So why is .ml TLD going back to Mali taking everyone by surprise?
Was there some sort of assurance that nothing was going to happen when the contract expired, and this expectation was changed? Freenom hasn’t been registering domains since Jan 1. It’s seeming a little odd to me, this is kinda like a SSL cert expiring without renewal.
It’s very irregular for a country to take back top level domains. Even refusing to renew registrations is unheard of.
Then again, ml, tk, etc broke ground by offering free country code TLDs starting 10 years ago. This was possible until Meta sued Freenom this year for issuing domains to the majority of all sources phishing traffic.
Basically, the internet got used to getting TLDs for free, and that was great, except the issuers of said domains (African countries with not a lot of money) have no obligation and no incentive to keep doing that forever. Especially after it became a liability.
ikidd
rhythmicotter
LazaroFilm