On one hand I'm really glad he got to keep using it personally out of the gate and eventually was able to later use it again for the intent it sounds like he gave when registering, couldn't ask for anything more for a short domain. The story about his fight to register the four-letter domain name is also hilarious: >I wasn’t going to sell lightly, and they weren’t going to bid against themselves, so we didn’t get anywhere. I remember reading that the marketing budget for Budweiser beer that quarter was $16.1 million. This is a three letter, actual word, dot com domain, and if I’m going to see it on every beer can you make forever, I should at least be well compensated. >I replied that $50k should be the interest generated by the money someone pays for bud.com. >He continued: “Well, how does $50,000 sound for bud.com?”

>We chatted by phone: “So, you’re a college student!” Weinberg, representing Anheuser-Busch, makers of Bud beer.

>In 1999 I was contacted by a lawyer Steven M. He was much happier that great three-letter domain name be used for something he loves, strong kind bud, instead of something he hates, weak piss beer. Instead he just hung onto it, and eventually used it for his own bud delivery company, once recreational cannabis was finally legalized. It reminds me of Justin Hall's story about holding out and refusing to sell 'bud.com' to Budweiser.

Dwarf fortress ascii meme