Stop Domain Name Parking and Cybersquatting
There is a major flaw in this petition, as stated "which is to stop the continuation of domain parking as an extortionist means that cause legitimate businesses to pay high price for the domain name." The problem is that when you venture out in domain name speculation, domain parking is one of the few legitimate ways of building up traffic for domain names. When a domain name goes up for auction it is not just the domain name that makes it a big seller, it has to have a very high volume traffic ranking. Legitimate businesses that do not have time to build up traffic for their site, go to the domain name auctions to buy the high traffic sites.
If a farmer buys a sickly calf, then invests time and patience in building up that calf into prize bull, is it extortion when the prize bull fetches close to a half million dollars at auction?
Please, do not sign this petition, because it will change the ways of capitalism, which is the hard work that a person does to gain a profit, to communism, where the whiners and slackers live off the hard work of the top 30 percent of the hardest workers.
History has shown the the economics of communism do not work.
I am trying to start an online community on literally a shoe-string budget. The names I was searching I was sure were too unique to have been registered, but I was wrong. Overall I have exhausted a list of about 12 names. And what makes it worse is that only 2 of the 12 are actually developed, the rest are parked, and that is the real crime here.
I've heard domain names are the new real estate, and having a real estate license, I have to agree. But there are some significant differences in that there are government bodies and regulations set up to encourage development so that land is put to the best and most efficient use. I don't see anything similar when it comes to domain names.
Call me crazy, but I don't think having the internet crammed with premium, parked domains that exist solely to sell advertising is the most effective use of the internet.
Squatting domains with no intention to use them is stifling companies that want to start businesses. I recently researched 5 variations of a name and was shocked to find every one, even grammatically incorrect variations were taken. Now I'm forced to come up with some random name like hulu, which will require my company to spend tons of money into marketing this name to associate it with the product.
I have worked in the entertainment internet world for a long time and was in charge of securing names for new shows and was appalled at how fast people would steal the names for movies they obviously were not going to produce... particularly those registered days after the film was announced. One of these squatters even had the audacity to offer it back for a premium sum.
The .com extension should be reserved for active businesses. Not pages with adsense all over them (which incidentally according to adsense rules is against the TOS). I think if you buy a .com name you will need to show intent to use the name appropriately within 6 months or forced to give it back.
It's speculation which is just a form of capitalism. Why not go after big money speculators who buy up houses that have been foreclosed on and resell them? Most domainers I know are just small business people, trying to earn a little extra money.
Buying houses is different, this is about buying up brands and business concepts. I can build a house and even copy another house brick by brick and no one is going to care or sue me. Domain names are unique brands and there are only so many grammatically correct variations out there and once someone has one it is gone. Im all for fair business practice but when people just sit on names in hopes of extorting them later or just making a few bucks on the side and barely even breaking even to keep the name this seems unfair to those who want the name and would like to start a business with good intentions.
Economically speaking, domain parking is wasteful. It also hurts the economy by stifling business. Commerce would benefit greatly by preventing this activity. And it's painfully obvious that there is little benefit to the economy in allowing the activity. Condemning squatting has been at the top of my list of problems with the internet since I first became a web developer.
