Yahoo news posts typo domain - someone made some serious cash

[Theo]

Yahoo posted the wrong URL in this article about the recent killings at Northern Illinois university.

"TheGunStore /dot/ com" is listed as an online store that the killers of both NIU and VTech bought their guns from. In fact, the web site is "TheGunSource /dot/ com" and the listed URL is a parked page.

Such an error probably generated quite a bit of traffic. It's a shame that such a tragic event was monetized because Yahoo did not double check the URL.

 

[www.FedPrimeRate.com]

It's a shame that such a tragic event was monetized because Yahoo did not double check the URL.

IMO, the real shame isn't the error, as all major news outlets have these types of mistakes, including Bloomberg, Reuters, AP, etc. The real shame, IMO, is when a major publication / outlet posts the wrong URL, and doesn't bother to fix the error even months after an article has been released, which is more common than it should be.

 

[Theo]

Assuming that Yahoo wrote the article, or whoever did. Usually they issue revisions.

 

[Focus]

The site probably made $100 in ppc...big whoop

 

[Theo]

The site probably made $100 in ppc...big whoop

I forgot, Yahoo traffic sucks

But you missed the point.

 

[Focus]

The point is...who cares what other people make..that's the problem I keep having...everyone minding everyone else's business in the business world.

 

[Theo]

There is one thing called ethics.

 

[domain newbie]

the original site thegunstore.com is down~ i thought he would be slightly pi$$ed..

clicked wrong link~ how is that legal in US ???

 

[Focus]

thegunstore.com resolves fine...parked skenzo looking page


How is what legal? Buying guns? lol

 

[friday]

Yahoo posted the wrong URL in this article about the recent killings at Northern Illinois university.

"TheGunStore /dot/ com" is listed as an online store that the killers of both NIU and VTech bought their guns from. In fact, the web site is "TheGunSource /dot/ com" and the listed URL is a parked page.

Such an error probably generated quite a bit of traffic. It's a shame that such a tragic event was monetized because Yahoo did not double check the URL.

The domain you mentioned was registered in 1998, so the domain owner benefited in the same way the coffee shop owner benefited from the world's news media being in town. Someone always benefits from a tragedy, just the way it is.

As a previous poster(Focus) mentioned "who cares what other people make..that's the problem I keep having...everyone minding everyone else's business".

This unjustified moral crusading is mindless and invasive. Interpretive ethics is for men on high horses.

 

[Theo]

This unjustified moral crusading is mindless and invasive. Interpretive ethics is for men on high horses.

I hope your son, daughter or other relative don't get killed in a major disaster and someone else benefits from it. Then, come back here on your little pony - opposite of high horse - to teach us about "interpretive ethics".

the original site thegunstore.com is down~ i thought he would be slightly pi$$ed.

The site is up and it now resolves to a different PPC feed than yesterday. That's proof that the owner is aware of the sudden traffic influx and is trying to monetize this disaster better.

 

[Focus]

Yeah, he should just delete the domain because they used it in the news mistakenly...of course...why make any money

...better yet, how about SUE Yahoo for punitive damages to his generic domain value and potential resale ability of said domain now that it's been attached to this issue through no fault of his own..hmmm?

 

[Theo]

Yeah, he should just delete the domain because they used it in the news mistakenly...of course...why make any money

...better yet, how about SUE Yahoo for punitive damages to his generic domain value and potential resale ability of said domain now that it's been attached to this issue through no fault of his own..hmmm?

What would you do, Focus?

I would point the domain to a disaster fund web site, or the Red Cross.

 

[Focus]

If I was a non pro-domainer, and I'll assume alot of people are not. I probably would'nt know why it was getting such a sudden influx of traffic...so in reality maybe this dude has no clue as to why he's getting hundreds or maybe even thousands more hits per day..and he's just trying to make a buck like the rest of us..so let's not be so quick to point fingers maybe?

 

[sashas]

there HAS to be some ethical line drawn between what can be monetized and what can't be. Monetizing traffic from a disaster is just...not within my ethical boundaries. The Zuccharini guy (however that spells) who directed disney and cartoon network typos to adult sites, fully knowing the demographic that formed the majority of the traffic...just not right.

But then, ethical reasoning varies, and so would its application....to each his own