4 ms·
We already have a good system for establishing identity on the internet. They're called domain names, and they have reasonable ownership semantics and establish
by bensummers 17y ago
We already have a good system for establishing identity on the internet. They're called domain names, and they have reasonable ownership semantics and established case law.
I have no idea why anyone thinks it's a good idea to use a URL on someone's platform with ToS allowing arbitrary revocation and reassignment.
- jacquesm 17y agoBecause they use that platform ? Of course they don't 'have to' as in nobody is holding a gun to their head but if the terms of service have been lived by (and I don't see anything that this guy has done to cross the rules, except that his parents named him 'Harman') then he should have a reasonable expectation of being able to use it. If he had named his vanity domain 'harman international' and his real name was 'John Smith' I could see the point but in this case in my opinion they are simply plain wrong.
- IsaacL 17y agoI agree; I wrote something similar as a comment on the TC post. I really can't see a vanity URL on someone else's site that you got for free is really your property, so all this talk about Facebook 'snatching' it from him is over-dramatic.
- ohashi 17y agoDomain laws are pretty unreliable and disproportionally favor big companies filing complaints. It's a VERY broken system. EDIT: just wanted to add a case, lookup nissan.com
- qeorge 17y agoEven better, goto nissan.com. Despite their best efforts, Nissan (the car company) has never been able to get it from its rightful owner. Sounds like the system is working to me.
- ohashi 17y agoThe guy couldn't use it commercially for many many years. That was one of the better outcomes.