I like the .so TLD. If enough people keep using it I don't see how that would still make people nervous. It's a nice sounding TLD and if people have a problem with Somalia they shouldn't take it out on an innocent suffix.
The question is "what control can the government of Somalia have on names that are registered under its TLD?" Can it seize the name? In 2010, it was regulated by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. In 2015 it was a different government and managed by Somali Network Information Center. In 2018 it was transferred to The National Communications Authority. Will the policies change? If the country cuts ties with all non-Somali entities will the email addresses continue to work for a time? Or will they be snapped up by scammers?
Additionally, registration financially goes to the government of Somalia (see the controversies with .io TLD).
The risk of miscommunication in the supply chain between your registrar and SoNIC is much greater than the risk of nation-state attack by Somalia on your TLD. The people at SoNIC are professional.
The more we fear decentralization the more powerful entities (monopolies?) like Google will become. I’m ok with a non-zero risk of my domain being pulled from under me if I know I’m furthering the cause of a free internet.
