Amid a crackdown on domain-name speculation, Scott Banister believes his 200-plus registered domains have been singled out as an example to others.
Wired News reported Monday about Banister "collecting" unregistered domains as a hobby, and then usually handing them over for the asking. On Tuesday, Banister says, he began being deluged with removal notices from Network Solutions, the company responsible for issuing top-level domains like .com and .org, through InterNIC. If forced to pay for all his registered domains, Banister would owe some US$20,000.
"Usually a domain goes on hold for 60 days and then they remove it. I'm getting all removal notices," Banister said Friday. He figures Network Solutions saw the article, ran a search for his name, and then started cleaning house.
Chris Clough, a spokesman for Network Solutions, insists that Banister isn't being singled out. He said Banister is one of more than 29,000 individuals swept up in the current "deactivation process."
"There are some with much, much larger blocks," Clough said.
