Ashley Norris norrisau.org
Formerly norris.org.au but auDA are thugs.
Formerly norris.org.au but auDA are thugs.
Open Source / Community-Oriented Software
- Metal Activity Calculator - Compute activity coefficients for iron alloys, a research tool for the Earth Sciences.
- Periodic Table Generator - Create an attractive periodic table in PDF format showing just the information you require.
- Cat Wrangler - A cat-scaring robot powered by a Raspberry Pi.
- CONREC - The famous contouring algorithm implemented in PHP.
Personal Projects
- New Zealand Coast to Coast 2014
- Sailing around Australia
- Rebuilding a Kombi
- Timetrack - A simple online tool for personal/professional time management.
Professional Scientific Software
Past Software Projects
- ANU Travel Management - An online tool for managing staff travel at the ANU.
- NYSF - Online application and process management.
About this Page
In 2001 I registered norris.org.au so that my family would have their own Australian domain to use for community projects and not-for-profit ventures.
Over the past twenty years I have contributed to, and developed, a wide range of community projects. Some of these are listed above, and most of them were hosted on norris.org.au. Primary users of the site are teachers (the Periodic Table Generator is as popular as it is useful) and researchers (the Metal Activity Calculator is highly specialised, but used daily) and it has been satisfying to see these projects be of use to others.
In 2023 the Australian Domain Name registrar (auDA) advised me that I am now ineligible to hold the norris.org.au domain because they changed the rules about who could hold these domains, effectively pulling the rug out from underneath small community groups. If you read their page about who can hold a .org.au domain it seems that not a single person on the panel is a member of a family, as these groups have been completely excluded from consideration. Indeed, I would ask, in 2001 what TLD should an Australian family have registered under? What TLD should they register under in 2023? A clear red flag is the auDA advising groups to "change their corporate structure" so as to retain a domain - seriously, what is wrong with them?
While I have launched a formal complaint against auDA regarding the seizure of this domain, it is unlikely to succeed due to the authoritarian heavy handedness so common amongst the Australian government, companies, and "authorities" (unclear what auDA even are, some kind of focus group the government have outsourced domain registration to). They received a shake up in 2018 but that doesn't seem to have helped.
On Jan 3rd 2024 auDA rejected my complaint and seized the domain, shutting it down immediately. I could not believe that anyone at auDA could act in this way and not be an immoral selfish twerp. After much back and forth they eventually agreed to a one month transition period, giving me the opportunity to migrate users to an alternative domain. There is nothing else to call them but thugs. This behaviour punishes the smallest internet users, especially community groups, and those who clearly are not going to register a not-for-profit corporation with the Australian Government just so they can use a .org.au domain name. No, they will go to a non AU address (highly recommended) or simply go to Facebook. Yeah great, that's some fantastic stewardship of the Australian internet there guys, well done.
I have now established alternative registration under the much more reasonable .org TLD, and will use norrisau.org for future community projects. I will never register a .au domain again.
Furthermore, I would advise anyone considering registration of any .au address to simply reconsider, they are not worth the extra cost and you run the very real risk that auDA will take it back from you at any time in the future. The best thing to do is go with a plain TLD (e.g. .com, .net, .org, ...) or buy a cool one from a Pacific island nation.
Ashley Norris (ashley@norrisau.org)