.self: A new top-level domain designed to support self-hosting
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
The HCCF applies for a .self TLD to empower ethical self-hosting.
The Human-Centered Computing Foundation (HCCF) has announced its campaign to secure a new .self Top-Level Domain (TLD) through ICANN's Applicant Support Program. The TLD is intended to support self-hosting by offering free tied services like email, TLS certificates, and simplified domain setup for homelabs. The foundation argues that owning the TLD from the root, rather than operating beneath an existing domain, provides independence and better integration with local clients.
The initiative's announcement was published as a downloadable PDF, which drew significant criticism in the comments about accessibility and usability.
What commenters are saying
Commenters split into two camps: those questioning the practical implementation and those criticizing the PDF format. Many pointed out that PDFs are less accessible, harder to search, and larger than HTML, with some calling it 'digital hypocrisy' for an organization claiming to be human-centered. Others raised concrete concerns about funding, verification of self-hosting, and email deliverability via major providers like Gmail. Several commenters played with potential subdomains like gofuckyour.self and treat.your.self.
A practical point emerged: the HCCF responded that they plan to operate a shared mail server for domain users to ensure trust and deliverability, which some argued contradicts the self-hosting premise.