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Setting up a free *.city.state.us locality domain (2025)

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Re: Setting up a free *.city.state.us locality domain (2025)

#151

Post by Imustaskforhelp »

NetMageSCW wrote: post #131
foresto wrote: post #63

Having a domain under the .us TLD once seemed appealing to me for practical reasons: It's short, consistently inexpensive, and hasn't already sold the vast majority of its useful namespace to squatters. Unfortunately, it forbids WHOIS privacy services, which makes it a privacy and security hazard for personal domains. Pity, that.

Yes, I have a 3 letter .us domain that I’ve had for a while. Hard to get a three letter domain in any other popular TLD.

can't say .expert that its popular by any measure but I have https://use.expert

In my opinion, there are still some really great short domains available. I actually even know some but don't have the budget to buy them.

The thing with domains is also that they aren't one time, I mean I am happy paying for domains which are 20$ say once even (and this comes as someone frugal but I just love domains) but most of these domains cost quite a lot.

For example use.expert would cost me around 40-50$ per year. I mean its 3-4$ per month so I am happy with it but still, my point is that I absolutely know more domains which I wish to buy but it would just be an hassle long term. I can probably sell them at cheap auctions to recoup the price but it just doesn't feel that worth it to me but overall, yeah.

Re: Setting up a free *.city.state.us locality domain (2025)

#152

Post by nickswalker »

Unfortunately the author is correct that you’re pretty screwed if the locality is no longer delegated. I messaged GoDaddy to register one in Boston, they asked for a _notarized_ letter on the local governments letter head approving. No one within the Boston city government knew what their procedure would be, and those willing to say yes didn’t have a notary around. They ended up citing a state law indicating that no locality domains were to be used for _government_ purposes in MA as their reason to say no, when of course that has no bearing on private use…

If anyone would like to band together to push city of Boston or Cambridge to start approving these, please let me know! I can revive some email chains.

Re: Setting up a free *.city.state.us locality domain (2025)

#153

Post by nickswalker »

cmdoptesc wrote: post #100
kuanbutts wrote: post #44

Anyone know why some larger cities are not listed? For example, I am noticing that Oakland, CA is missing. This would have been a major city in 1992 when the list was created as well.

That Neustar list is horribly outdated from 2009 and didn't list sf.ca.us and had scruz.net as the administrator for san-francisco.ca.us. I checked www.whois.us and oakland.ca.us is administered by locality-support [at] about [dot] us Try sending them an email?

That indicates that approval has been rolled up into GoDaddy at this point, and you’ll have to get a notarized letter from the city for them to issue you a domain.

Re: Setting up a free *.city.state.us locality domain (2025)

#154

Post by mfkp »

morpheuskafka wrote: post #82

This list of (supposedly 7388, didn't realize there even were that many?) of them can apparently now be registered online replacing the email method in the OP: https://localitymanagement.us/registrar/domain/delegatedzone... edit -- seems like the server has been "slashdotted" by this thread, I was finally able to get an account created but can't log in. doesn't seem very well coded anyway since I was apparently able…

Now it's showing "self registration is currently disabled, please contact customer support"

Re: Setting up a free *.city.state.us locality domain (2025)

#156

Post by ssl-3 »

jrochkind1 wrote: post #141
ssl-3 wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What a strange time machine. The website offered to sell unlimited dialup for me, in Ohio, using a local phone number. I Googled that number, and it appears that it may belong to another (related? different?) time machine: https://www.panix.com/dialup/

Very curious if you would actually get a dialup number that worked if you filled out the paperwork. I guess probably not? But I have no idea.

I called a couple of them that were nearby and a modem answered.

I'm not interested in dialup data services at all at this point in 2026. I have no remaining means with which to use such a thing. The last cell phone I had that could act like a modem got retired in 2009 and the last time I had a dialtone in my house was 2010.

But if I had to guess, then I'd guess that these time machines are still operational.

Re: Setting up a free *.city.state.us locality domain (2025)

#157

Post by ranger_danger »

yieldcrv wrote: post #85
foresto wrote: post #63

Having a domain under the .us TLD once seemed appealing to me for practical reasons: It's short, consistently inexpensive, and hasn't already sold the vast majority of its useful namespace to squatters. Unfortunately, it forbids WHOIS privacy services, which makes it a privacy and security hazard for personal domains. Pity, that.

you can literally write anything in the whois though registrars have forwarded me ICANN notices about having info verification for 10 years and nothing happened nothingburger

> you can literally write anything in the whois though

It's still fraud though. And there are multiple ways that might trigger an investigation into the validity of your contact info, such as abuse reports, court cases or failing to renew. Some people with axes to grind have been known to get domains of people they don't like taken down just by complaining to the registrar.

Re: Setting up a free *.city.state.us locality domain (2025)

#158

Post by majorchord »

yieldcrv wrote: post #85
foresto wrote: post #63

Having a domain under the .us TLD once seemed appealing to me for practical reasons: It's short, consistently inexpensive, and hasn't already sold the vast majority of its useful namespace to squatters. Unfortunately, it forbids WHOIS privacy services, which makes it a privacy and security hazard for personal domains. Pity, that.

you can literally write anything in the whois though registrars have forwarded me ICANN notices about having info verification for 10 years and nothing happened nothingburger

"you can literally drive as fast as you want on the highway"

Re: Setting up a free *.city.state.us locality domain (2025)

#159

Post by embedding-shape »

arionhardison wrote: post #149

I'm working on something like this... its: . .codify.city e.g.: https://los-angeles.us.codify.city or https://paris.fr.codify.city etc..... my goal is to replace sites from https://www.civicplus.com/ and https://www.revize.com/ with AI-native interfaces into city services, governments, economies etc... like a local AI-agent Economy managed by actual governing officials etc... but the admin is a separate product ATM.…

> its: ..codify.city

> https://codify.nyc

Sorry for maybe misunderstanding, but isn't it supposed to be "new-york.us.codify.city" you're about to launch, given the other examples you've made? Wouldn't "codify.nyc" be the wrong way around?

Re: Setting up a free *.city.state.us locality domain (2025)

#160

Post by chimeracoder »

nickswalker wrote: post #152

Unfortunately the author is correct that you’re pretty screwed if the locality is no longer delegated. I messaged GoDaddy to register one in Boston, they asked for a _notarized_ letter on the local governments letter head approving. No one within the Boston city government knew what their procedure would be, and those willing to say yes didn’t have a notary around. They ended up citing a state law indicating that no…

> They ended up citing a state law indicating that no locality domains were to be used for _government_ purposes in MA as their reason to say no, when of course that has no bearing on private use… > If anyone would like to band together to push city of Boston or Cambridge to start approving these, please let me know! I can revive some email chains.

I'm confused by this. Some have migrated away from the locality domains but some are still in use even by official/state purposes.

Here's the website for the Newton, MA public schools: https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/

Belmont: https://www.belmont.k12.ma.us/

I believe Cambridge used to use one as well but I can't confirm that.

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