Pete Millspaugh
@petemillspaugh.com
Writing a book about domains @ dotcom.press
Programming & writing @val.town
Digital gardening @ petemillspaugh.com
Programming & writing @val.town
Digital gardening @ petemillspaugh.com
Pinned
Pete Millspaugh
@petemillspaugh.com
· Oct 23
I put together a timeline of domain history from DNS to 2026 gTLDs. Inspired by @deno.land's Brief History of JS and @neal.fun's Internet Artifacts (which is amazing if you haven't read through it before!)
dotcom.press/history-of-domains
dotcom.press/history-of-domains
LLMs take "strong opinions, weakly held" way too far
September 9, 2026 at 4:48 PM
LLMs take "strong opinions, weakly held" way too far
I am out on purposeful typos to "prove" that your email/etc is not written by ai
(seeing more and more of this in tech company marketing email)
(seeing more and more of this in tech company marketing email)
September 8, 2026 at 1:49 PM
I am out on purposeful typos to "prove" that your email/etc is not written by ai
(seeing more and more of this in tech company marketing email)
(seeing more and more of this in tech company marketing email)
i think i want a printer for longform articles/blog posts
or--and ik this would be super wasteful--i could make an rss-to-print thing on @val.town
or--and ik this would be super wasteful--i could make an rss-to-print thing on @val.town
September 4, 2026 at 2:47 PM
i think i want a printer for longform articles/blog posts
or--and ik this would be super wasteful--i could make an rss-to-print thing on @val.town
or--and ik this would be super wasteful--i could make an rss-to-print thing on @val.town
I wrote about trying (and failing) to let ai write for me
title is a riff on @henrikkarlsson.bsky.social's henrikkarlsson.xyz/p/search-query
title is a riff on @henrikkarlsson.bsky.social's henrikkarlsson.xyz/p/search-query
A docs page is a very long and complex search query to find wandering AI agents and make them route interested people to your company
On AEO
blog.val.town
September 1, 2026 at 8:29 PM
I wrote about trying (and failing) to let ai write for me
title is a riff on @henrikkarlsson.bsky.social's henrikkarlsson.xyz/p/search-query
title is a riff on @henrikkarlsson.bsky.social's henrikkarlsson.xyz/p/search-query
The Public Suffix List is “just a list”
dotcom.press/archive/public-suffix-list
dotcom.press/archive/public-suffix-list
August 31, 2026 at 4:03 PM
The Public Suffix List is “just a list”
dotcom.press/archive/public-suffix-list
dotcom.press/archive/public-suffix-list
abottom.org
i've been reaching for "abottom" more and more, so i formalized my effort to spread the word (literally)
i've been reaching for "abottom" more and more, so i formalized my effort to spread the word (literally)
August 20, 2026 at 2:06 AM
abottom.org
i've been reaching for "abottom" more and more, so i formalized my effort to spread the word (literally)
i've been reaching for "abottom" more and more, so i formalized my effort to spread the word (literally)
btw, these new domain endings should be of much greater interest to the @bsky.app (atproto) community than your average internet jane/joe because of the incoming flood of expressive @handle.tld options
ICANN's gTLD application window closed last night and bigger-than-2012 (last round) stuff is already happening
lfg.link applied for 316, more than anyone in 2012 (it'll cost $71 million in application fees alone!)
some interesting strings in there...going to thread until I run out of steam
lfg.link applied for 316, more than anyone in 2012 (it'll cost $71 million in application fees alone!)
some interesting strings in there...going to thread until I run out of steam
August 13, 2026 at 10:08 PM
btw, these new domain endings should be of much greater interest to the @bsky.app (atproto) community than your average internet jane/joe because of the incoming flood of expressive @handle.tld options
ICANN's gTLD application window closed last night and bigger-than-2012 (last round) stuff is already happening
lfg.link applied for 316, more than anyone in 2012 (it'll cost $71 million in application fees alone!)
some interesting strings in there...going to thread until I run out of steam
lfg.link applied for 316, more than anyone in 2012 (it'll cost $71 million in application fees alone!)
some interesting strings in there...going to thread until I run out of steam
August 13, 2026 at 9:30 PM
ICANN's gTLD application window closed last night and bigger-than-2012 (last round) stuff is already happening
lfg.link applied for 316, more than anyone in 2012 (it'll cost $71 million in application fees alone!)
some interesting strings in there...going to thread until I run out of steam
lfg.link applied for 316, more than anyone in 2012 (it'll cost $71 million in application fees alone!)
some interesting strings in there...going to thread until I run out of steam
we migrated the @val.town docs to val town, which was full of AX/DX/UX tradeoffs (to borrow @jim-nielsen.com's framing)
anthropomorphized potato pothole doodle by @jxnblk.bsky.social
anthropomorphized potato pothole doodle by @jxnblk.bsky.social
Docfooding: Eating our own documentation
The Val Town docs are now written and hosted on Val Town
blog.val.town
August 5, 2026 at 8:16 PM
we migrated the @val.town docs to val town, which was full of AX/DX/UX tradeoffs (to borrow @jim-nielsen.com's framing)
anthropomorphized potato pothole doodle by @jxnblk.bsky.social
anthropomorphized potato pothole doodle by @jxnblk.bsky.social
Domains by the numbers
dotcom.press/archive/domains-by-the-numbers
although probably nicer to read on the website^, this is well suited to a thread, so here goes
dotcom.press/archive/domains-by-the-numbers
although probably nicer to read on the website^, this is well suited to a thread, so here goes
July 31, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Domains by the numbers
dotcom.press/archive/domains-by-the-numbers
although probably nicer to read on the website^, this is well suited to a thread, so here goes
dotcom.press/archive/domains-by-the-numbers
although probably nicer to read on the website^, this is well suited to a thread, so here goes
a couple weeks ago, we got a “personalised” video pitch from a startup, but the guy in the video was not a person at all
Ethical cold outreach
Stop misrepresenting AI slop as your own work
blog.val.town
July 28, 2026 at 3:07 PM
a couple weeks ago, we got a “personalised” video pitch from a startup, but the guy in the video was not a person at all
the models seem to have very little respect for WCAG color contrast compliance
July 20, 2026 at 4:18 PM
the models seem to have very little respect for WCAG color contrast compliance
some good TLDs from 2012 still trickling out
Google gets ready to launch .eat, and .here, and .fly
Company files launch plans for three more top level domains. Google Registry has filed plans with ICANN to launch the .eat, .here, and .fly top level domain names....
https://domainnamewire.com/2026/07/15/google-eat-here-fly/
Company files launch plans for three more top level domains. Google Registry has filed plans with ICANN to launch the .eat, .here, and .fly top level domain names....
https://domainnamewire.com/2026/07/15/google-eat-here-fly/
Google gets ready to launch .eat, and .here, and .fly
Company files launch plans for three more top level domains. Google Registry has filed plans with ICANN to launch the .eat, .here, and .fly top level domain names. The company applied for the domains in the 2012 top level domain expansion round. With the 2026 round application window about to close, the company is finally releasing the domains to the public.
domainnamewire.com
July 16, 2026 at 1:01 PM
some good TLDs from 2012 still trickling out
Håkon Wium Lie (creator of CSS) is a very interesting person - apparent just by reading the intro on his personal site: wiumlie.no
> I'm a founding member of the Norwegian Pirate Party. I support CAPSoff. I oppose daylight saving time.
> I'm a founding member of the Norwegian Pirate Party. I support CAPSoff. I oppose daylight saving time.
July 16, 2026 at 12:35 PM
Håkon Wium Lie (creator of CSS) is a very interesting person - apparent just by reading the intro on his personal site: wiumlie.no
> I'm a founding member of the Norwegian Pirate Party. I support CAPSoff. I oppose daylight saving time.
> I'm a founding member of the Norwegian Pirate Party. I support CAPSoff. I oppose daylight saving time.
this webpage (and its top-level domain) is as cool as a summer breeze
pudding.cool/2026/05/simi...
(via @janefriedman.com’s great newsletter)
pudding.cool/2026/05/simi...
(via @janefriedman.com’s great newsletter)
Comparisons as Predictable as the Sunrise
An analysis of 200,000 similes from popular fiction.
pudding.cool
July 10, 2026 at 2:49 PM
this webpage (and its top-level domain) is as cool as a summer breeze
pudding.cool/2026/05/simi...
(via @janefriedman.com’s great newsletter)
pudding.cool/2026/05/simi...
(via @janefriedman.com’s great newsletter)
betting on fires is such a bad idea 😞
Wildfire survivors call fire-prediction markets “morally reprehensible” and worry they could increase the risk of arson. www.wired.com/story/predic...
Prediction Markets Let You Bet on Whether a Wildfire Will Burn Down Your Town
Wildfire survivors call fire-prediction markets “morally reprehensible” and worry they could increase the risk of arson.
www.wired.com
July 6, 2026 at 1:58 PM
betting on fires is such a bad idea 😞
June 2026
petemillspaugh.com/june-2026
petemillspaugh.com/june-2026
June 2026
Pete Millspaugh's digital garden
www.petemillspaugh.com
July 1, 2026 at 12:59 PM
June 2026
petemillspaugh.com/june-2026
petemillspaugh.com/june-2026
.self is yet another interesting Community TLD bid going public before the application window closes
There are also community applicants for .meow, .agent, .furry, .tree
There are also community applicants for .meow, .agent, .furry, .tree
Reclaiming Our Digital Selves: HCCF’s Vision for a Human-Centered Top-Level Domain – Human-Centered Computing Foundation
hccf.onmy.cloud
June 30, 2026 at 9:51 PM
.self is yet another interesting Community TLD bid going public before the application window closes
There are also community applicants for .meow, .agent, .furry, .tree
There are also community applicants for .meow, .agent, .furry, .tree
came up with a good title (I think) for a book on misinformation aftermath, like at Facebook or Twitter say
We Regret The Error
We Regret The Error
June 28, 2026 at 4:27 PM
came up with a good title (I think) for a book on misinformation aftermath, like at Facebook or Twitter say
We Regret The Error
We Regret The Error
I’m sure someone suggested this before, but why didn’t “bluep” (pronounced BLOOP) catch on as Bluesky’s “tweet” verb?
what if when you hit Post the app made a little bluep sound
what if when you hit Post the app made a little bluep sound
June 23, 2026 at 4:40 PM
I’m sure someone suggested this before, but why didn’t “bluep” (pronounced BLOOP) catch on as Bluesky’s “tweet” verb?
what if when you hit Post the app made a little bluep sound
what if when you hit Post the app made a little bluep sound
bubbles.town ("hacker news but independent blogs") is an interesting sample of TLD diversity on the indie web
among the 30 front page links today: .dev, .xyz, .art, .me, .space, .eu, .day, .lol, .co.uk, .studio
among the 30 front page links today: .dev, .xyz, .art, .me, .space, .eu, .day, .lol, .co.uk, .studio
June 17, 2026 at 12:48 PM
bubbles.town ("hacker news but independent blogs") is an interesting sample of TLD diversity on the indie web
among the 30 front page links today: .dev, .xyz, .art, .me, .space, .eu, .day, .lol, .co.uk, .studio
among the 30 front page links today: .dev, .xyz, .art, .me, .space, .eu, .day, .lol, .co.uk, .studio
Reposted by Pete Millspaugh
networksofny2026.bigcartel.com/product/netw... hi, did you like my book Networks of New York when it came out in 2016? you might like the updated 2026 edition which I'll be releasing in September and you can pre-order now
Networks of New York, 2026 Edition (PRE-ORDER)
SHIPPING SEPTEMBER 2026! Networks of New York is a book by me, Ingrid Burrington. It helps readers identify indicators of physical internet and telecommunications infrastructure in New York City. Usin...
networksofny2026.bigcartel.com
June 15, 2026 at 3:07 PM
networksofny2026.bigcartel.com/product/netw... hi, did you like my book Networks of New York when it came out in 2016? you might like the updated 2026 edition which I'll be releasing in September and you can pre-order now
headed to ICANN in Seville tomorrow so I got a DIY stamper for ole fashioned business cards, this is so fun!
June 5, 2026 at 8:57 PM
headed to ICANN in Seville tomorrow so I got a DIY stamper for ole fashioned business cards, this is so fun!
after wiring up blog.val.town yesterday, made a remixable blog template on @val.town that integrates with @standard.site!
Hello, atmosphere
This blog is atmospheric
atprotoblog.val.run
June 3, 2026 at 10:03 PM
after wiring up blog.val.town yesterday, made a remixable blog template on @val.town that integrates with @standard.site!
