2 ms·

Ask HN: Should domain squatters be required to list an asking price on domains?

lutusp 12y ago
This is like suggesting that people going out on dates should be required to reveal whether they'll put out at the beginning of the evening, at their front door. Prices have value, and people should have the right to be coy about what they'll accept. A domain squatter's activities may be sleazy and borderline-illegal, but they have the same rights as someone at an auction whose reserve price is a secret, and who may well refuse the offer of the successful bidder.
- benologist 12y ago
  I agree it's sleazy but how is it borderline illegal? And does it really matter anymore? Apparently we have 276 million registered domains [1] and when 2012 numbers were released [2]: About 21 percent of .com and .net websites, by the way, are just one-page sites and 15 percent are registered but don’t point to a working site at all. I think that 21% includes squatters on top of which .com+.net are only ~50% of total domains. [1] http://www.verisigninc.com/en_US/innovation/dnib/index.xhtml http://www.verisigninc.com/en_US/innovation/dnib/index.xhtml [2] http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/08/internet-passes-250m-registered-top-level-domain-names/ http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/08/internet-passes-250m-regist...
  - lutusp 12y ago
    > I agree it's sleazy but how is it borderline illegal? It seems that domain squatting (cybersquatting) is illegal in some circumstances: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersquatting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersquatting > And does it really matter anymore? Yes, of course. No matter now many registered domain names there are, names that match copyrighted or trademarked words are still a matter of great interest to cybersquatters.
    - benologist 12y ago
      Copyright and trademark infringement are different issues? There might be overlap but I don't think those are factors in Sedo's business nor are they what people mean by domain squatting.
      - lutusp 12y ago
        > ... nor are they what people mean by domain squatting. Of course they are -- all one need do is read the article I linked, which describes how cybersquatters sit on names of established companies or trademarks, until someone tries to pay their ransom. Many such cases end up in court, because that kind of cybersquatting is illegal.
        benologist 12y ago
        You are talking about a different group of people and I suspect a very tiny subset of domain squatting? The post and everything else has been about the annoying but legal selling / auctioning of domains also called domain squatting.

This is like suggesting that people going out on dates should be required to reveal whether they'll put out at the beginning of the evening, at their front door. Prices have value, and people should have the right to be coy about what they'll accept. A domain squatter's activities may be sleazy and borderline-illegal, but they have the same rights as someone at an auction whose reserve price is a secret, and who may well refuse the offer of the successful bidder.

benologist 12y ago
I agree it's sleazy but how is it borderline illegal? And does it really matter anymore? Apparently we have 276 million registered domains [1] and when 2012 numbers were released [2]: About 21 percent of .com and .net websites, by the way, are just one-page sites and 15 percent are registered but don’t point to a working site at all. I think that 21% includes squatters on top of which .com+.net are only ~50% of total domains. [1] http://www.verisigninc.com/en_US/innovation/dnib/index.xhtml http://www.verisigninc.com/en_US/innovation/dnib/index.xhtml [2] http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/08/internet-passes-250m-registered-top-level-domain-names/ http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/08/internet-passes-250m-regist...
- lutusp 12y ago
  > I agree it's sleazy but how is it borderline illegal? It seems that domain squatting (cybersquatting) is illegal in some circumstances: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersquatting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersquatting > And does it really matter anymore? Yes, of course. No matter now many registered domain names there are, names that match copyrighted or trademarked words are still a matter of great interest to cybersquatters.
  - benologist 12y ago
    Copyright and trademark infringement are different issues? There might be overlap but I don't think those are factors in Sedo's business nor are they what people mean by domain squatting.
    - lutusp 12y ago
      > ... nor are they what people mean by domain squatting. Of course they are -- all one need do is read the article I linked, which describes how cybersquatters sit on names of established companies or trademarks, until someone tries to pay their ransom. Many such cases end up in court, because that kind of cybersquatting is illegal.
      - benologist 12y ago
        You are talking about a different group of people and I suspect a very tiny subset of domain squatting? The post and everything else has been about the annoying but legal selling / auctioning of domains also called domain squatting.