People fear change and this one is no different.
At least you have got some publicity out of this and would write off the losses to marketing expenses.

Cheers to creativity and innovation.

Contact us about how to make your model legal. I am sure folks are still interested in supporting your model.

Chris

It took tremendous courage to even attempt this project. The truth is, the vast majority of the “skeptics” wouldn’t even have the audacity to step out of their comfort zone to take the risk…and that’s what it was.

Foolish, brilliant, novel, rehashed – whatever adjective someone settles on to characterize the project – introducing a new concept which questions conventional wisdom or makes people uncomfortable will always be met with measured resistance. Remember, risk spawns innovation and creativity. Without it, the Earth still might be flat.

I applaud you for doing what most won’t and respect you for accepting the inherent risk associated with such a bold initiative. You’ve handled the entire situation with class. Oh, and don’t feel obligated AT ALL to reveal the domain. You answer to no one but yourself.

It’s a shame we won’t be able to see this project thru its conclusion, but in the face of any potential legal issues you’ve made the prudent decision.

Best of luck and keep your head up. No failures, just lessons learned.

~Kristoff

Thanks for the offer though.

John

I was surprised to see the refund of my bid amount. To be honest my website received 40 targeted visits from the link within a small time – much more than the $1.88 that I had bid. As “Just Me” above says, we weren’t actually bidding for the domain – we were paying for the link and we got more than our money’s worth. Where should I send the amount you refunded back to you John? It’s yours. I got my bang for the buck as they say!

Yes you have taken some flack and no doubt you will get even more now, sad really that people are so quick to wallow in someone Else’s misfortune.

As for the domain, keep it to yourself, it wouldn’t matter what it was now they would pull it to pieces.

In my book you are a top guy who had the cahoonies to step out and go for it, its a shame there are not more like you in the industry.

And at the end of the day the only person out of pocket is you, so what are they crying about!

Good luck for the future John and don’t let the bstrds get you down

I have stood up and taken the blame and the criticism, and I have listened to the skeptics worries, done due diligence – albeit late – and put an end to the project.

I just don’t want to say anything more on the matter until things cool down as I am at risk of being taken out of context with every word I say by eager headline seekers.

I read the positive comments from people who participated and they seemed to like the concept.

Perhaps the idea of didn’t hurt domaining but the execution did. Just like when Sedo cancels bids on their .mobi auction or when Bido launches and then shuts down or when Snapnames goes down five times in two weeks.

None of them are scam just poorly thought out executions.

We are all guilty of poorly executed plans, that’s just the nature of new business models and entrepreneurialism.

So, now this new business model that was being presented as a big deal so people outside of the industry were drawn to has closed.

That’s not good for the domain industry.

Are you going to reformulate your plan and re-launch it?

I am really disappointed that the event had to end. This event presented a domainer and domains in a whole new light. It displayed a domainer with courage to break out of the “domain” that we often find ourselves stuck in. Lets just keep trying. Thanks John.