Isn’t it frustrating to see a particular domain name being literally wasted?  The scenario is all too familiar, and it goes something like this…

You set out to register a domain name and  eagerly check its availability.  “Status: ALREADY TAKEN”.  You may try another variation.  Again, “Status: ALREADY TAKEN”.  Out of curiosity / frustration you may visit the particular site(s) in question only to find out that it is either:
a) an untouched “parked” site
b) under construction (no content)
c) a promotional landing page linking to hundreds of websites
d) a website that hasn’t been updated since 2001
e) absolute bullshit

Well, (e) is completely subjective, so we can scratch that from the list.

The point of this post is to raise the question of regulation on the web, with regards to the registration and maintenance of domain names.  This “regulation” (and I hate to use the word regulation) has nothing to do with the actual content on the website, but has everything to do with how the owner maintains, updates, and most importantly, adds value with their website.  In other words, we must look at how a particular domain name assists in distributing information and contributes to the betterment of the World Wide Web.  I am a huge proponent of the web and what it stands for.  Trust me, I believe that the web should be kept as open as possible, be accessible to anyone, and continue to operate in this fashion.

But I do believe we are at a time where the web can make small strides in gaining a bit of legitimacy and/or efficiency.  Obviously, the nature of the web excludes itself from ever being completely legitimate, and quite frankly, I think we are all fine with that.  But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t at least get closer.  The internet is maturing before our eyes, and we must follow suite with more mature guidelines.  We are past the days of the late 90’s dot-com boom; the internet users today expect more than ever, and rightfully so.  Let’s attempt to create a platform of more value.

I suggest we start by enforcing simple guidelines and parameters that domain name owners must fulfill in order to keep ownership of their domain name.  A few standards would include:

• Each domain name must be hosted and online within 6 months of purchase.
• Website content cannot remain stagnant for more than 1 month.

whereas,

Faulting on these parameters would result in the loss of the domain name, making it open to the public.

These straightforward guidelines would accomplish a number of things.  It would remove a large majority of internet clutter.  It would prevent impulsive domain name shopping/hoarding.  And best of all, it would give internet traffic confidence that the websites they visit are being maintained and updated regularly.

I’ll be the first to admit that I have a few domain names right now that aren’t doing anything.  At the same time, I can honestly say that if these guidelines were to be enforced tomorrow, I would happily surrender my shopping cart of URLs.