Hi Folks, auDA (au Domain Administration) are tightening up their management of .org.au domains. I have previously registered and paid for the Free Software Melbourne/Australia website domain freesoftware.org.au myself, but that's likely no longer possible. They need an ABN of a non-profit. This brings forward a few questions about the website such as whether we shut it down or try to transfer the domain to someone else. I'll make some notes here and would be interested to hear any reactions. Background ---------- FSM has always been an informal group. It's not incorporated so isn't a business entity in a technical sense. This means it can't register a domain. The group has been inactive for a while. It started up back in 2010 to talk about the ethics and social aspects of free software and open source, rather than just the technology. It met regularly for more than 10 years and a lot of interesting discussions were had. With the explosion of interest in open source, it's also become harder to run a group with a broad subject. There's a lot competing for people's attention. The website is currently three things: 1. A Django/Mezzanine CMS with all the event details and pages (https://freesoftware.org.au/). It's been OK, but if the group did take off again, a static-site generator might be easier to maintain long-term. 2. A MoinMoin wiki (https://freesoftware.org.au/wiki/). This was unused even when the group was still active. 3. A MediaGoblin site hosting talk videos (https://media.freesoftware.org.au/). The mailing lists have always remained on the original domain I registered way back in 2009, https://lists.softwarefreedom.com.au/ so no immediate action required there. Options ------- The options that come to mind are: A) Shut it all down. I would feel a bit bad about turning off the website, but I guess the value was really in the relationships and experiences that people had, not so much in an asset like the website. B) See if Linux Australia will accept the domain. This would be deferring the hard decision about the future of the group. C) Switch to a non .org.au domain. Similar compromise to B. I'm probably leaning towards A. I think there's something healthy in calling a clean end to something and making way for the new things that might fill its place. Happy to be convinced otherwise. Regards, Ben