The site's content revolve around marketing topics such as home business. It would hurt my professional reputation as a librarian to be associated with such a marketing site in any way.
I once used the domain name for my website hosted on [more specifics deleted]. I chose to use my name as the domain name because I couldn't think of any other name then. I just used the website to practice my HTML and CSS skills. When I discontinued the web hosting account in 2006, I still continued to pay for the domain name on an autorenew mode on my credit card as well as keeping the free email account for forwarding email notifications. Confident that things will be renewed automatically, I have stopped checking on this domain for almost a year now and did not notice it when the emails stopped coming.
I called [specifics deleted] and they said my credit card expired which is not true - it has never expired - and that they have notified me several times. I went into my account and looked at the address they used and it's not the email address I indicated they use for forwarding email notifications.
Granted that I have lapsed in monitoring that domain name, I'm at a loss why a marketing company would blatantly use a personal domain name that's not common [specifics deleted] and has nothing to do with the content of their site. It looks like the people who actually operate the site [specifics deleted] are [ethnic reference deleted] and it just blows my mind why these <snip> people would choose a domain name such as mine? I maintain another website with a different domain name but it's also a sandbox for personal use. I'm a regular person. I can't think of a reason why they would think that name would bring in traffic to their site. Or maybe they're trying to inflame people like me who would likely not let this thing go by without a fight and in the process actually make people go to their damn site?
What case can I put up here other than appeal to a sense of marketing ethics which many people role their eyes at like this world is a dog eat dog world through and through and we can't do anything about it? I've read related ICANN documents related to domain redemption but it sounds like once any one registered a domain name then it stays in a registry database ready to be re-registered by anybody after a grace period.
I guess the lesson here is never to register your personal name as a domain name unless you are sure that you can maintain it forever. Are individuals really expected to maintain (i.e. pay) forever the personal domain names they registered (including all other forms of the name - .net, .org, .com, etc.) just to protect their personal names? Can't domain registrars like <snip> at least not blatantly display for sale those domain names that are personal names? Can't we have a law against companies like <snip> gathering up expired personal names from these registries unless they really have something to do with a site? Yes, one must be wise about these things but good God, individuals need some kind of help from the system.
Does ethics have any place in domain name sales? Is there a strong voice in this community to counter unethical use of domain names? Who uses the services of companies like <snip>?
[no sig files, please]
[edited by: buckworks at 2:10 am (utc) on Feb. 18, 2008]
[edit reason] Removed specifics [/edit]
They will have used your site because it has traffic that they can capitalise on, and even if it makes only a few pennies more than their costs they'll be happy. The fact that your name is on the site is completely irrelevant to them.
Did you check the WHOIS?
I also maintained an email account for forwarding any notifications. Unfortunately, either the registrar's email forwarding program did not work or my ISP or Outlook didn't work so I didn't get the expiration warnings. You know how that goes, it's a domain name that I no longer use for a website so I wasn't very vigilant about expiration dates - I just tried to maintain ownership of it. I first saw the website after googling myself to see what prospective employers might see - it came at the top of the search results. It's a site that I certainly don't want employers to think I am connected with. You just realize what your name means when something like this happens.
I have done extensive legal research since Sunday...While I agree that the law, not ethics, is the path to resolving these kinds of problem, I will not become cynical about the World Wide Web or the Internet. The situation I am in just makes me realize that if I'm going to enjoy the good things about the Internet then I will have to put in some work in the system to make sure individuals don't get exploited. I also hope those people who are using my name don't have to make a living misusing other people's names and the concept of SEO. I can assure them, it's veeeery bad karma for anybody's business.
Or maybe they're trying to inflame people like me who would likely not let this thing go by without a fight and in the process actually make people go to their damn site?
Is it definitely a developed site or is it a parked page?
From what you describe, there was probably no intentional malice on the part of the current registrant. More likely the name was flagged on a droplist (auto-generated list of expiring/expired domains - thousands of domains expire every day) as having some desirable metric(s) (age, traffic, Alexa rank, Page rank, DMOZ, etc.) and somebody picked it up and parked it.
Have you tried contacting the new registrant *amicably* (i.e. leaving out phrases like "[ethnic reference deleted]"), explaining the situation and offering a modest amount to get the name back?
I went into my account and looked at the address they used and it's not the email address I indicated they use for forwarding email notifications.
Did that email address ever belong to you?
I am not a lawyer but I guess hiring one and trying to find someone at fault (registrar, new registrant) is another option. However my first suggestion is probably the fastest and least-expensive way to resolve the issue.
