3 ms·

Pre-reserving domains that have been searched is a common business practice. Some domain brokers implement this at scale IIRC. Unethical & Predatory? Sure, but

• jeromegv 4y ago
  They didn’t claim it was illegal? It makes it less economical for someone to hold a domain they aren’t planning to use for 20 years. The squatting just gets more expensive. Yes it’s a common business practice. Doesn’t mean google has to encourage that industry.
  • simfree 4y ago
    I was highlighting that pre-reserving domains is predatory and unethical. IIRC the domains that are reserved by registrars are usually moved into a temporary hold status with the TLD, so the registrar isn't paying to register the domain, they are just getting the exclusive option to buy said domain for a number of weeks or months. Much cheaper way to squat on domains than actually buying them!
    • jianglai 4y ago
      This is not correct. Only registries can reserve domains. If a registrar "reserved" a domain, they'd have to have bought it from the registry.
      • buzer 4y ago
        At least in the past there were cases where some registrars automatically registered the domain if someone searched for it, it may have been in cases where their algorithm deemed the name somewhat premium. They would then essentially hold it hostage for some time, but would then cancel it during the refund period. AGP Limits policy (https://icannwiki.org/Add_Grace_Period https://icannwiki.org/Add_Grace_Period) was created to combat that (and some other issues with refunds).
        • CydeWeys 4y ago
          This is called "front-running" by the domain name registrar and it is a big no-no. Fortunately it's not what happened here though.
          • buzer 4y ago
            That's what I assumed simfree was talking about.
• ymolodtsov 4y ago
  GoDaddy did this. Good domains registrars don't.