Nyctohylophobia: Suspicious Domain Names

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Suspicious Domain Names

MYTH
Suspicious domain names betray 9-11 foreknowledge

The domain name myth is much like the Wing-Ding myth{1} in that people are looking for a connection to 9/11 where there is none. Up to 15 months before 9/11, the following domain names were registered,{2} and all expired June 2001{3}:
AttackAmerica.com – nothing special, because it is so broad.
AttackonAmerica.com – nothing special, because it is so broad (What kind of attack on America? When? By whom?).
AttackonTwinTowers.com – Twin Towers were already attacked in 1993, when Ramzi Yousef tried to murder 250,000 people, so this could have been intended as a historical site and was not necessarily a predictive site.
August11horror.com – This is 8/11, not 9/11.
August11terror.com – This is 8/11, not 9/11.
HorrorinAmerica.com – nothing special, because it is so broad (What kind of horror? Where in America? When?).
horrorinNewYork.com – nothing special, because it is so broad (What kind of horror? Where in New York [perhaps Manhattan]? When?).
NYCterroriststrike.com – NYC and Washington, D.C. are the prime terrorist attack targets, so this is nothing special. What kind of terrorist strike? When? By whom?
PearlHarborinManhattan.com – 9/11 and Pearl Harbor involved similar casualties and the tactic of kamikaze bombing, but there are many differences. Besides, is this referring to a novel or book or a future event? There is no way to legitimately conclude 9/11 foreknowledge from this domain.
terrorattack2001.com – nothing special; terror attacks happen all the time. What part of 2001? Where? By whom?
towerofhorror.com – This doesn’t necessarily mean the WTC (two buildings were struck by planes and WTC 7 collapsed later in the day{3}, so “towers of horror” would be more appropriate); it could refer to some planned fantasy novel, short story, comic series, etc.
worldtradetowerstrike.com – See comments above.
worldtradecenter929.com – What does 929 mean? Is it supposed to be September 29? That is the wrong date, anyway.
worldtradecenterbombs.com – See comments above; the WTC was already attacked with a bomb.
worldtradetowerattack.com – See comments above.
worldtradetowerstrike.com – See comments above.
wterroristattack2001.com – Terrorist attacks happen every year. One can’t legitimately conclude that “w” means “World Trade Center;” it would be more fitting to have “WTC” in the domain name.

None of these expired domains prove 9/11 foreknowledge beyond a reasonable doubt because they are all lacking in several elements of specificity. However, Paul Thompson's Cooperative Research website{5} says "The story will later be incorrectly called an 'urban legend'."{6}

{1} A famous 2001 myth which said that Microsoft Word revealed the fate of an airplane flight, when in reality, there was no hijacked Flight Q33NY.