HW: Domain Names - Sort Yourselves Out.

[Jon Jarrett]

On Tue, 9 Oct 2001, root wrote:

> MY GOD WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?????

        Caps lock jam?

> I join this mail list Sunday Oct 8.  Instead of seeing information about
> Hawkwind/ICU/other drug crazed hippies what do I get?
>
> A pissy .com argument.
>
> I DON'T GIVE A SHIT HOW CHILDISH DAVE BROCK IS OR IS NOT.

        I do because it affects the production of records and tours.
>
> It works like this...
> If you own a .com you can use it whatever the name is don't matter who
> you piss off in the process.   If you don't own it you can't use it.
> Its that simple.

        No it's not. Because the guy who was using the site did not own
it, and he was doing it notionally in the interest of some other people
who didn't own it, the guy who does having lost interest. Not too simple
really.

> If anyone is interested (and believe me you ain't) you can go to
> http://www.hawklord.uklinux.net to see what I'm into.   I don't have
> much space so I can't host a Hawkwind site even if I want to.  But if
> the people who did hawkwind.com want to become www.hawklord.uklinux.net
> then I can put a re-direct into my top index.html to send people to your
> site wherever you want to keep it.

        Let me just compare this to your paragraph above. You would own
that domain. So suely no-one else could use it, if your statement above is
true? Of course it's not, as this shows, but if someone doing what you
suggest put up something you thought might get you in trouble I imagine
you might feel inclined to restrict their freedom slightly given that
you'd have the legal responsibility.

> If hawkwind do not own hawkwind.com simply tell Brock to shut the f*&^
> up!

        Hawkwind don't! So great! But it was supposed to be an information
site! If the band you're trying to inform people about won't tell you
anything and want your site closed down what are you going to do? Start an
I-hate-hawkwind.com?

> Look forward to Greasy Truckers and if I'm in a good mood I'll put Welsh
> fungii in yer lager!

        I don't drink lager so sadly this fate was denied me.

> IF HAWKWIND DO NOT OWN hawkwind.com THEN THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO THAT
> DOMAIN AND NO RIGHT TO TELL YOU WHAT TO DO WITH IT.  LET THEM WASTE
> THEIR MONEY ON LAWYERS THEY CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO STOP YOU.

        Yes, they can. They can claim damages and an injunction to stop
content they feel is damaging their income going up. In the same way if
someone prints something abusive about you in a newspaper you don't own on
presses you don't own and sells it to other people than yourself you can
still sue.

> The name Hawkwind comes from a descriptive nickname once given to a
> genleman who cougthed up flem on a regular basis and also farted a
> lot....  hawk wind... get it?   That geezers real name is Nik Turner.

        That's one story. Even Nik didn't always tell it, as the clippings
that were on hawkwind.com would have made clear to you.

> Lets put Nik's gig in perspective.   He is what 60?   In 1972 Greasy
> Truckers put on cheap gigs and flogged a couple of cheap albums because
> they wanted people to hear the music.  Now in a new century he has
> gotten as close to the classic Hawkwind line up of '73 as you will ever
> get, OK Brock ain't there but a lot of folks I've never seen are and I
> been seeing Hawkwind since 1977.  So I'm expecting something special,
> not just another Brock gig.

        Actually they were closer with the last Hawkestra given that for
the Space Ritual segment they had everyone bar Calvert and Simon King. But
even this one  was undeniably something special. On which more peaceful
note I close, yours,
                     Jon

--
                Jonathan Jarrett          01223 514989
                     jjarrett at chiark.greenend.org.uk
         ----------------------------------------------------------
                "Wilhelm Reich died for your sins"  (ST37)