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You Are A Legitimate Domainer If ... You Do Not Cybersquat

By Enrico Schaefer

There is a major perception problem that all domainers are cybersquatters. Of course, this is not true.  Cybersquatters target well know brands and trademarks, as well as typos of those marks.  Domainers target generic words that have limited or no trademark rights.  The White Hat Domainers often get lumped in with Black Hat Cybersquatters.  This misconception is perpetuated by posts like one on the Domain Kid Blog and  like the one set forth below.  Notice how it implies that cybersquatting activities are inherent in domaining.

? you consider Whois a social network.
? you still refer to Zuho as SwapNames.
? you?re not a lawyer but can recite trademark laws from memory. (ES:  White Hat Domainers should know trademark law or hire a trademark attorney to steer clear of threat letters)
? you own some sort of iphone related domain name. (ES: Targeting well known brands is NOT an attribute of legitimate domaining)
? your backlink quality is more important than your quality of friends.
? two words: ICANN
? you?ve ordered chips & Dotsauce.
? you knew GoDaddy before he was even a father.
? you?ve been in a fistfight because someone has dissed your Pagerank.
? you?ve registered a celebrity?s name. (ES: Targeting well known surnames and celebrities is NOT an attribute of legitimate domaining)
? you consider parking nothing to do with an automobile.
? you?re favorite quote is "may the Rick Schwartz be with you."

? you?ve posted over 1,000 posts in any domain forum.
? you trust Estibot more than your girlfriend.
? you?ve registered a misspelled word?on purpose.
? you cried when all the LLLL?s were gone.
? you don?t know a country?s capital, but you sure as hell know thier .cc

And the last reason You Might Be A Domainer is?.

?you have a bracelet that says "What would Frank Schilling Do?"

Full post as published by AntiCybersquatting Consumer Protection Act Blog on February 01, 2008 (boomark / email).