Ask HN: How do people respond to your .io domain name? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How do people respond to your .io domain name?

5 pointslrm4 comments

For those of you with .io domain names, how do people in the "real world" (i.e., people who aren't very tech-savvy) respond to them? Have you gotten any positive or negative feedback? Any misunderstandings or confusion?

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This is just one data point: I was planning to use a .io domain for an online fashion store. I talked to several customers and asked how they felt about a domain ending in .io. ~30% of them thought it looked weird or plain "fishy".

If you're trying to sell something directly to people (especially physical good or stuff where you don't get a trial) I'd try to stay away from them. They seem handy for URL shorteners and techie stuff.

I use it for hosting my resume, a personal link shortener, and shortcut to my GitHub page. I've handed it out to recruiters and other people in tech, and more broadly, to some clients who are less than tech-savvy. Generally it's been well-received, but it helps that it's wicked short and much easier to recall than my old domain.

I originally thought you actually needed to be situated in the Indian Ocean in order to get a .io domain. It might lead to some confusion (although I assume the tech savvy generally look at the TLD).

It appears that you must be a resident to have a domain like foo.com.io, but there are no restrictions on foo.io.

That is no extra restrictions. They do have this in their terms (most notably, for any purpose against the laws of any nation):

No .IO domain may be used, directly or indirectly, for any purpose that is sexual or pornographic or that is against the statutory laws of any Nation. In the event of NIC.IO being advised by any party that a specific site breaches this condition then NIC.IO reserves the right to immediately deactivate the offending registration. The applicant may seek the reinstatement of any suspended domain name by seeking a determination by an Arbitrator appointed by the World Intellectual Property organisation.

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