# [SOPA] OpenNIC



## Runefox (Jan 18, 2012)

OpenNIC started out life back in around 2000 by concerned internet users who felt that the control of ICANN undermined the freedom of the internet, and instead offered a different approach: A democratically-run volunteer-based open network that runs alongside the regular, ICANN-regulated internet. At the time, there didn't (at least to me) seem to be any reason to jump ship from the central, official DNS, because though all of their concerns were valid, the kind of abuse they feared had not yet come to light.

With SOPA, PIPA, and ACTA on our doorstep (even here in Canadia), that's all changing very rapidly.

Interest in alternatives to the internet's ICANN-sponsored root is skyrocketing, and this is only one of many proposed plans to deal with it should the heavy handed legislation pass. As it turns out, OpenNIC has silently been running all this time, continuously providing an alternative to the main domain name system by and for those who want and seek refuge. Should SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, or any combination of the above pass into law either in the US or elsewhere, it might be an alternative worth looking into. Networks like OpenNIC may be small (even tiny) right now, but could be a major game-changer in the days to come.

After all, the internet is designed to route around damage.


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## ArielMT (Jan 18, 2012)

Their main focus is still on alternative root domains (including .fur for furry sites), but yeah, ICANN shenanigans aren't the only ones they're paying attention to.


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## Runefox (Jan 18, 2012)

Actually, the stated original goal was to bypass something like this; The custom TLD's are a byproduct of how the system is designed. But yeah, potentially relevant to the interests of furs in general, there is a .fur TLD.  Not that it's a huge deal, though one of the perks of such a democratic system is that new TLD's can be approved more easily than with the ICANN, and without the business focus.


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## Elim Garak (Jan 19, 2012)

Wait till they start blocking IPs like BREIN did in the netherlands.
They an alternative DNS doesn't matter.


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## Geek (Jan 19, 2012)

If SOPA + PIPA passed, your domains & websites contain illegal contents then your sites will be blocked! Maybe the Justice Department will not give you chance to remove the illegal contents from your sites/domains.

So... if I own FUR.XXX and promote 2D furry porn arts... will i get blocked? Is furry arts bad in the eyes of the government?

I don't think there's going to be a .fur TLD because it serves no general purpose for the benefit of the internet. I mean... at least .xxx is designed to warn people that the website contain materials that are 18+. Will they block .xxx sites ?


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## Elim Garak (Jan 19, 2012)

Porn is not illegal. 
If you showcase your obese body to the internet(providing you are over the age of 18) on a website they will not block it.
However with furry porn it can be borderline drawn animal porn(Animal genitalia commonly seen on canines), and I am not sure what the US goverment thinks of that.


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## Runefox (Jan 20, 2012)

Geek said:


> I don't think there's going to be a .fur TLD because it serves no general purpose for the benefit of the internet. I mean... at least .xxx is designed to warn people that the website contain materials that are 18+. Will they block .xxx sites ?


You completely missed the point of my post. Bravo.


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## audiocanine (Jan 24, 2012)

So then OpenNIC is a completely separate network from the one my ISP links me to?


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