Smack talk is cheap: .sucks domains are going for 99 cents a year

We've all heard the stories about big, famous people like Taylor Swift and Mark Zuckerberg buying up Web addresses ending in. sucks. But now low-level peons like you and me have the chance to make like the stars - for dirt cheap.

Individual. sucks domains are now being auctioned off for as little as $0.99 a year by This. sucks Inc., a registrar for. sucks domains.

In principle, this means ordinary people will be able to set up blogs and forum sites where they can freely criticize brands and products they don't like (or at least, those brands and products that didn't pre-emptively buy up their own. sucks domains during a special sunrise period reserved for trademarks).

In practice, it also means that anyone on the Internet will be able to smear anyone else. (Think YourNameHere. sucks.) On the bright side, you can also sign up for domains ending in. rocks, for the same price.

"The suggested retail price is $199 annually, though registrars can charge what they want," said Phil Armstrong, a spokesman for This. sucks Inc. "We are making them available for 99 cents to encourage more consumers to participate."

The company is giving out a 99-cent discount for the first 10,000 people to register. Smack talk is cheap.