[WEB4LIB] stolen domain?

[Andrew Mutch]

The moral of the story is that the only way to control the content of "your"
web site is to control the domain where it resides.  Otherwise, you are
subject to your domain host being hijacked, evaporating, transferred,
merged, etc.  I don't know all the details of this situation but from what
I've read, the domain owner failed to re-register the domain.  Someone else
seeing a domain with potential traffic and an opportunity to make money
either through advertising or re-selling the domain name snapped it up.  If
that is the case, what happened was legally fair and square.  The blame goes
on the person who owned and then lost the domain.

Now, what sometimes happens is that the domain registrar is incompetent or
unscrupulous and re-sells your domain name without bothering to contact
you.  In those situations, someone might have a legal action.  Either way,
deal with a reputable company so that you have a chance at getting your
domain name back.  If you deal with fly-by-night operations, don't expect
much in return.

In the future, authors either need to host their own content and own their
domain name.  Or, they need to work with someone with a legal agreement that
covers all of the aspects of their online works.  Would you just hand off
your manuscript to a "helpful" person on the street?  Probably not. So why
do the same in cyberspace?

Andrew Mutch
Library Systems Technician
Waterford Township Public Library
Waterford, MI

Mary Beth Faccioli wrote:

> Hi all,
> The following is a message I received from an
> acquaintance - does anyone know anything about this
> sort of thing happening?  Is there any advice I can
> pass on to her?
>
> Thanks as always,
> Mary Beth Faccioli
> Reference Collection Assistant
> Georgia State University Pullen Library
>
> Begin forwarded message:
> I've been on the net day and night this past week
> since I learned indirectly
> that my website had been turned into a porn site. The
> web page was a
> freebie from a member of Society of Children's Book
> Authors..etc. who
> designs them. He offered to do it for other members so
> I accepted. This was
> about 3 years ago. Actually, I more or less forgot
> about the fact it
> existed. Well, a week ago I got a general letter
> addressed to SCBWI members
> online alerting them that Bergenstein.com (the domain
> of my site) had been
> pirated by a group outside the country and turned into
> a porn site. They
> are trying to extort money to get his domain back. He
> is in litigation
> about all this.
> I'm furious that first, HE didn't contact me about it
> at all (and still
> hasn't) when it first happened. Second, SCBWI still
> has yet to contact me
> directly--don't you think they would go out of their
> way to help out the
> members involved? I can't get anybody on the phone or
> email. They're scared
> of litigation from us who were affected, I'm sure.
> So far I'm only in contact with 2 other authors about
> this. One of them has
> her website on her book jacket so the publisher has to
> recall all of them
> and reprint them. A real mess. I have found that my
> author page is linked
> to every library and school in the country. I've
> checked that most of these
> places have filters, but one filter which a lot of
> libraries and schools
> use does not block out this site. There are two main
> providers of authors
> on the web which schools get their links from and so
> far I haven't been
> able to get in touch with either of these as it's
> summer and school isn't
> back in session yet..one's the U. of Calgary and the
> other is Rutgers. So
> I'm going nuts here. Any advice you can give I will
> welcome. You
> know more about computers than most people I know.
> Nancy
>
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