As explained in some detail in another thread [webmasterworld.com], so far as WebmasterWorld is concerned, Widgets.TLD is persona non grata, a dying specie of "hypothetical domain name".
Future domain historians will report that the death of Widget(s).TLD was occassioned by the peculiar popularity of the hypothetical Widgets themselves.
Early in their hypothetical life Widgets were the inhabitants of business school or law school textbooks. No need to offend any particular brand: Just say "widgets". Worked nicely. Kept everyone off the hook of libel or slander lawsuits. Edsels? Nyet! Widgets it is.
Then came the WWW and Widgets took on a new vitality. Widgets here. Widgets there. Widgets everywhere. You can't visit a forum without seeing their mention.
Indeed, some WWW visionary saw this future and was prescient enough to register the first version of Widget.TLD as far back as 1995.
It will be reported that no less force than web traffic force majeure [en.wikipedia.org] accounted for the demise of Widgets.TLD. In the age of web traffic having value, no matter what its nature or what its source, it was as predictable as it was unstoppable that Widget(s).TLD would be exploited for its traffic potential to the point of its hypothetical extinction.
Indeed, due to the unstoppable forces (force majeure) of the pursuit of web traffic by any means, Widget(s).TLD spawned an entire domain family tree of pretenders to the hypothetical throne, such are the many(Word)Widgets.TLD domains, popping up like mushrooms. Why? Well, if Widget(s).TLD gets traffic maybe another version will do the same! Bring on the hypotherical domains: 1Widgets, MyWidgets, OurWidgets, CoolW . . .
By 1 estimate there are more than 1,800 versions of Widgets.TLD that have been registered. Yessir. No more fake widgets. No more hypotheticals. Traffic is big business so so are Widgets. Conservatively, that would put the annual cost of Widgetizing domain names in the area of $18,000/year. For a hypothetical thing.
Where will it stop? No one knows, but one thing is for hypothetically certain: Some day Wikipedia or MyWiki or SonOfWiki.TLD will report that some authorities trace its demise to a policy announced at WebmasterWorld. A policy of slaying the spawn of Widgets. Death to Widgets.TLD! Hmmmm, wonder if anyone has registered that DeathToWidgets.TLD? Clicks away to quickly check . . ;)
Yes, the use and inevitable exploitation of Widgets presaged the end of Widgets. Widgets is dead. Long live Example.com.
That is, unless Widget(s).TLD is placed on the endangered domain list or becomes a protected class entitled to civil rights' protection. :-P
Posters on the Adwords forum face a quandry every time they have to post an example: there are bountiful live ads to be found by sellers of Widgets, Samples, and Examples. As well as for Anything and Everything. ;)
