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Man Buys Police Department’s Domain Name After Getting Ticket
RawJustice.com ^ | 10.8.10

Posted on 10/21/2010 1:04:46 PM PDT by GSWarrior

Most of the time, if you get a speeding ticket you just grumble about it and pay the fine. It’s usually not a big deal for most people unless it happens a lot or they get caught going a ridiculous amount over the posted speed limit. You can fight it in court or just pay the ticket, and for most people those are the only options.

However, after receiving a $90 speeding ticket in Bluff City, Tennessee, Brian McCrary discovered a third option. The Bluff City Police Department had forgotten to renew their domain name, BluffCityPD.com, and let it expire. McCrary bought the domain name for $80 and posted his side of the story with information about speed traps in Bluff City and the $250,000 per month they cost the town’s 1,500 residents.

The police department had no idea their domain name had expired and that McCrary owned it until reporters started calling them to ask about it. Bluff City Police Chief David Nelson said they may approach McCrary about buying the domain back from him, but they are not optimistic.

McCrary’s goal is to get enough attention to put pressure on the local government to remove the traffic enforcement cameras in Bluff City.


TOPICS: Government; Local News
KEYWORDS: donutwatch; greed; highwayrobbery; napl; police; shakedownracket; tennessee; thugswithabadge
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To: circlecity
He's not. If memory serves, he put in for the purchase of the domain. The register tried contacting the PD, after a few WEEKS of this, he finally won the domain name. He's legal.

There is a better written story about this floating around FR..

21 posted on 10/21/2010 1:37:17 PM PDT by Michael Barnes (Guilty of being White.)
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To: CharlesWayneCT

Traffic-technology companies get a cut of every speeding ticket payment their cameras are responsible for, I’d wager.


22 posted on 10/21/2010 1:37:17 PM PDT by GSWarrior (To activate this tagline please contact the board moderator.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
Better board the dogs at the veterinarian's for a few weeks until it's over.

...and Grandma too.

23 posted on 10/21/2010 1:41:31 PM PDT by Erasmus (Personal goal: Have a bigger carbon footprint than Tony Robbins.)
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To: circlecity
I'm sure the FBI will send Elliot Ness to get right on that.

The FBI has huge -- *HUGE* -- interest in internet squabbles. They're always gangbusting chat rooms where people say racist things, where "cyberbullying" occurs, and breaking up squabbles on various automotive forums, and putting criminals who register expired domain names behind bars where they belong, right?

Get real. Between their focus on foreign terrorism and political high crimes, the Federal government doesn't have any resources or court time dedicated for Internet bullshit like some podunk police department in Cricket Chirp Arkansas who lost their flippin' domain name to some character getting back at them for a speeding ticket.

24 posted on 10/21/2010 1:47:52 PM PDT by The KG9 Kid
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To: GSWarrior
Actually, this was posted here back in June.

I contend that FReerepublic licenses its search engine from MrMagooSearches.com

25 posted on 10/21/2010 1:48:51 PM PDT by Onelifetogive (I tweet, too...)
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To: GSWarrior

"Meanwhile In Australia"

Photobucket

26 posted on 10/21/2010 2:14:36 PM PDT by SkyDancer ("My Savior Is Tougher Than Nails." - and I'm still Molly Norris")
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To: SkyDancer
Mr. McCrary may want to review the federal laws on cybersquatting.

He doesn't fit them, at all. Especially since he's using the site for something that is related to the site name. I don't think even the board that settles naming disputes would force him to give it back to the PD.

27 posted on 10/21/2010 2:27:29 PM PDT by Jack Black ( Whatever is left of American patriotism is now identical with counter-revolution.)
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To: 2banana

no, they are looking for 2banana’s like u and me from out of town to screw


28 posted on 10/21/2010 3:06:47 PM PDT by Joe Boucher ((FUBO) Less gubmint is best gubmint.)
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To: The KG9 Kid

Who said anything about the FBI!!??? There is a personal cause of action under they cybersquatting statutes. Anyone who has a cause of action under the statute can file suit, the FBI never comes into play at all.


29 posted on 10/21/2010 4:37:55 PM PDT by circlecity
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To: circlecity
Some old website goes offline, and it gets bought up by a holding company. The statue you believe prevents this isn't written so that just anyone can go file a complaint and the US government makes sure they get their little website back. There's no teeth to that law, I'm sure: Stuff like this happens all the time.

There's no revenue lost. There was no customer service at the old site, and nobody depended on it for anything. It was just a police department site that had a picture of the police chief, his email address link, and the department's SWAT team and pictures of their drug sniffing dog. They didn't even know that their site went offline until many months later when this guy's story appeared in USA Today. That pretty much shows that their site never meant squat to anyone. It was just a vanity site for some little police department up in the Smokies.

If there was something legally actionable here, it would have been done already. Skeeter Creek Police Department of TN has no case here.

30 posted on 10/21/2010 7:09:10 PM PDT by The KG9 Kid
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To: GSWarrior; MeekOneGOP; Conspiracy Guy; DocRock; King Prout; Darksheare; OSHA; martin_fierro; ...
Just awesome.


31 posted on 10/22/2010 9:12:30 AM PDT by Slings and Arrows (You can't have IngSoc without an Emmanuel Goldstein.)
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To: circlecity
Mr. McCrary may want to review the federal laws on cybersquatting.

He's actually using it. Claiming cybersquatting would be difficult.

32 posted on 10/22/2010 9:15:38 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: Slings and Arrows; SkyDancer

Slings, did you see Post 26 by SkyDancer? Very clever guys from Oz.


33 posted on 10/22/2010 10:03:55 AM PDT by TheOldLady (Pablo is very wily.)
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To: The KG9 Kid

The officers would probably visit their homepage more if he did.


34 posted on 10/22/2010 10:09:32 AM PDT by a fool in paradise (The establishment clause isn't just against my OWN government establishing state religion in America)
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To: SkyDancer

LOL! I love it!


35 posted on 10/22/2010 10:31:12 AM PDT by Liberty Valance (Keep a simple manner for a happy life :o)
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To: GSWarrior
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2530271/posts
36 posted on 10/22/2010 10:39:25 AM PDT by Hoodat ( .For the weapons of our warfare are mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.d)
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To: Hoodat

i know, I know....it was posted before.


37 posted on 10/22/2010 10:47:14 AM PDT by GSWarrior (To activate this tagline please contact the board moderator.)
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To: bamahead

mark


38 posted on 10/22/2010 11:58:38 AM PDT by KoRn (Department of Homeland Security, Certified - "Right Wing Extremist")
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To: TheOldLady

Go Aussies!


39 posted on 10/22/2010 12:30:23 PM PDT by Slings and Arrows (You can't have IngSoc without an Emmanuel Goldstein.)
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