Acro.net – Technology Rants & Raves by Acroplex®

It’s Friday and all while I’m sitting tight waiting for the delivery of my new camera, I thought I’d reach out to my friends.

I love you all – I just don’t love your spam.

You know who you are: every funny video you see on YouTube, every joke your co-worker sent you, every damn recipe your mom wants to share with the rest of the world – you stick all that in an email and send it my way.

Seriously, I thought I wade through enough unsolicited emails daily; from lowball offers for domains to inquiries about purchasing services I myself provide, such as web and graphics development. The last thing I need is more spam, from my own friends.

I call it “friendly fire” spam.

So here’s what I do to fight back – gently.

I use Gmail to retrieve my email, then mark those multiple daily emails of yours as spam. Gmail learns fast to recognize what I don’t like. Hey presto, more time to deal with regular spam.

I hope you still love me. TGIF.

It’s Thanksgiving time here in the US; time to count one’s blessings and give to others. Unlike Christmas and other religious holidays, Thanksgiving is about crossing the barriers of religion and sharing food – literally – with family and strangers alike.

The domain industry knows no such breaks, however. An international market dictates no breaks, give or take the time one needs for daily sleep.

I’m thankful that the mechanics of domaining make it one such sleepless industry, that brings opportunities and revenue 24/7.

This year, like every other year, I’m thankful for the astounding support of my remote family, my loved ones, those that make a difference in my daily life; those that I meet in person or on online venues. I’m thankful for my associates, business partners and supporters, sponsors and fans.

Happy Thanksgiving and remember to give to those in need.

A recent incident that quietly unfolded on the popular domain forum, DNForum.com involved the following protagonists:

• A seller eager to let go of a premium domain for a low price
• A buyer #1 who recognizes good deals
• A buyer #2 who silently bought the domain

I cannot reveal all the names, but the buyer #1 is me. The seller listed a premium, aged dot com for sale at a surprisingly low price. For a pre-2000 domain, it was a non-brainer.

Following the seller’s instructions, I posted ‘Sold’ in the thread and waited for a private message instructing about payment.

The next day I received a message from the seller, that he had sold the domain to a buyer who messaged him privately before I did. He also mentioned the name of the buyer.

I’m very particular about the rules of the game and I don’t break them. Since I was the first one to post ‘Sold’ as instructed, I had full intention to publicly denounce the seller’s lack of following his own rules.

However, I decided to contact the new owner first. He responded that the domain was indeed in his possession, as he had paid for it already.

What came next was clearly a surprise for me.

The buyer told me that if I wanted the domain for the same price plus the PayPal fees, I could have it. He graciously offered this clearly undervalued domain name without asking questions, simply because he felt that I wanted it more.

I jumped on the opportunity and agreed to buy it from him; in the process I paid an extra 25% for the purchase to show my gratitude.

The buyer’s gesture was extremely noble and characteristic of a gentleman. I appreciate people who display a lack of selfishness and I often strive to act the same way. In a world of faceless electronic communication, such acts are the exceptions to the rule.

Thank you, Vincent; you’re one true Gentleman.

Nowadays, an increasing number of Americans become sexually active in college, instead of at a younger age.

Universities set the paradigm with regards to research, life, personal relationships and technology, which includes the Internet and domain names.

It’s not strange that the Washington University and the University of Missouri invested $200 per domain, securing their domain names in .xxx from the ICM Registry.

After all, universities have huge budgets for technology and research.

According to an article in the St. Louis Today, the pro-active move was made to protect the University’s name and trademarks from being used for pornography.

The article also uses the mild term “domain prospectors” to describe domain investors. That’s a step up from “cybersquatter” – a term that’s been used left and right by those outside of the domain industry.

It’s great seeing that universities understand how domains and the Internet works, for a change. Now onto the Main Street and Wall Street markets!

It’s refreshing to see that Greek Orthodoxy in America is going strong; with 6 million Orthodox Christians in the US, young and old Americans of Greek heritage support their community through their local churches.

In Orlando, the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox church of greater Orlando offers a variety of information through its web site.

Having attended several Greek festivals through the years, I can say that they get better and better. The food is home-made and delicious, giving that of restaurants a real run for the money. Orlando Greek Fest 2011 was definitely a success.

But not everything is authentic by Greek standards. Many things deemed as Greek are tweaked outside of Greece. To a Greek transplant, this seems odd at first but I can only say that after a while one chooses to ignore the “oddities”.

No, dear friends; hummus is not Greek. But try melitzanosalata or taramosalata instead when ordering food at your favorite Greek restaurant.

The concept of  flambeed “saganaki” cheese is unknown in the Greek mainland; the same goes for the chanting of “Opa!” when serving such delicacies at various Greek tavernas and restaurants in the US.

When dancing, and we aren’t talking about the “Zorba dance” devised for the sake of the movie ‘Zorba the Greek” in 1964, it is appropriate to cry out “Opa!” to encourage a dancer who’s performing on the dance floor. Definitely not appropriate when serving your grandma’s stuffed grape leaves, also known as dolmades.

While some attempt to deliver the essence of the Greek psyche, you need to live in Greece – and not drop by as a tourist – in order to understand and appreciate the culture, the food and the joys of being Greek.

Matt Barrett is a prolific producer of one such guide, at GreeceFoods.com and provides authentic and factual information for English speakers.

In a nutshell, those that condemn Greece and the Greeks for living life and enjoying its moments need to take a deep breath, step away from their electronic world and smell the roses.

I will now close with “kalo brady” - for “good night” – thus saving the “opa!” for when I dance.