Taking Domain Control Back from the Registrar? 101
Patrick Clinger asks: "I run a large community Web site, and today I woke up to find that one of my domain names (proboards21.com) was disabled by my unnamed registrar -- my name servers were changed to NS1/NS2.SUSPENDED-FOR.SPAM-AND-ABUSE.COM and I no longer have access to that domain in my control panel. I am in no way involved in any spam activities, and the registration for my domain expires in 2007. I would expect at least a courtesy call or an email letting me know what happened, but neither was provided by the unnamed registrar. What can you do when suddenly a registrar goes off and takes control of your domain when there was no violation of your agreement with them? What is to prevent any registrar from taking over any domain when they feel like it? Right now my domain is in limbo, waiting for them to hopefully restore it to the correct name servers."
Re:objection, nonresponsive. (Score:1, Interesting)
In his own roundabout way, the first poster was parroting what the pundits have forecasted: the demise of the service economy as we know it, and its replacement with a new "experience" economy wherein people purchase the goods and services that le
do a domain transfer (Score:3, Informative)
Re:do a domain transfer (Score:5, Insightful)
Doesn't look like it is... (Score:2)
Domain Name: PROBOARDS21.COM
Registrar: GO DADDY SOFTWARE, INC.
Whois Server: whois.godaddy.com
Referral URL: http://registrar.godaddy.com
Name Server: NS.PROBOARDS.COM
Name Server: NS4.PROBOARDS.COM
Status: ACTIVE
Updated Date: 25-feb-2004
Creation Date: 17-mar-2003
Expiration Date: 17-mar-2007
So he *should* be able to transfer it away, so long as godaddy.com doesn't specifically block the transfer...
Kind of in the same boat (Score:5, Interesting)
Proving "ownership" is turning out to be harder than expected.
Re:Kind of in the same boat (Score:5, Insightful)
Are they in the Wayback Machine [archive.org]? If yes, and the content clearly points to you (e.g., copyright blurbs), you may have some evidence to work from.
Just a guess (or three) (Score:3, Insightful)
It's a
The courts?
Re:Just a guess (or three) (Score:2)
Can I change registrars after registering a domain name?
Yes, you may change the registrar sponsoring your domain name (beginning 60 days after initial registration). For details on the transfer process, contact the registrar you would like to assume sponsorship of the registration.
Hate to karma whore, but... (so don't mod this up) (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Just a guess (or three) (Score:1, Flamebait)
one of my domain names [...] was disabled by my unnamed registrar [godaddy.com]
Notice that "unnamed registrar" links to godaddy.com [godaddy.com]? I think the submiter was trying to be subtle.
Re:Just a guess (or three) (Score:2)
Umm...hey, clueboy, I think he was giving advice, not guesses. Those are places Mr. Clinger can go to get help. Maybe if you paid more attention...
Dan Aris
Live and learn. (Score:5, Interesting)
GoDaddy is register with the BBB (Score:3, Informative)
Re:GoDaddy is registered with the BBB (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:GoDaddy is registered with the BBB (Score:1)
If you go to the BBB site and look up the companies to see if they have any complaints against them, THEY DO NOT SHOW UP WITH ANY COMPLAINTS! Glad to know my voice and effort was wasted.
Hey, I know what you can do. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Hey, I know what you can do. (Score:4, Interesting)
If a company will behave in this way then do you really think they'll respond well to polite e-mails and phone calls? No, they have to be faced with a cold, hard loss of business and a bad reputation.
My first thought when I read the story was: Glad to see this guy is getting some help but what about all the thousands of other people in similar situations who *aren't* being featured on Slashdot?
The domain registration system is horrible, quite possibly the worst part of online life with the exception of spam. If you run a business online then literally you can wake up one morning and find that your entire livelihood has been brought to a halt by one person, who you've never met and never talked to, deciding to suspend your domain.
Note that this has never happened to me. If I sound bitter it's because I find the situation utterly frustrating and unjust, even though I have not been a victim of it myself. Yet.
Give them a call! (Score:3, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Give them a call! (Score:1)
I, too, have found that none is better than most computer-related companies' technical support. It's heartening to hear from someone who shares my view.
Godaddy (Score:4, Funny)
Personally, I'd send a certified letter from a lawyer, and work with them. But you did allow one of your sites to be used for spam relay, even if by mistake. Work it out, if not, get fuckoffgodaddy.com, and tell the world. Bad reputation can cause lots of damages.
Re:Godaddy (Score:5, Funny)
If you do get fuckoffgodaddy.com, at least remember not to register it through them. :)
Re:Godaddy (Score:5, Interesting)
GoDaddy disabled my domain because some person sent an email to another person, and mentioned my domain in that email. It is as simple was that. The email did not originate from my servers. The email had nothing to do with me, except it mentioned the URL of one of the over 500,000 message boards that ProBoards hosts.
Don't make accusations when you don't know the facts.
Re:Godaddy (Score:2)
He was asking you a question, not accusing you of anything
Well, it doesn;t look like a question to me.
Re:Godaddy (Score:1)
We regularly get idiots spamming proboard links on our forums.
That said, people who have problems with users spamming links should be contacting the *user's* upstream provider.. works like a charm!
Re:Godaddy (Score:3, Insightful)
Then you have a watertight case for taking them through the legal wringer. However, you might want to get hold of their side of the story first. Nine times out of ten there's a misunderstanding or a joe job in the background that you have to clear up with an open mind.
Give 'em attitude and they'll flip you the bird until the lawyers get involved, and then th
Re:Godaddy (Score:1)
I'd say you're already done the best thing.. (Score:1, Redundant)
Register your own domain (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Register your own domain (Score:5, Interesting)
At least I have a reasonable expectation with Go Daddy that they will not suspend my domain without a good reason.
Bad things happened, that's not a reason to erase inanimate, historical, objects from history.
Insert whole free speech defend though I disagree speech here.
I would also like to note that I have personal experience with some proboards.com users abusing the send message to all members capability. Their use of the send to all function meets some definitions of spam. You know what? the particularly annoying user just might have been hosted on proboards21.com. I'm not sad to see that they have been stopped, even though I disagree with the method used.
Re:Register your own domain (Score:1)
> At least I have a reasonable expectation with Go Daddy that they will not suspend my domain without a good reason.
Let me check : between a registrar that disables a domain because supposed abuse has been reported and they didn't bother to check with the domain owner (!) and a registrar who will not act unless it is compelled to do so by a court of law, which one will you choose ?
> Bad things happened, that's not a reason to erase inanimate, historical, objects from history.
Is that some refere
Re:Register your own domain (Score:2)
I register almost all my domains with Gandi, except when I have to use Dotster (via NameWinner [namewinner.com], which now seems to suck). The rise of the
Re:Register your own domain (Score:1)
>But like the AC poster, I'd like more info about their troubles, if you could find a URL...
Hmmmm... can't find much (most of what we heard was on their internal news server and on IRC at the time), but there are still some messages from GANDI employees on Usenet lying around. This thread [google.com] talks about a personnel strike, and this one [google.com] mentions them sorting it out in court (that's all in French, a ruling in October is mentioned by a poster, but I can't seem to find it). Since I didn't hear about it since
Re:Register your own domain (Score:2)
Your credit card has protections for places like this. Many CC companies offer single-use virtual cards now for no extra charge. If you have a dispute, you close the virtual card and contact your CC company to file a dispute of charges.
Remember, this is a last resort. You have to make an effort to resolve the problem first.
Re:Register your own domain (Score:1)
I had something similar happen. (Score:5, Interesting)
Anyway, I explained this to the registrar upstream from the scam company, and the upstream registrar unlocked it for me, without having to have any communications with the jailbird. My money was lost, but I was able to move the domain elsewhere.
Did you read this? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Did you read this? (Score:2, Interesting)
oh, wait, i use godaddy. damn. if you really hated my website(s) you could probably send an abuse letter to godaddy. if they're having a bad day, they might not bother investigating
Re:Did you read this? (Score:4, Insightful)
John
Sort of the Same Problem (Lack of Contact) (Score:3, Insightful)
Long story short, call, talk to their manager, then their manager. Repeat as needed as high up the chain as you need to go to get them to listen to you.
suspicious (Score:3, Informative)
seems to be working fine now. 7pm PST 2/25
Re:suspicious (Score:2)
Re:suspicious (Score:4, Interesting)
Registrant:
ProBoards.com
21532 Calle Otono
Lake Forest, California 92630
United States
Registered through: GoDaddy.com
Domain Name: PROBOARDS21.COM
Created on: 17-Mar-03
Expires on: 17-Mar-07
Last Updated on: 24-Feb-04
Administrative Contact:
Clinger, Patrick whois@proboards.com
ProBoards.com
21532 Calle Otono
Lake Forest, California 92630
United States
9494630329 Fax --
Technical Contact:
Clinger, Patrick whois@proboards.com
ProBoards.com
21532 Calle Otono
Lake Forest, California 92630
United States
9494630329 Fax --
Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.SUSPENDED-FOR.SPAM-AND-ABUSE.COM
NS2.SUSPENDED-FOR.SPAM-AND-ABUSE.COM
Re:suspicious (Score:1)
Can a little black book get Slashdotted?
Gandi (Score:5, Interesting)
"The Client owns the Domain Name registered. Gandi simply acts on the Client's behalf."
No, I'm not affiliated with Gandi, but I do use them for my registration services. They're the only company who makes such a statement in their contract (AFAIK).
Public domain? (Score:1)
GoDaddy Registration page says All public domain registrations are registered in YOUR NAME not ours.
GoDaddy could get around this by claiming that its WHOIS database is copyrighted and thus that registrations are not "public domain" registrations.
Re:Umm, call them? (Score:3, Insightful)
You must live in a very nice world.
See, in the world where I live, if I, as an individual, ordinary person of the middle class, try doing this to a company with more than about 20 employees, they win practically just by showing up. They can afford to string it out way, way more than I can. That means I lose. Or, alternatively, they can just call up their team of guerrilla lawyers and make me garrotte myself with my own words. You know how when you're arrested, they say "Anything you say can and will be
Re:Umm, call them? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Umm, call them? (Score:2)
Re:Umm, call them? (Score:5, Informative)
It looks like you've allowed Go Daddy a lot of room to screw you. INAL, so I don't know how much of that contract is actually legal, but if they were acting on spam complaints, you're probably going to have to spend a lot of money to get much out of them. Did you call them yet?
Who to contact, and why to stay with 'em. (Score:5, Informative)
I must say that I'm very surprised by this response. I've had an extraordinarily positive experience with them, particularly BECAUSE of their anti-spam policy. They are very serious about complaints, but when I filed one, were definitely very careful about not arbitrarily shutting the spammer down just because *I said* they were a spammer. They contacted the spammer first, went back and forth with them and myself for a few days, and then shut them down when they would not stop.
Based on my experience from the other side of the equation, you should have been contacted first. I'm surprised that you weren't. I would suggest contacting the President, Bob Parsons' office. When I called, I was told that he kept his number fairly easy to access because he prefers to be more hands-on and accessible to customers. I'm sure that he doesn't take the calls personally (I got voicemail when I called), but was told later that the issue had been referred by him personally to the abuse dept manager, who called me back.
The " Office of The President" number is (480) 505-8828, and the e-mail address is president@godaddy.com [mailto]. Give 'em a call, and a chance. Everyone has given some variation of "you get what you pay for", but this customer has gotten far more than that in the past.
Re:Who to contact, and why to stay with 'em. (Score:2)
joe jobs et al. (Score:3, Insightful)
Do you let people have email addresses @ that dom? (Score:4, Insightful)
Hell, this may even be the case if you don't let people have email addresses at your domain. Nothing's stopping spammers from making it look like stuff comes from admin@proboardz21.com or billybob or whatever, so long as the payload still generates sales for the right person.
Meanwhile it makes you (or your service providers) look like the most obvious source of ill will.
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Possible reason (Score:3, Informative)
Example
Example
Example
My guess is that complaints about the spammer went to GoDaddy rather than you. Did you receive complaints? Do you, I hope, have an abuse@proboards21.com address set up...
A quick trip to http://www.proboards.com/, his main web site, shows that he is giving away free sub domains. My guess is that a spammer screwed him, and his registrar helped. Goes to show you, no act of
Re:Possible reason (Score:2)
Re:Possible reason (Score:1)
You were involved in spam activities - you allowed spammers to use sub-domains off a domain you control.
I imagine you have emails from godaddy somewhere in some mailbox where they tried to contact you, the connection didn't happen, and then they yanked you.
Which is just a long way of applying the old axiom "Never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity". Not saying your s
Re:Possible reason (Score:2)
At ProBoards, every single account gets their own subdomain instantly when you sign up. We don't provide them any type of email services, just a nice URL to access their message board at. I "allowed spammers" to use a subdomain? Please. Someone create a message board, and they got a subdomain for the URL to their message board. Thats all that there is here.
How is giving everyone a subdomain for their account being involved in spam ac
Re:Possible reason (Score:1)
More Details (Score:5, Interesting)
1) Some person (a person I do not know) sent out an email to a bunch of people with their newsletter, and included a link to their message board that was hosted by ProBoards.
2) Another person received a copy of that email, and took it as spam (it may have been -- although the email looks like a newsletter).
3) That person SpamCop report, and contacted GoDaddy regarding it.
4) I deleted that message board account about 2 days prior to GoDaddy disabling my domain name.
5) GoDaddy disabled the domain because it was "associated" with spam.
Now let me make this clear if you don't understand it: Some person out there on the Internet sent an email to another person out there on the Internet and because that email mentioned my domain name in the body of it, my domain was disabled for being associated with spam.
The email did NOT originate from my servers, it was not sent by me or a member of my staff. It is just like if I opened up my mail program and sent an email to a hundred people mentioning somewhere in the email "slashdot.org" and then
To top the entire situation off, GoDaddy charged me a $250 fee to get my domain name back! I am now looking to transfer my domain names to a new registrar, so time to start looking - and time to start considering legal action.
Re:More Details (Score:1, Funny)
Re:More Details (Score:1)
If they don't take the claim against them and get it collected. You should not be out money for something that they did
Re:More Details (Score:5, Insightful)
This whole thing bothers me to no end.
I've noticed this kind of thing happens all the time in life, and I really am starting to dislike it: Everything is going just fine, you do nothing wrong, someone else screws up--completely outside of your control--and it takes you time and money to fix it.
I've gotten half-a-million-dollar tax bills because my state double-issued a taxpayer ID. I've been pulled over for speeding by the police within seconds of entering a highway, not even yet at highway speed, because my car happened to be the same model as someone they had clocked miles up the highway. I've had my ISP cancel my account when their credit card processor double-billed my card and marked the chargeback of the second amount as nonpayal.
And now, I've got this to worry about, too. I have around twenty domain names with GoDaddy.
I really empathize with you. This just sucks.
I really hope that you can get the $250 refunded, talking with the right people at GoDaddy.com. Please keep us updated, if not here, then in your Slashdot journal. I can't imagine that they could keep the $250; I am amazed they actually made you pay it in the first place.
If you cannot get them to refund the $250 within the next week or so, here is what I would recommend:
Transfer all of your domain names elswhere (once you find a registrar of course). Then once they have been successfully transferred, dispute the $250 charge with your credit card company. You have 60 days from the date of your statement; so anywhere from 60 to 90 days from today, depending on when your next statement is sent out. It's as easy as filling out a form or writing a short letter and mailing it in. Your credit card company will side with you by default, that's how they work, and refund the money immediately. The burden of proof will then like with GoDaddy.com to show that they charged you this fee correctly; if what you have said is true, they will be unable to do it.
Of course it will be a hassle, transferring your domain names. Hopefully it won't come to that, and GoDaddy will step up to the plate, refund your $250, and apologize. Let us know what happens. I wish you the best.
Re:More Details (Score:1)
Patrick
Re:More Details (Score:3, Informative)
I highly recommend directNIC.com [directnic.com]. They have a great interface, great customer service, good prices and most importantly, they don't pull crap like that. There is a reason why so many adult companies register their domains through them. Of course, they are great for anyone, but the
Re:More Details (Score:4, Informative)
You appear to be listed [openrbl.org] on four blocklists.
You might want to keep a closer eye on your customers in the future...
Re:More Details (Score:2)
That isn't me getting blacklisted, that is the entire block being blacklisted, which is not my doing. Parent should be modded down.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
transfer it (Score:3, Informative)
Just transfer the domain to another registrar - you won't lose anything other than a registrar you aren't happy with (i.e. the existing time on the registration is extended by a year).
(Shameless plug: We offer domain name [omegasphere.net] registration for $10.95/year.)
Next time around (Score:2)
GANDI (Score:2)
Whatever you do, avoid Verisign like the plague.
Manage your own DNS servers (Score:1, Informative)
1. I set up a DNS server 2. Transferred ALL domains to www.register.com 3. I changed all the DNS records for those domains to my DNS server. Cheap, easy and if you ever want a MX change or whatever, you don't have to wait ages for you provider to change and replicate. Not ment as advertisement for register, there are many like them, but that is what I did 2 years ago and I never want to go back.
End run possible (Score:1)
Re:End run possible (Score:2)
SPAM-AND-ABUSE.COM
look again.
Re:End run possible (Score:2)
no probs with 123reg (Score:1)
Yet another similar experience (Score:2)
I had designed a single page for a customer within a regional business district website I'd put together a few years ago. The business was a small, independent children's clothing and toy store with the word "Kiddie" in the name, and some whack job prankster had sent out some kind of inane spam that referenced the page for this store, along with a handful of other innocent pages on the web, advertising it as a child pornography site. Som
GoDaddy Response (Score:2, Funny)