We've all been there: You're heading to a website you visit multiple times a day, you mash the keys too quickly, and you end up at some odd website the address of which is just one letter off from your original destination.
Such is the case for millions of Gmail.com visitors when they end up at... Gail.com:
The domain is owned by a nice lady called Gail, whose husband registered it for her as a gift in 1996! She's kept the site as a brief, ad-free FAQ that makes an interesting read.
The website is truly a slice of Internet history: Stripped-down, no pictures, registered at a wild and crazy time when "[popular name].com" domains were just available for the taking. It's like stepping back in time.
Ms. Gail has tried to be as forthright as possible in explaining just what the heck the website is:
Q: How did you manage to get gail.com?
A: My husband registered it as a birthday gift back in 1996. ...
Q: Why is your website so popular? Are you one of those famous people that no one knows why they're famous?
A: No, I'm not famous. It seems likely that most visitors simply mistype gmail.com and end up visiting gail.com by mistake.
That's certainly how I found it!
The lady has refused to monetize the site, even though she gets enough views that she could probably make an easy buck or two by doing it:
In 2020 this page received a total of 5,950,012 hits, which is an average of 16,257 per day. Looking at just unique hits, we received a total of 1,295,284, for an average of 3,539 unique hits per day. Occasionally, we get Twitter-bombed and may get several tens of thousands of visitors a day. As an example, on July 21st 2020 we received 109,316 hits.
No matter: She likes her birthday gift just as it is, thank you.
What's more, she's even fended off legal challenges to her domain!
Q: I think you're infringing on my trademark..
.A: If you consult with someone well versed in trademark law, they will tell you that you can't have an exclusive trademark on a common word or name. My husband and I successfully defended ourselves against an attempted domain takeover in 2006; see WIPO Case D2006-0655 for more information.
Here's to you, Gail, for holding on to what's yours for nearly 30 years!
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