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thetimeisnow
No Longer a Wean
Joined: 15 Sep 2005
Posts: 91
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 Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2005 10:46 pm Post subject: dotSCO |
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saw this in the sunday herald today and found out they've got a website
http://www.dotsco.org
Looks promising!
http://www.sundayherald.com/53050
Scots join the dots online
For those Scots internet users who grit their teeth while having to type out the suffix .uk, help may soon be at hand.
Moves are under way to establish a .sco – or “dotsco”, as it has become known – internet domain name for organisations promoting the Scots language or Scottish culture.
A Glasgow-based software engineer has set up a website to rally support for the “top-level domain”, which he has high hopes of achieving.
The campaign has been offered support by like-minded individuals in Catalonia, who successfully lobbied the global body responsible for domain names, the Internet Corporation For Assigned Names And Numbers, for the name .cat to designate cultural organisations in the Spanish province.
Now members of the Scottish parliament’s cross-party group on Scots language are to be presented with the dotsco idea. The SNP’s Rob Gibson, the group’s chairman, is to use a meeting of the group on Tuesday , the eve of St Andrew’s Day, to raise the issue with Scots enthusiasts and hopefully get them to join the campaign.
“Dotsco is part of the way we can celebrate diversity in our own country,” said Gibson . “Some 1.5 million people speak some form of Doric or Scots, but this is potentially for supporters of things Scottish from all over the world.”
The dotsco campaign follows several previous attempts to have a distinct internet domain name, such as .scot.uk, assigned to Scotland. This has always been refused on the grounds that Scotland is not an independent country with its own representation at the UN.
Last edited by thetimeisnow on Sun Nov 27, 2005 10:50 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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trueblue
3 Strikes - Banned!
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 260
Location: caravan
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| Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2005 10:50 pm Post subject: |
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an excellent idea.
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azzuri
'Our Scotland' Fossil
Joined: 12 Sep 2005
Posts: 3777
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| Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2005 11:02 pm Post subject: |
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certainly is - would be nice to have a domain name like:
www.our-scotland.sco
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"Every single person on this planet is unique. Just like everyone else..." - Random Guy in Edinburgh Pub
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Maol.Chaluim
'Our Scotland' = 2nd Job!
Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 418
Location: Glaschu
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| Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 12:40 am Post subject: |
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| I read an article a few years ago that talked about a possible country code for when Scotland becomes independent. They suggested ".aa", as in Alba, as ".sc" (Seychelles) and ".sd"(Sudan) are taken... |
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thetimeisnow
No Longer a Wean
Joined: 15 Sep 2005
Posts: 91
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| Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 10:22 am Post subject: |
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| Maol.Chaluim wrote: | | I read an article a few years ago that talked about a possible country code for when Scotland becomes independent. They suggested ".aa", as in Alba, as ".sc" (Seychelles) and ".sd"(Sudan) are taken... |
Yes we would be assigned a 2-letter top level domain although as you pointed out .aa looks like the best option. A .sco domain will hopefully solve this problem though pre-independence! |
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SLG
Born Again..........and still Scottish!
Joined: 16 Sep 2005
Posts: 5515
Location: Dùn Eideann
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| Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 4:22 pm Post subject: |
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| I totally support this. I seem to remember the SNP put up a copy of their site at www.snp.sc (the Seychelles domain), but no-one else was really up for it. .sco would be great though and no need to be a language or cultural organisation, any site based in or associated with should think about taking on a .sco domain should it come available. |
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thetimeisnow
No Longer a Wean
Joined: 15 Sep 2005
Posts: 91
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Maol.Chaluim
'Our Scotland' = 2nd Job!
Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 418
Location: Glaschu
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| Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 9:19 pm Post subject: |
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Apparently, we're not allowed a top-level domain name because Scotland isn't independent. Neither are:
Isle of Mann (.im)
US Virgin Islands (.vi)
UK Virgin Islands (.vg)
Gibraltar (.gb)
Puerto Rico (.pr)
British Indian Ocean Territory (.io)
Palestinian Territories (.ps)
French Southern Territories (.tf)
US Minor Outlying Islands (.um)
If someone were to apply for a .aa domain, for example, who would it be.. the Scottish government? |
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azzuri
'Our Scotland' Fossil
Joined: 12 Sep 2005
Posts: 3777
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| Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 9:25 pm Post subject: |
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suppose that would depend on whether it was a devolved matter or not - don't even know what heading that would come under.
A dotsco domain suffix would definitely go a long way towards securing an .aa suffix in the near future.
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"Every single person on this planet is unique. Just like everyone else..." - Random Guy in Edinburgh Pub
Possibly the funniest site in the world, 'The Daily Mash' - http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/ |
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Aventinian
'Our Scotland' Fossil
Joined: 10 Dec 2005
Posts: 4280
Location: Broadcasting From An Anonymous Location Within the United Kingdom.
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| Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 7:20 am Post subject: |
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.gb is not Gibraltar, it's Great Britain. There was an intention to change from .uk to .gb at one point to keep us in line with our ISO country codes. As you can imagine, it was eventually deemed impractical and there is only one website that still has a .gb TLD. Gibraltar is .gi.
These dependent territories were given their TLDs at the time when the policy was different. It has been decided that they will be allowed to keep them however, pragmatism and the fact that dependent territories are something of a political anomaly in today's world.
It's not a 'devolved' matter, or indeed any sort of governmental matter. The allocation of top level domains in the normal internet is the sole preserve of a private body based in the United States called ICANN. They subcontract TLDs to other bodies (such as .uk to Nominet UK) for a price. Governments have no controlling rights over the internet, and quite rightly too.
No, Scotland shouldn't get a TLD anymore than I should get one (my initials aren't taken yet). They are there for states, and Scotland is not a state. Anyway, what the hell is .aa? Alba? No thank you. I'm not a Gael. |
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thetimeisnow
No Longer a Wean
Joined: 15 Sep 2005
Posts: 91
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| Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 10:26 am Post subject: |
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| Aventinian wrote: | .gb is not Gibraltar, it's Great Britain. There was an intention to change from .uk to .gb at one point to keep us in line with our ISO country codes. As you can imagine, it was eventually deemed impractical and there is only one website that still has a .gb TLD. Gibraltar is .gi.
These dependent territories were given their TLDs at the time when the policy was different. It has been decided that they will be allowed to keep them however, pragmatism and the fact that dependent territories are something of a political anomaly in today's world.
It's not a 'devolved' matter, or indeed any sort of governmental matter. The allocation of top level domains in the normal internet is the sole preserve of a private body based in the United States called ICANN. They subcontract TLDs to other bodies (such as .uk to Nominet UK) for a price. Governments have no controlling rights over the internet, and quite rightly too.
No, Scotland shouldn't get a TLD anymore than I should get one (my initials aren't taken yet). They are there for states, and Scotland is not a state. Anyway, what the hell is .aa? Alba? No thank you. I'm not a Gael. |
There is a difference between ccTLDs and gTLDs (the latter being the basis of the dotSCO attempt).
Why should the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey have TLDs? (They have .im, .gg and .jj)
The Internet and broadcasting is a matter which is controlled by Westminster and Scotland does not have any direct control over.
I think .aa would be a great option. Alba means Scotland whether you speak Gaelic or not. Scotland is a country and should be able to operate on a level playing field with the rest of the world by having its own Internet domain for a start. |
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Aventinian
'Our Scotland' Fossil
Joined: 10 Dec 2005
Posts: 4280
Location: Broadcasting From An Anonymous Location Within the United Kingdom.
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| Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2005 2:21 am Post subject: |
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Westminster doesn't have any control over the Internet in the way that you are meaning, unless it intends to create a state DNS server and pull Britain out of the internet, which would be completely impractical, not to mention authoritarian. Of course Scotland has direct control over it, the Scottish people elect members to the House of Commons just like everyone else... if you want to go further, you could say only MPs have direct control over it, but that would just be silly.
Scotland is not a country, it is a nation and a part of a larger country. And it does operate on a level playing field with other nations: nations do not automatically get TLDs.
Why should the Crown Possessions and territories have TLDs? Quite simply, they shouldn't, but it's incredibly impractical to withdraw and change these things. Not to mention that they are not part of the United Kingdom and thus not exactly represented by .uk.
Alba does not mean Scotland to me. You might as well get it to be .ec for Ecosse.
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thetimeisnow
No Longer a Wean
Joined: 15 Sep 2005
Posts: 91
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| Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2005 9:28 am Post subject: |
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So you are happy for Scotland not to be a country and simply a glorified region? And you are happy that your country is Britain? Clearly the answer is yes but that makes me sad.
The way I see it is that Scotland should be a country in its own right and so should England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Therefore we would each have our own Internet domain, 4 seats at the UN instead of 1 and 4 Olympic Teams instead of 1!
Britain can still exist but not as a country but a true union where Scotland decides. Organisations need to work together between the countries but I personally prefer not to be dominated by another country which has 10 times as many people.
Scotland becoming a country does not mean separation but a better way of working in a real democracy with social justice.
5 Million Scots deserve the right to be represented at all levels and not under the blanket of the country of Britain. Scotland deserves its place on the Internet just as many other smaller countries (or nations) do. |
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Maol.Chaluim
'Our Scotland' = 2nd Job!
Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 418
Location: Glaschu
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| Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2005 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Aventinian wrote: |
Alba does not mean Scotland to me. You might as well get it to be .ec for Ecosse. |
I didn't realise French was a native language of Scotland. Oh, and Scotland is a country, though not currently an independent one. |
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Aventinian
'Our Scotland' Fossil
Joined: 10 Dec 2005
Posts: 4280
Location: Broadcasting From An Anonymous Location Within the United Kingdom.
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| Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 5:21 am Post subject: |
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| thetimeisnow wrote: | | So you are happy for Scotland not to be a country and simply a glorified region? And you are happy that your country is Britain? Clearly the answer is yes but that makes me sad. |
I don't think 'country' really means anything. It certainly doesn't determine my identity. I'm Scottish and British, but those are mere parts of my character, not a whole. I do not primarily define myself accident of birth.
| Quote: | | The way I see it is that Scotland should be a country in its own right and so should England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Therefore we would each have our own Internet domain, 4 seats at the UN instead of 1 and 4 Olympic Teams instead of 1! |
So no permanent membership of the Security Council and four more chances to fail miserably! Go Nationalism!
| Quote: | | Britain can still exist but not as a country but a true union where Scotland decides. Organisations need to work together between the countries but I personally prefer not to be dominated by another country which has 10 times as many people. |
Why should Scotland have any more powers than any other group? I mean, why should it be Scotland that decides what goes rather than, say, Fife? Fife for the Fifonians and all that  I believe .fr is taken... maybe .kf?
| Quote: | | Scotland becoming a country does not mean separation but a better way of working in a real democracy with social justice. |
I'm not much of a supporter of democracy and social justice. Dictatorship of the majority in my opinion. I'm a Libertarian.
| Quote: | | 5 Million Scots deserve the right to be represented at all levels and not under the blanket of the country of Britain. Scotland deserves its place on the Internet just as many other smaller countries (or nations) do. |
There are plenty of large countries and plenty of different cultures within them. Yet to disband them would be a catastrophe. I don't see why five million Scots is any different than sixth million Britons. After all, they're just labels.
| Maol.Chaluim wrote: | | I didn't realise French was a native language of Scotland. Oh, and Scotland is a country, though not currently an independent one. |
Neither is Gaelic if you go back far enough. In fact, the only languages I believe have claims to the title of Scotland's native tongue are Brythonic and Pictish Celtic languages - which are closer to todays Welsh, Cornish and Breton.
Anyway, the Establishment in this country spoke French (well, near enough) for hundreds of years...
If you ask me, outside of some of the islands and a few very small pockets, English is the only real language of Scotland today. |
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SLG
Born Again..........and still Scottish!
Joined: 16 Sep 2005
Posts: 5515
Location: Dùn Eideann
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| Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 11:51 am Post subject: |
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| Aventinian wrote: | | Maol.Chaluim wrote: | | I didn't realise French was a native language of Scotland. Oh, and Scotland is a country, though not currently an independent one. |
Neither is Gaelic if you go back far enough. In fact, the only languages I believe have claims to the title of Scotland's native tongue are Brythonic and Pictish Celtic languages - which are closer to todays Welsh, Cornish and Breton. |
This is just anti-Gaelic nonsense, the Kingdom of Scotland began as a Gaelic speaking kingdom. Of course there were other languages that were spoken here before Scotland existed, and Pictish and Brythonic were spoken in parts after Scotland came into existence. Gaelic was the first language though and the oldest language that still exists. Pictish and the variant of Brythonic spoken here also no longer exist.
And even Pictish... do you think that Pictish speakers just rose out the ground? They would have come from elsewhere just like the original Gaelic, Brythonic, Norse and English speakers.
| Aventinian wrote: | Anyway, the Establishment in this country spoke French (well, near enough) for hundreds of years...
If you ask me, outside of some of the islands and a few very small pockets, English is the only real language of Scotland today. |
So, the establishment spoke Gaelic for hundreds of years, as well as French and now English. Whatever you say, it is a fact that the Gaelic was the founding language of Scotland and a nation and it is the oldest surviving language to be spoken hear.
.aa is only being mentioned because .sc etc are not available. No-one saying that English is not the main language. But why be so disdainful of part of the countries heritage. Even if you are British, it is still part of that counties heritage as well, no? |
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Aventinian
'Our Scotland' Fossil
Joined: 10 Dec 2005
Posts: 4280
Location: Broadcasting From An Anonymous Location Within the United Kingdom.
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| Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 1:47 am Post subject: |
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| SLG wrote: | This is just anti-Gaelic nonsense, the Kingdom of Scotland began as a Gaelic speaking kingdom. Of course there were other languages that were spoken here before Scotland existed, and Pictish and Brythonic were spoken in parts after Scotland came into existence. Gaelic was the first language though and the oldest language that still exists. Pictish and the variant of Brythonic spoken here also no longer exist.
And even Pictish... do you think that Pictish speakers just rose out the ground? They would have come from elsewhere just like the original Gaelic, Brythonic, Norse and English speakers. |
Gaelic is 'surviving'? It's little more than a novelty now. So what if the Kingdom of Scotland began as Gaelic speaking (actually, I think you'll find that it was not as widely spoken as that would suggest)? Scotland becoming a unified kingdom was just a small change of names as far as history is concerned.
Everyone is a settler if you go back far enough. In reality, however, the only language that has any claim to being any way representative of Scotland is English.
| Quote: | | .aa is only being mentioned because .sc etc are not available. No-one saying that English is not the main language. But why be so disdainful of part of the countries heritage. Even if you are British, it is still part of that counties heritage as well, no? |
Of course, I love the Celtic heritage of this country. However, it is not representative of today. I am not a Gael, no one in my family's history has ever spoken Gaelic, yet you somehow suggest it is somehow related to me. I'm afraid I don't see it. |
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SLG
Born Again..........and still Scottish!
Joined: 16 Sep 2005
Posts: 5515
Location: Dùn Eideann
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| Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 11:24 am Post subject: |
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| Aventinian wrote: | | Gaelic is 'surviving'? |
Yes, it is still the community language in some areas. The Gaelic-medium education sector is growing. The number of adult learners is increasing.
| Aventinian wrote: | | It's little more than a novelty now. |
For you maybe, but for some folk it is still their native language.
| Aventinian wrote: | | So what if the Kingdom of Scotland began as Gaelic speaking (actually, I think you'll find that it was not as widely spoken as that would suggest)? |
The original kingdom of the Scots just that. The Scots were the original Gaelic speakers to settle here. As the Kingdom expanded so did the influence of the language to the extent where it was greatly spoken across the entire country apart from the far south east, Orkney, Shetland and possibly parts of Caithness. Although even in these areas there are Gaelic place-names suggesting the language had some influence.
| Aventinian wrote: | | Scotland becoming a unified kingdom was just a small change of names as far as history is concerned. |
I really can't see how you can say that. Prior to that you have three (or four) very distinct (you could say ethno-) cultural groups (Scottish, Pictish and Brythonic; with the Kingdom of Lothian becoming increasingly Anglicised). I would think it was a massive change to unify these peoples under one Kingdom.
| Aventinian wrote: | Everyone is a settler if you go back far enough. In reality, however, the only language that has any claim to being any way representative of Scotland is English.
Of course, I love the Celtic heritage of this country. However, it is not representative of today. I am not a Gael, no one in my family's history has ever spoken Gaelic, yet you somehow suggest it is somehow related to me. I'm afraid I don't see it. |
I agree that English is the only language that is spoken across the board. Gaelic is still a very big part of Scotland, and even if you have no direct link with it yourself, it is part of the country. At the very least I'd imagine you have plenty places around you with Gaelic names (that is if you live in Scotland).
Anyway, the point was that if we cannot get and internet domain that signifies the English name for Scotland (such as .sc) a good alternative would be to take the Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba. Are you really suggesting that French has more significance to Scotland, past, present and future than Gaelic? |
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Maol.Chaluim
'Our Scotland' = 2nd Job!
Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 418
Location: Glaschu
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 12:10 am Post subject: |
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| Aventinian wrote: | | I am not a Gael, no one in my family's history has ever spoken Gaelic... |
To use one of your phrases, if you go back far enough, unless your familly is exclusively from Orkney, Shetland or Berwickshire, they probably have. |
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thetimeisnow
No Longer a Wean
Joined: 15 Sep 2005
Posts: 91
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| Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 4:23 am Post subject: |
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| Aventinian wrote: |
I don't think 'country' really means anything. It certainly doesn't determine my identity. I'm Scottish and British, but those are mere parts of my character, not a whole. I do not primarily define myself accident of birth.
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Country doesn't mean anything? Nothing at all?
I am Scottish but only British by law - having 2 nationalities is a strange concept and one which contradicts itself on many occasions.
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So no permanent membership of the Security Council and four more chances to fail miserably! Go Nationalism!
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You obviously hold Scotland in high regard and have high hopes for success. Nationalism spells positivity but unfortunately the Union since 1707 has only held Scotland back. None moreso that now - if you are serious about what you say and know how Scotland operates you would accept that.
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Why should Scotland have any more powers than any other group? I mean, why should it be Scotland that decides what goes rather than, say, Fife? Fife for the Fifonians and all that I believe .fr is taken... maybe .kf?
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Thats just being silly - Scotland is a country and most Scots will tell you that - wht should Scotland not have the same rights as other countries.
Or is Scotland merely a region of Britain and nothing more??
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I'm not much of a supporter of democracy and social justice. Dictatorship of the majority in my opinion. I'm a Libertarian.
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Libertarian?! Don't see how that will ever work in the United Kingdom's 'democratic process'.
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There are plenty of large countries and plenty of different cultures within them. Yet to disband them would be a catastrophe. I don't see why five million Scots is any different than sixth million Britons. After all, they're just labels.
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Scots are more than labels - greater understanding of Scotland encourages greater understanding in the UK. The current relationship between Scotland and England breeds unwanted confusion. We should be proud to be different and celebrate our ability to work together.
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Neither is Gaelic if you go back far enough. In fact, the only languages I believe have claims to the title of Scotland's native tongue are Brythonic and Pictish Celtic languages - which are closer to todays Welsh, Cornish and Breton.
Anyway, the Establishment in this country spoke French (well, near enough) for hundreds of years...
If you ask me, outside of some of the islands and a few very small pockets, English is the only real language of Scotland today. |
Seems very disrepectful.
Are you a globalist? Should the whole world be the same? Have the same currency? Speak the same language? Exciting.
Gaelic, like other languages, is an important part of Scotland's fantastic and varied culture.
Also, interested to know why you feel this way about Scotland? Where have you lived/been brought up? (Not that I think this is overly important although I do think it might help to answer some questions about your apparent lack of understanding of the country of Scotland).
I dont want any of the above to sound condesending (although I am all too aware that it might) - but I would appreciate a reasoned response. |
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