Discussion Overview
The discussion centers around the existence and status of non-US .edu websites, particularly those that were "grandfathered in" before the restriction of the .edu domain to US institutions in 2001. Participants explore specific examples, technical issues related to domain access, and the implications of domain registration policies.
Discussion Character
- Exploratory
- Technical explanation
- Debate/contested
Main Points Raised
- Some participants inquire about non-US .edu sites, noting that Wikipedia states these were allowed to remain active if they existed before the 2001 restriction.
- The University of Toronto is mentioned as an example of a non-US .edu site, specifically referencing toronto.edu.
- One participant reports that toronto.edu and utoronto.edu do not work, while utoronto.ca is functional, suggesting a possible recent change.
- Details about the University of Toronto's domain registration and administrative contacts are provided, indicating that the domain was activated in 1986 and last updated in 2012.
- Some participants confirm that certain subdomains of the University of Toronto, such as www.cs.toronto.edu and www.math.toronto.edu, are operational, while the main toronto.edu site returns an error.
- There is a discussion about the rationale behind ICANN's restrictions on .edu domains, with one participant expressing confusion over the limitations to American universities.
- Another participant clarifies that the .edu domain is managed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and contracted to EDUCAUSE, indicating that ICANN does not have authority over it.
- Technical aspects are discussed, including the nature of the error returned by the toronto.edu site and the hosting details related to CloudFront and the University of Toronto's IP address space.
Areas of Agreement / Disagreement
Participants express differing views on the accessibility of specific .edu sites and the policies governing the .edu domain. There is no consensus on the reasons for the restrictions or the implications of domain management practices.
Contextual Notes
Some participants note technical issues with accessing certain domains, and there are references to domain ownership and resolution problems that remain unresolved.
