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Godaddy just stole my domain

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Re: Godaddy just stole my domain

#31
post #25

Not the same scenario but recently GoDaddy conveniently "forgot" to extract auto-payment for the only domain I still had with them (somewhat exotic .es TLD) and also forgot to warn me about it, letting the domain registration lapse. I noticed it via the automatic monitoring once the domain stopped resolving and escalated it, at which point GoDaddy graciously offered me to reinstate the domain for $55 lapsed registrat…

I was surprised to learn last week that GoDaddy waits until the renewal date to renew. I'm used to other registrars renewing 30 days in advance, so you have time to fix any billing issues before the fees to get it back after it expires.

[deleted]

Re: Godaddy just stole my domain

#32
post #2

There are many domain registrars out there, and most are better than GoDaddy. Try buying the domain from Google Domains or Namecheap, though it sounds like GoDaddy “bought” it and is trying to get you to pay $2000 for it, so you probably can’t get the domain from another registrar. Malicious or not, this is par for the course for GoDaddy.

Cloudflare sells domains at bulk price

but Cloudlfare isn't really selling the domains- they are essentially registering them and leasing to you.. with the ability and will to backtrack on that.

and cloudlfare is no longer the free speech champion they were many moons ago - in fact they have become a 'turn off the speech of those who concern them or others' kind of place.

Using their services is contributing to a less open internet.

Re: Godaddy just stole my domain

#33
I had something similar happen a billion years ago.

I used to have this email address cheney@ice.org and a domain registered through Network Solutions using that email address. This was around the time that Verisign purchased Network Solutions. At some point the email mutated to cheney@icq.org whether by my error or theirs. At that time ICQ was the premier instant messaging tool because there was no other such thing. Around this point in time ICQ was sold to AOL including all intellectual property. The domain name for ICQ was actually icq.com, but AOL owned all similar domains for trademark reasons.

I could not get my domain free from VeriSign where it went into limbo at time of renewal and I could not get any help from AOL. The problem is that there was an account recovery tool for domain registrations, but it was based entirely upon email associated with a registration and I could not receive any mail at the icq.org domain. I was able to actually reach the person who managed online IP for AOL (as they had contact information in a whois for one of their domains) and still could not get help to resolve this issue out of fear weakening a trademark.

After 9 months of frustration I suggested some nonsense in the #gentoo IRC channel of Open Projects (later Freenode) that contained about 1100 highly active participants. I mentioned that Fort Hood just installed a tremendously huge internet pipeline, huge for that time, and they weren't using that bandwidth just yet. If an insider knew what they were doing they could easily use that bandwidth to DOS Network Solutions and take down a massive chunk of the internet. It was likely easier than it sounds because there was one of the fattest pipes around, with almost no security or monitoring, so you just needed some level of command and control and inside access. Before their purchase by VeriSign, Network Solutions was a government contractor managing most of the DNS registrations, so they still held many of the older DNS registration records. That's how my domain became associated with VeriSign.

The next day a sales rep from VeriSign called me on my landline at my college dorm offering to help resolve my email account issue.

Re: Godaddy just stole my domain

#34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cloudflare sells domains at bulk price

but Cloudlfare isn't really selling the domains- they are essentially registering them and leasing to you.. with the ability and will to backtrack on that. and cloudlfare is no longer the free speech champion they were many moons ago - in fact they have become a 'turn off the speech of those who concern them or others' kind of place. Using their services is contributing to a less open internet.

Do you have any additional information on the first claim you made? I transferred my domain from google domains to cloudflare and this sounds quite concerning to me.

Re: Godaddy just stole my domain

#36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes > Cloudflare Registrar will only ever charge you what we pay to the registry for your domain. No markup and no surprise fees. https://www.cloudflare.com/products/registrar/

Note that you have to use their name servers. Or at least that’s what I read somewhere on HN.

Custom/Vanity nameservers are currently business/enterprise accounts only AFAIK.

Re: Godaddy just stole my domain

#37
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks, a bit lost as to what to do as this was a very important domain for me. Both on a professional and emotional level. Do you think I'd still be able to sue despite the fine print?

You'll need to ask a lawyer. I don't know because I haven't read their fine print recently. Like I said, I moved my domains years ago. But just because they say something in the fine print doesn't mean it will stand up in court.

Good old contracts of adhesion.

Re: Godaddy just stole my domain

#39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cloudflare sells domains at bulk price

but Cloudlfare isn't really selling the domains- they are essentially registering them and leasing to you.. with the ability and will to backtrack on that. and cloudlfare is no longer the free speech champion they were many moons ago - in fact they have become a 'turn off the speech of those who concern them or others' kind of place. Using their services is contributing to a less open internet.

What utter rubbish. Cloudflare hosts 4chan, phishing sites, pirate streams, fake government ID producers, malware delivery, and scammers. If that bar is still too high then whatever content our hypothetical wanker is seeking to host is either very harmful, very illegal, or both.

Re: Godaddy just stole my domain

#40

Namecheap did this to me in January. It's infuriating.

somehow hearing this about namecheap is even more infuriating. godaddy has a reputation that makes this no surprise, but i get a lot of conflicting feedback about namecheap. i heard good things and bad things about them. in the recent discussions on HN namecheap came off mostly positive, and then suddenly there is your story, confirming what i heard about namecheap earlier. now i don't know what to think about them.
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