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A Brief History of 'sex.com'

Posted by Zonk on from the truth-is-always-stranger-than-fiction dept.

linuxwrangler writes "Violet Blue's current 'Open Source Sex' column in SFGate covers the amusingly sordid history of sex.com. More graft and corruption than hanky-panky, the article details some of the exploits surrounding the much-desired URL, including an attempted assassination, drug smuggling, money laundering, and a bid to buy out Ceasar's Palace. From the article: 'It's estimated that Cohen made over $100 million off the URL in the years he had it, even making a 1999 bid to buy Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and was only forced to give it back to Kremen when a San Jose court awarded the URL (and $65 million in damages) to Kremen in 2001. It had been a five-year struggle for Kremen, both in battling his speed addiction and in trying to raise funds for his own litigation. Even though his dot-com boom resume boasted typical startup-style impressive credentials, Kremen was only able to afford the court bills when bitter Sex.com porn industry rivals helped fund the case.'

78 comments

  1. Rubber Alligator by omeomi · · Score: 5, Funny

    The only thing missing from the Sex.com story is a dead stripper found with a rubber alligator lodged in her throat

    Well, that seems easy enough to fix...

    Now, where to find a rubber alligator...

    --
    ZuluPad, the wiki notepad on crack
    1. Re:Rubber Alligator by Xyrus · · Score: 1

      If you put all the current tags together, you have the name of a good story:

      Corruption Internet Sex Business Bubble

      Well, either that or a strange new virtual sex device.

      ~X~

      --
      ~X~
    2. Re:Rubber Alligator by vox_soli · · Score: 1

      Rubber Alligator. They can't seem to decide whether it's a crocodile or an alligator, but apparently it's "irresitable".

  2. Social engineering by Life700MB · · Score: 5, Interesting


    Ah, score another for the good old social engineering that made it posible to obtain the domain without having the rigts to it.

    --
    Superb hosting 200GB Storage, 2_TB_ bandwidth, php, mysql, ssh, $7.95

    1. Re:Social engineering by Joebert · · Score: 5, Funny

      Social Engineering ? To obtain Sex ? Say it isn't so !

      --
      Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
    2. Re:Social engineering by Cheapy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Usually it's called "beer"....

      --
      Would you kindly mod me +1 insightful?
    3. Re:Social engineering by mmkkbb · · Score: 2, Insightful

      For crying out loud mods! It's called a "pick-up line". Beer is not social engineering.

      --
      -mkb
    4. Re:Social engineering by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For crying out loud stop being such a tool and roll with the joke. I bet your a ton of fun at a party. You probably haven't had your dick in anything wet and moist since that time you fucked that Betty Crocker cake.

      P.S. You're a faggot.

    5. Re:Social engineering by mmkkbb · · Score: 1

      Sorry, I don't roll with crappy jokes to fit in (especially when a tiny bit more effort would make it not suck). I grew out of that in 3rd grade.

      P.S. Grow a dick and log in.

      --
      -mkb
    6. Re:Social engineering by Cheapy · · Score: 1

      "Can I buy you a beer?"

      Anyways, you claim to grow out of immature jokes, yet you tell someone to "grow a dick and log in"? Those two are mutually exclusive.

      --
      Would you kindly mod me +1 insightful?
  3. Re:slow day??? by Arcane_Rhino · · Score: 3, Funny

    Nonsense. I wish I had the movie rights.

  4. Cool name tag by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    - So what kind of business are you in?

    Can't you read tags? I'm in the Internet Bubble Business.

    1. Re:Cool name tag by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is no business like the corruption internet sex bubble business.

  5. That article makes me brain hurtee by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That sounds like an interesting story. Too bad the article is so poorly written that it hardly explains what happened.

    1. Re:That article makes me brain hurtee by fbjon · · Score: 1
      Well, this part was interesting:
      "Mr. Kremen's legal team also identified banks linked to Mr. Cohen in Latvia, Luxembourg, the Isle of Man, Mexico, Vanuatu, and the British Virgin Islands, but lawyers were unable to recover any funds."
      "Recover"?? Why do I get this picture of lawyer tentacles slithering all over the planet, sliding into every nook, fold and crevasse looking for some leftover cash crumbs.
      --
      True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
    2. Re:That article makes me brain hurtee by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny
      tentacles slithering all over the planet, sliding into every nook, fold and crevasse


      Nah, sex.com doesn't have that kind of porn
    3. Re:That article makes me brain hurtee by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You my friend have been watching too much Japanese porn.

  6. Violet Blue? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh... there's another one.

  7. Article almost as interesting as the author bio... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow. She's a machine artist. I kid you not!

  8. What about whitehouse.gov?? by filesiteguy · · Score: 3, Funny

    I find this all very interesting. However, I'm wondering if there's a similar tale behind the owners of whitehouse.gov - the other hot pr0n site on the internet.

    --
    The Kai's Semi-Updated Website Thingy
    1. Re:What about whitehouse.gov?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'm wondering if there's a similar tale behind the owners of whitehouse.gov - the other hot pr0n site on the internet

      If you feel that whitehouse.gov is the hottest porn site on the Internet, you sir are the biggest GW Bush fan I've ever met. You win, hands down.

    2. Re:What about whitehouse.gov?? by BacOs · · Score: 2, Informative

      They're referring to whitehouse.com, which used to be a porn site.

    3. Re:What about whitehouse.gov?? by CaffeineAddict2001 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Oh come on: CONDIE RICE. Raaawr! What? None of you find power sexy?

    4. Re:What about whitehouse.gov?? by Joebert · · Score: 1
      None of you find power sexy?

      To be honest, I have this fantasy, to ask the question, How's my dictate ?, of a woman with that kind of power.
      --
      Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
    5. Re:What about whitehouse.gov?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wooosh

    6. Re:What about whitehouse.gov?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'd bang her.

    7. Re:What about whitehouse.gov?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cunilingus Rice? I'll tell YOU about Cunilingus Rice!

    8. Re:What about whitehouse.gov?? by homebrewmike · · Score: 1

      If you feel that whitehouse.gov is the hottest porn site on the Internet, you sir are the biggest GW Bush fan I've ever met. You win, hands down.

      And one sick puppy...

    9. Re:What about whitehouse.gov?? by Lxy · · Score: 1

      We know, which makes the typo even funnier.

      --

      There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
      :wq
    10. Re:What about whitehouse.gov?? by filesiteguy · · Score: 1

      lol!

      I actually remember the instance where I was showing off our "new" T1 connection to my CEO back in the late '90s. Not thinking, I inadvertently showed him whitehouse.com instead of whitehouse.gov.

      Oops!!

      --
      The Kai's Semi-Updated Website Thingy
  9. Good premise, terrible writing, bleh credentials by ObiWonKanblomi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Did Cohen really share a cell with Michael Milken or did he stay at the same prison but at different times? I'd be more interested in reading about that if he did actually share the same cell.

    Also, this author's credentials sound like something that could only qualify someone for work in San Francisco:

    Violet Blue is author and editor of over a dozen sexual health books and erotica collections. She is a professional sex educator, lecturer, podcaster, video blogger, porn/erotica reviewer and machine artist. Violet is also a fetish model, a member of Survival Research Labs, an author at Metroblogging San Francisco; girl friday contributor at Fleshbot, a San Francisco native, and a pro blogger. For more information and links to Web sites discussed in Open Source Sex, go to Violet Blue's Web site, tinynibbles.com.

    Please tell me I live in a sane world when I say even Dvorak or Cringley has better credentials.

  10. It was a long, hard case... by Cr0w+T.+Trollbot · · Score: 5, Funny
    ..but Gary Kreman kept pounding, pounding away, thrusting again and again into the slippery corridors of justice. It was sweaty working penetrating the tight holes of legal precedence necessary for him to release his load of depositions, a sticky, exhausting process. But he prevailed! A model for us all...

    Crow T. Trollbot

    1. Re:It was a long, hard case... by Lord+Kano · · Score: 3, Funny

      Then the judge pulled out his law books and sprayed justice in everyone's face.

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
    2. Re:It was a long, hard case... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Then the judge pulled out his law books and sprayed justice in everyone's face.

      Keep going. This is making me hot.

    3. Re:It was a long, hard case... by Fizzl · · Score: 1

      That was a bit over the top.
      Or perhaps... Stretching it.

      --
      Bot Assisted Blogging
  11. just make sure... by advocate_one · · Score: 4, Funny

    you type it right... oh see what you get for only being one letter out...

    --
    Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
    1. Re:just make sure... by From+A+Far+Away+Land · · Score: 1

      Sew, like Sex though, is all about the "in and out", and "creation".

      --
      Oh You POS
    2. Re:just make sure... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      In Dutch, 'naaien' (to sew) is a common euphemism for sex

  12. Oy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ahoy, Captain Spooge! Arrrrr...

  13. Appropriate google ads? by Pedahzur · · Score: 4, Funny

    Am I the only one that finds these google ads at the bottom of that article to be apropos:

    Sex Offender Registry
    Search updated sex offender list Free service with maps, easy to use
    ----------------.org

    Registered Sex Offenders
    Protect your child. Find out now if a sex offender lives in your area.
    www.---------------------.com

    Instant Criminal Records
    Nationwide Criminal, Felony & Sex Offender Checks. Updated Regularly.
    www.--------.com

    --
    Joshua J. Kugler
    1. Re:Appropriate google ads? by westcoast+philly · · Score: 1

      .....
      --
      Joshua J. Kugler
      Tech Opinionator at Large

      ...was that an ad? There's money in that?

  14. Sex.com belongs to all of us by Paladin144 · · Score: 3, Funny
    Come on people, quit the fussin' and the fightin'. Put aside your differences. It's clear, that sex.com belongs to all of us, like the environment or the national debt. You see, sex.com is part of our heritage. It's the domain that is connected to every single one of us -- after all, who among us would be here if our parents didn't have sex? (okay, Cowboy Neal is a test tube baby, but the rest of us were created during sex)

    Don't you see? Sex.com is our birthright! It's a national treasure. It is a god among TLDs. That's why I think we should make it public domain and put a wiki up there so we can all teach and share what we've learned about sex. Like the future, sex.com belongs to the children. The next time somebody mentions sex.com, think of the children!

    Uhh... wait a sec...

    --
    Electric Monkey Pants
    1. Re:Sex.com belongs to all of us by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
      ...after all, who among us would be here if our parents didn't have sex?


      Jesus Christ!

      (It's funny, laugh. Then try to gouge out your eyes before you realize it is mental imagery.)

    2. Re:Sex.com belongs to all of us by pipingguy · · Score: 1

      Uhh... wait a sec...

      No, no more secs, please figure out the ramifications of your words *before* you post.

      Why no, I'm not British, why do you ask?

  15. Re:Good premise, terrible writing, bleh credential by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anyone working with Survival Research Labs is OK in my book.

  16. Re:Good premise, terrible writing, bleh credential by Biff+Stu · · Score: 3, Funny

    While I'm not a huge fan of her style, I must say that she writes a sex column; her crededentials are appropriate and well-suited for the job. On the other hand, the thought of associating Dvorak or Cringley with sex makes me run in terror.

  17. Money by Lord_Dweomer · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Just out of curiosity, how is it that he made that much freaking money off of a domain name? I'm sure he had ads and affiliate stuff all over the place but how in the hell did he make THAT much, it seems WAAAY more than he should have been able to make.

    Can any adult webmasters weigh in on the amounts of money to be made in your business? How much would you say your "average" pr0n site pulls in? What amount of traffic is required for that?

    --
    Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
    1. Re:Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am not in the pr0n business, but as an amature domain speculator I am not at all suprised by the amount of money he made from the domain.

      The internet was built on pr0n, much like the home video market before it. Even today there are vast sums of money flowing through pr0n web sites. Much like their customers however, the captains of the pr0n industry (mostly) like to keep a low profile. So because the businesses are largely privately owned and the proprietors don't show up on the cover for Forbes most people don't mentally associate pr0n with big money.

    2. Re:Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting
      Can any adult webmasters weigh in on the amounts of money to be made in your business? How much would you say your "average" pr0n site pulls in?


      I can't tell you as an adult webmaster, but as somebody who used to work for a company that was involved in the payment processing for some adult websites I can tell you that even relatively obscure sites, without a domain such as sex.com pull in a metric shitload of cash. It is the niche ones that do well, once had a conversation with a guy who was working minimum wage until his wife agreed to pose for some very specific kind of photos... they are looking to retire wealthy in a few years time (when he turns 40).
    3. Re:Money by owlnation · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It was easier to make lots of money in porn at the beginning of the web. For those of us who entered the marker later it's actually pretty tough, you need to do all the work that every other site is doing, adult or otherwise, to make money. And no, not even in that order of magnitude amount - if you are doing things legitimately an least - as I endeavor to do. Maybe if you are doing things illegally you can make much more, but that's not for me, I'd rather settle for a reasonable income and be able to sleep at night.

      I have few friends who did start up at the beginning of the web, and sure they are pretty rich, but they didn't make anything like that kind of money. Either this guy is really good, or (likely) there's still more to the story to be told.

    4. Re:Money by Lord_Dweomer · · Score: 1
      I assume your website in your profile is beautifulassettes.com. Would you mind sharing some rough figures on traffic/revenue? Or if you'd like, you can email me at haltingpoint at gmail dot com. I started a babeblog briefly but ran into a lot of barriers and perhaps I can discuss those with you.

      --
      Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
    5. Re:Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Top affiliate schemes these days pay $40-$60 per signup for a $3 trial. These convert at around 1:1000 for properly niched/setup sites.
      For some actual figures from legit guys - http://www.hoes.com/sponsors/
      This shows that traffic to the standard top programs will run at about 5c/hit today, which is about right. In 2004 it was more like 10c a hit. The market is flooded these days. Back in the sex.com battle days it was even more.

      sex.com falls in the top 1000 traffic sites overall, which you can imagine the number of hits we are talking there. Subtract a decent chunk of conversion ratio for the weaker traffic (sex.com visitors are not going to be as determined porn surfers as hoes.com, a lot more casual hits), and you are still probably talking 1c a hit. For, lets say, 6m hits a day, $60,000 a day == 21 million a year. Sounds in the right ballpark?

    6. Re:Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As I recall, the owner of sex.com was also suing other websites with the word "sex" in the domain name, thus bringing in lots of other sex related sites under his umbrella of control.

  18. It would only be a good porn domain... by Krater76 · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... if you could type it with one hand.

    --
    "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" - Patrick Henry
    1. Re:It would only be a good porn domain... by Beached · · Score: 1

      you could, most browsers will add in the .com for you and sex is all on the left

      --
      ---- aut viam inveniam aut faciam
    2. Re:It would only be a good porn domain... by Nimey · · Score: 1
      and sex is all on the left


      So why is the birthrate increasing among all the religious nutters then?

      I kid, I kid.
      --
      Hail Eris, full of mischief...

      E pluribus sanguinem
    3. Re:It would only be a good porn domain... by D-Cypell · · Score: 1

      ...Not really. Most normal folks would wait for the site to load before hand availability was an issue.

    4. Re:It would only be a good porn domain... by owlnation · · Score: 1

      so those of us who are left handed would be better off with ilm.com? Perfect for Princess Leia in the gold bikini porn?

  19. Re:Good premise, terrible writing, bleh credential by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    her credentials are a pile of *hite. Thats the point.

  20. Re:Brief history... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Troll? Obviously, someone isn't familiar with California labor laws.

  21. Mother warned me by syousef · · Score: 1

    Assassinations? Oh my. Mother told me having sex was nothing but trouble, but did I listen?

    --
    These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
  22. Oh dear God! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Please tell me I live in a sane world when I say even Dvorak or Cringley has better credentials.

    I think Cringely is the one who should feel sullied by that association. At the very least he has 'Triumph of the Nerds' and 'NerdTV' to his credit...what does John Dvorak or "Violet Blue" have to their credit?

    Cringely is not always right, and maybe even wrong a lot, but he's usually worth listening to.
    1. Re:Oh dear God! by badspyro · · Score: 1

      Maybe you should check out her site, as she is a bit of a geek
      No, i don't joke.

  23. Re:Good premise, terrible writing, bleh credential by Skadet · · Score: 1
    I must say that she writes a sex column; her crededentials are appropriate and well-suited for the job.
    Really? Being a sex columnist makes her well-suited to write a story that admits in the first paragraph that it has nothing at all to do with sex? How do you figure?
    --
    Sony ha
  24. Re:Good premise, terrible writing, bleh credential by owlnation · · Score: 1
    She is a professional sex educator, lecturer, podcaster, video blogger, porn/erotica reviewer and machine artist.
    As someone who is an experienced worker in the sex industry, can I be the first to ask... What on earth is a "machine artist"?
  25. Remember the time! by imsabbel · · Score: 1

    During that area, you could make 100M$ from nothing even WITHOUT any sexy domainname.

    --
    HI O WISE PRINCE. WHT TOOK U SO DAM LONG?
  26. OLD!! by Jesus+IS+the+Devil · · Score: 1

    This isn't even news anymore. The whole sordid saga of sex.com was reported on wired.com at least 5 years ago! Why is this making the rounds now?

    --

    eTrade SUCKS
    1. Re:OLD!! by AceCaseOR · · Score: 1

      This isn't even news anymore. The whole sordid saga of sex.com was reported on wired.com at least 5 years ago! Why is this making the rounds now? Because, it wasn't over 5 years ago. It's almost over now. Maybe.
      --
      Zagreus sits inside your head, Zagreus lives among the dead, Zagreus sees you in your bed and eats you in your sleep.
  27. Re:Good premise, terrible writing, bleh credential by mmkkbb · · Score: 1

    That probably refers to her membership in Survival Research Labs, integrating animal corpses with gears and stuff.

    --
    -mkb
  28. Re:Good premise, terrible writing, bleh credential by poot_rootbeer · · Score: 1

    Please tell me I live in a sane world when I say even Dvorak or Cringley has better credentials.

    Better credentials for WHAT?

    Yes, I suppose if I were looking for someone to write a column about technology, one of those gentlemen would be the better choice. But if I were looking for someone to write a column about sex, you better believe John C. Dvorak would be at the very bottom of my list!