Slurl
Encyclopedia
A slurl is a website domain name
that has a double meaning, often crude or sexual, that was not intended by the individual or organisation running the website. Domain names are conventionally shown in all lower-case and cannot contain spaces, so to determine the meaning readers must themselves decide how to separate them into distinct words. In some cases there are multiple ways to group the letters of the website address into words, creating one or more alternative meanings — which can be humorous. Other alternative meanings result directly from the use of words with multiple definitions (homographs).
There are slurls which derive their double meanings from the extended semantic coverage of words used in the domain names. An award-winning Irish photographer specialising in pet portraiture named his website shootmydog.ie. The owner of doggiestyles.co.uk (the website for a mobile dog-grooming service) said she thought the name simply explained what the company did, and was unaware of its sexual meaning.
Some slurls are suspected to be deliberate pranks, like powergenitalia.com (allegedly about Powergen Italia) or penisland.net (apparently a website selling pen
s).
free newspaper. Geldman coined the word and devised a set of rules that would define valid slurls.
He popularized the concept on the website Slurls.com, where he posted slurls collected by him or submitted by others (100 in July 2009). In 2010, Geldman published the book Slurls: They Called Their Website What?! where he commented on 120 websites with humorous double meanings.
The term and some of the most amusing cases have been covered in the media as an example of the developing Internet culture, most notably by British TV and radio broadcaster Jonathan Ross
. The word "дурлы" (durly) has been suggested as a counterpart in the Russian language
.
newspaper that "[w]e have received a few bizarre phone calls." Some owners of such domain names have decided to change their URLs once they realised the double meanings. Mole Station Nursery has been cited as such an example, changing their domain name from molestationnursery.com to molerivernursery.com. Others, like Choose Spain, with domain name choosespain.com, declared "It was too late to change it once we realised."
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
that has a double meaning, often crude or sexual, that was not intended by the individual or organisation running the website. Domain names are conventionally shown in all lower-case and cannot contain spaces, so to determine the meaning readers must themselves decide how to separate them into distinct words. In some cases there are multiple ways to group the letters of the website address into words, creating one or more alternative meanings — which can be humorous. Other alternative meanings result directly from the use of words with multiple definitions (homographs).
Overview
Sometimes the alternative meaning has an ironic link to the intended meaning, or to the nature of the business represented. The website name www.americanscrapmetal.com (intended meaning: American Scrap Metal) can be read as "Americans Crap Metal", or amigonefuneralhome.com (the website of Amigone Funeral Home) may appear as "Am I Gone Funeral Home". Others have entirely new meanings, like ilovebigals.com (for Big Al's bowling alley) with an unintended meaning of "I Love Bi Gals" or oddsexchange.com (Odds Exchange) as "Odd Sex Change".There are slurls which derive their double meanings from the extended semantic coverage of words used in the domain names. An award-winning Irish photographer specialising in pet portraiture named his website shootmydog.ie. The owner of doggiestyles.co.uk (the website for a mobile dog-grooming service) said she thought the name simply explained what the company did, and was unaware of its sexual meaning.
Some slurls are suspected to be deliberate pranks, like powergenitalia.com (allegedly about Powergen Italia) or penisland.net (apparently a website selling pen
Pen
A pen is a device used to apply ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Historically, reed pens, quill pens, and dip pens were used, with a nib of some sort to be dipped in the ink. Ruling pens allow precise adjustment of line width, and still find a few specialized uses, but...
s).
History
The term was coined in 2006 by Andy Geldman, a British software developer, by combining slur ("run together", "poorly articulated") with URL ("web page address"). He was initially inspired by a collection of website addresses with unintentional double meanings in a February 2006 edition of the London MetroMetro (Associated Metro Limited)
Metro is a free daily newspaper in the United Kingdom published by Associated Newspapers Ltd . It is available from Monday to Friday each week on many public transport services across the United Kingdom.-History:The paper was launched in London in 1999, and can now be found in 14 UK urban centres...
free newspaper. Geldman coined the word and devised a set of rules that would define valid slurls.
He popularized the concept on the website Slurls.com, where he posted slurls collected by him or submitted by others (100 in July 2009). In 2010, Geldman published the book Slurls: They Called Their Website What?! where he commented on 120 websites with humorous double meanings.
The term and some of the most amusing cases have been covered in the media as an example of the developing Internet culture, most notably by British TV and radio broadcaster Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
. The word "дурлы" (durly) has been suggested as a counterpart in the Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
.
Rules
The rules created by Andy Geldman specify that to be a slurl a domain name must meet the following conditions:- It is used as the address of an active website — not one that is simply parkedDomain parkingDomain parking is the registration of an Internet domain name without using it for services such as e-mail or a website i.e without placing any content on the domain. This may be done to reserve the domain name for future development, to protect against the possibility of cybersquatting, or to...
or redirectedURL redirectionURL redirection, also called URL forwarding and the very similar technique domain redirection also called domain forwarding, are techniques on the World Wide Web for making a web page available under many URLs.- Similar domain names :... - It has a double meaning which was not intended when the domain was registered
Response of domain name owners
A spokesman from Therapist Finder (domain name therapistfinder.com) told The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
newspaper that "[w]e have received a few bizarre phone calls." Some owners of such domain names have decided to change their URLs once they realised the double meanings. Mole Station Nursery has been cited as such an example, changing their domain name from molestationnursery.com to molerivernursery.com. Others, like Choose Spain, with domain name choosespain.com, declared "It was too late to change it once we realised."