The DoMEn company, which runs the .ME top level domain, has recently blocked the INCELS.ME domain that hosted a website used to promote violence. The suspension took place back in October, but recently, the registry also released a statement explaining the reasons behind the decision, Domain Incite reported.
INCELS.ME was a forum for incels, short for “involuntary celibates” – those unable to find a romantic or sexual partner. This community gained notoriety in the light of the Toronto van attack, which took place on April 23, 2018, resulting in the death of 10 people, and was allegedly undertaken by one of the incels.
In May, 2018, the registry was informed that the Toronto attack was supposedly organized by several Incel forum members. “Ever since, we have closely monitored the content on incels.me forum and determined that it was allowing part of its members to continuously promote violence and hate speech,” the registry’s message reads.
In September, the .ME registry asked to take down the offending content from the INCELS.ME website. Upon failure to comply with the request, the website was suspended.
The .ME domain is Montenegro’s national domain commercialized for general use, so anyone willing can register their own domain names there. Considering that the name of the domain coincides with an English personal pronoun “me”, the domain happens to be quite popular.
