discuss Do you ever feel bad about being a domain squatter?

[bluebox]

So I've been searching for a domain for myself (not for resell) a nice 3-letter acronym that is also be a surname.

I found around 50-ish names regged:
32 new TLDs - most aren't even resolving.
Main TLDs - .com is redirecting the rest is parked or "for sale"
ccTLDs - 10+ registered

Guess how many websites are there....
4 (cctlds)
Almost 50 domains registered and most of them is just sitting there, unused...

No wonder the rest of the world hates us.

Don't get me wrong - I know I am a hypocrite. Just the other day I used a few GD coupons to catch some domains for resale.
Still - I'm guessing 99% of 2-3 letter names and probably 90%+ of other domains is just parked/for sale.
I hate seeing names I like wasted like that...

 

[N-A]

I'm going to have to part company with you on this one.

It's called capitalism. Without my investment of a few dollars, someone else would have done it and the mission against the Global War on Terrorism would still continue on. Why not ride the ride and make more money as we were on call 24/7, arguably earning less than minimum wage, whilst agreeing to lay our lives down? If anything happened, my family would be the beneficiary of my decisions...

...but let's stick to domain investing, shall we?

 

[bluebox]

It's called capitalism. Without my investment of a few dollars, someone else would have done it and the mission against the Global War on Terrorism would still continue on. Why not ride the ride and make more money as we were on call 24/7, arguably earning less than minimum wage, whilst agreeing to lay our lives down? If anything happened, my family would be the beneficiary of my decisions...

...but let's stick to domain investing, shall we?

Actually it wan't meant to be thread about domaining - but thread about the ridiculous situation when you have 90% of all registered domains parked/unused...

How many names will never ever be developed...

I'm trying to look at it from the perspective of an end user... We sit years on something we don't even use, I can understand why they hate us.

 

[discobull]

Actually it wan't meant to be thread about domaining - but thread about the ridiculous situation when you have 90% of all registered domains parked/unused...

How many names will never ever be developed...

I'm trying to look at it from the perspective of an end user... We sit years on something we don't even use, I can understand why they hate us.

Business is a competitive endeavor and the first person that recognizes and capitalizes on an opportunity is the person that gets rewarded. Anyone that can't handle that, shouldn't be in business.

Additionally, you seem to assume that buying a domain for which you'll be creating a website is somehow more legitimate than buying it as an investment. I'm wondering if you'd be able to articulate why you feel that way since in both cases people are buying domains for business reasons and for the sake of making money.

 

[tomcarl]

I don't appreciate the title of this thread, It's insulting. I don't squat domain names, I don't register or hold domain names that are trademarked or are the intellectual property of someone else, simply to sell it back to them. I make strategic investments on property that is publicly available for legal acquisition.

If a good domain is available to be registered or acquired by the general public, I don't call acquiring it squatting, I call it making a smart financial investment.

 

[alien51]

That's taking everyone's statement way out of context as that could mean, "Well, a hit man makes $500,000 a hit... I suppose that's legit."

That would be illegal.

Scalping is scalping and domain speculating is a form of investing.

If they created a law against scalping, then scalping would be illegal too.

The point is, if there are no laws to regulate a free market capitalist world, people will try to kill each other for money and it would be fine as long as it provides food for the family.

In the stock market, they put controls on speculation, to prevent the practice from getting out of hand and protect both the system and the small-time investors.

Morality has no place in the free world. You need laws to control what is morally wrong. As long as there are no laws, then humans will do practically anything they want for self-interests.

 

[vivaldi]

If a domainer feels guilty for registering domain names maybe it's time to do something else.

 

[N-A]

That would be illegal.

Now you took what I said out of context, that was in reference to:

So the consensus is - "as long as it makes me $$$ who cares about other people" ?

If they created a law against scalping, then scalping would be illegal too.

This can be argued that it is illegal as it's regulated by the states. Many people are arrested at venues for scalping on property. You can get away with it with loopholes, but that's unethical.

 

[bluebox]

Sorry guys if I insulted you - the title is mostly tongue-in-cheek
And I'm not "mad" at domainers - but as an end user everytime I see parked/wasted domain I want to reach through a screen and spank the owner...

 

[discobull]

but as an end user everytime I see parked/wasted domain I want to reach through a screen and spank the owner...

Maybe you should start a new thread and title it "Why do I get angry at people simply because they beat me to an opportunity, and how can I improve?"

 

[alien51]

I think technically speaking, "cybersquatting" refers to trademark issues. If you are not sitting on any trademarks, then you are not cybersquatting. You are just holding the domain hostage waiting for the right ransom payment. LOL

With regards to "non-usage" of domains, i have read several UDRP cases where panelists take this into consideration.

What i do to counteract this kind of allegation, is that i try to setup landing pages that give the illusion that i am using the domains. Perhaps this might not work for pure domainers, who need a landing page that deliberately says the domain is "For Sale".

 

[bluebox]

Maybe you should start a new thread and title it "Why do I get angry at people simply because they beat me to an opportunity, and how can I improve?"

Nah, I don't really care THAT much..
It's just a hobby for me and I mostly buy for myself nowadays e.g. to use for email.
Sometimes I buy something I like if there's a $1 coupon or promotion (and later just get rid of it for a reg fee because I'm too lazy to actually try to find a buyer)

 

[matrigaldo]

I don't appreciate the title of this thread, It's insulting. I don't squat domain names, I don't register or hold domain names that are trademarked or are the intellectual property of someone else, simply to sell it back to them. I make strategic investments on property that is publicly available for legal acquisition.

If a good domain is available to be registered or acquired by the general public, I don't call acquiring it squatting, I call it making a smart financial investment.

I totally agree with @tomcarl , "squatting" is kinda insulting as term, and it's misleading regarding what domaining (when genuine, healthy and honest) really is.

But i must say there is a not-small part of the "world" considering domaining as a kind of fraud or scam.

 

[bluebox]

I totally agree with @tomcarl , "squatting" is kinda insulting as term

I used it because I've heard it many times when people talk about domainers.
I guess I should have write:
Do you ever feel bad about being a "domain squatter"?

 

[matrigaldo]

I used it because I've heard it many times when people talk about domainers.
I guess I should have write:
Do you ever feel bad about being a "domain squatter"?

It's the same. "Squatting" or "Cybersquatting" has nothing to do with the kind of domaining business most of us are doing. It has been clearly explained in this thread
Owning a domain i'm not going to use for a website, just parking it and waiting for an offer is not squatting, or scamming, or doing anything wrong, if it's not offensive in some way, or trademarked. We're talking about an investment choice that is way more genuine and healthy than most of the Wall Street investments.

 

[Hypersot]

I really don't understand the point of this thread. Did anyone say that we get the domains for free?
Because if we got the domains for free and refused to share even one, then yes, that would be a bit unethical.
But, you see, we pay for those domains and risk our money for our investments and, afaik, some people pay a lot of money to invest. What we do with our investments that we pay *every year* just to own them is our business I think.
I don't know, maybe I'm missing something in the original post's context since I'm not a native english speaker, in that case I apologise in advance.

 

[bluebox]

I really don't understand the point of this thread

Point of this thread?
I guess I just found it ridiculous that out of 50+ registered domains only 4 are actually used for their intended purpose.
Seams I'm the only one who thinks that's quite wasteful...

 

[discobull]

Point of this thread?
I guess I just found it ridiculous that out of 50+ registered domains only 4 are actually used for their intended purpose.
Seams I'm the only one who thinks that's quite wasteful...

I asked this before but got no response. Why do you consider investing in a domain a less legitimate use than buying it for a website?

 

[Hypersot]

Point of this thread?
I guess I just found it ridiculous that out of 50+ registered domains only 4 are actually used for their intended purpose.
Seams I'm the only one who thinks that's quite wasteful...

The 'intended purpose' is not anyone's business. I pay for something to own it for the duration I pay for.
As long as I pay for it, not you nor anyone can question what I do with it as long as it is legitimate ofc.

again, I don't understand the point of the discussion. It's like someone come to you while you're on vacation and criticizing you on how you spend the vacation you paid for.

 

[Tia Wood]

Do you ever feel bad about being a domain squatter?

No.

Because I'm not. And domains being parked or undeveloped does not mean the domain has been wasted or owned by a 'domain squatter'. There are many reasons domains are parked or undeveloped other than for resale. By the way, lots of domain registrars now park the domain name by default if the registrant doesn't change the nameservers from default.

 

[bluebox]

It's not about domaining not being legitimate business.

It's about domains that for many, many years had just "for sale" sign.

It's also about the fact that I can't get a domain with my initials since all the good extensions are registered (and mostly unused) :P

 

[Tia Wood]

It's also about the fact that I can't get a domain with my initials since all the good extensions are registered (and mostly unused) :P

So you come here and call us all 'domain squatters'. Nice! :P Can we give you a group hug?

 

[forge]

It's also about the fact that I can't get a domain with my initials since all the good extensions are registered (and mostly unused) :P

Then this thread is about YOU. And you fit the profile of someone who will paint domainers with a broad brush as "squatters" to a tee.

I'm being sarcastic and not lambasting you but it's kind of true... isn't it?

 

[discobull]

It's not about domaining not being legitimate business.

It's about domains that for many, many years had just "for sale" sign.

It's also about the fact that I can't get a domain with my initials since all the good extensions are registered (and mostly unused)

You're not getting the point.

User 1 buys a domain and sets up a website for it where he sells shoes.

User 2 buys a domain and decides to make his money by putting that domain up for sale.

In both cases, you will not be able to buy the domain because they are taken. The question is, why are you angry with user 2 and not angry with user 1? The implication is that you consider one business model more legitimate than the other. If in fact you don't, then you have nothing to complain about.

 

[bluebox]

So you come here and call us all 'domain squatters'. Nice! :P Can we give you a group hug?

Well, all you guys who own domains with my initials ARE stinking squatters to me LOL :P



jk

 

[alien51]

You guys need to beat the other identical threads in the past with the same topic. I think they went past 30 pages of endless debates. I think the old guys who had heated exchanges on this same issue, already died. LOL