The .me top-level domain was opened up for purchases today, and people didn’t hesitate to snatch up the names. Pricing for a .me domain is $19.99 per year, and you have to buy two years when you sign up. I’ve heard accounts on Twitter of people buying 4 or 5 domains just to have them and squat on them. It’s to you, oh squatters of the domain, that I say Damn You! I wish people wouldn’t buy domains they don’t intend on using.

There are also reports that GoDaddy was selling the same domain multiple times, which clearly results in failure. Some people who though they got the domain were informed that their registration failed, even after they had been issued a receipt.

I was a little late, but all the interesting .me domains have been taken already (bite.me, lick.me, eat.me, beer.me). I also tried mark.me, but of course it was taken. I have no interest in buying a .me domain for an exaggerated price. I already have complaints about ICANN and their TLD service – they’re selling something that’s so abstract that they’re literally pulling it out of thin air. All they do is provide nameservers to point machines to the correct places. I don’t feel that $20/yr – or hell, even $10/year – is a price to pay for it. With millions upon millions of domains out there, they’re easily recovering cost. If there’s more to ICANN than meets the eye, please let me know. Until then, as always, I’ll remain skeptical and cynical.