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Comment by mtmail | Hacker News Reader

I think GoDaddy is pretty clear on what their domain service does https://www.godaddy.com/domains/domain-broker.aspx and what you're paying for. I agree it's too expensive but the service is to mediate and their first step, as outlined on the help page, is to reach out.

If the domain is squatted, didn't the squatter have a contact link? Their business is usually selling domain names after all. Maybe the squatter is using GoDaddy's anonymity service as a way to filter prospects not willing to pay money to reach them.

What you can try is go via GoDaddy again and increase your offer. Or another mediator, e.g. https://sedo.com/us/buy-domains/domain-brokerage/. If you're not willing to offer more money or the squatter doesn't want to sell then move on (choose a different name).

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See comment below but basically I think it's owned by a now defunct Public Relations company in Canada (probably holding onto it for namesake).

I'm not going to choose a new name based on this. What I'm really getting at is the bigger picture of people being able to sit on domains and hold them hostage indefinitely AND be able to hide their identity. When someone buys a house or a building, it is public domain and they can't hide (in theory). Why isn't this the case for domains? Why is a private company like Domains By Proxy (GoDaddy) allowed to both hide the domain AND charge you to unhide it? That is the part that seems shady and definitely unethical to me.

I'm a bit confused as to exactly what your argument is with. You seem to have two issues - one with a WHOIS privacy guard, and the other is someone owning a domain.

1) Why did you have to pay GoDaddy, and couldn't you just email DOMAIN@domainsbyproxy.com to ask if they wanted to sell - it probably get's forwarded to their actual registered email. I for one like WHOIS privacy guards - I don't want my name, address, and mobile phone number freely available on the internet just because I have a domain registered for personal use.

2) Your analogy to public property doesn't hold up. I can buy property, and even if you know who I am, you can't force me to sell. Maybe I do own the domain, but I'm just not using it for a website - how do you know?

now defunct Public Relations company in Canada (probably holding onto it for namesake)

It might be owned by creditors now, who plan to use it later. Or plan to resell it. They're well within their rights to do that.

Your theory is incorrect. If I used my Cayman Islands shell company to start and control a Delaware LLC to start and control a Wyoming LLC that actually buys the house, then it will be very hard for you, even in theory, to figure out that I was the one who "actually" bought the property.

You'll need a lawsuit or three to 'pierce the corporate veil'.

Or I can start a trust, with the charter of keeping the land as a wildlife sanctuary, keeping it out of the hand of commercialization. And I can do this through attorneys, and keep my name out of the public record.

What you see with domain names is very similar to what happens in real life.

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