Quote from: alani123 on April 28, 2017, 06:37:29 AM

Ok, TLDs might not be truly free (as in freedom), but where does namecoin fit into the picture? Is there any correlation to be made between what you're asserting and OP's post?

If you mean when Alex said "Namecoin is the first fork..." yes.

Bitcoin lets a person create a currency that anybody can adopt or ignore or anything else they want. So far the only option was to use highly liquid currencies that were created by governments. If you chose to not use the local currency you would be attacked by legal predators trying to enforce the use of 'their' money, i.e., the money of their 'employer'.

Likewise Namecoin. So far, to make a public page that is visible to millions of people, a website, you must act through an entity that is forced to follow the short term wishes of people with political interests, i.e., icann, or you can make a site through tor, which caters more to criminal activity and at any rate would not be safe for political sites, despite what people think. Namecoin lets you register a domain that is kept not at the pleasure of somebody with political motives, but by a consensus that involves users of the coin.

So with Namecoin, and any similar coin that might be created in the future, you can register a website that only you are responsible for and have power over. The next step, decentralized hosting, has a lot of people ready, once the domain issue is free. Small internets can be created in a way that is safe from interference, the question is how to link them, so anybody can easily go to any internet through any browser.

...

Right now there are a lot of latecomers to the crypto party who have new solutions, which almost always involve an ico, a premine, or some other bullshit. Those coins will not last. Namecoin will.

Quote from: aaron swartz link=https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/domain-name-seizures-329/

FOIA REQUEST: Expedited processing requested

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

Any records related to domain name seizures, including those conduced by DHS and ICE, including the domain names...

...

...

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request if they are in excess of $50. I hereby agree to pay fees up to $50. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Aaron Swartz

Quote from: aaron swartz link=https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/domain-name-seizures-329/

I'd like to resubmit my request to request, specifically:

- Any guidelines or protocols for ICE agents about the procedures for seizing domains
- Any communications between ICE and other government agencies with regard to the seized domains
- Any communications between ICE and intellectual property owners requesting domains be seized or discussing seized domains
- Any court filings requesting authorization to seize domains
- Any internal emails mentioning the seized sites
- Any legal memos mentioning the seized sites

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/02/senator-us-domain-name-seizures-alarmingly-unprecedented/

https://torrentfreak.com/u-s-government-shuts-down-music-sharing-sites-141022/

https://torrentfreak.com/us-copyright-law-doesnt-apply-worldwidedvd-ripper-tells-court-140424/

https://torrentfreak.com/uk-seize-popular-music-blog-arrest-operators-and-threaten-readers-120214/

https://www.indolering.com/chilling-effects-domain-names

https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/guidance-domain-seizures-07mar12-en.pdf

edit to add
I don't use torrent sites, I don't buy drugs online or anywhere else, I don't support any crimes etc. The fact is though that if you have a lot of money you can tell law enforcement what to consider as a crime. The entertainment industry invested heavily in purchasing U.S. law enforcement, so they, the industry, now control that aspect of the internet. Tomorrow some billionaire with some other odd belief may be deciding what a crime is.