Michael Arrington Deadpools Fresh TLDs

TechCrunch founder states .eco and other domains dead on arrival.

TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington, who himself has a background in the domaining world, is deadpooling .eco, a proposed fresh top level domain.

I just don’t think the world needs another top level domain, and certainly not one that is designed for “individuals to express their support for environmental causes, for firms to promote their environmental initiatives, and for environmental organizations to maintain their websites.”

People like .COM domains, or alternatively country level domains. These other ones are little more than traps to force brands to protect their trademarks during expensive pre-sale periods. The firm behind the domain gets the most of the money, and ICANN, the quasi-governmental, quasi-mafia organization that oversees this mess gets their cut as well. The more domain names that get registered, the more money ICANN makes, which lets them hire more staff to stick their noses into more things. Meanwhile, they’re making a mess of the Internet.

Arrington hasn’t always seen eye-to-eye with domainers since exiting the industry (and Pool), but I think he’s in agreement with most of the industry on this one.