My friend Jothan Frakes is organizing the next Domain Name Roundtable, and so has his ear to the ground. He seems to be checking out what’s living under the rocks too — he forwards this grim piece of domain opportunism.

Shrimpo LLC and Christopher Curry have put out a press release announcing their intention to sell “a piece of history”: the domain name saudi-binladin-group.com, which expired on September 11, 2001.

“In an effort to stay true to its goals of inspiring peace globally, shrimpo LLC is offering the sale of this Internet name.”

Inspiring, isn’t it? Curry claims to have registered the name using a “unique procedure” of his own invention. Did this “unique procedure” by any chance consist of registering the domain when it became available after expiration, hoping to profit on the traffic, as thousands are registered every day by aftermarket giants SnapNames and Pool.com?

Then there’s the strange matter of the name expiring on Sept. 11. Coincidence? Come on! Curry isn’t buying it. “There are no accidents, no ‘coincidences’,” he says. “Internet rumourists,” he darkly hints, “have speculated that hidden information may have been contained within the web pages. The controversy remains whether this was just a remarkable coincidence or if this truly was a warning code.” A warning, he tells us later, to vote the right way in the “ongoing silent subconscious election between life and death.”

It all sounds very dire, but Curry has a solution: lining his own pockets. “Own this domain and help others.” Or, if your altruism is defective, he has another pitch: “Purchase a piece of HISTORY. www.saudi-bin-ladin-group.com available for auction.”

Yuk.

Posted by Antony in: Domains