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Niue WiFi Network Gone, .nu TLD May Follow
Posted by
timothy
on Mon Jan 12, 2004 01:17 AM
from the denuded dept.
from the denuded dept.
gxc writes "The world's first free national wireless grid is no longer with us, after waves from
Cyclone Heta swept over Niue's thirty metre cliffs, destroying
everything. Although only one person died, the damage is so bad that
there is talk of winding up the country , meaning their fortuitous ccTLD could go the way of .su. Perhaps the easiest way
for Slashdotters to help Niue would be to choose a .nu domain over the dull alternatives."
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Oh.nu! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Oh.nu! (Score:5, Informative)
No-one from Niue will benefit if you register a
Parent
Quick, grab (Score:5, Funny)
Just a novelty...? (Score:5, Insightful)
A tradgedy, to be sure, but 1. this free wireless network was probably smaller than a few of our free *city* networks, and 2. why is this a separate country in the first place? Admittedly I've only taken a cursory glance at the situation, but it seems like the idea of them being a nation is more *cool* than it is practical or feasible -- especially given the degree to which a cyclone can destroy the place.
Tons of things you never cared to know about Niue (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Tons of things you never cared to know about Ni (Score:4, Informative)
Area - comparative:
1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Now...
Area - comparative:
1.2 times the size of Washington, DC (erosion effect).
Seriously, if we can have a
Parent
Re:Just a novelty...? (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:Just a novelty...? (Score:5, Informative)
Ah the irony of Niue, "Savage Island". It was so named by Capt Cook after the fierce-appearing warriors painted their teeth red by chewing a local plant. Later they were "Christianized" by missionaries and now apparently rival the Puritans in their pious and strict religion.
At any rate, Niueans don't shy away from selling the .nu domain (means nude in French), and host many adult web sites under it. Also, they appantly offer a tax shelter for many less than savory businesses.
My source for this information was the excellent book, _Blue Latitudes_ by Tony Horwitz.
Parent
Re:Silly Question (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Just a novelty...? (Score:5, Informative)
Not really, they just wanted to rule themselves, like most other peoples on this earth.
They were first claimed by the British, then were turned over to New Zealand, and in 1974 they gained their independence to manage themselves. At the same time they remained in free association with New Zealand, and to this day we provide a lot of financial support and manage their international affairs. There are around 1,500 Niuians on Niue, and around 20,000 in New Zealand. They're just picking that more will come to NZ. Which is a shame because Niue is a lovely place. Great snorkelling and diving, but most of the coastal beds will have been damaged by Heta and take 5-10 years to recover (Cyclone Ofa was the last major one in 1990). They didn't have wireless when I was there in Nov 2002. Main reason for Island wide wireless was that cabling kinda sucked. Mobile phones were starting to take off too - like most developing countries it is easier to roll out wireless.
Parent
What else is .nu? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
I have a bunch of these (Score:4, Informative)
I would highly doubt that the tld will go away, just as I doubt Niue will give up it's independence.
Hey, maybe I should move there and telecommute.
Re:I have a bunch of these (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Deleting ccTLDs -- works 2/3 of the time! (Score:5, Informative)
Using the ccTLD of a "deleted nation" is kind of iffy. The ccTLDs are supposed to be based on ISO 3166-1, and the ISO is allowed to reassign old codes to new nations. If IANA let ccTLDs outlive their nations, they increase the chances of having two claims to one ccTLD. Sooner or later, somebody would get accused of ccTLD-squatting.
For the record, ccTLDs have been sucessfully dissolved before:
If the end of Niue's independence led the ISO to drop nu from ISO 3166-1, IANA and ICANN probably would try to freeze or delete
Keep in mind, though, ISO 3166-1 doesn't require political independence for a region to have a geographic code, because it's still useful for "distant regions" to have their own codes for non-Internet purposes (like air travel and shipping). There are completely uninhabited islands that still have ISO codes! As long as people are living on Niue (and New Zealand doesn't ask for deletion), the ISO will probably leave nu on the list.
Parent
Re:I have a bunch of these (Score:4, Interesting)
Maybe the problem is that these domains come cheap, and that the stuff that you can find with
domain names mostly is too.
Parent
Re:I have a bunch of these (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:I have a bunch of these (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Re:French nit-picking (Score:5, Informative)
Nitpicking your nitpick, .fm is the Federated States of Micronesia [www.fm]. Malaysia is .my , which might also be fun, if it weren't restricted to third-level domains (foo.com.my) and even that only for Malaysian-registered entities.
Cheers,
-j.
Parent
Will the last to leave please turn off the lights? (Score:5, Funny)
Not nu (Score:5, Funny)
Aide: Nu!
Arthur: Nono -- you're doing it wrong! n_I_
Aide: Ni!
Both together: Ni! Ni! Ni!
</sorry>
Please update your apt.sources files (Score:5, Funny)
information on niue (Score:4, Informative)
This link is for people like me who had never heard of this place before and is full of intresting facts such as.
"The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue."
Would buying a .NU domain help? (Score:5, Insightful)
I read the several linked articles, and visited the .NU Registrar. I don't see anywhere that suggests buying a .NU domain would in any way help relief efforts.
It sounds like that request might be misguided philanthropy. If you want to help the people of Niue, I'd imagine some sort of direct financial contribution might be more effective.
Re:Would buying a .NU domain help? (Score:5, Insightful)
I, too, visited the .nu registar [www.nic.nu]. My search, however was somewhat more fruitful than yours, and came up with this PDF [www.nic.nu] which explains that one J. William Semich "...formed a non-profit
corporation called the Internet Users Society
- Niue to develop and market the .nu country
code top-level domain (ccTLD) and use some
of the profit to build the communications
infrastructure on the island of Niue."
Other interesting tidbits include the following paragraph:
Shortly thereafter the article explains that the money has gone to pay for a frame relay connection to NZ, to build and staff a NOC for their ISP, and to build an internet cafe on Niue (which I assume has been washed away along with the NOC.)
Hence, if you want to give the Niueans (?) back their internet when they crawl back onto what's left of their nation, by all means, register some .nu addresses. If enough people shelled out, perhaps some of the "excess" funds would be used for disaster relief.
Parent
Re:Would buying a .NU domain help? (Score:5, Informative)
You are probably better off finding a better charity to donate to.
Parent
Re: Would buying a .NU domain help? (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Greenhouse (Score:4, Funny)
FFS (Score:5, Insightful)
1500 people have had their homes and their community destroyed and the tragedy is that we might lose the
Specialized news sources (Score:5, Insightful)
A few minutes of street crime, a few minutes on a local thing, a few minutes on international stuff, some chit-chat, then sports and weather. No thanks.
There's nothing wrong with a 'news for nerds' site and playing the morality card is unconvincing and someone can *always* find a more desperate and dire news item to make you seem like the frivolous type.
Parent
and the point of that would be? (Score:5, Insightful)
I find it hard to believe that I'm even saying this; I would welcome the chance to be an even smaller country of one. But I wouldn't be holding out my hands expecting others to be taxed to pay for it, and I doubt that I would expect other slashtot readers to pitch in to make it happen either.
Re:and the point of that would be? (Score:5, Informative)
Most /.-tters hate the idea of donating money, but it pays to understand the relative motivations first. In any case, neither Nuie nor the Kiwis seem to be minding the current arrangement, so who are we to question its viability?
Parent
Obligatory (Score:3, Funny)
[ducks]
Helping out... (Score:5, Informative)
I suppose you could also just pick a random person, transfer some money and ask them to pass it around, since there are only about 2,000 people there.
Re:Helping out... (Score:5, Insightful)
I suppose you could also just pick a random person, transfer some money and ask them to pass it around, since there are only about 2,000 people there.
Hardly - the article mentions that they were looting from eachother while destater was only just ended.
Parent
.nu often used in the netherlands (Score:4, Insightful)
"nu" in dutch (Score:3, Interesting)
Umm.. (Score:5, Funny)
Who says theyre witout a wireless setup?
What ive seen theyre wireless, roofless, treeless, homeless..
-- Jim.
.nu in Sweden (Score:3, Interesting)
Niue Gov and .nu ccTLD dispute (Score:5, Informative)
The second reason is that there is a dispute going on between the government of Niue and the companies that control the
Because of this, I truly doubt that any money spent with the
One version of the dispute between the government and the registrar can be found here [pacificwacc.org].
Hmm... (Score:5, Funny)
".NU Search Results for "g.nu"
Your domain name, including ".nu", must contain between 6 and 65 characters. "
Best TLD for pr0n... (Score:5, Funny)
and then it hit me why they were so cheap...
I'm really surprised that no-one has registerd
www.big.co.ck etc.
Doesn't add up? (Score:4, Interesting)
So, $50m sounds like an awful lot - I'd like to know where that number comes from.
No, the domain is not at risk. (Score:5, Informative)
Even if New Zealand assumes soverign control, Niue will probably retain its ccTLD.
Re:For some strange reason... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Ahh... (Score:3, Funny)
Yeah unfortunately it was the unintended output of giving Dubya sunshine on an early campaign stop. You know, a butterfly flaps its wings in whatever city in china's name is usually inserted here...
Re:The Smallest State? (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
Re:Strange priorities (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
This is insightful? More like idiotic... (Score:4, Interesting)
Perhaps you should RTFA and use your brain before opening your mouth.
Let's start off showing you how far off-base you are by providing a quote from one of the articles linked to in the story summary:In case you're too stupid to understand what "economic and administrative assistance" means, I'll translate it for you: it means that when they need help, New Zealand is obliged (morally, if not contractually) to provide it.
Secondly, let's point out the bloody obvious: in an environment that's subject to weather extremes, such as hurricanes and cyclones, putting up telegraph poles isn't the best way to provide connectivity because telegraph poles and lines tend not to stay standing for long in those conditions. And of the alternatives, wireless is by far the most practical (cheaper, easier to implement and upgrade), especially on such a small scale.
Thirdly, NZ$8 million equates to US$5.45 million. (NZ$1 = US$0.6815.) So that's US$4,500 per native Niuean. Contrast that with the US$3-4 billion pa in military aid alone that the US gives Israel (population, 6.5 million), which works out to be US$615 per Israeli.
Now, what's the more ethical:
A. New Zealand giving Niue $5.45 million of support, money that it would have to pay out anyway if Niue was to cease being an independent nation and return to being a part of New Zealand? or
B. The US provinding Israel with $3-4 billion of military aid every year, some of which is spent oppressing and killing innocent Palestinean civilians, as well as Western observers (including US and British aide workers)?
Parent
Re:This is insightful? More like idiotic... (Score:5, Interesting)
You make some very solid arguments here. I feel I should clarify this point however; Under the 1974 agreement (which is in fact a mutually agreed addition to the Statute of Westminister) New Zealand is contractually obligated to provide assistance.
The relationship between NZ and the various pacific island nations is a close one. For instance, most nationals of those countries are afforded NZ citizenship as a birthright and many of them use the NZ currency. Assistance and aid (despite the grandparent comment) are gladly provided by NZ to those nations, and their contribution to our collective culture is generally appreciated.
Parent
Re:Interesting Tidbit (Score:4, Funny)
No nudity, no women, and not-exactly up to date stories either.
Parent