A domain name is only part of a business; although many domains have been sold over the years for millions of dollars, the recent acquisition of Cloud.com by Citrix for $200+ million involved the Cloud.com assets, as well as the domain itself.
According to Domaintools, the domain Cloud.com was registered on December 13, 2000. But surely, Cloud.com can’t be only 11 years old, can it?
Meanwhile, Clouds.com – the plural form – is way older, with a registration date of 1993!
So what is the catch?
Archive.org to the rescue: The Wayback Machine unveils some startling content from December 24, 1996 – from a time that Cloud.com was part of a small Internet service provider in Chicago, named “Cloud City Online”.
The content states:
Cloud City Online is the choice of the Chicago Suburbs for low-cost, user-friendly Internet services. Telnet to Cloud City to see for yourself why hundreds of new members join Cloud City each month. With up to three hours a day of free connect time, and subscriptions for under $15 a month, Cloud City subscribers have access to Gopher, FTP, World Wide Web, Telnet, IRC, Archie, Internet E-Mail, and Usenet. Cloud City also offers many of the best online games available today, including Trade Wars 2002, Blade Masters, Cyber Tech, Major MUD, and many more!
Cloud City offers World Wibe Web pages to subscribers only for the ridiculously low price of $5 per month. Sign up now and receive 3 free hours of connect ti me to evaluate Cloud City for inital trial period. Send e-mail to MTop (mtop@c loud.com) once you log on to receive more information on what Cloud City has to offer you. We are located in Lake Zurich, IL, and provide SLIP/PPP accounts too!
This is a remarkable window into the past: Gopher and Archie access! MUD games! SLIP/PPP accounts! Access limited to 3 hours daily! 😀
It’s a shame the original owners apparently went out of business and let such a premium domain expire. In the late 90’s many such domains dropped and the golden era of speculative domaining began!
