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The Amazon Rainforest Wants Its TLD Back From Amazon.com

Posted by samzenpus on from the take-it-back dept.

terrancem writes "The Seattle-based Amazon.com has applied for its brand to be a generic top-level domain name (.amazon), but South American governments argue this would prevent the use of this internet address for environmental protection, the promotion of indigenous rights and other public interest uses. Along with dozens of other disputed claims to names including ".patagonia" and ".shangrila", the issue cuts to the heart of debates about the purpose and governance of the internet."

35 of 186 comments (clear)

  1. Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by binarylarry · · Score: 5, Funny

    You better call Captain Planet, South America.

    Because little Jeff Bezos ain't giving that up without a serious fight.

    --
    Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
    1. Re:Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by rudy_wayne · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Will all these stupid new TLDs even be used? Right now, how often do you go to a legitimate website (non-spam, non-scam, non-malware) that doesn't use .com, .net, .org, .gov or .edu ? I'll bet it's pretty rare.

      Creating all of these new TLDs is nothing but a money making scam for ICANN.

    2. Re:Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Will all these stupid new TLDs even be used? Right now, how often do you go to a legitimate website (non-spam, non-scam, non-malware) that doesn't use .com, .net, .org, .gov or .edu ? I'll bet it's pretty rare.

      Creating all of these new TLDs is nothing but a money making scam for ICANN.

      Oh, not to worry, with the number of sneaky URL-lookalikes that a combination of gTLDs and unicode support will allow, it won't just be ICANN pulling off money making scams...

    3. Re:Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by Freshly+Exhumed · · Score: 3, Funny

      There's this group of women from Mars outside waiting to meet Bezos. They said something about his puny weapon being no match for their own.

      --
      I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
    4. Re:Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Funny

      You better call Captain Planet, South America.

      Because little Jeff Bezos ain't giving that up without a serious fight.

      Hey, both Amazons are leading distributors of dead trees, I think we've got a serious trademark issue here.

    5. Re:Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by rudy_wayne · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I go to .ca every days. I live in Canada. I also visit a lot of .fr, .de, .se and .uk, to name a few.

      So do I but that's not what I'm talking about. I don't know how it works, but I would imagine that I can't register a .ca domain if I'm not in Canada. (If you can then the system is even more fucked up than I thought).

      But anyone can register a domain using one of the hundreds of proposed new domains. And with the combination of those new TLDs, Unicode and a shady registrar, people will be able to create all sorts of sneaky look-a-like websites. Sure, they're doing that now, but things are about to get a whole lot worse.

      And meanwhile, nobody is going to type whatever.amazon into their web browser. They're just going to keep going to amazon.com. It's their name. In all of their advertisements, including TV commercials, they don't call themselves Amazon. They call themselves Amazon Dot Com.

    6. Re:Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by ozmanjusri · · Score: 3, Interesting

      nobody is going to type whatever.amazon into their web browser. They're just going to keep going to amazon.com.

      That's a very short-sighted way of looking at it.

      Think "rivers.amazon, fauna.amazon, flora.amazon, etc" or alternatively, "books.amazon, movies.amazon, cheap_crap.amazon etc".

      --
      "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
    7. Re:Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by rudy_wayne · · Score: 2

      That's a very short-sighted way of looking at it.

      Think "books.amazon, movies.amazon, cheap_crap.amazon etc".

      And nobody is going to do that. Amazon had spent many years branding themselves as Amazon Dot Com.

    8. Re:Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by black6host · · Score: 2, Insightful

      More often than you think, actually. ".me" is having a lot of use, along with some dot coms adopting weird URL's to shorten their default ones for share links.....

      This ^ is actually the problem. The whole "me" attitude. A corporate identity wants a domain because they think it will further their business. Some countries want to focus domains on what is important to them. Frankly the Amazon rainforest is of much more importance to the health of our world than the company could ever be. And anyone who wants to promote that domain in the interest of protecting this world we live on has my blessing.

      What we really should focus on is what is best for .us. But, the US has that domain. Still, the sentiment remains.

      Amazon, and other business entities can continue raking in their fortunes without these gTLDs. They're already doing it, they're (in my opinion) only being protective so someone else doesn't grab something that would lead to confusion between their brand and another.

      One day, people will just not care about such things. They'll be too busy just trying to survive. Might be sooner, might be much, much later (way later!) My bet is on sooner, we do a good job of screwing things up in the name of profit and then move on once we go bankrupt, another company picks up the assets and not the liabilities, and continues onward. Bhopal anyone!

      Yeah a bit rambling, but all important things to think about.

    9. Re:Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by Sun · · Score: 2

      Obligatory XKCD.

    10. Re:Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You may not be able to register a .ca from outside Canada, but you can register .cx outside Christmas Island .tv outside Tuvalu .bz outside Belize .to outside Tonga .mx outside Mexico .es outside Spain .in outside India

      This is not a complete list -- for example, I haven't mentioned that you can register .cc outside the Cocos Islands. I'm just pointing out that you can register some country code TLDs outside that country. That's probably true of most .tv domains and is possible even with larger countries like Mexico, Spain, and India.

      If anything, a .amazon domain should be safer than a .com domain. Both .co (Columbia) and .cm (Cameroon, with presence) are available (and it's possible to get .om with an Oman presence), but .mazon and .amaon seem unlikely.

    11. Re:Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by Sun · · Score: 2

      You can in some countries, and cannot in others. co.il is open, AFAIK, to everyone. Some countries ("tv" and "to", for example) are explicitly open to everyone, so much so that hardly anyone in that domain is from that country. Effectively, these are as generic as "biz" and "info", possibly even more so.

      On the other hand, both "net" and "com" used to require presence in the USA for the critical first years of the Internet. Back in 1996, a company I worked for had to create a POB in the US just to register a domain name. There were brokers who took a hefty commission above the (quite pricy) NSI rates just to do this for you.

      IIRC, to this day, EDU and GOV are only open for US based registrants, and are in no way "generic".

      Shachar

    12. Re:Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by rudy_wayne · · Score: 2

      Will all these stupid new TLDs even be used? Right now, how often do you go to a legitimate website (non-spam, non-scam, non-malware) that doesn't use .com, .net, .org, .gov or .edu ? I'll bet it's pretty rare.

      On the contrary, it's daily, and multiple domains.

      My original statement was poorly worded. I was referring to .info, .biz and all those, Not country-specific ones like .uk, .ca or .au. . I have yet to see any widespread usage of .biz or .info or any of the many other TLDs that exist. All comments I have ever seen have been along the lines of "I registered a [whatever] domain name and it never took off" or "People get confused and think my website is "something.biz.com" due to the fact that so many people associate dot com with the Internet.

        And, even when websites use country-specific domains, I see a lot them still using dot com with it -- for example "website.com.au"

    13. Re:Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 2

      You better call Captain Planet, South America.

      Because little Jeff Bezos ain't giving that up without a serious fight.

      Obviously, Jeff can't see the forest for the trees...

      --
      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    14. Re:Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by ModernGeek · · Score: 2

      People are going to do neither of these things. They will just type "Amazon" into their search/address bar hybrid, which is pretty much just a GoogleSpyBar now, where page ranks are what the difference between your bank and a phishing site are.

      Maybe Google will start allowing people to purchase their names so that a search for "Amazon" goes to amazon.com versus a search landing page.


      Do no evil.(tm)

      --
      Sig: I stole this sig.
    15. Re:Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by Anubis+IV · · Score: 2

      Many countries allow foreigners to register domains with them. Ever used bit.ly? That ly is Libya. What about goo.gl? The gl is for Greenland. Stuff that ends in .to? Tonga. Quite a few do not, of course, but a few of them have opened them up and seen widespread use as a result.

      As for people registering domains under the new TLDs, those TLDs are not all open for public use. In fact, the vast majority of them are not open to public use at all. Amazon certainly isn't going to be letting you register rudy_wayne.amazon as a domain anytime soon, so that vector for attack is out. And if you're worried about people making lookalike TLDs, keep in mind that they cost $185,000 to register, and if there's one thing I learned in grad school when studying spam and phishing sites as part of my research, it's that the bad guys are doing everything they can to keep their costs down. The $0.05 mandatory registration fee that ICANN instituted a few years ago was a big deal, since it meant that every domain registration would cost the bad guys something, rather than letting them get a full refund during the one-week grace period after a domain is registered. You can imagine that a charge in the hundreds of thousands of dollars would act as an even greater deterrent.

      More or less, those TLDs are going to be controlled by corporations that have the money to afford them and an interest in protecting them as an authoritative source for online materials related to them and their operations. The likelihood of Amazon or anyone else allowing someone to register a domain that impersonates them is pretty much nil.

    16. Re:Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by ranulf · · Score: 2

      Frankly the Amazon rainforest is of much more importance to the health of our world than the company could ever be. And anyone who wants to promote that domain in the interest of protecting this world we live on has my blessing.

      Lucky we have other suitable domains for things like this, e.g. amazon.info...

    17. Re:Hahahahahahahaha Muahaha by chispito · · Score: 2

      Frankly the Amazon rainforest is of much more importance to the health of our world than the company could ever be. And anyone who wants to promote that domain in the interest of protecting this world we live on has my blessing.

      I'd wager that Amazon pushing less wasteful packaging has had a bigger impact on the environment than any rain forest themed website ever has.

      --
      The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
  2. Why have TLDs at all? by Jeff+Fohl · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Sometimes I wish there were no TLDs at all. They aren't really necessary. They actually make things worse, since any owner of a domain is forced to buy several TLD versions of their domain. They only make sense if you can actually enforce the meaning of the TLD, such as how .gov TLDs are enforced.

    1. Re:Why have TLDs at all? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I agree, then we could organize the WWW in some meaningful way -> alt.technology. And then instead of twitter/faceook being the defacto stanard for communication, we could use IRC. Just imagine how much better the world would be if people didn't reinvent things that do a worse job then the original.

    2. Re:Why have TLDs at all? by GodfatherofSoul · · Score: 2

      If they were used as intended, it would matter, but with all the campers you can't get the domain you want anyway (without shelling out a ton of cash).

      --
      I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
    3. Re:Why have TLDs at all? by wvmarle · · Score: 2

      Sorry to pop your myth but over the past decade I've registered several domains, and so far haven't even had to modify my name a little bit to find an available name. There are plenty of names available - unless you insist on <generic word>.com instead of <your company name>.com - replace .com by your own country's tld and you've got even more options.

      Just now I'm building up a new site, planning to register a name for it, and again: no problem. The name that I wanted is available. And this time it's a simple combination of two generic words.

    4. Re:Why have TLDs at all? by rudy_wayne · · Score: 2

      Sometimes I wish there were no TLDs at all. They aren't really necessary. They actually make things worse, since any owner of a domain is forced to buy several TLD versions of their domain. .

      You don't understand. Yes, it's worse for you. But it's great for ICANN because it generates lots of money.

    5. Re:Why have TLDs at all? by rudy_wayne · · Score: 2

      They actually make things worse, since any owner of a domain is forced to buy several TLD versions of their domain.

      Your point is on the mark, yet the argument is a bit invalid. Facebook becomes popular, company has to get its own name on Facebook. Twitter becomes popular, has to get own name on Twitter. Mobile becomes the new thing, company needs to ensure branding of mobile app. Nothing new here.

      The benefit to the market is free revenue from obsessive goofy companies that feel they need to own their name with every single TLD possible.

      This really isn't necessary, but free money from misguided companies is a good thing.

      "company has to get its own name on Facebook" is irrelevant. That's not the issue. It's not about "obsessive goofy companies that feel they need to own their name with every single TLD possible". It's about a business being forced to spend a lot of money to protect themself from scammers trying to use their name. If Facebook doesn't register their name with every possible TLD, then you end up with facebook.xxx, facebook.sex, facebook.biz, facebook.info, and so on.

  3. WWF by fermion · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Even the World Wrestling Federation eventually caved in to the world wildlife fund. It may have been for tax purposes, entertainment is treated differently than sport, but one does not win against the earth people.

    What Bezos needs to do buy and fund a TLD for the amazon. Obviously it is not going to be amazon. On the webpages have a link redirecting to the new domain. It will likely avoid huge legal costs and generate a good deal of good will.

    --
    "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
    1. Re:WWF by asshole+felcher · · Score: 2, Interesting

      WWF (the wrestlers) had a 1994-era legal agreement concerning international use of the wwf abbreviation which fucked them over.

    2. Re:WWF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      They both missed an opportunity to merge and create the Wildlife Wrestling Foundation. TV series dedicated to wildlife wrestling could have supported both groups.

  4. And what about mythological warrior women? by Megahard · · Score: 3, Insightful

    After all, that's the origin of the name.

    --
    I eat only the real part of complex carbohydrates.
  5. The original Amazons want their name back by giorgist · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The original Amazons called and they want their name back from the rain forest.

  6. This Mess Was Predicted by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Lots of people predicted that this new TLD system was going to be a mess. And... it is. Seems like it has become even more of a mess each month that goes by.

    I really have to wonder why anybody would have thought that it would NOT be a mess.

    1. Re:This Mess Was Predicted by OhANameWhatName · · Score: 2

      I really have to wonder why anybody would have thought that it would NOT be a mess

      Everyone has reasons to delude themselves. Making tonnes and tonnes of cash for doing nothing is a reason.

  7. That was the point of the original TLDs by Solandri · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Amazon the company could be amazon.com. Amazon the environmental organization could be amazon.org (if it weren't parked and likely squatted). Amazon the ISP (if there was one) coupld be amazon.net. etc.

    But noooo, some bozos in charge decided that increasing the number of namespace collisions will somehow be better for their bank accou^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hthe Internet.

    1. Re:That was the point of the original TLDs by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 2

      Note that there's no company called "Amazon". The one that's behind http://amazon.com/ is actually registered as Amazon.com, Inc.

  8. Re:on a slightly related issue by OhANameWhatName · · Score: 4, Funny

    How are the pipfruit producers of the world doing in their battle to reclaim their good name form the company formerly run by Steve Jobs?

    They're holding out for the payout to ripen before squeezing for a juicy settlement.

  9. A TLD is a huge namespace... by Brucelet · · Score: 2

    If ICANN were actually managing this crap sanely it wouldn't be that hard to share. No reason that conservation.amazon and shopping.amazon couldn't both exist under different ownership.