You guys both know I think your great and now that ive said that if I were him I would be really pissed that my legal and legit business deal was totally hijacked by mods who thought it was unethical. I think what makes dp great is the openness and hands off approach the dp admins generally had but in this case when sarah took it on her own to call the original owner I and bring ethics into the "making money online world" (where it clearly doesnt belong =) ) was a bit over the line. DP is a hard place to do business as it is because so many people that dont have a clue chime in with there 2 cents but have no real interest in doing business. I think most people that actual do business on digitalpoint would agree with that (that are not moderators).
As a former partner in a VC group, I have met plenty of people who shared the same views as yourself. As a general statement (not reffering to this particular incident) it is certainly possible to be enormously successful (if you measure "success" by how many millions you make a year) and still maintain "ethics". You can have success with the "Screw everyone else, it's all about me - and let me tell you how successful I am..." attitude, but it certainly isn't a requirement to being "successful". Some come to learn this, some never do.
I agree that they are not breaking any laws but out of courtesy they should give it back. I guess that is why there is a reputation system on this forum so that people like that can be given red by those who they have done wrong. That way when they go to sell another domain someone may be weary because of a low reputation. This is an interesting case. Normally with the analogy to dropping a dollar bill the person takes it when you don't know about it and is gone by the time you find out about it. Now that the original owner has politely and professionally requested his domain back it is like you picked up the twenty dollar bill and the person who dropped it noticed you. So now the question to the person who is selling it.. Do you give it back to him and hold a good reputation or put your reputation on the line for a few bucks?
My personal view is that the former owner made a very bad mistake which I am sure he has learned from. I would have paid the guy for my mistake if the domain was worth it to me - and I think both parties handled it wrong. While I wouldn't have done it, bdmunee could ask whatever he wanted for the domain. What was unetheical, in my opinion, was making an offer to sell it for a price that both agreed to - and the offer was apparently accepted, and then bdmunee backed out of the deal. They had an agreement and it is wrong for either party to back out. When an offer is made, and the offer is accepted, it is legally binding and you could sue to enforce such an agreement or hold the party financially responsible for any damages the breach of the agreement caused.
You're quite right and I did act on my own. I've done so before and on other forums - but never because I was a mod or an admin. Not having an experience with either party I figured that perhaps ex-owner would appreciate the opportunity to strike a deal with new owner. Didn't work out that way. Ethics do have a place in business which is why there are limits on insider trading, slavery and drug trafficking. That people want to push those boundaries is a given and there will always be a struggle to find the balance.
wow... I really dont feel that registering a expired domain is on the same level as slavery and drug trafficking. I guess I am just goofey. So are you going to try to contact all previous owners for domains now being sold on digitalpoint?
Darlin' just finding extreme examples... Nope, I don't read most of those threads, but this one caught my eye and the pitch made by the new owner made me smell a rat.