What was once "the Internet's first and only sex-positive URL shortener" is no more, thanks to a conflict with Libyan law.
The Vb.ly service combined the initials of blogger and sex columnist Violet Blue and the .ly country-specific Internet domain associated with Libya. The combination didn't work out, an outcome with potential implications for bit.ly, those use use it, and address-shortening services in general.
"Pornography and adult material aren't allowed under Libyan Law, therefore we removed the domain," Alaeddin S. ElSharif, a representative of Libya Telecom and Technology's Web services Department, told Violet Blue in explaining the shutdown of the site and service.
....Ben Metcalfe, co-owner of the site, said Wednesday the demise of Vb.ly has implications for others using the domain.
"We eventually discovered that the domain has been seized because the content of our Web site, in their opinion, fell outside of Libyan Islamic/Sharia Law," Metcalfe said in a blog post. "This is deeply concerning for everyone, but especially .ly domain owners, because it sets a precedent that all websites running on a .ly domain must comply with Libyan Islamic/Sharia Law in order to maintain their domains. This is especially concerning for anyone running an URL shortener or hosting user-generated content on a .ly domain."
The most obvious such organization is Bit.ly, whose URL-shortening service is widely used.
Metcalfe sees others as potentially affected, though--not just Bit.ly and its kind, but those who rely on its services as well.
via thejidf.org
the question now is will we actually go after the social media people who promoted this hypocrisy? Will we question people like Robert Scoble, Ayelet Noff, Jeff Pulver, Dave Winer, Shel Israel, Loren Feldman, and much of the Tech scene in Tel Aviv who scoffed at the dot LY plague? Will we now call them out and remember that Tech has a public relations crew... many inside of Israel who encouraged this dangerous use of information. Blogs like http://www.blonde2dot0.com and http://www.go2web20.net were the places that pushed these standards. Many Pro Zionist voices are afraid to chase away the very profitable Tech industry.
