Mastodawn

Seems like the domain expired and I missed name.com's grace period...

one day I'll reclaim subalterngames.com and make it redirect to the new domain name...

https://esther-alter.com

I've been meaning to rename the website either way, since I've mostly switched from making games to writing fiction. But, the redirect would still be really nice to have...

Esther Alter

AstraLuma Feb 24

@esther_alter FUCK GODADDY.

I've never been in this situation before, but depending on the exact status:

* If your registrar was GoDaddy, it might be parked while in a grace period
* If it's completely expired, GoDaddy might have bought it, in which case you have to buy it back from them. And unfortunately, they get to dictate price

@astraluma how would I buy it back? I only see an option for a “broker”

@esther_alter @astraluma curious as to where you see a broker option.

The domain is indeed owned by godaddy and the registry was updated earlier this month, it’s plausible that you let the domain lapse without realizing it. godaddy is the scum of domain registrars, they watch domain lists so they can buy them immediately when they go up for registration again and then try to sell it back at wildly inflated rates.

@natecox @astraluma how would i buy it back?

@esther_alter godaddy runs a service called “DNS broker”, which is explicitly for buying domains “already registered” (in this case, and probably most or all cases, owned by them). They want you to go there and ask to buy it back.

@natecox ugh ok that was the only option I saw. I was hoping for something else. Should I expect to pay a “broker fee” plus an inflated price?

@esther_alter yes.

Godaddy is like the DNS mafia. They should be shut down for market manipulation.

Fuck godaddy.

@esther_alter @natecox the grace period for a .com is 30 days..then it should have a 30 day redemption period. (Where only you can re-register, but often at a higher price) are you saying you let it go for 60+ days?

If that's not the case you might have a bigger complaint on your hands

@ahasty @esther_alter grace period isn’t a constant across registrars, I’ve used one or two across the years that both wouldn’t send renewal emails and gave no grace period. I think name.com may only be five days.

name.com has also been accused of domain tasting before. Wouldn’t surprise me if they aren’t going out of their way to protect their customers.

@natecox @ahasty it apparently expired on the February 11 😑

@esther_alter @natecox I do find it odd that the domain appears to be still pointed to Name.com DNS. While registered with godaddy....at least.from what I looked at on my phone.

This is not a serious company???

@ahasty @natecox that’s what I don’t understand! Like, who do I even talk to about this

@esther_alter @natecox they have a recover expired domain faq but if that doesn't work...you might have to buy it from the scalpers

This is my registrar

@ahasty @natecox ok this is helpful thank you

https://www.name.com/blog/domain-name-expiration

@esther_alter @natecox

Domain Name Expiration: What Happens When Your Domain Expires? - Name.com Blog

Wondering what happens when your domain name expires? Our guide details the situation and provides you with next steps. Read on!

@ahasty @esther_alter I also use cloudflare domains these days. Treated me well so far.

@astraluma @esther_alter fuck godaddy indeed.

@esther_alter Your #domain expired, presumably, not your website? #domains are a separate thing.

Who was it registered with? GoDaddy is a domain registrar. Maybe you registered it with them in the first place?

@negative12dollarbill it was registered with name.com

Check out the WHOIS for subalterngames.com

I don’t really understand what happened

@esther_alter Logically, they would have sent you reminder emails? If you missed them or they went undelivered then yes it may have expired after a short grace period. How much does GoDaddy want for it? It has to be registered with someone.

@negative12dollarbill I don’t see an option to buy it just an option to get a “broker” to do it

@esther_alter That can't be good. Contact name.com customer support is what I would do. Clearly some business process went very wrong.

@negative12dollarbill fuck. Ok, thanks

Patrick Mevzek Feb 25

@esther_alter @negative12dollarbill Your domain `subalterngames.com` was not lost and registered again because a whois now shows "Creation Date: 2012-01-01T23:15:49Z", which means the domain can only have changed registrars. Until January 2026 it had Dreamhost nameservers but now has Name.com ones. Did you forget to renew it (see reminders you should have got by email)? Pro tip: register/renew important domain for 10 years immediately. Where did you buy it initially?

@esther_alter This is horrible, but in case it hadn't occurred to you you can buy a new domain and hook it up to your website really simply. Just grab subalterngames.net or something. That will let you have a website while you get this sorted out.

@negative12dollarbill the problem is the variety of sites that point back to the old name. I was actually planning on getting a new domain and making subalterngames redirect to it. It’s just gross and awful. I’ve had that site since 2012

@esther_alter did you contact name.com support?

@negative12dollarbill no but if sounds like that’s the first step. I’m going to bed now and I’ll do it in the morning. Thanks you and everyone else for the advice