Posted by Eric B. on Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 10:24:05 :
In Reply to: OT - domain name posted by AAA on Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 09:57:33 :
If it does not work then it may not be taken. Someone may still own it and not have it hosted anywhere, but that is less likely.
DO NOT type it into one of those free search engines that say they will check and see if it is taken or not. I have heard that some of those sites are set up to learn what URLs people want, and buy them up so they can charge you extra for them.
Figure out a couple URLs you want, and just type them into a browser, if they are taken you could always try .net instead of .com, or some other suffix. Once you find a couple that are not currently hosted contact the company that is going to set up the URL for you and they will do a final search for what can be had when they buy it.
If the one you want is taken, but not hosted you should find out who owns it, and when their ownership expires. When it expires you can grab it. If you want it right away contact the person and see if they will sell it.
Though if you want to snitch it from them you might be better off not contacting them, and making them aware someone wants it. Owning a URL is cheap, and they can extend their ownership at any time before the current contract ends.
Good luck!
Eric
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