Have you heard of "URL Squatting" before? And what does it mean to "buy" a URL?

If you register it nobody can do anything with it. It’s yours.

Yes. Buy is imprecise language for registering it for your own use.

Domain names (not URLs exactly – just the domain name part, e.g. “fluther.com”) are registered with a domain name registrar responsible for running servers that translate such names into numbered IP addresses.

Registration generally involves an ongoing fee.

But some people register bunches of them that they don’t use, either to prevent others from doing so (e.g. TrumpSucks.org, HillaryIsCorrupt.net), or in anticipation of someone wanting a name badly enough to pay more than they did to get it from them. (e.g. StarWarsXII.com, ZakuIsGreat.org)

Those selling would agree to let someone else register it for a price that the seller gets to set since it’s an outside agreement to do something they can’t be forced to do.

tedcruz.com and clintonkaine.com are two other examples.

There are also companies that buy up addresses that used to be used. Following old links takes you to a site that either crazily attempts look something like a site about the domain name, or attempts to sell you registration for that site. (You can get GerbilCage.com and GerbilCages.com for under $1200 each… yay.)

Excellent you guys.

In the 90’s it was a big thing. People would register domains with the names of big companies that hadn’t noticed the internet yet. When they finally did they’d have to pay a fortune to get a website with their name. I think it was bout 1999 maybe 2000 when laws were put in place to prevent it.

fluther.com isn’t really the web address. It’s actually 52.24.112.64. There is an international body that registers domain names and associates them with those numbers (called an IP address). When you type in www.fluther.com into your browser window, your machine will ask Verizon, Comcast or whoever your ISP is (for most people) to convert it into the IP address for you. If it doesn’t know then it passes you further along the chain until the domain is reached (that’s a bit of an oversimplification, but you get the general idea). All of those servers are constantly processing millions of requests. That’s why you can’t outright buy an address. When you register a domain name, you contract a registrar to handle those transactions for you on your behalf usually for 1+ years before renewing.

BTW Godaddy sucks. They have a terrible site that tries to trick you into buying extra services you don’t really need. I recommend Hover.com. They’re a nice company that doesn’t try to screw their customers. Also, their CEO doesn’t shoot elephants for sport.