[lioeters]

You're right, the confusion about the use of .local domain seems to be more due to Microsoft going back-and-forth about it.

> At one time, Microsoft at least suggested the use of .local as a pseudo-TLD for small private networks with internal DNS servers.

> ..However, more recent articles have cautioned or advised against such use of the .local TLD.

> Microsoft TechNet article 708159[7] suggested .local

> ..but later recommended against it.

> The Microsoft Learn article "Selecting the Forest Root Domain"[8] cautioned against using .local

> By default, a freshly installed Windows Server 2016 Essentials also adds .local as the default dns-prefix when a user doesn't select the advanced option, resulting in a domain with .local extension.