The domain name game Commentary When I registered my domain, I visualized a repository of columns, the lunatic trifles that punctuate my weekly grind. After all, a man's work is a man's work, whether it is lunacy or isn't. So, in a narcissistic mood, I sent a check to Network Solutions. It isn't hard being a dot-com -- no fuss, no muss. A professional artist developed a few graphics for me, navigation buttons and such, and every three months, I take new writings, edit them, and pigeonhole them in container files. The hosting costs worry me. And what if I were well-read? Wouldn't my host up the ante? Heaven forbid, I, who scribble for pleasure, could go broke. Entrepreneurs have fewer qualms. During the recent land rush, many snapped up names like "an adult site.com," and ask for millions at domain name auctions. Of course, name grabbing adds up to pure opportunism akin to the actions of cybersquatters, shadowy individuals who stalk big corporations or celebrities, wanting either to blackmail them or to borrow their glitter to the advertising value of their sites. Thankfully, the courts are coming down hard on infringers of trademarks and intellectual property. Both the U.S. Congress and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) show a willingness to react against bad faith infringement of proprietary names. ICANN invented the name game as a practical division of addresses on name and root servers (a way of localizing data), but it inadvertently created a monster. March 29, 2000