Date:        Wed, 30 Jun 1999 11:08:14 +1000
    From:        David_Wise§fhp.com.au
    Message-ID:  <4A2567A0.00066AAB.00&#167;fhp.com.au>

  | The same principles apply with land (which is unique in the same that
  | domain names are).

However, it isn't common for people to get land for essentially nothing,
you're expected to pay a normal commercial price, and when it is new land
just being opened for development, there's usually some kind of bidding
process or auction to determine who really wants the land most (or who is
willing to pay most for it, which is not quite the same, but is currently
the method used to make that decision).

That could be done with domain names too, and is a method which has been
proposed from time to time.   The real issue them becomes, who gets all that
money from the first sale of these generic domains?   I have never seen
that there is anyone with any particular right to collect it.   By your
argument, since I had the foresight to be the first to register AU, I
ought to be rich by now, from selling all the good sub-domain names off
for millions.   I don't think that would have really been the right thing
to do, do you?

The alternative is to create an industry of people making themselves wealthy
simply by having fluked on getting the right domain name at the right time,
with no real outlay, or endeavour, or anything else involved.   It would be
kind of like the lottery, except you'd know what you were getting before
you laid out your few $'s, instead of after.   This is not something that I
ever wanted to encourage.

kre