[c0mptonFP]

Petnames try to solve a trilemma known as Zooko's triangle.

A naming system that is both permissionless and globally unique will tend towards unreadable names. You'll see lots of Sybil attacks on these systems, with botnets squatting any decent name.

For DNS, you have many governance bodies that act as gatekeepers for domain registration. Repository hosts like GitHub avoid Zooko's triangle by having namespaces, and an appeal process if someone is squatting your trademark. Crates.io on Rust doesn't allow automated crate creation.

In many cases, naming systems are not permissionless, and gatekept by a central entity. Once you open the floodgates of permissionless-ness, you're dealing with a hostile environment that's difficult to control.

Petnames are one solution to this issue. Others are Handshake, Namecoin and ENS