Here is a simple truth: If you buy a premium domain and leave it blank, you are the villain.
I will admit, I have 25 domains in my Spaceship account. But at least I have the decency to put up a “Coming Soon” page or redirect it to a rickroll. My domains are bad financial decisions, but they are loved.
But today, I tried to find a home for Sidequest. And I found out that the internet is full of squatters.
The Exhibit of Crimes
I had a great name. “Sidequest.” Simple. Clean. Perfect for an app about going outside. Let’s look at the graveyard:
1. sidequest.com
Status: BLANK PAGE. Price: “Contact Broker” (aka: “More money than I will earn in my entire life”). This domain is sitting there doing absolutely nothing. It is a digital empty lot in the middle of New York City. The owner isn’t building anything. They are just sitting on it, waiting for some VC-funded startup to drop $50k. I am 16. I have $12 and a dream.
2. sidequest.app
Status: ALSO BLANK.
Why? Why did you buy the .app TLD if you don’t have an app?
The .app domain requires HTTPS by default. It is meant for software. If you visit this URL, you just stare into the void. It’s not even a parking page. It’s just a server error. You are wasting a beautiful name on a 404.
3. sidequestapp.com
Status: A ghost town from 2012. I checked. It looks like it was built when Gangnam Style was top of the charts. The copyright says 2012. It has those shiny Web 2.0 gradients and a “Download on the App Store” button that probably links to a deleted Flappy Bird clone. If your startup failed 14 years ago, let the domain go. Release it back to the wild so I can use it!
The “Premium” Scam
I love Spaceship because they are cheap, but seeing that “Premium Domain” tag makes me want to throw my monitor. It is ticket scalping, but for innovation.
I just want to build a little app that makes people touch grass. I shouldn’t have to add “live” or “get” or “try” to the start of my URL just because some guy named Dave bought sidequest.com in 1998 and forgot his password.
Conclusion
So now I have to buy sidequestlive.app.
It’s fine. It’s okay. I’m not crying.
But to the person owning sidequest.com: I hope your printer jams every single day for the rest of your life.
Stop squatting. Start building.