I think this is one of the most well reasoned pieces of the domain name issues I've read in a long time. I don't quite agree with the conclusion as a real solution. It's too late in my opinion. We can't start over and have such dramatic pricing changes. In fact, I am appalled to see prices going up (VeriSign increasing prices 7% annually for no reason in a contract that wasn't competed for). Prices should be going down.

As far as negotiations and tracking down buyers... it varies. I've done domain investing for a living for many years. Most people big or small are quite easy to contact. Some big guys are a real pain to deal with (it's not worth their time to sell even for a few grand). Some small guys are more than happy to sell a name they no longer use. I cannot generalize from my experience which type is better/worse/harder/easier/etc. It's as unique as the domain you want.

Finally, most of these people aren't squatters. Squatters are violating someone's trademark, property owned by someone else. Using Beer.com and saying someone is squatting on such a name is complete and utter bullshit. It's a generic word, it's not being cybersquatter unless someone has a TM for beer on its non-generic purpose and that is what they are using the domain for. Thanks.