Easy Domain Network

Biodata

History

Chen Fan’s Previous Life

Yao Jinbo founded Easy Domain Network to make trading his large collection of domain names easier. Within a few months, it became China’s largest domain-trading platform. HiChina acquired it that same year, providing Yao with his first major capital and bringing him into the company as an executive 9 23.

Chen Fan remembered the acquisition as taking place in September 2000. Its price was not publicly established in his recollection: reports ranged from hundreds of thousands to millions of yuan, while he personally estimated that it could not have been less than one million. This remembered sale inspired him to create a competing platform before Yao’s website launched 9 49.

Launch and Advertising Battle

Easy Domain Network had not yet launched when Chen Fan checked for it, but he discovered it online during the Gaokao. It and his Domain Name Network launched only three or four days apart, creating an immediate contest for users and traffic 9 22 23.

Initially, Chen Fan inferred from forum activity that Easy Domain Network was behind his site; he could not access its traffic data. Yao then purchased large homepage banners and secondary-page advertisements on Sohu and NetEase. Domain Name Network retained a slight lead through July, helped by its better interface and optimization, but Easy Domain Network’s increased advertising pushed its daily traffic ahead by August 27 28 31.

The campaign eventually extended to Sina.com, where an Easy Domain Network advertisement replaced Chen Fan’s expired placement. Meanwhile, coordinated comments promoting Easy Domain Network and disparaging its rival appeared on Domain Name Network’s forums. Chen Fan identified them as a hired smear campaign and began organizing his own paid posters 33 34.

Paid-Posting Campaign and Traffic Collapse

Chen Fan’s paid posters flooded Easy Domain Network with criticism of its features and recommendations for Domain Name Network. Moderators deleted posts, blocked accounts, and issued bans, but the posters used those actions to accuse the platform of suppressing criticism. The forum eventually disabled posting, citing a network fault and urgent repairs 35 36.

The campaign then spread to comments beneath Easy Domain Network’s advertisements on the three major portals. Its paid advertising became publicity for its competitor. Easy Domain Network attempted a similar counter-campaign, but its smaller group was overwhelmed by the posters led by Guo Shuai 36.

Within half a month, Easy Domain Network had shut down its forum three times. The disrupted experience drove even longtime users to Domain Name Network, reversing the two platforms’ positions and leaving Easy Domain Network far behind 36.

Hacking Incident and Settlement

Easy Domain Network’s owner paid the hacker Desert North Swordsman 10,000 yuan to attack Domain Name Network. Chen Fan retaliated by taking Easy Domain Network offline in a little over ten minutes. During the intrusion, he accessed its administrative backend and confirmed that its traffic and daily online user count were falling 37.

After Chen Fan defeated the hired hacker, Yao sought a truce through Desert North Swordsman. His initial offer was 10,000 yuan in compensation; Chen Fan demanded 50,000 yuan and an agreement that both sides would compete fairly without further hacker attacks 37.

Yao accepted and transferred the money. Chen Fan withdrew his attack and erased its traces, allowing Easy Domain Network to return to normal by noon. Further advertising brought little improvement: by the end of August, Domain Name Network’s figures were several times higher, and its lead continued during Chen Fan’s university military training 38 48.

Platform and Operations

• Forum-based trading platform: Easy Domain Network operated as a domain-trading website with forums, user accounts, posts, and moderators 23 36.
• Design disadvantage: Chen Fan judged its interface and features substantially less advanced than Domain Name Network’s. Users who tried both also complained about Easy Domain Network’s poorer experience 23 33.
• Advertising resources: Yao could fund prominent placements across Sohu, NetEase, and Sina.com, spending beyond what Chen Fan could sustain through loans and computer-repair earnings 28 32 33.
• Moderation limitations: Post deletion, account blocking, and forum shutdowns failed to contain the paid-posting campaign and further damaged the platform’s reputation 36.

Relationships

• Yao Jinbo — Founder and owner; established the platform to trade his domain holdings and financed its promotional campaign 9 28.
• Chen Fan / Domain Name Network — Principal competitor. Chen Fan used the remembered HiChina acquisition as the model for his own website business, then defeated Easy Domain Network’s traffic lead through paid promotion and stronger usability 9 36 48.
• Desert North Swordsman — Hired attacker who later served as intermediary in the compensation and truce negotiations 37 38.
• HiChina — Acquirer in Chen Fan’s previous life. No acquisition of Easy Domain Network in the altered timeline is documented in the provided chapters 9 48 49.