Nathan and all, Very well put Nathan. What you describe is called the "Free enterprise system." It has been around for quite some time now and has, with all it's warts, worked out pretty well. >;) Speculation (Domain Names) in this instance, is part of that system... Nathan James wrote: > You are highlighting the problem with the fact that what we are talking > about is not defined. I'm opposed to extortion too. Extortion is defined as > a criminal offense. > > However, I'm defensive for the position of someone registering a name simply > because they think it's a great name and someone might want it some day. > > If we truly defined what we were talking about, a lot of us might find > ourselves in agreement more often. Sometimes the argument is like someone > saying, "I like coffee." and the other person says, "How could you? I hate > tea!" > > I stand by my rather broad statement, but it does not include everyone on > the list. I've simply read a lot of statements that fall on the opposite > side of some of those principles. > > Regarding economic impact, it is very good for the economy to create > expenditures from entities that would have had the money locked up > otherwise. I doubt you can find me an example where a product's price went > up or that jobs were lost as a result of purchasing a domain name. The > company is not forced to by it. They can purchase another name like Chrysler > did for Dodge. > > Remember where there's an expense, there's someone on the other end > receiving money who could then be hiring more people, and lowering the > prices on their goods and services. > > What's good for the economy is the EXCHANGE of money, goods and services. > > On the moral issue, what is the moral dilemma in domain name speculation? > Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's domain name? > > I understand the moral obstacles for extortion. Again, we may not > necessarily be talking about the same thing... > > When morality is used to criticize domain name speculation, the logic of the > argument can quickly flow to huge sectors of our economy, like HMO's, land > lords, defense contractors, or even NSI, for charging higher prices than > necessary in order to hoard funds for themselves and away from the rest of > us... > > ---------- > >From: Dean Robb <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >To: Nathan James <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Subject: Re: Anti-cyber squatting (Trademark Owners) Protection Act > >Date: Thu, Jul 8, 1999, 2:41 AM > > > > > At 06:42 PM 7/5/99 -0700, you wrote: > >>You should post more often. > >> > >>It seems there are many on this list who are opposed to equal opportunity, > >>individualism, creativity, free speech, a competitive market, and simple > >>justice. > > > > That's rather a broad statement. Rather like saying that since I'm opposed > > to murder then I'm a "ban-all-guns" nutcase. > > Your example of murder and guns does not illustrate my position well, > however, you do have a point one has to accept. That is if you favor any > form of gun ownership, you are allowing for a greater risk of a murder > occurring. Thus, if your opposition to murder was pure and consistently your > highest priority, you would be also be opposed to gun ownership. You are > correct though, that it is impossible to assume that your simple opposition > to murder causes you to conclude that lowering the risk of murder is worth > banning all guns. > > > I'm for all of the above, but > > I'm not for extortion which is how *I* see (for want of a better term) > > Try extortionist. > > > cybersquatting. Maybe if the squatters charged a reasonable profit instead > > of demanding tens of thousands of dollars for a squatted-upon name, I > > wouldn't have this opinion. Myself, I take the macro view: squatter > > charges $50,000 for a name, also charges $50,000 a pop for variations on > > the name. Company pays up. Gotta pay for it somehow, so jobs are lost or > > prices raised for company's goods/services. > > > > And that's not even including my thoughts on the morality of it all. > > > >>Your voice needs to be heard. > > > > All the voices need to be heard. Too bad those in a position to act aren't > > listening. > > > > "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of ICANN?" > > > > Dean Robb > > Owner, PC-EASY > > (757) 495-EASY [3279] > > On-site computer repairs, upgrades and consultations > > Lead SimOps columnist/reviewer on http://WWW.TheGamers.Net Regards, -- Jeffrey A. Williams Spokesman INEGroup (Over 95k members strong!) CEO/DIR. Internet Network Eng/SR. Java/CORBA Development Eng. Information Network Eng. Group. INEG. INC. E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] Contact Number: 972-447-1894 Address: 5 East Kirkwood Blvd. Grapevine Texas 75208
