danielislandfarmersmarket.com

How do I know when a trend has hit the mainstream? When my mother or mother-in-law adopts it. First it was Facebook, now it's URL-spotting. What's next... Twitter?!?

This one came courtesy of MeeMaw Marg. She was quick to note the allowercase exasperated by the length of the URL. Since it's only 4 words long and, frankly, a fairly easy one to remember, I won't label it a Looooong URL. Some simple Leading Caps would really allow this URL to ripen.

USanFranOnline.com/WebMag

Here's a SkewURL that Peter sent in some time ago but slipped thru the cracks. Unfortunately, Leading Caps can't save this URL. It gets off to a bad start with the U next to the S which the eye is training to think United States. I read it as US an Fran Online thinking who is Fran and why are we with him/her online? And tacking on /WebMag makes an already too looooong URL even longer. As Peter said, "P-U."

http://lm2.ktmr.com/experience

I've already shared my disdain for scavenger hunts. This one is an all out search-and-destroy mission. I got this card at a restaurant. In exchange for sharing my feedback online, I'd receive a $10 virtual Visa gift card. All I had to do was go to http://lm2.ktmr.com/experience, type in the username 14FOABE187 and the password 208. Good lord. I'd have an easier time coming up with $10 by rooting around for lost change on the floor of the restaurant. This URL screams for a shortener. (BTW, check out Lee Odden's review of 11 URL-shortening services on his Online Marketing Blog.) As it stands, no matter how good the food and service was, all I'll remember by the time I get to the feedback form is how crappy the process was to get my $10. Not a good experience.

BOOMENTERTAINMENT.COM

DJ Rewind shows some forward-thinking with this URL display. Setting off BOOM in bigger caps really makes this URL tick... tick tick tick BOOM.

www.monkeesofdanielisland.com

Unfortunately, I didn't pan out for this photo because they actually had a good slogan -- "You're going to need a bigger closet." The URL display though drives me bananas.

SyncMyRide.com, myford.fordvehicles.com, lincolnvehicles.com/owner, mercuryvehicles.com/owner, fordowner.com

Corey Jenness submitted this hodgepodge -- 1 Good URL and 4 Bad URLs. This ad starts off on the right track with a catchy domain and leading caps but runs downhill from there through a maze of all lower case and slashes before bottoming out with a real downer.

www.myspace.com/wwwmyspacecomfireinthedawn

Here's another one from the Facebook group. Brian Wyrick gets off the URL schnide with this entry. At first I thought it was a typo but this is actually the band's MySpace URL. I knew it was getting tougher and tougher to get a good MySpace domain but I didn't realize the pickings had become this slim. They should rename their band to Shot in the Dark cuz that's about the chances they have of anyone finding them on MySpace.

www.rejuvespa.net

Here another Askew special. Anytime I see a .net, I always think of this e-card I got making fun of AaronGoldman.net. I'm not a .net hater, though (and it's not just because I own one!) I believe .net has cracked the mainstream URL-conciseness and has decent recall (unlike .info and the other alternate TLDs) but only when displayed properly! Burying this URL in alllowercase and using the dubs are big no-no's. I also don't like when companies shorten words that people aren't used to seeing shortened. This URL needs a facial.

Blog.UrbanOutfitters.com/Election08

So close but yet so far away. Leading caps and use of subdomain are a good start but tacking on a slash is URL overload. This URL doesn't get my vote.

www.DOMINOS.QUIKORDER.com

Why on Earth does Dominos not have the online ordering functionality on its domain? Who is going to remember this URL? And I hate that font and use of ALL CAPS. You can hardly tell the "Q" from the "O." Not to mention they spell quick without the "C." This URL will be quickly forgotten.

www.smoke-free.illinois.gov

Here's another example of dubs, dashes and lower case rendering an URL unreadable. About the only thing they did right here was use a subdomain rather than an extension. What I don't understand is why they added the dash rather than use leading caps? Wouldn't SmokeFree.Illinois.gov have worked a lot better? As it stands, this URL's chances of being remembered just went up in smoke.

http://www.virtualpressoffice.com/presskit/index.jsp?showId=1181060944085&companyId=1190001700547

Here's another viewer-generated URL. This one comes courtesy of Aaron Bynum. He spotted it at the bottom of a press release that was mailed to him. Do they really expect people to type this in just to get a company press kit? And not just people -- we're talking about journalists who get flooded with press releases all the time. This is a great candidate for a tiny url. As it stands, it's virtually useless.

www.VistaPrint.com/babydec

It's not a good sign if you have to tell people to "type this entire URL." Hasta la vista Bad URL.

www.wesellcoffee.com

Dave Jung tipped me off to this post on WebPagesThatSuck.com. The only thing worse than this lower-case URL (that could be misread as weaselcoffee.com) is the wesellcoffee.com website itself. Time for that webmaster to switch to decaf!

PorcelainDuck.com

More from the mailbag...

This whimsical URL comes from Ian Conrad. Love how he incorporated the .com in a non-traditional manner. And I especially love seeing a duck not quacking about Alfac. This URL definitely fits the bill.

WonderfulWholesaleWarehouse.BulkFoods.ConsumerOnlineMarket

Erika Alderink sent in this eyesore. This URL is busier than a one-armed paper hanger. They really need to shed some bulk.

kodak.com/shop/frames

Holy slashes! Why don't you just put the whole site map on that postcard? Not what I'd call picture perfect.

www.southwest.com/a_list

Good lord is that an underscore?!?

WWW.ThatCustomStore.Biz

For someone who just scribbled a quick note, they sure put some quality time into their URL. I don't love .biz but you have to play the hand you're dealt if the .com is taken. Since many people may not immediately recognize .biz as an URL, putting www before-hand is a nice touch. And, of course, the requisite capitalization of the first letter in each word is in full effect.

www.ytuconquesuenas.com

I don't speak Spanish but I know this URL is malo!