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Kiwi Geeks Seek Domain

Codeine writes "A group of professional Internet engineers and technicians from New Zealand are following the published procedure to obtain the delegation of GEEK.NZ from the NZ Domain Name Commissioner (DNC). If successful, GEEK.NZ would be New Zealand's twelfth second-level domain."

126 of 197 comments (clear)

  1. Won't happen... by clinko · · Score: 4, Funny

    This won't happen, I'm still waiting on the paperwork on GoatMe.nz

    1. Re:Won't happen... by Any+Web+Loco · · Score: 1

      you've messed up bug time bru' - shoulda gone for SheepMe.nz

    2. Re:Won't happen... by geek0001 · · Score: 1

      You didn't get it in in time then. Applications have been suspended. Have been for a couple of months. G33k

  2. Don't complain... by LucidityZero · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Don't complain about news like this being posted... It's almost 3:00am EST, I'm working a night shift, and I'm just happy that there is some sort of posting going on at all.
    More power to these New Zealand geeks...

    --
    Sig.i>
    1. Re:Don't complain... by The+Tyro · · Score: 2

      Speak it, my brother... Night-shifters of the world unite.

      Actually, /. is one of the few websites where it's constantly updated 24/7 with tidbits, discussion, and stories... It's certainly a major portion of my nightshift entertainment.

      Crappy stories are better than no stories... what more could you possibly want? Human/machine interaction, hardware hax, IT disasters, RIAA/MPAA FUD, MS-bashing, and L33T H4X0r 3Xp10iT5 all day/night long...

      --
      Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
    2. Re:Don't complain... by DeathPenguin · · Score: 1

      Sounds like a complaint to me.

  3. i don't understand by katalyst · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why is this such a big issue? Well the "12th second level domain" phrase surprised me. This reminds of the recent Australian IT minister's speech, which was discussed (mercilessly) at slashdot. Looks like the NZ internet situation is even worse than the Australian situation. Anyways, I hope these geeks succeed.

    --
    |/________
    |\A|ALYS|
    1. Re:i don't understand by bdash · · Score: 5, Informative

      Not sure why the "12th second level domain" phrase surprised you. The New Zealand Domain Name Structure describes the current structure and processes surrounding the creation of new second level .nz domains. It mentions that the general form of NZ domain names is name.domain.nz where name is the user chosen name, and domain is one of .ac, .co, .cri, .gen, .govt, .iwi, .mil, .net, .org and .school.

      The fact that that document only lists 10 second level domains surprises me as this would make .geek.nz the 11th...

    2. Re:i don't understand by King+of+the+World · · Score: 5, Informative
      Just in case anyone is wondering, the 12 2nd level domains are firstly the usual .co.nz, .org.nz, .net.nz, .gen.nz (general), .ac.nz (tertiary educational), govt.nz (duh), mil.nz,

      The unique ones are school.nz (other educational), maori.nz (general maori tribe), iwi.nz (local maori tribe), cri.nz (gov research),

      As well as geek.nz there's a proposal for bank.nz.

      Certain domains are open for anyone to use (maori.nz) but others (bank.nz, iwi.nz) require procedures to register.

    3. Re:i don't understand by bdash · · Score: 1

      Ah, as King of the World points out .maori.nz is the 11th second level domain name that I missed. This only went live on Tuesday 3 September 2002 which explains its absence from the New Zealand Domain Name Structure document.

    4. Re:i don't understand by DaemonGem · · Score: 1

      I agree, that phrase threw me off too. Also, even if I like New Zealand, it is rather odd to have a topic on /. about it. PS: Why is this "flamebait"? I would say it's interesting.

      --
      "Alle reden vom wetter. Wir nicht." - SDS Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund.
      j00 4r3 3n73r1ng l337 w0r1d.
    5. Re:i don't understand by sheriff_p · · Score: 2

      .school isn't that unusual ... there's .sch in the UK, and others too I'm sure

      --
      Score:-1, Funny
    6. Re:i don't understand by flatt · · Score: 1

      You speak the truth but for most the world it is .edu.* or just .edu for the Americans

    7. Re:i don't understand by cscx · · Score: 3, Informative

      Actually .edu corresponds to .ac.uk or .ac.nz. 'school' would probably be the analog to '.k12.stateabbrhere.us'

    8. Re:i don't understand by katalyst · · Score: 1

      yah.. u tellin me.. i don't get it... i was genuinly curious... wonder why they flamebate rated it :( hmm, shit happens.

      --
      |/________
      |\A|ALYS|
    9. Re:i don't understand by PlazMatiC · · Score: 1

      Bank.nz was the most recent new 2ld proposal. It failed at the voting stage; 56% of voters supported it, but 70% is required.

      Voting results are here.

      It's actually the second time the NZ Bankers Association has proposed it - it didn't make it in 2000 either. There's an IDG article about it here.

  4. Very cool. by jericho4.0 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    One of the press releases on the linked page answers 'why?'.
    "GEEK.NZ defines a distinct community of interest, just as other second-level domains do," explains Andy Linton. "However, GEEK.NZ also provides an opportunity for deploying additional, more experimental services such as DNS Security (DNSSEC) and IPv6, which are many years away from deployment in other registries, like CO.NZ." Linton sees GEEK.NZ performing a role for DNS service which is analogous to the role the high-speed, optical research network, "Internet2", provides for ISPs.
    Cool! I want one. It would be cool to have an 'anything goes' kind of area on the net. No production servers, just experimental services, protocols, etc. Or how about a domain in which hacking (cracking) was allowed/expected? We would learn a lot about security.
    --
    "A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
    1. Re:Very cool. by DaemonGem · · Score: 1

      I agree, sometimes I think that cracking is the best learning method. I knew a kid in middle school who figured out how to install games on the library computers, just through a simple disconnecting of the ethernet cable. Another person hacked the school net. "Rules are made to be broken." Back on topic though, it would be neat to have a domain where cracking was expected, just to see how many loopholes really exist.

      --
      "Alle reden vom wetter. Wir nicht." - SDS Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund.
      j00 4r3 3n73r1ng l337 w0r1d.
    2. Re:Very cool. by eddeye · · Score: 5, Funny
      It would be cool to have an 'anything goes' kind of area on the net.

      You mean like international waters? Where cowboys wage shootouts and sea captains marry cows? Those poor saps back on land will never know the simple pleasures of a monkey knife fight. <sigh>

      --
      Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on lunch.
  5. Baaaaaaaaa by redshift-systems · · Score: 3, Funny

    Come now, we all know what number 13 must be: SHEEP.NZ ! It's gotta happen.

    1. Re:Baaaaaaaaa by don.g · · Score: 2, Funny

      And if it doesn't get through, the sheep will submit it again, and again, until we all vote yes just to get them to stop. [see: bank.nz]

      --
      Pretend that something especially witty is here. Thanks.
    2. Re:Baaaaaaaaa by cscx · · Score: 1

      Well, the sheep *do* outnumber the people. And if not them, why not the hippies protesting for "equal sheep rights" because "animals have feelings and need to express them, too!"

    3. Re:Baaaaaaaaa by ahkitj · · Score: 1

      Hey, pushing it through again worked for NZMIS and their maori.nz proposal. :) As for the bankers... :)

      --
      Jonathan Ah Kit - Lower Hutt, New Zealand - jonathan@metalab.unc.edu
  6. Re:Ummm....? by muzzmac · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Like the world gives a crap about 1/2 of the US centric stories posted here.

  7. Re:Ummm....? by zapfie · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How hard would it have been for you to just ignore the story? It's not like they can satisfy 100% of readers 100% of the time. I personally found it to be interesting. Also, you don't really speak for all of Slashdot.

    --
    slashdot!=valid HTML
  8. Re:Ummm....? by NullPainter · · Score: 1

    By the 'rest of the world', you wouldn't happen to mean the USA by any chance?

  9. *cheesey* by isorox · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sorry, but this story is just too geeky for this time of the morning

  10. Re:Ummm....? by G-funk · · Score: 4, Funny

    Like the rest of the world needs to hear about everytime senator palpatine^H^H^H^H^H^H^H hollings takes a shit?

    --
    Send lawyers, guns, and money!
  11. Re:Ummm....? by quinto2000 · · Score: 1

    Nope, but the vast majority of USian readers do. Maybe in soviet russia they make you ignore the US, but over here in USia, we like to see our own names in print.

    --
    Ceci n'est pas un post
  12. The original definition of the word geek... by dagg · · Score: 5, Funny
    Originally, a `geek' was a carnival performer who bit the heads off chickens.

    Indeed. I did not know that. That's pretty sick. The stuff you learn by clicking on slashdot links. I thought people who bit heads off chickens were hobo's.

    --
    Geeks need help finding this...
    --
    Sex - Find It
    1. Re:The original definition of the word geek... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1
      Holy karma whore, Batman!

      And really you should change your link sig once every couple decades. It's starting to smell. Thanks.

    2. Re:The original definition of the word geek... by Zork+the+Almighty · · Score: 1

      That would be Karma Whore. Not to be confused with with any of the following :

      Crack Whore, Assistant Crack Whore, Crack Whores Who Remember 9/11, A little known band called the Absolute Whores, Media Whores, or even Evil Lesbian Media Whores

      --

      In Soviet America the banks rob you!
    3. Re:The original definition of the word geek... by EvilStein · · Score: 3, Funny

      Hrm. Around here, we refer to someone that bites off animal heads as "Ozzy Osborne."

  13. Terrible summary. by SlashChick · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Wow. Upon reading the summary, my first thought was "Why do I care?" I mean, geek.nz... they're just going to put up a website or something, right?

    Actually, they're trying to get a domain extension of sorts, much like the pre-existing .org.nz, .net.nz and .co.nz. (I don't know whether I should blame the story submitter, the Slashdot editor, or the guys who wrote the webpage for the completely ordinary, ho-hum writeup, since all of them seemed to assume that we understood exactly what they were trying to do.)

    From what I gather, the domain name commissioner of New Zealand is in charge of approving second-level domains. There is a list of criteria for these domains here (which is linked from the geek.nz website.) These people are trying to put geek.nz in the same realm as .co.nz, .net.nz, and .org.nz based on the criteria in the linked PDF above (namely, that they have a long-standing common interest and should get a second-level domain for it.)

    The linked website is pretty terrible in terms of explaining to the rest of the world these geeks' true motivation to do this. Okay, you want a second-level domain, and you meet the criteria... and? Is this to make your government open up its domain name system to anyone who has a legitimate interest? Is it just a cool project? Unfortunately, the website that they made shows none of their motivation for doing this.

    As it is, it seems to be a cool novelty, but these geeks failed to express any sort of goal for this project. Interesting? I suppose. Slashdot-worthy? Not really.

    1. Re:Terrible summary. by WasterDave · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually, they're trying to get a domain extension of sorts, much like the pre-existing .org.nz, .net.nz and .co.nz.

      No shit, I think you might find that the words "a second level domain" gave the game away. I mean, it'd be fine to be a newbie, but don't slate the editors for giving a terrible summary.

      As it is, it seems to be a cool novelty, but these geeks failed to express any sort of goal for this project.

      Well, dah. We get a second level domain of .geek.nz. Hello? That _is_ the goal, what's there to no know?

      Dave

      --
      I write a blog now, you should be afraid.
    2. Re:Terrible summary. by Telex4 · · Score: 2
      No shit, I think you might find that the words "a second level domain" gave the game away. I mean, it'd be fine to be a newbie, but don't slate the editors for giving a terrible summary.

      ...

      Well, dah. We get a second level domain of .geek.nz. Hello? That _is_ the goal, what's there to no know?

      Don't be ridiculous. Evidently a lot of people don't know what a second level domain is, nor why these people would want one, nor why it should be so interesting that it should be put on Slashdot. The point of a summary is to say: "This is the news, this is why its interesting, here's where to go to ead more". As it is, the summary for this story, as with many others, just speaks to a particular group (be it a majority/minority) who understand the subject enough to know why this would be cool.

      Elitism has its place, and it's not on the front page of Slashdot.

    3. Re:Terrible summary. by Megahurts · · Score: 2, Insightful

      well, it's worth noting in the grandparent poster's defense that to the average yankee geek, the procurement of a second level domain is a matter of filling out an online form and paying a small(ish) annual fee. Even many country codes such as .tv and .cx offer quite a bit of freedom in registering second level domains. I think (and this is my interpretation of the preceding posts) his gripe was that there should have been some mention that obtaining a second second level domain under .nz is like getting one under .uk or .ca or, in other words, quite like getting a new top level domain instated.

  14. Re:why dont they have... by microsost · · Score: 3, Funny

    Well why would an Australian site register a New Zealand domain name??

  15. Good Idea by Aussie · · Score: 1

    Damn, that .NZ is gonna make it hard for Australia to steal this one.

    1. Re:Good Idea by networkweenie · · Score: 1

      Well, Oz can always claim it if it's successful.

    2. Re:Good Idea by Simon+Garlick · · Score: 2

      Events or developments like this always remind me how small New Zealand is, and how tightly-knit its IT/Internet/Telco geek community is. I look down the list of proposal supporters and recognise maybe three quarters of the names there; know personally maybe half the names there; and know on a first-name, face-to-face, is-it-your-round-or-mine basis maybe a quarter of the names there.

      Kia kaha!

  16. Re:Ummm....? by BJH · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Yeah, we all know you USians aren't interested in anything that happens west of California, east of New York, north of the Great Lakes and south of Texas, but guess what - there's 250 million of you, and 6 billion of us.

  17. Good and the bad by michaeli · · Score: 2, Interesting
    A couple of thoughts after a cursory (not much else is possible) read of their somewhat sparse site.

    Echoing the above (as of my writing, of course -- things may have changed as of your reading) comment: what is the big deal? Not trying to troll, but as a site looking for community support, there isn't an easily-accessible, clear condensation of the issue in getting a second-level .nz domain. It seems to be a case of getting approval by a controlling body, which can be swayed by public opinion to a certain extent. I think their campaign would be more successful if they made it clear why support of other wordly geeks is a good thing (sorry Martha).

    Secondly, from a geeky perspective, geek.nz would be wickedly, uber-cool. Unfortunately I think it may be also possible to have the other, non-geek part of the population to look at the whole operation with a little disdain or perhaps disrespect (insert faviourite geek stereotype). I can certainly see some people (those outsiders) losing/not having respect for a project or company because it's on the geek.nz domain. That said, as an internal (within the geek community) testing ground, as was somewhat suggested on the site, it'd be pretty darn cool.

    Does anyone else have their site read by Bert? They seem to be on Bert's good list. Care to make a few spurious correlations?

    --


    "this is a really good piece of cantoloupe."
  18. Cracking domain by Wizard+of+OS · · Score: 2

    Yeah, sounds great! Let me point my 'wizard.crack.nz' domain to your production server :-)

    (okay, I know, reverse resolving would fix that, but I just had to make that comment :))

    --

    --
    If code was hard to write, it should be hard to read
  19. Why? by Fastball · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I realize as a web programmer I'm in a "geeky" line of work, but it never occurred to me advertise myself as a geek. I don't like it. I mean I'm no stud, I don't sport Olympic wood, and I not better than you, but I consider geekiness a rung on the totem pole I don't want to be below. Not to rant really, but I just consider the term "geek" to be derogatory.

    1. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      geek is not only a noun, but it is also a verb. You can geek someone, which means to kill them.

    2. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Heh, see I'm the exact opposite. I wear my geekdom as a badge of honor. I don't consider it to be a derogatory term at all. I think it certainly was a few years ago, but not so much anymore. And I've found that calling myself a geek doesn't hurt my interaction with the opposite sex at all.

      But then, I have bright red spikes in my hair and a multitude of piercings, so I think when I call myself a geek, people who don't know me sort of take it as a joke, just because stuff like that doesn't fit into the geek stereotype.

      Not ranting either, or trying to start any arguments. Just making conversation...

    3. Re:Why? by cscx · · Score: 2, Funny

      And I've found that calling myself a geek doesn't hurt my interaction with the opposite sex at all.

      It hasn't helped much either, right? Don't forget that your Real Doll doesn't count.

    4. Re:Why? by infolib · · Score: 2

      it never occurred to me advertise myself as a geek....I just consider the term "geek" to be derogatory.

      I think it's used to identify with the group. Like "A lot of people look down on us, but we both know we're ok, so we call each other geeks to confirm that"

      Oddly enough, this means that if you call a group of people by a derogatory name for some time, they will respond by making the name a mark of honour within the circle.

      Something similar may be behind blacks that say "wassup my nigger". (Does anyone actually do this outside Hollywood movies? (I'm European))

      DISCLAIMER: I'm a self-declared geek.

      --
      Any sufficiently advanced libertarian utopia is indistinguishable from government.
    5. Re:Why? by alsta · · Score: 2

      Yes, geek is derogatory.

      --
      Wealth is the product of man's capacity to think. -Ayn Rand
    6. Re:Why? by Joey7F · · Score: 2

      Something similar may be behind blacks that say "wassup my nigger". (Does anyone actually do this outside Hollywood movies? (I'm European))

      Actually yes they do. I remember back in 6th grade not only would black kids call each other nigger, they would call me nigger. I never understood that one :p

      --Joey

    7. Re:Why? by urbazewski · · Score: 1
      it never occurred to me advertise myself as a geek

      missed the dot com boom, eh?

      seriously, 'geek' was originally a derogatory term, but, along with 'nerd,' I think it has been reclaimed or redefined of late. I've even seen signs of dork-pride developing.

      --
      foldplay your photos won't know what hit them.
    8. Re:Why? by Zeio · · Score: 1

      I laughed at this. Quite a bit. Thank You!

      --
      Legalize the constitution. Think for yourself question authority.
  20. Re:Ummm....? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    apparently the world does, since most of the stories posted here are US centric and this site is world renowned.

    it must be tough facing those facts.

  21. Re:Ummm....? by are_bee · · Score: 1

    Complain about a US centric post? I aint crazy (or American btw).

  22. You might remember me from such films as... by King+of+the+World · · Score: 3, Informative
    1. Re:You might remember me from such films as... by King+of+the+World · · Score: 1
      Anna Paquin as Rogue from X-men, Russel Crowe (actually, Australia can have him), Lee Tamahori who directed Once Were Warriors did the most recent Bond film, Die Another Day.

      The 'Popstars' series, where they audition and market a band was created originally in New Zealand (then Australia copyrighted it...bugger). The movie The Full Monty was written by a New Zealander. The movie The Truman Show was written by a NZer.

      Xena, Hercules, yadda yadda.

    2. Re:You might remember me from such films as... by King+of+the+World · · Score: 3, Funny

      We can only try.

  23. Not cool... *sigh* by SlashChick · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "One of the press releases on the linked page answers 'why?'."

    You know, some people bang their heads on the wall when they see bad code. Others get really frustrated when they see bad design, or bad grammar, or any number of things.

    I get frustrated when I see a project whose founders obviously think is "cool," but which completely fails to answer the question "Why should I care?"

    Obviously, you found that answer, and you certainly did better than I did.

    I read the Slashdot summary, which completely failed to answer the question "Why should I care?" Then I clicked on the link, which also completely failed to answer that question. It's really frustrating to see the pertinent information on the site buried in a freakin' press release that very few people will ever read. (I mean, I'm guessing you clicked on the press release as sort of a last resort, and it's certainly not the place where most people would go to find out why this project is cool.)

    The lesson I would like other geeks to learn from this article is damn, people, if you're doing something cool, put it in bold type on your front page! Say "We are here because we want to kick some ass. We're going to kick the ass of the domain name commissioner because we want to try out the latest cool geek technologies and this is the best way for us to do it! Hey, JOIN US! Help us out!"

    The first rule of sales is that you have to convince the prospect that your product matters. This holds true whether you're selling encyclopedias door-to-door or whether you're trying to convince your boss to fund the purchase of new server equipment! Unfortunately, geeks have this tendency to throw out facts and just hope that people make the connection between those facts and their product being awesome. It really comes to light in a situation like this, where 95% of the audience doesn't know anything about New Zealand's domain structure or why a new second-level domain is a ground-breaking, earth-shattering, AWESOME achievement! That's why almost all of the posts here have been either "Huh?" or "Why should I care?"

    As much as you may hate sales; as much as you want to believe that the facts will speak for themselves... take this article and the responses to it as a reason why they won't. Next time you're trying to convince someone that they absolutely should go with Linux, or that they absolutely, without a doubt, should use this piece of awesome software for their projects, answer the question that they will always think of first: "Why should I care?" If you can answer that, you've won half the battle.

    If you can't answer that, and you try to just throw out facts and hope that they speak for themselves, you'll get the same response that these guys got...

    "Huh?"

    1. Re:Not cool... *sigh* by CoughDropAddict · · Score: 5, Informative

      I agree with your sentiment completely.

      However I think this particular submission was reasonably clear. A group of professional Internet engineers and technicians from New Zealand (ie. a private group) are following the published procedure to obtain the delegation of GEEK.NZ (ie. they'll be able to give out .GEEK.NZ domains to anyone) from the NZ Domain Name Commissioner (DNC). If successful, GEEK.NZ would be New Zealand's twelfth second-level domain.

      It's significant because it allows a private group to define what a particular subdomain looks like by who they grant registrations to. It is leveraging the delegation model of DNS to give a particular social/professional group their own DNS namespace.

      A more detailed explanation could be useful to people not familiar with DNS, though.

    2. Re:Not cool... *sigh* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      To be perfectly honest the press release id the FIRST place I look to get information about a particular organization. Think about it: A press release is a carefully worded document that has been (hopefully) written and rivesed over a long period of time, and can explain "why should I care" to the press.

      I agree that if you really want to ensure that your purpose is well understood you should have it in bold, in your face, on the front page, style; however, you should also go looking for information where it is obviously residing.

    3. Re:Not cool... *sigh* by Real+World+Stuff · · Score: 1

      Please note this is a thinly veiled attempt to increase offshore viewership. With the book "review" revenue, and subscriptions waning, the guidance for Roberto is to diversify viewership. Did you know these stats are lumped in for advertising sales purposes (look at all them hits) but "recategorized" for reporting.

      I am not you.

      --
      If we don't fight for ourselves no one will.
    4. Re:Not cool... *sigh* by Grail · · Score: 2

      As far as I can see, the target audience of the geek.nz campaign is New Zealand geeks. Support from "Americans" won't matter diddly-squat, since the NZ domain commissioner only cares about NZ Citizens (ANZUS treaty or no).

      So from the front page of the campaign web site, the entire "why should I care?" question has been answered.

      The campaign doesn't have to answer your question of "why should I care?" - mainly because they don't care if you care. You have no impact in their problem space. You don't matter.

  24. Invest in a globe by houseofmore · · Score: 1

    Who the hell is "we"... and how did you land the job of speaking on their behalf?

  25. Stop dissin' by __aafkqj3628 · · Score: 2

    As I'm from NZ, it's a welcome change to actually be able to see news like this on Slashdot as there is not real place locally to see anything like this.

    But I sure hope it passes as it will be a SLD for, well, geeks and I don't think there are ANY of those out there.

  26. Accuracy? by 6hill · · Score: 4, Funny

    A more accurate second-level domain for these fellas would be peoplewithtoomuchtimeontheirhands.nz, no?

  27. Got to love this geek team member by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    From: http://geek.nznog.org/team.html
    Josh Bailey, Whorehouse Piano Player.

  28. Why this is relevant around here by swmccracken · · Score: 5, Informative

    Recently, the maori.nz domain was created. It was created on the grounds that it was of cultural value for a clearly defined subculture of NZ, AIR.

    However, there was something of a geek feeling that this wasn't very fair - it was a domain created on the basis of race and race alone.

    In protest, and in a "if they can get it, why can't we" various people attempted to create the geek.nz domain. There is something of a race issue that we have to work through around here - thoughout the greater culture, stretching as far back as The Treaty of Waitangi

    (Yes, there is something of an opening-the-floodgates problem, but there is a moritorim on new applications at the moment.)

    (BTW, this isn't exactly news, as the idea was mooted, AIR, many months ago.)

    Oh, and New Zealand Herald / NZPA Coverage

    It's a cool thing, let us have our fun! :-)

    Okay, I'm probably overplaying the race issue - it is something of a bugbear for me, however, that is the rationale behind.

    1. Re:Why this is relevant around here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      So as a white fella from nz (pakeha if you must, but i prefer the term "new zealander"), can i go and register www.ac.maori.nz or whatever? Or do i have to be maori to do so? if i do, isn't that, um, a completely RACIST policy?

      and the "bi-cultural" rubbish has got to go. sometimes i feel like if you're not maori, you're not worth shit here. try "multi-cultural" instead! how about a chinese.nz domian, samoan.nz or maybe moriori.nz, or possibly a onequartermaorihalfirishandabitofspanish.nz?

      why cant we just be one country and leave this racist crap in the past where it belongs.

    2. Re:Why this is relevant around here by swmccracken · · Score: 1

      Aside from the ban on new second level domains at the moment (Floodgates argument, as a laywer would say), why not? Why not a pakeha.nz? kiwiana.nz? more_than_third_generation_immigrant.nz ?

      To a large degree, race and culture are pretty blurry around here - and I wouldn't be too suprised if a member of the Urban Maori couldn't get a .maori.nz domain. The whole Tribal vs Urban issue comes to mind.

      Yeah, I was pushing the race line a bit hard, like I said, it's a bugbear with me.

      Anyway, the maori.nz domain is one source for the idea for geek.nz, as I understand it, came from. .maori.nz SLD is purely for a cultual group and could overlap other SLDs (A Maori business venture 'belongs' in .maori.nz or .co.nz? Or both?) Therefore, geek.nz has just as equal right to exist, so why shouldn't it? Why should one cultural group get their own SLD and not this one?

      This could easily get way off topic into the whole issue of Race Relations - and that is a rather murky and large issue that we (as a country) have to deal with.

    3. Re:Why this is relevant around here by kaffiene · · Score: 1

      stop whining

  29. Sounds like eu.org! by MavEtJu · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Sounds like the eu.org domain, which is a free-to-register one used by European people. Go geeks!

    --
    bash$ :(){ :|:&};:
    1. Re:Sounds like eu.org! by swmccracken · · Score: 2, Informative

      Aah, but that's just somebody with a bog-standard non-official .org domain.

      This is building it into the official structure of the DNS - and being recognised by the establishment.

      Err, yeah, I know it doesn't sound a big deal.

  30. Not in the .us by dirvish · · Score: 2

    I wish the .us had something like this. If you want a .us domain it has to be something like yourname.city.county.us

    I wish I could just get myname.us

    1. Re:Not in the .us by swmccracken · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well.. it would be yourname.geek.nz - not directly under .nz.

      Unlike the US, we have second level that are our own "versions" of the top level - such as .co.nz being "nz's .com". We're not the only country to do that - co.uk, com.au come to mind. .Nz is more important to us than .us is to Americans, because it contains "mainline" domains as well as oddball.

    2. Re:Not in the .us by sleepintill2 · · Score: 2, Informative

      You missed the boat, myname.us is already registered, and so is "your name".us most likly because they opened dot us registrations to the public April 24, 2002. Go to nic.us for a list of registrars.

  31. You're probably new... by robbyjo · · Score: 1

    You're probably new, but as always in Slashdot, whatever is cool gets posted.

    Secondly, this movement "sort of" unite the geeks in NZ, as alluded in the page. Why don't we support them?

    Thirdly, you may bicker about your indifference, but be thorough to your reading, lady! Here's the quote that may elucidate you:

    GEEK.NZ will provide a place in the DNS where the community of technical people in New Zealand can express itself, thrive and expand. Providing recognition to the technical community in this way will allow New Zealand to demonstrate its commitment to the people who fuel the knowledge economy, and help slow the otherwise steady procession of technical people leaving the country every year.

    That was taken from here.

    --

    --
    Error 500: Internal sig error
  32. Re:Ummm....? by Seraphim_72 · · Score: 1

    ...actually we are interested in what happens north of the great lakes and south of texes.....Alaska and Hawaii respectivly ;)

    --
    Slashdot, where armchair scientists get shouted down and armchair theologians get modded up.
  33. There's more to it... by judd · · Score: 2

    Recently a consortium of New Zealand banks tried to get .bank.nz off the ground for the second time - and failed. This was the subject of much mockery and debate on the NZNOG mailing list. The "team" listed on the page looks much like the "From" column in my NZNOG mailbox. Poking fun at the process, and the incorporated society that administers it, has at least as much to do with seeking .geek.nz as any desire for a geeksafe playpen.

  34. Re:Wow by Stalyn · · Score: 2, Funny

    That is encredibly facinating. Certanly more intresting then any of the following

    Have you been drinking?

    I certainly agree with you though, your submissions were definitely more interesting.

    --
    The best education consists in immunizing people against systematic attempts at education. - Paul Feyerabend
  35. Good to see by term0r · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Recently .bank.nz was put through the aproval process for the 2nd time, and failed to reach the 70% support required. Basically I see it being totally pointless to have a .bank.nz tld as there are only about 10 different banks in NZ. (and they all have the relevant .co.nz TLD)

    But, finally a tld comes out that is worth supporting, and fits me perfectly. And reading through all the latest postings on the InternetNZ mailing list, I think it has a good chance of getting put through. I am definately voting for it, though I am a bit biased as I just want a.geek.nz for an IRC host :)

    Some useful links, which may or may not be redundant:

    Outline of the process
    More info
    NZ Registry Services

    All in all its a pretty good time for domain names in NZ, with our new Shared Registry System (SRS) just coming online last Saturday. Finally some competition in NZ for domain registrations.

  36. We need more top level domains. by thogard · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just where is this New Zealand thats getting the geek domain? Is that up on the east cost with all thouse other New states? My geology wasn't very good in school.

    1. Re:We need more top level domains. by frozencesium · · Score: 1



      HEY! we in New Mexico aren't up in the north-east with the other "New" states!

      </FEIGNED INDIGNITY>

      -frozen

      --
      I'm not always the brightest pixel in the stream
    2. Re:We need more top level domains. by legojenn · · Score: 1

      And then there are people in New Brunswick & Newfoundland who aren't even in states (except of boredom).

      --
      I make a reasonable middle-class wage by going to work and not spamming blogs with scams.
    3. Re:We need more top level domains. by Mogster · · Score: 2, Informative

      NEW ZEALAND
      Auckland 36 51' S 174 46' E
      Wellington 41 17' S 174 46' E
      Christchurch 43 32' S 172 37' E
      Locations of three of our largest cities.

      Also known as Aoteoroa (Land of the Long White Cloud).
      Not part of Australia.
      First inhabitants (Maori) arrived around 950CE. European discovery in 1642CE by Able Tasman. First major European exploration by Capt Cook 1769-1777CE. Became part of British Empire 1840CE.
      PureNZ to learn more ;)

      And further to the parent: geek.nz sounds pretty cool to me.

      --
      ACK NAK RST
  37. Hey... by Kafka_Canada · · Score: 1

    How come when I registered a second-level domain name it never made it to slashdot?!

    (expiration.ca and makingthecut.ca, for the curious)

    --

    A geek is a geek is a geek. I'd know.

    --
    Fuck it
    1. Re:Hey... by giaguara · · Score: 1

      A good point. There aren0t enough canadians making noise in slashdot :-) ??

  38. NINE by autopr0n · · Score: 2

    I just can't spelkl. I am also very tired. hehehe.

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
  39. Get a second level domain... .IT by giaguara · · Score: 1

    Getting a second level domain here (in Italy) is considered nearly as _NOT_ having a domain at all.

    Maybe this is due to the many sites that end .too.it
    It takes about 5 minutes to get one - or up to three second level domains of .too.it ... and all free.
    the guys offering this are http://html.it ... i'm not saying "hi dudes get now your second level domains here and free, such cool service.." it's not. They hide your real url and show a lousy banner line down on the frame and that disturbs actually quite a lot. if you refresh the site goes back to index page. see what i mean; try e.g this: http://www.hotmail.too.it ??

    i think thank to so many people NOT liking THAT service, ALL the second level domains are considered here _by the ordinary people_ as NOT domains. Yea. buenosaires.gov.ar, yahoo.com.br, apple.com.br etc etc etc - "Why didn't they get a (first level) domain of their own?" So too many think it's just something like v3 domain :-/

    Good luck for these guys anyway on their try, even though i believe they don't have a big possibility to get it through

  40. Re:Ummm....? by haedesch · · Score: 1

    we = you and your Realdoll?

  41. Voting by avij · · Score: 4, Funny
    The approval process for GEEK.NZ includes a period for public consultation, which is followed by a vote conducted over the internet.
    Cool, a new Slashdot poll:
    • YES for GEEK.NZ
    • NO for GEEK.NZ
    • I want CowboyNeal.NZ!
    • I don't live in NZ, you insensitive clod
    --

    Follow your Euro bills at EBT
  42. Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls by cioxx · · Score: 5, Funny

    Here are my thoughts on this SLD (Second Level Domain) proposal: It's unnecessary.

    Hear me out. New Zealand has 3,908,037 people, give or take a few. I seriously doubt there are even 5,000 geeks who would get those domains. No one would pass up an opportunity to aquire .com domain or any other TLD. This idea is very specialized, hence serves no purpose.

    Besides, all my friends from NZ have .com/.net/.org domains already.

    I do have a proposal on what type of domains New Zealand government should implement, since the topic came up.

    *.holycowmyinternetisslow.nz - for people who are still on 28.8k dialup modems inside of New Zealand
    *.udpmatch.nz - for packet kiddies who are looking for a mate
    *.neal.nz - will be reserved for Cowboy Neal in case he ever moves there
    *.sheep.nz - hot sheep erotic fanfiction
    *.cliche.nz - will serve as the domain for humor sites incorporating "beowulf cluster" and "In Soviet Russia" jokes all the time!
    *.rom.nz - domain for Romainians who are considering moving to New Zealand to trade ROMS and Emulators for Atari 9600

    I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some NZ official to see these suggestions and put them on a fasttrack.

    1. Re:Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls by Malicious · · Score: 1
      This looks like a typical Slashdot poll... complete with a Cowboy Neal option.

      Which .NZ domain would you register?

      --
      01101001001000000110000101101101001000000110001001 10000101110100011011010110000101101110
  43. What 'bout LoTR domains? by ryochiji · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is New Zealand we're talking about. There's gotta be a LoTR related domain. Something like hobbiton.nz or shire.nz should do nicely.

  44. More of a fuck you than anything else. by ebbomega · · Score: 2

    The thing about it is this.

    A lot of people would torment the kids for which this general website (Please, don't forget the big words at the top that say "News For Nerds") is geared. A lot of us (and I say us as being what I would consider a geek myself) got pushed around and picked on as a kid. God knows the number of times I've been stuffed in a locker (think it's a joke for Saved By The Bell? Think again) or had the shit kicked out of me for dressing in a way that was inappropriate (I swore by sweat pants right up until grade 6).

    The point of the matter is that turning the word that tormented us so as kids around and saying "I'm a geek. So what?" in a true Revenge-Of-The-Nerds fashion helps people have their own identity. Sure, a lot of the stuff I do might not be considered "cool" or the "in" thing or whatever, but fuck it. I'm more than happy to do what I do simply because I'm doing it. People who proudly wear the name "geek" are people that truly just don't care that if they do geeky stuff, like say wear sweatpants on a regular basis, or sit around playing with your computer all day, or charge at Gallstaff with your Magic Missile spell with +5 damage because of your charm ring or whatever.

    Point of the matter is, this is a website for basically self-proclaimed geeks and nerds. If you have a problem with that, then maybe you should have turned away when you saw the "News For Nerds" sign that is CLEARLY present on the front page.

    --
    Karma: Non-Heinous
    1. Re:More of a fuck you than anything else. by ebbomega · · Score: 2

      "Hey loser, I'll stuff your ass back into the locker where you belong. I'm more technically able, more cultured, more socially able than you."

      I'm sorry, but this juxtapositioning is just too damn funny.

      --
      Karma: Non-Heinous
  45. Re:Ummm....? by muzzmac · · Score: 1

    You need to put it in perspective of the post I replied to. It got modded down as flamebait. Looks like mine is a top level now. It isn't.

  46. I'd love to help! by mindslip · · Score: 2

    Cool!
    As a Canadian Geek now in NZ, and working for the incumbent telco, I'm going to try and get some of the guys interested! I'm sure some of the people from the big incumbent ISPs will want to help too! Hey, maybe we can have our own little country-wide internet!
    Anyone want to help? dszego@mindslip.com or 025419512 ....let me know who I need to write a petition to!

    mindslip

    1. Re:I'd love to help! by acarey · · Score: 1

      working for the incumbent telco

      Dude, you work for Telecom? Quit now while you still have a soul.

      --
      -- "I believe the human being and the fish can coexist peacefully." - George W. Bush, 29 September 2000
  47. Re:Ummm....? by muzzmac · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Guys. This was a response to some clown saying how trivial NZ news is. It's a relevant post now divorced from the parent by the fact it was modded as a troll.

    Looks bad out of context.

  48. sales & marketing? by fw3 · · Score: 2
    The first rule of sales is that you have to convince the prospect that your product matters. This holds true whether you're selling encyclopedias door-to-door or whether you're trying to convince your boss to fund the purchase of new server equipment!

    Gee and I thought the first rule of sales was sell *your* product (or self-promote on /.) whether you know the geeks have gotten the details right or not.

    Such as advertising solid web hosting service, when your own servers are running known-vulnerable apache, ssl and ssh?

    --
    Linux is Linux, if One need clarify their dist: <Dist>/GNU Linux
    bsds are of course just BSD
  49. I like my idea for .nz better... by CrazyDuke · · Score: 2, Funny

    Others are going off over their hypothetical .nz's, here is mine.

    por.nz

    Talk about get rich quick...

    --
    Any sufficiently advanced influence is indistinguishable from control.
  50. But In New Zealand TLD by Mr+Guy · · Score: 1, Redundant

    Cowboy Neal IS the sheep.

  51. Re:Ummm....? by BJH · · Score: 1

    You lose, asshole. Guess where I am? JAPAN, moron.

  52. DIBS!! by Gluteus+Minimus · · Score: 1

    I get dibs on split-e.nz

    --
    My sig's name is Sigmund, but you may call it "Siggy."
  53. Re:Sheeep surfing by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 1

    They keep to .paddock.nz Are you an Aussie? If so, do you want some marshmallows?

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
  54. Re:New Zealand, Canada, Namibia by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 1
    immediate neighbor

    Try drive to Oz from NZ. The distance from Auckland to Sydney is about the same as London to Moscow.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
  55. Re:wow, all the slashdot editors by PD · · Score: 1

    That's what I have my website for. I post on /. because the masses actually love me, worship me, and eagerly look forward to the posting by their beautiful leader, which would be me.

  56. London - Moscow pretty easy by hoytt · · Score: 1

    London - Moscow is pretty easy these days. Just grab a EuroStar from London Waterloo to Brussels and tranfer there to a train to Cologne, change again in Brest and you're off to Moscow. London - Moscow in less than 40 hours. You can book right away.

    The URL gives a place to fill in your options, press 'Verbindung Suchen" to get the data.
    Those dynamically created pages suck when hyperlinking :-|
    Or try your favorite airline and find a direct flight.

  57. Let me in on some of that action by the+grace+of+R'hllor · · Score: 2

    I hereby request a domain for enthusiastic New Zealand golf fanatics: Tee.nz

    I hope http://tee.nz/ will encourage more people to swing their clubs and go for a hole in one. Or even a birdy.

  58. Simple summary by Plug · · Score: 2
    Some countries have a free range 2nd-level name space (.to, .it), where others have a regulated list of 2LD's (.uk, .au). Some are even more regulated than that apparently (.us).

    It bothers me that the USA think .com == America. And because of this the world thinks it. Within countries like New Zealand, our local domain (CCtld, .nz) is very important. I have no desire to register a .com, .net etc because what I do is not on a global scale and I like the connection it gives me to my home country.

    DNS was designed to be a diverse tree structure over possible areas of interest. Within this there are two approaches - break things down into categories (2LD's, co, org, net, mil etc), or create as many 2LD's as possible.

    When .maori.nz was recently created, there was a large uproar because of the racial sensitivity of the issue (For those who don't know, approximately 20% of NZers are descended from the indigenous Maori people). The vote passed with 90+% support but no-one I know voted 'yes' for it and the only interest most people had in it was potentially offensive vanity domains and/or cybersquatting. A lot of people thought that the domain simply increases racial segregation between Maori and Pakeha ("white NZers") - which is exactly the thing that Maori are claiming to fight against.

    It might be argued that there are less geeks in NZ than Maori people, but
    • the percentage of geeks on the Internet is (of course) far larger than the percentage of Maori people
    • "geek" as a term doesn't just have to relate to computer users
    There has been some discussion on the Domain Name Commissioner's mailing list (Does anyone else find it funny that we have a DNC? Sounds like Commissioner Gordon. Quick, fire the DNS signal!) about if geeks get .geek.nz, musos will want .muso.nz etc. I'd like to think of it more that "geek" has become a term of endearment meaning someone who is passionate about their subject. You can get computer geeks, sure, but you also get music geeks, gardening geeks, law geeks, whatever. If there is someone you consult for their wisdom before you engage in something, chances are they could be classified as a geek and they could be given .music.geek.nz.

    This article is smack on. The reason that the NZ Network Operators' Group are pushing for .geek.nz, while with some "It's pretty cool" reasoning behind it, is because in general the feeling was adding .maori.nz and .bank.nz was a Bad Thing To Do (tm).

    While it is obvious that the gap between Pakeha and Maori with access to internet needs to be addressed to bring us together as a society, I don't think that segregation of the name space will help achieve this at all. .bank.nz would serve approximately 12 institutions and create issues (should private lending institutions be allowed a .bank.nz - an easier example might be '.paypal.bank.nz') that outweigh it's usefulness. All banks, corporate entities, already have .co.nz domains. Would they have given them up if they were given .bank.nz? .geek.nz, to me, is a bit of a sly protest at this. Hopefully the moratorium on new domains will address this with a policy on what they want to achieve with the DNS structure in New Zealand, but what's done is done.

    Oh, and thank you everyone for the sheep jokes, they were most appreciated. Have you ever BEEN to New Zealand?
    1. Re:Simple summary by vonoech · · Score: 1


      You said:
      >It bothers me that the USA think .com == >America. And because of this the world thinks >it. Within countries like New Zealand, our local >domain (CCtld, .nz) is very important. I have no >desire to register a .com, .net etc because what >I do is not on a global scale and I like the >connection it gives me to my home country.

      I'm from the USA and I don't think that .com equals America. I think that .com equals the Global Internet. Isn't it rather unfair to make such broad and sweeping statements? Aren't you guilty of what you justw wrote about?

      Brian

      --
      "I'll be better when I'm older"
    2. Re:Simple summary by Old+Wolf · · Score: 1

      The Maori are campaigning *for* racial segregation -- them getting as much land and money as possible and not having to put up with dealing with white people.

    3. Re:Simple summary by kaffiene · · Score: 1

      Do US companies regulary use mycompany.co.us in the same way as New Zealand and Australia or the UK do mycompany.co.mycountry ????

    4. Re:Simple summary by vonoech · · Score: 1


      nortel.com => Canada
      fiat.com => Italy
      marconi.com => England
      bmw.com => Germany
      bridgestone.com => Japan

      If you look at the leading comapnies in Europe, South America, or the Far East; most handle domain registration through an American subsidary so that they can pay the US based registrar in US dollars. These companies are headquartered elsewhere.

      Is this all about where the registrars are located? Who is the largest registrar in Oz? Let me know who they are and if they are any good I'd be glad to use them.

      Brian

      --
      "I'll be better when I'm older"
  59. why not other extensions? by simonharvey · · Score: 1

    i dont think that the *.geek.nz will be good news for geeks in NZ (it will hide the real reasons why people want to use it).
    perhaps a better extension maybe:
    *.x.nz (for experimental - just like for experimental aircraft)
    i think if this gets well known then others will also like to register other pop-culture 2nd level domains. making NZ's TLD a bit of a joke.

    1. Re:why not other extensions? by Zilch · · Score: 1

      Argh! Why a joke? *more* domains == *better* Why don't people get that? It is suppost to be a tree structure. If everyone was going to use .co.nz, then there would be no point having the .co part! Argh!

      Zilch

  60. AIR? by Old+Wolf · · Score: 1

    So you're saying they pulled it out of thin AIR?

  61. AIR = As I Recall by swmccracken · · Score: 1

    AIR = As I Recall. Subsustute that phrase in and it should make more sense. :-)

    Sorry, habit from old-school BBS days - I guess not everyone on /. comes from that world. :-)

  62. Re:Ummm....? by Old+Wolf · · Score: 2

    They should make it so that modded-down posts still get shown if they have posts above the viewer's threshhold in reply.

  63. Re:Ummm....? by MortisUmbra · · Score: 1

    Oh dear Jesus you are one stupid little bastard aren't you! USians? Right away anything else that comes sputtering out of your mouth like the fecal matter it is will be ignored....

    --

    "The saddest words of mice and men, are not those which were, but should have been."
  64. Why not? by The+Famous+Druid · · Score: 2

    I mean, it's not like we're using up some precious resource here.
    If I want to jump through the bureaucratic hoops necessary to get .druid.au registered as a domain,
    what's the harm?

    --
    Quidquid Latine dictum sit, altum videtur (anything said in Latin sounds important)
  65. Re:New Zealand, Canada, Namibia by The+Famous+Druid · · Score: 2

    "2. Lots of territory,"

    This is a Joke, yes.
    If you take a wrong turn, you can miss it entirely.

    --
    Quidquid Latine dictum sit, altum videtur (anything said in Latin sounds important)
  66. Re:Not cool... *sigh* - NOT by Zilch · · Score: 1

    Go read another website then. At least the article was somewhat shorter than your whining reply.

    Did you post the same drivel whenever slashdot has run an article on the .us domain? (I'm going to make a leap here and assume you are a Yank)

    Zilch.

  67. Hurraayyyy! by Alphtoo · · Score: 1

    May the New Zealanders never lose their old zeal.

  68. Last Post! by alpg · · Score: 1

    What we need in this country, instead of Daylight Savings Time, which nobody
    really understands anyway, is a new concept called Weekday Morning Time,
    whereby at 7 a.m. every weekday we go into a space-launch-style "hold" for
    two to three hours, during which it just remains 7 a.m. This way we could
    all wake up via a civilized gradual process of stretching and belching and
    scratching, and it would still be only 7 a.m. when we were ready to actually
    emerge from bed.
    -- Dave Barry, "$#$%#^%!^%&@%@!"

    - this post brought to you by the Automated Last Post Generator...