"So according to the article, it's not restricted to the US, it's just that the US decides who gets it and who doesn't."
Well, a private company overseen by the US Chamber of Commerce gets to decide and is only taking guidance of eligibility from US agencies for international accreditation of educational facilities. What could possibly go wrong?
Now I'm not saying that this is completely destined to end up in abject comedic failure, but it is hardly ideal and I am sure that there are several international academic organisations that would be better stewards for this.
However, going through the website for .edu domains, it does seem pretty restrictive for anyone outside the US.
"For postsecondary institutions located outside the U.S.: As specified by the Department of Commerce, only postsecondary "U.S. institutions" that are institutionally accredited by one of the agencies on the U.S. Department of Education’s list of Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies may apply for new names in the .edu domain. We thus require applicants to be located within the United States (including U.S. territories and possessions); or to be licensed, chartered, or incorporated within the United States (including U.S. territories and possessions); or to be otherwise officially recognized by a U.S. state or federal government agency (including U.S. territories and possessions)."
> ...or to be otherwise officially recognized by a U.S. state or federal government agency
Why is it a bad idea to require recognition before handing out an .edu domain? As stated earlier people implicitly trust those domains and emails coming from them, and it would be downright dangerous to let untrustworthy nations hand them out to anyone.
It isn't a bad idea to require recognition, but it is a bad idea to cede control of the process of recognition of academic institutions for .edu domains to the government administration of a single nation as there is far too much potential for a conflict of interest.
Also, although there are many places a hell of a lot worse, the US is not generally thought to be the worlds most trustworthy nation, if the argument is about the potential for political corruption or interference.
I just think it makes a lot more sense for .edu to be managed by one of the established international academic NGOs.
Well, a private company overseen by the US Chamber of Commerce gets to decide and is only taking guidance of eligibility from US agencies for international accreditation of educational facilities. What could possibly go wrong?
Now I'm not saying that this is completely destined to end up in abject comedic failure, but it is hardly ideal and I am sure that there are several international academic organisations that would be better stewards for this.