Thread by @UjuAnya

Did you try to buy your domain name and build a personal website, but discovered “your name dot com” is considered a “premium domain,” and some company or individual is charging THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS for it?

Well, I did. Here’s my saga. 1/10

I finally got around to building an online portfolio, only to learn someone already owned my domain name and selling it for $3K. I can’t afford that, plus, it’s my damn name. My dear friend said I could negotiate the price with owners. Whois search ID’d them as HugeDomains. 2/10

I emailed HugeDomains and asked to negotiate the price to buy my domain. They said make an offer. I said $200. I thought this was super generous, since domains cost $9.99, so I was giving them a big return for their investment in snatching up my domain name before I did. 3/10

HugeDomains rejected my $200 offer and countered with $100 discount on cash purchase OR interest-free monthly payment plan for full price. “Act now, cuz offer only good for a few days.” So, I’m stuck. And, like any other person who can’t find money, I went to find my rights. 4/10

I made a wild discovery online. I thought domain ownership was first come first dibs. But turns out, these vultures don’t even have a legal right to own my name or trademark for the mere purpose of selling it for profit. It’s called cybersquatting, and it’s illegal. 5/10

So, I could pay a lawyer however much to sue them for my domain name, or pay an official arbitration entity $1300 or $1500 to mediate the case and force them to give me my domain name. So I’m thinking, well, $1300 is less than $3000. But who wants to go through all that? 6/10

I still don’t have a thousand plus dollars to pay to fight for my domain name and enraged I’m even in this position, since they don’t own rights to it legally or in good faith. So I’m thinking, still offer HugeDomains $200 as a ransom so everybody at least gets something. 7/10

So I go back to HugeDomains and say, y’all are doing illegal shit. You cybersquatting on my domain and don’t have the right to own my legal name and trademark to gouge me for something I’m entitled to use and control. They immediately transfer me from sales office to legal. 8/10

Now I’m talking to the legal office. Different tone. All they want is my ID to prove I’m who I say I am, and the domain is my name. I send the document. They immediately give me the code to transfer my domain name registration. FREE. NOT $3000 in 12 monthly installments. 9/10

Why did I tell this story? First, to say you can FIGHT AND WIN if some person or company is cybersquatting on a domain name that’s rightfully yours. Also, to announce that I finally have a real website. Still working and fixing things, but check it out!

ujuanya.com

And yes, my hair is different in every picture on my website. Cuz I’m a Black woman. And that’s one of the features of our inimitable magic.