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According to the Mail on Sunday, UK Government have privately approved a plan to allow Scottish websites to end with .scot instead of .uk.  Plans to let Wales go it alone with ‘.wales’ and ‘.cymru’ have also been approved.  

However the UK Government has refused to allow the devolved administrations in Holyrood and Cardiff to use the domain name .gov.scot or .gov.cymru and are insisting that these bodies retain the existing .gov.uk.  The Mail on Sunday reports that UK government ministers is refusing to permit the use of the domain .gov.scot for fear of giving a boost to the independence campaign.  

English Conservative MP Andrew Percy, who was recently in the news as one of the MPs who were assaulted by Falkirk Labour MP Eric Joyce, reacted angrily to the announcement, saying that it was “nonsense”.  Mr Percy claimed that the UK government had “caved in” to the SNP on the issue.

Mr Percy said:  “Scotland hasn’t even voted yet on whether to go independent and all this is doing is giving First Minister Alex Salmond’s Nationalists a huge propaganda coup.”

There has been a long campaign in Scotland for the creation of a top level internet domain for the country.  

First Minister Alex Salmond has given his backing to the plan, saying:  “The time is ripe for the worldwide family of Scots to have their own domain, reflecting an online community defined by a shared commitment to Scottish identity, culture and economic promotion.”


Comments  

 
#
gbarnes
2012-03-25 04:12

Not sure why we need UK approval but will be good to see .scot
dotscot.net/
dotscot.net/blog/
 
 
#
expat67
2012-03-25 04:16

Now doesn’t this sound reminiscent of King Cnut trying to hold back the tide! And that was in England too!
 
 
#
Exile
2012-03-26 07:57

Aye, but Cnut’s point was to prove to his adoring followers that he couldn’t hold back the tide. The ‘UK Government’ think they can.
 

 
#
truth
2012-03-25 06:04

Excellent news, but a bit churlish on the .gov.scot issue. To be expected I suppose.

It’s one more thing in place come the great day.

I may even register a domain name for the first time.
 
 
#
proudscot
2012-03-25 13:49

Quoting truth:

Excellent news, but a bit churlish on the .gov.scot issue. To be expected I suppose.

It’s one more thing in place come the great day.

I may even register a domain name for the first time.



I agree with your remark “a bit churlish”, #truth. It’s just a continuation of the small-mindedness of Blair and his Westminster cohorts, when they insisted the Scottish Parliament had to use the term “Presiding Officer” instead of “Speaker” (unlike the Stormont Assembly!), in order to reinforce Blair’s petty opinion that it would be nothing more than a “glorified parish council”!

For the same petty reason, Westminster insisted in the early years that our Holyrood parliament had to be called the Executive (still used by Foulkes, Forsyth and Wallace) rather than Government. Dewar, McLeish and McConnell all supinely complied, and it took oor Alex to ignore this Westminster petty-mindedness. I hope he does the same with this latest attempted put-down. Just another example of the superiority complex of the unionist mindset in Westminster.

 

 
#
UpSpake
2012-03-25 06:50

Westminster cannot, will never, let go !.
Total, complete and utterly independent from this failed Union is the only way forward. After that, total and complete independence from the un-democratic and corrupt EU. Valhalla !
 
 
#
Aucheorn
2012-03-25 08:31

This particular campaign started over a year ago, I lobbied for .sco. The organisation that controls domain names, ICANN, can take 2 years over their deliberations, but first they have to accept the application. They wouldn’t accept an earlier application for .sco 4 or 5 years ago.

There are 2 organisations running campaigns dotscot.net (Not for Profit) and dotscot.com (Commercial). The Scottish Government is supporting the Not for Profit as one would expect.

Strangely enough Wastemonster sticking it’s oar in will probably help.

To the best of my knowlege NO application has been made yet !
 
 
#
Angus
2012-03-25 09:32

not allowed to us Gov.Sco !
What happens if they did use it, will they call the Bobbies?
How pathetic is that?
 
 
#
SolTiger
2012-03-25 09:39

A couple of points I have.

For starters really it should be the aim to get a two or three character ending if at all possible.

Naturally .sco would be prefered but there probably are other options such as .alb or .cal.

Sadly all the 2 character ones are pretty much taken that would fit. The Seychelles have .sc, Sierra Leone have .sl and Sudan have .sd.

As for suggestion that it is “nonsense” I assume that Mr Percy sees ANY variant of url suffix as nonsense as thinks everyone in the world should use .com.

The single best example that blows Mr Percy’s view away would be Norfolk Island.

Norfolk Island is an Australian territory which has limited self-governance (sound familier?). Despite its population of only around 2300 it has the url suffix of .nf.

If the devolved administration of these 2300 people are allowed www.info.gov.nf/ by Australia, what issues can someone in the UK have with there being the same url only ending in .sco.

Of course you can look a LOT closer to home for an even better example.

The Isle of Man. www.gov.im/ … of course Scotland getting anything like as close to what the Isle of Man has in terms of self governing would be a huge step forwards.

Actually I am surprised the Isle of Man is not brought up more often.

How about a single referendum question with 3 answers. Independence, Crown Dependency (see Isle of Man), or Status Quo.

With the addition that if Independence does not have a majority then all votes for Independence are are counted as votes for Crown Dependency.
 
 
#
Holebender
2012-03-25 09:52

The two-letter suffix .aa is still available. This can be used to represent Alba.
 
 
#
SolTiger
2012-03-25 10:16

Hmm .ss for ScotS maybe?

There aren’t any possible ones left relating to Caledonia sadly.
 
 
#
Jiggsbro
2012-03-25 14:02

Probably still too soon to reclaim ‘SS’.
 
 
#
scottish_skier
2012-03-25 17:50

Whit’s wrong wae SS? Oh, I see 😉

Scottish gov can just print .gov.scot on materials (flyers, info packs etc) and have it redirect to .uk.

Either that or just go with .scot anyway. Simple redirect. What is Westminster going to do? Wage cyber war?
 

 
#
nottooweeorstupid
2012-03-27 13:06

No offence SolTiger but why is .sco better than .scot? The latter trips off the tongue much better and says it all.
 

 
#
Talorcan
2012-03-25 10:03

Oh great! Nice idea the two letter suffix .aa. And how long would it be before someone noticed the simiarity between that and Alocoholics Anonymous or even the Automobile Association?
 
 
#
J Wil
2012-03-25 10:18

This was being treated as a bit of a joke during Sky’s discussion on the newspapers last night. Would you expect anything else from London, the self appointed centre of the universe?
 
 
#
Islegard
2012-03-25 11:26

Ignore them change it to .gov.scot They said we couldn’t call our government the Scottish Government.
 
 
#
Welsh Sion
2012-03-25 13:02

The other side of the coin is of course that these Brit Nats still don’t get it and ask for a .eng domain – persisting in making England and the United Kingdom synonymous.

If we do get our .scot, .cymru and .wales domains, I will raise a glass with you all to support another important step in our nations’ march to independence.

And then there’s the fledgling .bzh campaign, for our Celtic cousins in Brittany. They too merit our support. Through unity we can all succeed.

In passing, you may also know that the .cym proposal was lost as that was awarded to the Cayman Islands last year.
 
 
#
SolTiger
2012-03-25 16:07

Actually England can go one better than us easily because currently the 2 character code .en is untaken.
 

 
#
SolTiger
2012-03-25 16:25

It is odd however that it was seen as okay for number plates but is being seen as wrong by some for web sites.

Though even within number plate national emblems there seems to be some oddities.

GB, Great Britain, UK, United Kingdom all okay.

Wales, Cymru, CYM are okay.

Scotland, SCO are okay … but not Alba apparently.

Also of these only number plates marked GB are accepted outside of the UK.
 
 
#
Welsh Sion
2012-03-25 16:29

Related, SolTiger.

GB is the only valid sticker allowed internationally on a vehicle legally, I think (although CYM and SCO are used by patriots of both our nations and the authorities turn a blind eye to them), and this can be seen adorning vehicles registered in Northern Ireland – a statelet outwith Great Britain!

You say that .en is available to our neighbours. Why shouldn’t they have .ing … for Ingerland! 😉
 
 
#
scottish_skier
2012-03-25 17:54

You’ll not get trouble on the continent for having an SCO with a saltire. More likely they’ll let you off with a wee slap on the wrists than if you have a GB and union jack.

My numberplate, printed as standard by the garage (Seat Glenrothes) came with the european stars, a wee saltire and SCO on it.
 
 
#
Islegard
2012-03-25 18:50

Is it actually illegal? I know Westminster were desperate to ban SCO on number plates. Didn’t they reverse the decision later?

This site states it is permitted:-
regtransfers.co.uk/…/…

and here on the DVLA website:-
direct.gov.uk/…/…

I think they were satisfied they scared enough people into believing it was illegal.
 
 
#
scottish_skier
2012-03-25 19:19

General scaremongering I believe.

From 2001

news.bbc.co.uk/…/1514132.stm

Neil Greig, head of policy at the AA in Scotland, warned motorists with old style plates to change them and urged police to clamp down on those who flout the new regulations.

Mr Greig said: “In bringing in the new registration plates, the DVLA took the opportunity to clarify the position with regard to these euro plates.

“In international law, the only acceptable symbol that covers Scotland is GB, so SCO, Alba and Ecosse has no international standing at all.

“Our advice, particularly for Scots driving abroad, is don’t rely on an SCO plate because some countries in Europe are quite hot on enforcing these regulations and GB is the only acceptable thing to have on your number plate.”


‘Ecosse’ is wrong? Tell that to the French, my wife included; she went out and bought a sticker saying that herself, along with the celtic symbol of brittany, from where her family originates.
 
 
#
Islegard
2012-03-25 19:24

Yes I found that! In that article the AA are a bit extreme wanting the police to charge everyone who used a Scottish flag.

I also came across an article in a “paper” that states the UK legislation was changed in 2009 to allow the flags and country abbreviations. Though it seems to indicate the continent is another story.

dailymail.co.uk/…/…

Here’s a Scotland Office mention on the change of law in 2009 allowing it. However I must warn it features a disturbing photo of Jim Murphy.
scotlandoffice.gov.uk/…/…
 

 
#
Welsh Sion
2012-03-25 19:25

When I said illegal, I was referring to the sticky SCO/CYM label which you can attach (or not, of course) to your vehicle. I’m sure that this is tolerated by Continentals and is always a source of mutual rapport. I think both the said SCO and CYM labels also have the French name of our nations in smaller print below the CYM/SCO, viz. Pays de Galles and Ecosse.

My point was that I thought (and am open to correction) that such labels have no legal standing vis a vis the law makers at Westminster (I suspect it might be a devolved matter to Scotland but not to Wales – divide and rule yet again), and that only GB is entitled to be affixed onto such a label. Again, I could be proved wrong on this.

But one thing is certain – in probably one of the most unionist parts of the United [sic.] Kingdom, there are vehicles travelling on the roads bearing GB labels, when that part is not part of GB.
 
 
#
Islegard
2012-03-25 19:45

You’re right Sion about the GB stickers:-
theaa.com/…/…

I don’t understand why though. You don’t see cars from other countries having to display stickers. I wouldn’t put a GB sticker on personally I’d prefer to risk a fine than fly under a foreign sticker.

Other sites seem to indicate they are quite relaxed about not dispalying the stickers though.
 

 
#
Welsh Sion
2012-03-25 18:02

Agreed, SS – and good talking points they are too, educating our fellow Europeans of our “apartness” from England.

That’s why we as a family refused to attach the GB sticker to our car on our Continental trips in the 1970’s.
 
 
#
scottish_skier
2012-03-25 19:30

Aye, for sure. Half my extended family and friends are French through my marriage all those years ago to a young lady from Normandie (originally brittany). Je suis écossais! always brings out the smiles and the talk of the ‘Auld Alliance’ etc.
 
 
#
Islegard
2012-03-25 19:36

Are the French generally aware of the Auld Alliance? Amazing to think at famous battles such as Agincourt. The Scots were there fighting for the French against the English. In fact in all the major wars and battles the French and English fought there was a Scottish contingent fighting for the French.
 
 
#
scottish_skier
2012-03-25 19:46

I got married in a small village near Le Harve. The mayor who conducted the ceremony had prepared a speech involving talk of the auld alliance, Mary Queen of Scots, historical scots-french relations etc. All in French. Was a great 2 days. Boy do the french know how to do a wedding. They of course loved the kilts and we even had a piper from Brittany.
 
 
#
Welsh Sion
2012-03-25 19:55

Quoting Islegard:

In fact, in all the major wars and battles the French and English fought, there was a Scottish contingent fighting for the French.



Aye, and us lot were mercenaries for both sides!

*Sigh*

 

 
#
rog_rocks
2012-03-25 19:03

Does this mean we’re getting .sco or .scot?

I couldn’t have GB on my car, it would be like an admission of failure.

Much the same about .co.uk not a nice thing to have to attach to yourself, though imagine the horror if it was .brit, dunno if I’d rather have .ss or even .ass. I’m glad I got in there before the .com’s ran out.

I think it’s also a bit like being abroad and having to show a passport which declares that you are British instead of Scottish, how mortifying.

I’m looking forward to the begrudged .sco the shorter or .scot and also a Scottish passport; only available with a YES vote for independence.
 
 
#
Islegard
2012-03-25 19:07

We’ll be getting .scot. Originally it was going to be .sco. I think this was a much better idea because when we are independent it will tie in with recognised international abbreviations for countries. However they conducted a consultation and other people preferred .scot so that’s what they went with.
 
 
#
rog_rocks
2012-03-25 19:37

hmm well look on the bright side, dot scot is maybe a wee bit more poetic and quicker to say because .sco would probably be said as dot s c o, four syllables as opposed to two, though quicker to type…
 
 
#
scottish_skier
2012-03-25 19:47

Aye, and it leaves no doubt as to which country is being talked about.
 

 
#
xyz
2012-03-25 19:51

I would have preferred dot sco

Pronounced as in dot Scotia ..

dot scot will be abused.
 
 
#
agrippinilla
2012-03-25 21:32

Unfortunately .scot won’t do us when we’re independent as it isn’t a top-level domain. It’s more akin to .info, .travel or .xxx, i.e. for limited use, and not a two-character country code.

As pointed out above, most of the “s” codes have been used up, leaving only .sf, .sp, .sq, .sw or .sx. (South Sudan recently claimed .ss) so it’s not much of a choice.

But it shows how scared the FUDs are if even a novelty code like .scot can give them an independence scare. Come ahead, I say!
 
 
#
flyingscotsman
2012-03-25 21:50

Actually .scot would be a top level domain, and .info, .travel and .xxx are all top level domains. Top level domains refer to the extension after the last dot in a domain name.
 
 
#
Jiggsbro
2012-03-25 22:05

The ccTLD would normally be based on the ISO 3166-1 code for the country, which doesn’t exist for Scotland (it’s an ISO 3166-2 subdivision of the UK, ‘SCT’). On independence, Scotland should get its own ISO 3166-1 code, but all the obvious ones are already taken. Alba – ‘aa’ or ‘ab’ – might be the best bet.
 
 
#
flyingscotsman
2012-03-25 22:25

ccTLDs are a subset of TLDs. Besides the point is moot as the TLDs will be going through radical restructuring probably within the next few years where any top level domain can be registered with ICANN. i.e. .glasgow .africa etc.

.scot is probably seen as a forerunner or even part of this process.
 
 
#
Jiggsbro
2012-03-25 22:41

Even if gTLDs are expanded, ccTLDs are likely to remain as formal country identifiers. Scotland should join every other nation with its own ccTLD. It will certainly need its own ISO 3166 code.
 
 
#
flyingscotsman
2012-03-26 11:26

Of course the country codes will remain, they arent going anywhere, and Scotland will get her own but the domain system is abused so much it renders the country codes useless in most circumstances unless it is policed constantly. Plenty of Chinese companies have registered .co.uk’s for instance and that will happen with .scot without policing. Having worked in the web industry for 10 years I see it happening frequently.
 

 
#
zeldomzeen
2012-03-25 21:36

Excellent. Another few years and we’ll all be able to get a Scottish passport as well.
 
 
#
J Wil
2012-03-26 07:38

The likely cost frightens me if its anything like the cost of a UK one.
 
 
#
Hearthammer
2012-03-27 10:20

I think that the first one that’s available to residents on Independence Day should be free!
 

 
#
DonUnder
2012-03-25 22:35

So when can I buy my new .scot domain name? 🙂
 
 
#
Jiggsbro
2012-03-25 22:53

As soon as someone stumps up $185,000 to register .scot as a geoTLD, has that registration accepted by ICANN and then offers the lower-level domains for sale.

dotscot.net/
 
 
#
.Scot
2012-03-25 23:44

Quoting Jiggsbro:

As soon as someone stumps up $185,000 to register .scot as a geoTLD, has that registration accepted by ICANN and then offers the lower-level domains for sale.

dotscot.net/




That’s why we now have a government in Scotland rather than a “Nay-saying” bunch of British Defence League losers in Whitehall who would much rather fight for a Home counties domain than a Scottish one.

 
 
#
Islegard
2012-03-25 23:52

I don’t know the current application stage. Here is part of an email I received regarding this at the end of 2010 which hoped the process would be complete this summer.

“Where we stand now is that ICANN have recently issued a ‘proposed final’ guidebook which is currently out to public comment. The hope is that they will take a decision this week (that subject to minor revisions in the last version) that they will release a final version of the guidebook which dotSCOT and others would work to. If the final guidebook is approved this week then the application window will open in Summer 2011.

If the process moves swiftly from there (fingers crossed) then in Summer 2012 we hope to be in a position to have dotSCOT delegated onto the route and begin the process of making them available for sale.”
 
 
#
Jiggsbro
2012-03-26 00:21

The roll-out was delayed – repeatedly – by mainly US vested interests. The current application window opened in January and ends in April, I think. It’s unlikely that .scot domains will be available this summer, but they should be available in the run-up to the referendum.
 
 
#
Islegard
2012-03-26 00:36

They did say the process when I received the email had been long, drawn out and delayed!
 

 
#
.Scot
2012-03-25 23:37

I approve!

“NHS.scot” would educate a lot of rather stupid #Oxbridge twitters, reporters and BBC commentators who think they are funding Scotland’s Health services!
 
 
#
Islegard
2012-03-25 23:46

What would educate them better is returning to calling it The Scottish Health Service. Which is what is was called in Scotland from inception until Michael Forsyth took exception to the “Scottish” and changed in to NHS. It wouldn’t have to be a costly rebrand just a gradual phasing in of the name.
 
 
#
Exile
2012-03-26 08:17

Sorry, Islegard, but I don’t like that idea at all. I think Forsyth blundered. The move to National Health Service makes it sound more like the health service of a mature, self-confident nation that doesn’t have to preface everything with ‘Scottish’ in order to stand out from the English equivalent. Where the context requires it, we can always talk of ‘Scotland’s National Health Service’. In similar vein, I long for the day I can read of us having our Parliament in Edinburgh housed with MPs, not the Scottish Parliament with MSPs.
 
 
#
Islegard
2012-03-26 08:27

Yes perhaps in the future we can move on to dropping calling ourselves Scots or Scottish possibly opting for “the national people”. While we’re at it Scotland! How about “the national country.”
 

 
#
rhymer
2012-03-26 20:24

I like the “dot scot” name.

In the sixties, amongst all my friends, it was the custom to get
SCOTLAND painted on the back mudguard of our motorbikes if we were going to Europe. Nobody complained and it was a positive
“talking point” wherever we travelled.
 

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