Slashdot Mirror
Niue WiFi Network Gone, .nu TLD May Follow
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."
"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."
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.
dmiessler.com -- grep understanding knowledge
Hundreds of people have their lives destroyed by a cyclone, and Slashdot reports it as a wireless Internet outage. Tsk.
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.
It all goes downhill from first post
meaning their fortuitous ccTLD could go the way of .su
.nu TLD?
1500 people have had their homes and their community destroyed and the tragedy is that we might lose the
NO CARRIER
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.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
"nu" means "now" in dutch and a .nu is cheaper than a .nl
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.
Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.
where what's more important than the fact that a hurricane devastated a country is the issue of what specifically the hurricane did to the country's wifi network and TLD.
What good is the internet and the information age if everything *should* be like the network tv news?
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.
"New Zealand (which still maintains Niue's defense)"
Alright. So... um... who maintains New Zealand's defense?
Besides, .nu domains are gay. They're SO 1998. They were gay then, and they're gay now.
Come on, admit it, you just wanted to say "The Americans are threatening the local people!" The entire nation of America is threatening them? Puh-leez.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
As much as my love of democracy goes and the capabilities of commerce are strong, This type of ideal is the reason many people hate capitalism.
What you fail to pay attention to is the fact that Niue is a sovereign country and it's laws differ from ours. This includes it's methods of commerce. If you walk into another country and demand they live by your laws then your the criminal not them. Do they have the right to take back there own Domain? Yes. You have to live by their standards not them by yours. When the net became something for everyone it didn't mean something for everyone who wants to exploit.
Our own history is rife with these types of exploits, and every single one is considered in an after the fact fashion as callous, cruel, and criminal. So with all politics aside, history has proven this method to be wrong.
The original poster of this article shows a concern for the state of the country rather than a desire to make a profit, however if this is duplicitous than there is a greater issue at stake and the current plight of this situation would be best served in a court.
Now, All i see in retaliation is an attack of posters beliefs. By using terms such as liberal and left-wing radicals, in a goal to discredit the poster and not the subject of a post tells me that your more afraid of what the poster represents than the post itself. People who disagree with your form of exploiting economy are considered enemies. Your attack is an effort to keep their views from being heard by reducing the value of them as a person. This is the first rule of debate broken. Never attack a person who disagrees with you, attack their argument. Attacking the person will give you a very temporary victory and damage your whole strategy. If you believe in something than please try to stand on the grounds of your faith in the righteousness of your argument and not on the body of your opponent.
This being said, what arguments have you other than I am some pink-o, freaky San Francisco marching, anti American, ignoramus, of a (pick some wing) who doesn't see right? To the allegations that this issue needs to come under the scrutiny of a criminal system capable of handling the claim fairly and impartially?
A countries wealth should benefit the people of the country it is in and not only a national or citizen of a more economically powerful nation. If you want to make a million on a countries resources, then bring the country in question into your profitable position and live by their standards and rules.
And for Pete's sake. (sorry Pete)Try to have an argument that doesn't make you look like someone who can't defend themselves
Hesperant