California: cybersquatting on the opposition web address
The Sacramento Bee reports: Opponents of the oil tax initiative, Proposition 87, got an early start on raising money and putting together their campaign.
But they forgot one critical item in today's marketplace of ideas: They didn't lock up every possible Web site address.
So the initiative's tech-savvy supporters swooped in and scooped up several obvious addresses, like www.noon87.com.
Clicking on that and other obvious addresses sent Internet users to the "Yes on 87" site, rather than the "No on 87" site -- until the opponents sued last week to claim the addresses.
"One doesn't always expect the other side to pull dirty tricks," said "No on 87" spokesman Scott Macdonald. "Maybe it's a lesson for us." -- Politics - The buzz: Prop. 87 team sets sites on foes' domains - sacbee.com
Comment: That's like saying, "I did not expect the other army would use bullets."