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Gripe sites and PPC banned in new gTLD

Kevin Murphy, January 24, 2014, 10:20:54 (UTC), Domain Registries

New gTLD registry Plan Bee expects to ban gripe sites in its forthcoming .build registry.
Its Acceptable Use and Takedown Policy (pdf), published this week, is among the strictest I’ve seen.
The gTLD was delegated last weekend. It’s going to be an open space targeted at the construction industry, but its AUP bans a lot of stuff.
As might be expected, any form of malicious hacking or spamming behavior is verboten, as is child abuse material.
Activities more often regulated today by registrar user agreements — such as piracy and counterfeiting — are also prohibited.
But the policy goes on to ban activities that are typically permitted in other TLDs, including “gripe sites” and “pay-per-click”. The AUP reads (I’ve emphasized some oddities):

Further abusive behaviors include, but are not limited to: cybersquatting, front-running, gripe sites, deceptive and⁄or offensive domain names, fake renewal notices, cross-gTLD registration scam, name spinning, pay-per-click, traffic diversion, false affiliation, domain kiting⁄tasting, fast-flux, 419 scams or if the domain name is being used in a manner that appears to threaten the stability, integrity or security of the Registry, or any of its Registrar partners and ⁄or that may put the safety and security of any registrant or user at risk.

Domains deemed abusive can be suspended or deleted by Plan Bee, under the policy.
I can see why a niche gTLD might want to build up loyalty in its associated industry by suspending gripe sites targeting construction companies, but banning “pay-per-click” is a baffling decision.
Will .build registrants be prohibited from using Google Adsense to support their sites?
The .build launch dates have not yet been revealed but it’s likely to be a matter of weeks.

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Comments (6)

  1. Jean Guillon says:

    This is what most Internet users expect from a Registry. On the other side, let’s hope they sell enough domain names to be profitable…unless, like .museum, they don’t mind about earning money.

  2. Andrew says:

    I don’t get it. Aren’t some of these targeted at registrars and not registrants, e.g. fake renewal notices and frontrunning?
    I also don’t get what they mean by name spinning in this case.

  3. Few year ago, I wrote an essay on the importance of new gTLDs to “do good” as a product differentiation strategy. I hope it did some good! See http://bit.ly/1d4UUFJ.

  4. Name Spinning???? Why is that banned? Am I missing something?

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