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Why are you dismayed? What is it in particular that you see wrong with such condemnation? I share it and in fact thought the response on reddit was relatively t

by anatoly 16y ago

Why are you dismayed? What is it in particular that you see wrong with such condemnation? I share it and in fact thought the response on reddit was relatively tame. I think it's very reasonable to consider domain squatters to be parasites who add nothing of value, and only hinder entrepreneurs and others who want to buy domain names. They're scum; yes, what they are doing is legal, but so are many other kinds of scummy enterprises. Of many analogies presented in the reddit discussion, I find the one with the ticket scalpers the best. Not the kind who buy unwanted tickets from people who couldn't go at the last minute and resell them - those are creating value, they're helping people find tickets who otherwise wouldn't be able to. But those who pre-buy blocks of tickets from the venue to later resell them - they create nothing of value. If they didn't exist, prospective clients would be able, and in fact would prefer, to buy their tickets directly from the venue. Same thing with domains. Some ways of making money are despicable, even if legal. Nothing wrong with moral condemnation where it's appropriate.

ohashi 16y ago
Those scalpers create value for someone willing to pay a lot more money but don't have the time to wait in line. We're not leeching off yours or any other business (unless it's trademark infringement case). Just because you didn't get the domain you wanted doesn't make it an optimal distribution. It's entirely possible it's less than optimal, you create something, it dies and a dead page sits there. Users continue to try and order and fail. With my ads, they are getting redirected to someone actively trying to get more customers and who service their needs. I've seen google ads match people better on paid clicks than organic traffic. Why? Because when you're paying, you make every damn click count.
- anatoly 16y ago
  People mostly don't wait in line anymore - they buy tickets through a website. The tickets aren't there, because the scalpers pre-bought them. Now people need to waste time looking for scalpers to buy tickets from, and pay lots more money to support the scummy business set up by the scalpers. If the scalpers weren't there, _everybody_ would be better off except the scalpers. That's why they're parasites. All the talk about "optimal distribution" is laughable. Nobody's saying that the system without domains squatters is optimal or pessimal, that's not the point. The point is, you add no value to anyone except yourself, you create nothing of value, and you hinder people who want to actually do something worthwhile with the domains. If the domain squatters weren't there, _everybody_ would be better off except the domain squatters. This includes users, who wouldn't be annoyed by the horrible parked-domain ads and would find what they're looking for, if not by organic traffic, then through ads on search engines or real topical sites that actually add value. Again, it's very simple: if the domain squatters weren't there, _everybody_ would be better off except the domain squatters. That's why they're parasites.
  - ohashi 16y ago
    How are scalpers pre-buying ahead of everyone else? Here is a thought experiment, let's say there is someone willing to pay up $100,000$ for a ticket that's face value is $50. All the tickets were sold for $50, no reselling occurs. The difference between the highest price (presumably 50$) someone was willing to pay and the highest price of our rich patron is lost in utility. A better scenario would be guy sells his $50 ticket for some price more than the value he would get from the ticket and capturing excess utility himself. In this scenario without someone playing a scalper role, that utility is lost. You immediately think every use of a domain is better, which is a more laughable argument. Who are you to decide what is or isn't a better use? You also have no idea how actual users behave and navigate to things. Some people do get value out of parked pages. I see CTRs over 100%. That's right, they come back to click another ad, consistently. Somehow the same ads on google are different than me showing identical ads on a parked page. Some integrate organic and paid search links exactly like google, is that ok? Sorry, your arguments don't add up.

by anatoly 16y ago

ohashi 16y ago

Those scalpers create value for someone willing to pay a lot more money but don't have the time to wait in line. We're not leeching off yours or any other business (unless it's trademark infringement case). Just because you didn't get the domain you wanted doesn't make it an optimal distribution. It's entirely possible it's less than optimal, you create something, it dies and a dead page sits there. Users continue to try and order and fail. With my ads, they are getting redirected to someone actively trying to get more customers and who service their needs. I've seen google ads match people better on paid clicks than organic traffic. Why? Because when you're paying, you make every damn click count.

anatoly 16y ago
People mostly don't wait in line anymore - they buy tickets through a website. The tickets aren't there, because the scalpers pre-bought them. Now people need to waste time looking for scalpers to buy tickets from, and pay lots more money to support the scummy business set up by the scalpers. If the scalpers weren't there, _everybody_ would be better off except the scalpers. That's why they're parasites. All the talk about "optimal distribution" is laughable. Nobody's saying that the system without domains squatters is optimal or pessimal, that's not the point. The point is, you add no value to anyone except yourself, you create nothing of value, and you hinder people who want to actually do something worthwhile with the domains. If the domain squatters weren't there, _everybody_ would be better off except the domain squatters. This includes users, who wouldn't be annoyed by the horrible parked-domain ads and would find what they're looking for, if not by organic traffic, then through ads on search engines or real topical sites that actually add value. Again, it's very simple: if the domain squatters weren't there, _everybody_ would be better off except the domain squatters. That's why they're parasites.
- ohashi 16y ago
  How are scalpers pre-buying ahead of everyone else? Here is a thought experiment, let's say there is someone willing to pay up $100,000$ for a ticket that's face value is $50. All the tickets were sold for $50, no reselling occurs. The difference between the highest price (presumably 50$) someone was willing to pay and the highest price of our rich patron is lost in utility. A better scenario would be guy sells his $50 ticket for some price more than the value he would get from the ticket and capturing excess utility himself. In this scenario without someone playing a scalper role, that utility is lost. You immediately think every use of a domain is better, which is a more laughable argument. Who are you to decide what is or isn't a better use? You also have no idea how actual users behave and navigate to things. Some people do get value out of parked pages. I see CTRs over 100%. That's right, they come back to click another ad, consistently. Somehow the same ads on google are different than me showing identical ads on a parked page. Some integrate organic and paid search links exactly like google, is that ok? Sorry, your arguments don't add up.