I run a domain registrar. "serverHold" is not a status that iwantmyname could've set. If they had suspended the domain it'd have "clientHold" set. Server Hold means the registry (i.e. .io directly) has suspended the domain. Your best bet would be to contact the Internet Computer Bureau Ltd who run .io at admin@icb.co.uk, or the registry technical support provider Identity Digital at techsupport@identity.digital.
Interesting, this morning I got a response from a staff member of the parent company that owns iwantmyname saying they didn't get my response with regards to the abuse notification they sent and that's why they took the domain down.
I've heard a ton of stories about .io, IMO, they play fast and loose in a space where that isn't okay, and they get away with it mostly because they are a ccTLD.
The last time someone I knew had an issue, they had to get a senator to make waves to get anything resolved.
I regret going with .io for my personal domain name. At the time I thought it was cool, but they've since raised prices and hearing things like this doesn't instill confidence...
That, and the Indian Ocean territory will cease to exist in the (very) near future, so the .io domains might be going the way of the dodo.
I won't be registering any new ones at least, and recommending everyone to stay away from them.
Nobody really knows. There are only a few precedents, i.e. the old Soviet Union .su tld being kept around, or the 2 letter country code that I can't recall which was reassigned to a new country after the old one went out of existence.
There isn't really a precedent for a tld with as many domains under it as .io, it's a very strong possibility it will be kept around and given to a private entity or even to GB.
