this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2026
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What to do after getting a domain name? (programming.dev)
submitted 1 week ago by ICastFist@programming.dev to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
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I recently found out that you can get up to 3 free .eu.cc domain from GNAME, which also claims that you can renew for free when its within 90 days of expiring. So I got one to check it out.

Obviously, the next step is making one of my local machines act as the target destination for any queries to the address, so it becomes accessible for the wider web. I'm not entirely sure, however, what to configure on GNAME (there's the option to setup A and AAAA records, which I suppose I should just point to my IP, but there's also CNAME, TXT, NS, SRV and what configurations/programs my local server (rPi 3) needs to have running besides a webserver (Apache2 or Nginx)

My intent is to have it run a single-user fediverse server, possibly friendica, as it seems to have the best support for seeing all sorts of APub posts. If that proves too heavy for my old pi, I'll try one of the lightweight APub alternatives

I know I'll also need to do some configurations on my router, so I'd appreciate help on this, too.

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[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 1 points 1 week ago (2 children)

First of all I would suggest getting your own domain.

Isn't this what I just did? mydomain.eu.cc Even if I can't get it to renew for free next year, the experience of setting stuff up should be worth it.

really need to be exposed to the internet to get updates?

From my limited understanding of APub, it needs to be exposed/findable in order to send updates and for my user@server to show up. I'll be reading https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub/#server-to-server-interactions to know better

Can’t it pull them from other servers?

Tunnel through an existing server? Or what, exactly? Wouldn't connecting through an existing fedi server also enforce its blocklist down to me?

[–] NotEasyBeingGreen@slrpnk.net 4 points 1 week ago

Your eu.cc domains are fine. You don't need to spend money on a 2nd-level domain if you're happy with the longer name.

For comparison, I've had a nl.eu.org domain for decades, and never had any issues. I also had a number of .tk domains for a while and those all went away when the business managing the domain got sued out of existence. I currently use nom.es domains for various tests.

[–] lemmyvore@feddit.nl 3 points 1 week ago

Isn't this what I just did? mydomain.eu.cc

I mean the second part from the end (.eu.). That's not yours, and that means that the mydomain. part can dissapear at any time. The owner can also do all kinds of unpleasant things that can affect your online presence.

By "your own" domain I mean getting something of your own in that 2nd spot instead of "eu". It doesn't have to be on the .cc registry, it can be any established TLD like .com, .net, .org, it can be a country TLD aka ccTLD like .cc, .nl, .de and so on, or it can be a so-called "novelty" domain like .dev.

Having your own domain means you can own it in perpetuity (well... old, established TLDs are better at this than novely TLDs) and have much better control over it.

Visit a domain registrar like Porkbun and have a look through their TLDs, check some prices, the privacy of your personal data etc.

Avoid registries that allow "premium" domains, it means that the registry can suddenly decide that the domain you own is very cool and force you to pay hundreds or thousands for the next renewal or lose it.

Wouldn't connecting through an existing fedi server also enforce its blocklist down to me?

I'm not entirely sure on how you propose to use your server: if you just want to read stuff or also want to be able to post.

Your server can do things with another server in two ways, by exposing an open port and allowing the other server to do stuff locally through that port, or by connecting to a port opened on the other server and doing stuff there.

If the fediverse protocol mandates having a local port open to do stuff like posting, it may be impossible to avoid doing it.