Highly publicized sales have seduced many speculators into thinking that their names must surely be worth six figures, even though they contain misspellings or are hopelessly tacky. The market will ultimately dictate a name's value, but speculators should realize that these big-dollar sales are very rare. Anyone who's ever been in a chat room knows that it's standard procedure to embellish upon who we really are. The Net is a nonstop masquerade ball. If Internet users are willing to stretch and break laws, government intervention will follow as surely as night follows day.
Regulation is antithetical to the Internet.
If we want it to be free, we have to mind our manners. The Gold Rush and the Oklahoma Land Rush were catalysts for the development of frontiers. Hardy pioneers survived while others failed. In the final analysis, the survivors were decent, industrious folk who turned the wilderness into cities and villages. Today's land rush is taking place on the Internet and, as in the Wild West, the survivors will be the strong and the principled.