems than a domain name.
@rigrig @cesarb @EUCommission I mean, if the US is coming after you… (which is where all this began).
@EUCommission Also, some of you were scratching your heads when I mentioned last year that the Small Web will be using web numbers, not domain names.
Maybe it makes a bit more sense now?
https://ar.al/2025/06/25/web-numbers/
PS. If you’re a developer, you can host your web site at a web number (instead of a domain name) today using Auto Encrypt:
https://codeberg.org/small-tech/auto-encrypt#how-it-works
PPS. This work is funded by €408/month in donations (no that’s not our only source of income otherwise we would be homeless) but yes, I work full time on this. If you want to see us continue to exist against all odds, here’s the link:
https://small-tech.org/fund-us/
#WebNumbers #SmallWeb #SmallTech #antifascism #decentralisation #TLDs #ICAAN #centralisation #USA #fascism #tech
@aral @EUCommission Yay - back to the future!
@EUCommission On the same note, have any of you tried Stancer for online payments? Would you recommend them (or other EU-based providers with EU infrastructure?)
• https://european-alternatives.eu/product/stancer
• https://www.stancer.com/fra/en/online-payment
Because I’m thinking it’s probably best to get off of Stripe too.
@aral A few shops where I buy use Mollie for payment processing. No negative experiences, does what a payment processor is supposed to do.
@davidculley Thanks, that’s good to know :)
@aral @EUCommission Yepp, Stripe is full-on with the fascism. Its CEO Patrick Collision just joined forces with 9 other tech CEOs or fascists to fund the foundation Omacom by DHH, a well-known white supremacist calling for ethnic cleansing in Europe.
The goal of that "foundation" is to fund the work of other well-known fascists in the tech space, such as the developer of the window manager Hyprland.
Stripe cannot be trusted.
@aral @EUCommission
My favourite website, European alternatives!!!!
@aral
I know everyone hates crypto now, but decentralized payments still make more sense to me than EU controlled ones at this point.
@iwein @EUCommission Yeah, I have zero issues with non-proof-of-work cryptocurrency in theory (and many with the folks who are usually involved in these things and their companies) but the real challenge there is, again, usubility. You’re up against “press this button and we’re done” (Apple Pay, etc.) or, at worst, enter three numbers and press a button (credit card checkout, when done right).
That’s very hard to compete with using:
1. Find out how all this works
2. Get a wallet
3. Find an exchange
4. Fund your wallet (guess how – that easy system that works as described above)
5. Pay using your wallet
6. What? You sent someone your private key by mistake?… Oops!
I mean you have to either be really dedicated or entirely out of options to be using crypto right now (right libertarian get-rich-quick artists, aside.)
But yes, in theory… :)
@EUCommission In the same vein, any experiences with Creem?
• https://europealternative.com/compare/creem-vs-paddle/
• https://www.creem.io/
@aral
Do you really expect that
@EUCommission is going to answer or even read posts at all?
I would put some hope on Europe if they interact, but I've never seen anything from them but their own posts and no interaction whatsoever.
@EUCommission To answer my own question, if you’re not a fascist in the EU, consider registering a TLD from a non-US registry with no ICAAN registry contact:
EU/EEA ccTLD registries (non-US operators, no ICANN registry contract):
• .de – DENIC eG, Frankfurt (cooperative)
• .nl – SIDN, Arnhem (foundation)
• .fr, .re, .yt, .pm, .tf, .wf – AFNIC, France
• .eu – EURid, Brussels
• .be – DNS Belgium
• .at – nic.at, Vienna
• .cz – CZ.NIC, Prague
• .pl – NASK, Warsaw (state research institute)
• .se, .nu – Internetstiftelsen, Sweden
• .dk – Punktum dk
• .fi – Traficom (Finnish state agency)
• .it – Registro.it / IIT-CNR, Pisa
• .es – Red.es (public body)
• .pt – DNS.PT
• .ie – IE Domain Registry
• .gr, .ελ – ICS-FORTH, Crete
• .hu – ISZT · .ro – ICI Bucharest · .bg – Register.BG · .hr – CARNET · .si – Arnes · .sk – SK-NIC (owned by UK-listed Team Internet) · .lu – Restena · .lv, .lt, .ee, .cy, .mt – national academic/foundation registries
Nearby non-EU, non-US: .is (ISNIC, Iceland)
It’s also important to use non-US payment systems like SEPA, Aero, national payment systems – iDEAL (NL), Bancontact (BE), Blik (PL), Bizum (ES), MB Way (PT), Swish (SE), MobilePay (DK/FI)) – or non-proof-of-work (because environment) cryptocurrencies.
If you have any other suggestions, etc., please reply to the thread.
@aral@mastodon.ar.al
What do you recommend, if one owns a .info-domain?
It's with my family name, however if one knows that and does a web search with it, my fediverse name can also be found.
@fasnix .info is owned by Identity Digital, Inc.
Wikipedia has the tea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_Digital
I’d say at least get another domain as a backup and have a contingency plan.
@aral @EUCommission I'm yet to see evidence that ICANN or the PIR/.org was involved. I'm of the impression that their registrar (Gandi) stepped which is also what would make sense since they're the easiest to pressure and with the clearest legal case. Registries and ICANN don't have a contract with I/A plus ICANN/PIR are mamaged by international law rather than US. The registrar has direct business relationships (thus falling under sanctions) and can be pressured by US law directly.
I'd be surprised if ICANN was involved. Further, all domains end up being tied to ICANN in some way. I'm not sure whether this is key to what happened here.
@aral .eco is a gTLD that is run by a Canadian company and the registry is operated from CIRA's registry solution : https://www.cira.ca/en/registry/cira-registry-platform/
There are a handful of others that operate on CIRA's platform too.
The more stable choice in general would be a ccTLD depending on your country and local laws or Iceland since their publishing laws are very solid
@aral ccTLDs are definitely more resilient to pressure from ICANN than gTLDs and sponsored TLDs.
They might have their own issues, obviously. As always, it depends on your threat model.
@rysiek @aral @EUCommission what kind of pressure
@aral @EUCommission I noticed .ch and .li missing while Iceland is listed. Are they using U.S.-registrars?
@aral One year ago I switched from .org to .eu and from WordPress to Bludit specifically to avoid this kind of situation. You can't trust the USA anymore. 😑
@aral @EUCommission Thanks for this aral.
@aral @EUCommission almost all my domains are .fr now. They are far cheaper that .com etc...
@aral Sigh... it's hard being in the UK...
@EUCommission
@aral Moved my own personal domain to .nl and my business domain to .eu recently, though a Dutch registrar. Slowly moving away from US-based stuff 👍
@aral Can maybe also consider .meow when the time comes!
https://dotmeow.org (yes that's .org...)
@aral@mastodon.ar.al At this point, I just assume majority of tech related corporation yo be fascist until proven otherwise. Maybe not the healthiest way to view it but it's getting difficult to find one who isn't in compassion.
Even then, I questioned if that is true or if they have skeleton in the closet that has to yet be exposed. I hate this timeline so much.
@aral any ccTLD is managed by the country it's incorporated into, so .fr .eu .be etc. are "fine" (until they declare you a terro too...)
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