showcase THAT’S ONE “HACK” OF A DOMAIN!

[MAINNET]

Simply put, hacked domains are cool. Yeah, they don’t meet the criteria some domainers/investors have as it relates to readability and the radio-test; but they’re appealing nonetheless. At least to some.

If you think about it, hacked domains are the closest thing to owning a TLD in the centralized domain space. Imagine if there was a centralized “.om” extension. “c.om” would have immense value and appeal. It would be the proverbial “king of the king” in a sense.

It’s something about a hacked domain that screams creativity and breaks away from the status-quo of naming. Be it for branding, or simply because you can, domain hacks are a cool option when you can snag one.

What cool domain hacks have you come across or do you hold? On this end, they’re “Aristocr.at” and “UAEDub.ai”. Drop your creative domain hacks/views below.

🗣Mel
QUAD DOMAINS

 

[MAINNET]

StØp.com

Actually St0p.com
I like the zero with a line through it to create the "stop" symbolism. A stretch, but I like it.

Makes perfect sense! You have a nice one there @stevo! The “0” is a versatile character for those creative enough to recognize and leverage it. We’re right there with you. We hold “CASIN0.net”. “0 as in number” and “0 phonetically”. Much success to you!

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Thanks for starting the thread, @QUAD DOMAINS and to all who contributed. I have no meaningful hacks in my personal holdings, so instead will contribute some information .

One can find domain hack sales on NameBio by setting the Category to Niche and then Subcategory to Domain Hack. Here is a link to list organized by price. They tend to use the narrower definition of a word split by the dot. The list shows 70 sales over $10,000 and 5 over $100,000.

I have written about domain hacks a few times over the years.

• In this 2019 article, I looked at Ten of the Best Domain Hacks in Active Use.
• With guidance from @DomainGaze.com, this 2022 NamePros article provides several dozen examples of domain hacks in many different sectors: Gaze At Domain Hacks with DomainGaze. That article also mentions in a section some of the hacks used by major companies like Pep.si, Ti.me, Ta.co, YouTu.be, etc.
• An emerging trend is to further hack in let the dot represent various things, usually a vowel. I wrote about the sale of N.ke to Nike in One of the World's Top Brands Acquires a Single Letter Domain.

The ICANN Wiki on domain hacks has some good information.

The official NamePros discussion on domain hacks, started back in 2007, is worthwhile reading.

-Bob

 

[TLDN]

This doesn't count as a domain extension hack per se, but I have the following domain:

Hackbolt (dotcom)
Hackbolt, dictionary word, ocean bird representing international scope, the one an only animal that has the word hack in it, animal names are regarded as the best brands and domains in the world. Strong, popular, and related technology brands include Thunderbird, Thunderbolt, Hacker News, and Lifehacker. A lightning bolt behind or morphed into the bird would also look very cool.

 

[okaydomains]

I have no meaningful hacks in my personal holdings

Bob, would your NamesThat.win site count? Its not what I'd call a hack but I think on this thread it would qualify.

I think the only real hack I have is JustBill (dot) Me.

I don't really believe in the commercial value of domain hacks. I don't think most end users are going to pay real money for them.

For what its worth, I do not count, e.g., venue (dot) rentals as a domain hack (thats a name I own). I do think these names can have some value (but rarely - there's only a few valuable names like that per TLD). I own a handful of those names but don't plan to buy any more.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Bob, would your NamesThat.win site count? Its not what I'd call a hack but I think on this thread it would qualify.

I would definitely not count it as a hack. Personally, I prefer retaining the term for cases where a single word has been broken by the dot, like ta.co or b.et etc.

I have many domains where the phrase is broken by a dot, like recycle.best or mapped.online or measure.work or simulate.science. With the broader definition those are hacks, but I prefer the narrow definition (a broken single word), since with hundreds of new extensions, and country codes like .me, .it, .us, .in etc. that link well across the dot, otherwise many many names would be called hacks.

By the way, here is the definition from ICANN Wiki which clearly allows both split words and phrases.

"A domain hack is a word or phrase spelled by a fully concatenating two or more adjacent levels of a domain name."​

Thanks for the question.

-Bob

 

[o-o]

Still need to figure out what I want to do with these

Spoiler: Long List

------ Russian / Cyrillic ------
е.com
с.com
р.com
==================================
------ MISC. 1 CHAR IDN ------
ჩ.com
ც.com
მ.com
ნ.com
==================================
------ 1 CHARACTER .TO ------
.to
í.to
ⴭ.to
==================================
------ MISC. .COM DOMAIN ------
aị.com
aí.xyz
gód.co
daó.com
ó-ó.com
defí.com
gøds.com
coín.com
grów.com
jasøn.com
bitcoín.com
==================================
ó.store
rích.club
íd.online
bøt.net
==================================
------ đ ECENTRALIZED ------
đ.exchange
đ.expert
==================================
------ BRAND APPLICATIONS ------
ø.to - Short URL/Redirect App
ø.app - Mobile/ Web Application
ø.cool - Linktree/ Profile App
ø.cash - Payment Web/Mobile App
ø.email - Email for users
ø.media - Media Storage
ø.store - Similar to a sell.app
ø.casino - A casino of course
ø.exchange - Non-KYC Exchange
------
í.to - Short URL/Redirect App
í.cam - Omegle Type App
í.live - Social Platform
í.love - Social Platform
í.work - Services Platform
í.store - Similar to a sell.app
í.exchange - Non-KYC Exchange

Come on now! We LOVE it. We have a deep appreciation for languages and special characters. Even if it means this post will be downvoted by the majority who don’t.

IDNs can count as hacks also. Especially considering many go into the address bar and redirect to websites just like their non-IDN counterparts. Try typing in rouletté.com.

We hold a few hacked IDNs like rouletté.com, vöice.com (Recognize how the letter with the umlaut resembles a “speaking face” in the word voice.) abć.xyz and gôld.com (As in the price and value of gold is going up.)

Nice names! We’re here for the love of language and digital identity! Thanks for sharing!

check these badboys out if you like

 

[MadAboutDomains]

I would definitely not count it as a hack.

If it's not a hack, why did you choose .win other than .horse?

 

[Bob Hawkes]

If it's not a hack, why did you choose .win other than .horse?

I liked the phrase, but yeah, it was a tough call re .horse
-Bob

 

[MAINNET]

Thanks for starting the thread, @QUAD DOMAINS and to all who contributed. I have no meaningful hacks in my personal holdings, so instead will contribute some information .

One can find domain hack sales on NameBio by setting the Category to Niche and then Subcategory to Domain Hack. Here is a link to list organized by price. They tend to use the narrower definition of a word split by the dot. The list shows 70 sales over $10,000 and 5 over $100,000.

I have written about domain hacks a few times over the years.

• In this 2019 article, I looked at Ten of the Best Domain Hacks in Active Use.
• With guidance from @DomainGaze.com, this 2022 NamePros article provides several dozen examples of domain hacks in many different sectors: Gaze At Domain Hacks with DomainGaze. That article also mentions in a section some of the hacks used by major companies like Pep.si, Ti.me, Ta.co, YouTu.be, etc.
• An emerging trend is to further hack in let the dot represent various things, usually a vowel. I wrote about the sale of N.ke to Nike in One of the World's Top Brands Acquires a Single Letter Domain.

The ICANN Wiki on domain hacks has some good information.

The official NamePros discussion on domain hacks, started back in 2007, is worthwhile reading.

-Bob

️ @BobHawkes for the home-run! Great information is always welcome Bob. That’s what makes you special to the space. Your contribution to the thread is a great compliment.

It has been a pleasure to witness so many domainers/investors in the thread come out of their shells and share some pretty cool, and interesting, names.

Hopefully we can all keep with the positive, and creative, trajectory.

 

[Right Domains]

 

[MAINNET]

Show attachment 238282

This is really nice! The logo works as well. It’s a good example of how appealing a hacked domain can present. The imagery lends itself to being flattering on all types of printables. Well done!

 

[Aibob]

Don’t know if counts as a domain hack , but I’ve got Coinstinct dawt com

phhh.. I have IAMagic com and IASlayer com AND AiVisable com.... oh wait those are not hacks, those are MORON CANT SPELL moves... carry on.

 

[richardcoogan]

ch.at

 

[MadAboutDomains]

ch.at

My friend, that is beautiful. Imho

 

[Bob Hawkes]

ch.at

Truly incredible domain hack. Congratulations!

 

[okaydomains]

ch.at

That really is a great one, especially now that chat.com is off the market forever (and of course with ChatGPT taking over the world).

I wouldn't sell that for less than six figures.

 

[MadAboutDomains]

That really is a great one, especially now that chat.com is off the market forever (and of course with ChatGPT taking over the world).

I wouldn't sell that for less than six figures.

How is it off the market forever?

 

[okaydomains]

How is it off the market forever?

chat.com was just purchased for millions of dollars by the founder of HubSpot. He's never going to sell it.

 

[MadAboutDomains]

chat.com was just purchased for millions of dollars by the founder of HubSpot. He's never going to sell it.

I think I just had an email saying it sold for 8 figures again...

 

[okaydomains]

I think I just had an email saying it sold for 8 figures again...

Definitely not.