June 29, 2026
Identity crisis, now with comments
Announcing .self: A New Top-Level Domain Designed to Support Self-Hosting
A new web address ending wants to save the internet, but the comments are already chaos
TLDR: A nonprofit is pushing for **.self**, a new web address ending meant to support self-run, less exploitative websites. Commenters split between loving the idea, mocking the name, worrying basic things like email won’t work, and joking about grabbing wild addresses before anyone else does.
The big announcement is that the Human-Centered Computing Foundation wants a brand-new web ending, .self, as a home for people who run their own sites and want a less corporate internet. In plain English: they’re pitching a corner of the web that feels more personal, less data-hungry, and more controlled by regular users than giant platforms. Noble mission? Absolutely. But the comment section immediately did what comment sections do best: turned the launch into a mix of roast, wish list, and existential internet panic.
Some readers were instantly distracted by naming drama. One person declared “.me is cooler”, then launched into a surprisingly passionate rant about how all the “cool” short web endings got locked up as country codes, calling it a historic internet blunder with “devastating consequences.” That is exactly the kind of oddly specific online fury that keeps these stories alive. Others went practical, fast. The most skeptical hot take was basically: great idea, but will email even work? One commenter wished the project “good luck” getting messages accepted by Gmail and Outlook, which is internet-speak for: love the dream, fear the reality.
And then came the jokes. One person casually said they’d already started using .internal, a perfect little rebel shrug. Another yelled “Shotgun on your.self!”, instantly turning the whole thing into a meme about the absurdly fun names people could claim. Even the site itself seemed overwhelmed, prompting a dry “Looks like we’ve hugged it to death.” So yes, .self wants to build a kinder web — but the real launch party is happening in the replies, where hope, sarcasm, and domain-name thirst are fighting it out in public.
Key Points
- •The Human-Centered Computing Foundation announced a campaign to secure the .self top-level domain.
- •The organization says the internet’s infrastructure has been used by the tech industry to extract data and exploit attention.
- •The foundation states that it aims to create an alternative architecture for the web.
- •The proposed .self TLD is described as being dedicated entirely to ethical, human-centered technology.
- •The foundation says it is an approved participant in ICANN’s Applicant Support Program.