Thanks for all the replies. I didn't expect so many of them, and I know my post seems a little over-dramatic. I also appreciate the detailed replies, it helped me think and learn quite a bit.
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Originally Posted by paullas  what is the domain name? |
I've to keep this private for now, since we’re working on other options as well. Thanks for understanding. I’ll definitely post it when either we’ve given up or Domcollect has helped us out.
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Originally Posted by rob The domain would have been moved to a 'hold' state, where the site / email etc would not work. Did anyone (users like yourself) notice the site being down during this period, was anything done? |
Yes, many people noticed it, including the previous owner. I found out the next day. The former owner wrote in his external blog the SAME night that his registration expired, that the site was gone and the domain registration has locked up and he contacted 1and1.com but said it had already been drop-caught as you call it.
The guy did make some money off of some donations, plus Google ads - he had done ok on
SEO ranking. But this was full-time work and his only source of income, other than small amount of donations, he was still below the poverty line. We’re also trying to get the content up on a different domain name, but it may take him another 2 years before it blips on Google radar.
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Without knowing the domain it is hard to say if that is overpriced.
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Well, it is a .org site . Since there's a fair amount of quality incoming links, it has some value. The way it’s generally appraised, one word or two, large market or small market, I can’t look at it that way. That is for the objective buyer who looks at tangibles only.
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Calling dropcatchers 'terrorists' is a tad harsh.
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The terrorist viewpoint is his, not mine. For him, it’s probably not harsh enough.
I think it’s a little extreme as an analogy. But this definitely seems to be in bad faith. Pure business sites that drop the ball, sure, even I’d love to be in the business of catching it. Before you guys decide to buy domain, do you usually check at what an expired site was about, when it expired, etc. ?
If it's an automated system that handles this process, instead of a person actually registering it, I definitely understand. I think the buyer will probably make an exception for situations like this. So no, I don’t think any of you intend to be heartless businessmen.
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Student.com may have been a site run by students for students, and thus the users could not buy it for such a figure, however to a different group the name may be seen as a bargain at that price.
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I know what you mean. It's not a black and white issue. But if you are speculating and park a domain name, that is one thing. If those students didn't know enough and set it up with a registrar who doesn't have a grace period, it is a loss. I think the the 30-day or even a 15-day grace period should be mandatory. IMHO
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Bear in mind the .org could have been renewed for several years in advance, labelling and blaming others does not help the cause.
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If he had registered it for ten years and then forgot to renew it, it would probably be much worse right now. You're right about not helping the cause, but it's a "could have, should have, .." situation. He could have registered the .com and .net when he registered the .org , before someone else grabbed it (yep, that happened too, they’re still in a parking lot). He could have made sure he kept his email address current and renewed it when the notifications are sent. He could have registered with someone else who has the 30-day policy. I'm not saying he's not to blame. If he hadn't made a mistake, this situation wouldn't exist.
To me, it's the matter of a company apparently acting in bad faith to have a business model to grab it from their own customers (directly or indirectly) because the opportunity arose. I understand that it's too large a company, so the business model may not be that uncommon in other businesses. ENRON, now that's something.
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If this does go to the wider media perhaps it will educate people about values of domains and the importance of renewals if they wish to keep them.
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I sure hope so. I'm sure media reporters would look at the education aspect of the situation as well. We do see often see on shows : "How to make sure this doesn't happen to you".
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.... but they lost everything in the asian tsunami, she needed it back to continue her business etc etc web.archive.org indicated it was infact an old car dealership page and the story was a hoax to get the name for free.
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I understand. I’d say the same thing if I were you. Where’s the proof. So until I reveal the domain name, I’m definitely suspect. I say it’s not my domain name, but that's suspect, not just now, even after you find out the doman name.
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... however it is not unusual for old owners to pop up and want names back, or people who like the domain to make things up. Thus domainers err on the side of caution and not be as understanding as you may expect.
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Thank you for that perspective. Definitely it's a two-way street.
Thank you, mxm.
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however... sometimes it is best to move on and even though your acting as guardian angel for your friends... life and time is too short online...
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You're right. I do have to cap my time on this campaign, and hopefully hand it over to someone who thinks it’s worth media coverage.
Life and time is too short online? I’ll definitely move on at some point. But playing “Guardian Angel” is the major part of my life. Community work is all I do. Online and in-person. Life and time are too short for anything else for me. I wasn't always like this, but a devastating illness did alter my view of life. Tough luck, sh*t happens. I'm happy for you that you can look at life from a healthier perspective.
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So When my Volvo breaks down I can't go banging down the door of Ford.
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You mean you will not. Because you are interested in fixing just your Volvo. I totally respect your approach to life. I'm banging on all the doors I can find, it's kinda fun to me!
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The fact that your friend was a software consultant probably means that he has in his life been charging an extortionate rate for his services. Taking advantage of a commercial situation and the lack of software consultants to charge a high market value rate, as you say "Top Notch" and likely got a "Top Notch Rate" from people that were in need, possibly a small business and someone trying to feed his family. Or he might have been working for a big company, one where elderly people's pension funds are shareholders. I'm not wishing to judge all I am saying is that none of us are innocent in the world of capitalism.
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Perhaps he did. What he did in his previous career doesn’t interest me. The situation a lot of us are in, not just him, does matter to me. I am not even a close friend of this guy, I probably may not even be able to stand him in person. But I am a fan of his work related to this site. I still care that this happened to him, and to the site.
Thanks again for all your responses. I really appreciate it. In a way, you have a good community here and I’m sure that matters a lot to everyone. I hope to hang out here occasionally and learn a lot more.