Problem: www.theriddleofsteel.com

[Jake Norwood]

As most of you know our site, www.theriddleofsteel.com has been down for some time. The short version of the story is that my domain server provider (whatever it's called) screwed me by not contacting me before the domain expired. I spent about 2 weeks and 8 emails trying to get this fixed, but to no avail. Some porn company has bought the site, though they haven't done anything yet.

So I'm in a bad spot. My only other choice, really, is to buy another site. I'm going to get www.theriddleofsteel.net...it's the best I can do right now. This represents a pretty hefty blow to me and to Driftwood, and I hope that we can buy the domain back from the company that nabbed it from us while my provider dragged their feet.

Yours,
Jake

[Mokkurkalfe]

Sorry to hear that...

But what in the name of all that is holy is a *porn* company going to do with a name like www.riddleofsteel.com?

[Bob Richter]

As most of you know our site, www.theriddleofsteel.com has been down for some time. The short version of the story is that my domain server provider (whatever it's called) screwed me by not contacting me before the domain expired.

That's just downright not nice.

[Bob Richter]

Sorry to hear that...

But what in the name of all that is holy is a *porn* company going to do with a name like www.riddleofsteel.com?

Sell porn?

That's typically what porn companies do.

*shakes head*

I'm not sure which is sadder, the companies that sell the stuff or the fools that buy it.

[Thirsty Viking]

ok,  i'm not an expert,  but i thought a while back a law was passed (or at least propposed) protecting company names.    That aside have you contacted the porn company?   How much are they trying to hit you for?

[Todd Bogenrief]

IANAL, but I think you can dispute this with ICANN.  Sounds like a case of cybersquatting, especially since you have a far more legitimate use for the name, and more claim to it than what appears to be a russian porn site.

http://www.icann.org has the laws and regulation for Domain name dispute resolution.

[Thirsty Viking]

IANAL, but I think you can dispute this with ICANN.  Sounds like a case of cybersquatting, especially since you have a far more legitimate use for the name, and more claim to it than what appears to be a russian porn site.

http://www.icann.org has the laws and regulation for Domain name dispute resolution.

Thanks for the link,   after a while i found this in thier FAQ

Someone else has registered my company's name as a .com domain name. What is the process for resolving my complaint?

All ICANN-accredited registrars follow a uniform dispute resolution policy. Under that policy, disputes over entitlement to a domain-name registration are ordinarily resolved by court litigation between the parties claiming rights to the registration. Once the court rules who is entitled to the registration, the registrar will implement that ruling. In disputes arising from registrations allegedly made abusively (such as "cybersquatting" and cyberpiracy"), the uniform policy provides an expedited administrative procedure to allow the dispute to be resolved without the cost and delays often encountered in court litigation. In these cases, you can invoke the administrative procedure by filing a complaint with one of the dispute-resolution service providers listed at http://www.icann.org/udrp/approved-providers.htm. For more details on the uniform dispute resolution policy, see http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp.htm.

Good Luck Jake.   Hopefully the fact that you had the domain name,  and your provider didn't tell you about impending expiration will help you.

[Brian Leybourne]

I have to say, I don't see that just aquiescing and buying www.tros.net is a very good option.. all the rulebooks are printed with the .com address and that's one of your main forms of advertising.

The company in question is obviously just a squatter. They hang around, waiting for company domain names to expire and then snap them up, hoping to charge the company in question a vast sum to get it back. It's illegal and immoral, and you do have recourse, as others have already mentioned.

Chase it up, and dont let them get away with it. You'll get it back. The worst part is it's a damn hassle and may well be time consuming, although there's always a chance that one email sent to the right address could have it all sorted out nice and quick.

If there's anything I can do...
Brian.

[Claymore]

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2002 8:07 pm    Post subject:    

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I have to say, I don't see that just aquiescing and buying www.tros.net is a very good option.. all the rulebooks are printed with the .com address and that's one of your main forms of advertising.

The company in question is obviously just a squatter. They hang around, waiting for company domain names to expire and then snap them up, hoping to charge the company in question a vast sum to get it back. It's illegal and immoral, and you do have recourse, as others have already mentioned.

Chase it up, and dont let them get away with it. You'll get it back. The worst part is it's a damn hassle and may well be time consuming, although there's always a chance that one email sent to the right address could have it all sorted out nice and quick.

If there's anything I can do...
Brian.

I Agree with Brian completely here. I would however do one thing immediately, get an alternate domain name. That way you have a web presence while trying to get all this sorted out.

Claymore

[Jake Norwood]

I'm getting www.theriddleofsteel.net because we need to have a domain. We will re-acquire www.theriddleofsteel.com as soon as is possible, though buying it out or legalistic action.

Jake

[qirien]

I don't know if you can use this place if you are not an individual or a non-profit organization, but http://www.gandi.net">Gandi.net is a great domain registrar.  They are non-profit, inexpensive, they don't hose you, and we have never had any problems with them.  I'm not sure if they have restrictions against "businesses" (or if you would count as a business), but it's worth checking out.

[Jake Norwood]

www.theriddleofsteel.net will be up by the end of sunday.

Just a heads up.

Jake