Domain hack

Within the context of micronationalism a domain hack is a domain name that suggests the top-level domain is used within reference of said micronational entity; for example, the domain www.cupertinoalliance.ca suggests the .ca domain, which is actually the country code top-level domain for Canada, is an acronym for Cupertino Alliance. In this context, the word hack denotes a clever trick (as in programming), not an exploit or break-in (as in security).

Domain hacks offer the ability to act as though one's micronational entity is a ccTLD, in order to distance themselves from their macronational entity (i.e. as an alternative to .uk or .us) which could present themselves to look more professional, "serious", dedicated or just for aesthetic purposes to external onlookers.

History

The term "domain hack" within micronational context to refer to such a domain was coined on 1 October 2020 by Zabëlle Skye, who was wanting a word to describe such tricks.

Examples

• .mn, the country code top-level domain for Mongolia, which is sometimes used as a domain hack for MN—the abbreviation of micronation.
• The intermicronational organisation Cupertino Alliance released a video on 19 February 2020 announcing their new domain cupertinoalliance.ca, which they jokingly advertised as their eponymous domain.
• The domain pavlov.pl for Pavlov, registered on 5 June 2020.
• The domain ducado.ml for the Duchy of the Two Melillas (Ducado de las Dos Melillas in Spanish).
• The domain montediszamble.co for the Montediszamble Convention.
• The domain mouzilo.ml was used for a period by Mouzilo.
• The domain micro.wiki, which redirects to MicroWiki.

External links

• Domain hack on MicroWikiDictionary
• Who.is — domain names database