Art.sy, a New York City-based startup, which helps art lovers discover new works of interest using a Pandora-like model, has been at the center of an unexpected controversy. Art.sy shares the same official domain suffix (.sy) as the Syrian Arab Republic and as conflicts continue to rise in the worn-torn country, it has become clear that Art.sy needs to make some adjustments.
Art.sy’s main webpage was taken offline on January 2, 2013 and traffic was redirected to a backup site, Artsy.net. Officials explained that Art.sy’s domain, which had been paid for through the end of the year, was coming up as incorrectly expired and that the site would be restored the next day. As of January 4, Art.sy has officially changed its name to Artsy and moved its domain to artsy.net, permanently.
Artsy purchased their .sy domain in 2009, before the violence in Syria began to worsen. The site, which offers over 21,000 high-resolution artworks for the enjoyment of users, hopes to run uninterrupted from now on.
