# Beware of false Dopes **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 26, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664 "2004-08-26T19:59:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/1 "2004-08-26T19:59:11Z")
This is a Public Service Announcement: Be carefull what you type. I accidentally typed in \*\*[starightdope.com](http://starightdope.com) \*\* and got sent to pop-up hell. I guess the SD is popular enough to spawn its own misspelled domain name spam site. Not porn so there wasn’t even any entertainment value just a bunch of pop-ups. Beware. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/2 "2004-08-26T20:07:54Z")
Ironically, the top right corner of that page is advertising a free popup blocker. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/3 "2004-08-26T20:09:19Z")
What, you’re not bookmarked? :dubious: And you call yourself a Doper! ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/4 "2004-08-26T20:36:50Z")
Ok Mr 5,200, in my defence its not my computer. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/5 "2004-08-26T20:50:25Z")
That’s _Ms._ 5,200, thankyouverymuch! (And when are we going to have another smiley election? The lack of an eye-batting smiley wreaks serious havoc with my ability to use my womanly wiles around here.) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/6 "2004-08-26T21:22:32Z")
My humble apology. **Twickster** makes me think _Trickster_ which makes me think of Loki who of course is male. Therefore Twickster is a male name. At least in my mind. Of course that shouldn’t be the standard for anything. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/7 "2004-08-26T21:28:26Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > What, you’re not bookmarked? :dubious: Bookmarked, nothing. It’s set as my home page! ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/8 "2004-08-27T00:49:26Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Bookmarked, nothing. It’s set as my home page! That explains a few things… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@Chimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimpy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/9 "2004-08-27T16:42:57Z")
I have it on my Bookmarks Toolbar and as one of my homepages but for some inexplicable reason the icon is that of the Mozilla site (red mozilla). ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/10 "2004-08-27T17:39:18Z")
Ctrl - T You ARE running Firefox, right? I mean you’re not using, um that, other, horrible, joke of a “browser”… Please tell me you’re not. F6 “board” Down arrow Enter ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/11 "2004-08-27T18:44:57Z")
This is done intentionally. People will register a domain name in the form of a common mispelling of a popular site, and thus take advantage of the accidental traffic. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/12 "2004-08-27T19:20:06Z")
\*No I would not give you false Dopes On this strange and mournful day Cause the Popup and Spyware union Is only a mouse click away Oh, little darling of mine I can’t for the life of me Remember a firewall I know they say let it be But it just won’t stay out that way And of course my Norton runs Over and over again\* With heartfelt apologies to Mssrs Simon et Garfunkel ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/13 "2004-08-27T20:04:52Z")
Apologies only needed to M. Simon; M. Garfunkel had been jettisoned by that point. ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/14 "2004-08-27T20:29:47Z")
> [@Trigonal Planar](#): > > This is done intentionally. People will register a domain name in the form of a common mispelling of a popular site, and thus take advantage of the accidental traffic. It’s also a violation of the rules for registering domain names and against of the AntiCyberSquatting Act of 1999 in the U.S. It’s a matter of whether the infringed party wants to go through the trouble and expense of getting the site shut down. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2004, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/15 "2004-08-30T12:39:44Z")
So how would you get it shut down? Do you have to sue in a regular court or is there some other method set up? I’m assuming you are screwed if the site isn’t in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/16 "2004-08-30T21:09:17Z")
Probably more details than you wanted, but… If one wanted to pursue this through the courts, even if the name was owned by someone in another country one could go through U.S. courts under the idea that the name registry is run out of the U.S. in Virginia and so they had jurisdiction. Of course if the registrar the name was bought through wasn’t in the U.S. they probably wouldn’t do whatever the U.S. court told them to do just on general principal. ICANN (the body that runs the domain name system) before the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999 already knew the the courts were a really complicated way of trying to get anything done, so it set up a universal dispute resolution process (UDRP) that anyone who has one of the top level domains (in this case, .com) had to agree to use if a dispute should arise. The main problem here is that it’s a minimum of something like $1,500 to bring up a UDRP case to try to take a name away from someone else, and then you probably have to pay a lawyer to write up your complaint, and the money isn’t refunded if you lose. I guess the idea is that UDRP is usually cheaper and faster than a long, drawn out court battle and kind of has precedence over the whole world… except that if the loser of UDRP decision wants to he or she can take the case to court after that and sometimes get the decision overruled. In some cases this has been a good thing, like when the UDRP panelist(s) come to a decision not supported by the policy they are supposed to be following. In other cases it’s just more hassle. The nicest thing about going the U.S. court system (with the US ACPA of 1999) is that the loser can be fined big bucks. Through UDRP the most that can happen is the name gets dropped or taken away and you are put on record as losing so probably look more guilty to start with if another case comes. A number of immoral people play the system, knowing that. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2004, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/17 "2004-08-30T22:45:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Probably more details than you wanted, but… Can never have too many details as long as they are correct. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2004, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/18 "2004-08-31T05:01:08Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > My humble apology. **Twickster** makes me think _Trickster_ which makes me think of Loki who of course is male. Therefore Twickster is a male name. At least in my mind. Of course that shouldn’t be the standard for anything. 😉 Actually Loki was a shape-shifter and could be either male or female, whichever suited his (hers, its?) needs at the time. DD ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2004, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-of-false-dopes/261664/19 "2004-08-31T05:07:13Z")
Last time I had some false dope, I spent sixteen hours convinced I was a radish.