
Tell HN: The .io TLD has a traumatic history - dools
The .io domain name is from the British Indian Ocean Territory.<p>The native population were forcibly evicted by the Vogons, urr, I mean the British to make way for a HyperSpace Bypass  ... urr... I mean a US military base.<p>The Chagossian people have been trying to return ever since.<p>Given the fact that so many people use the .io domain name, surely there is some positive influence the tech community can have in helping the Chagossian people return to their homeland.<p>https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Chagossians
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severine
From the wikipedia link:

"In November 1965, the UK purchased the entire Chagos Archipelago from the
then self-governing colony of Mauritius for £3 million to create the British
Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT),[22] with the intent of ultimately closing the
plantations to provide the British territory from which the US would conduct
its military activities in the region. On 30 December 1966, the US and the UK
executed an Agreement through an Exchange of Notes which permit the United
States Armed Forces to use any island of the BIOT for defence purposes for 50
years (until December 2016), followed by a 20-year optional extension (to
2036) to which both parties must agree by December 2014. As of 2010, only the
atoll of Diego Garcia has been transformed into a military facility."

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severine
Very interesting, thanks for posting!

More info: [https://gigaom.com/2014/06/30/the-dark-side-of-io-how-
the-u-...](https://gigaom.com/2014/06/30/the-dark-side-of-io-how-the-u-k-is-
making-web-domain-profits-from-a-shady-cold-war-land-deal/)

Previous discussion (2 years ago | 298 points | 79 comments):
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8587379](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8587379)

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tedmiston
I've always wondered why they're so much more expensive than more mainstream
TLDs. Though it seems right now the price is down to $33 on Namecheap and $35
on Gandi.

