ethical domain name problem!
 

Ok say maybe 4 years ago you helped register a nice domain that is worth good money for someone. This means you have access to the account holding the name and control over it. Say this perons then dissapeared and over a period of years you had been paying for the name whilst making every effort to contact them without any luck. It looks like they had basically abandenned the site and the internet totally and dissapeared. So the domain again needs renewing and paying for or it is going to go on-hold and eventually someone else will grab. What would you do? do you let it go to on-hold or would you use your access to pay for the domain and transfer it to yourself?

help!

I would give it to me if I were you, so you're not faced with such an ethical dilemma.

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It's yours come on now.

its yours


after so many years of YOU paying the renewal and them not claiming there UNPhahaha196;ID domain makes it years


I think it is 100% legal and ethical to make it yours if it was truely after years, and if you were truely the one paying for the renewal without the "true" owners ever trying to get a hold of "their" domain ..........

honestly, it looks like he has no desire for the domain name, and hes not responded to being contacted. the domain is up for grabs.

If you feel guilty, register it under a different name and if the person ever contacts you tell them you let it expire. They have no claim on it if you have been paying the renewals. I wish I had friends like you.

take it... !

I don't see a moral dilemma, although there's the possibility of a legal one in the future.

it depends how much effort u put in contacting the disappeared person i'd say

I have tried several emails for years taken from whois and tracking down old sites. I've tried all phone numbers on domains and sites, I tried searching names on google, contacting ISP's for info and to pass message and everything I could think of short of hiring a private detective to track this guy down over about 3 years.

We are talking about a domain people have been trying to contact him to offer low five figure sum for.

Is the domain currently in use? As in - does it generate money for anyone. If not, there's no issue at all. Just take it.

But exactly how, if there's no active site on it, is it "worth a lot of money" as you said?

once a thief, always a thief














no doubt i would get it

Take it for yourself and sell it.

If the person in cause reappears you can always give him the money.


If your conscience doesn't allow you to do it just put it in my name and I'll tale care of it until friend comes around :thumbsup

Well the domain has an old page from about 2001? with some KarasXXX and other program links on it, this is back from the era when maximumcash was king!
So I doubt it produces much if any $'s on these links or hes even cashing the checks I guess I could try to contact MaxCash maybe they can shed some light.

That one :thumbsup

take the name asap :)

I think rather than letting it go to on-hold I will pay for and transfer the name but I want to make it a matter if public record here on GFY that if Bigtony shows up he can have the name back.

and if anyone knows who i am talking about please put him in touch

just take it....

why are you asking stupid questions? Take it, in the worst case you can just give it back to him... :1orglaugh

You're actually asking this question?
: grab :

Fitz

Hmm... I would let it expire and go on hold. Then on the very last day before the registrar releases it, pay the extra fee to get it back. This pretty much proves that he didn't want it.

I'd do just that - try to find out if he's still getting any cash from it. Start by seeing if the links even work (with a page that old you never know). If there's any doubt I'd hesitate to grab the domain, but if you can honestly suspect that he's no longer making a dime from it and it could go to better use, I'd say you've earned the right to the domain by making payments and actually being aware it's about to expire, as opposed to your friend.

/x3

Cough up the $8, you cheap bastard.

I don't see the ethical problem here.

Agree...
As with any battle, the legal ones are the most devastating and the most costly.

if you've paid for it for 5 years and he hasn't replied to any of your emails then..... seriously.. half a decade of paying the bills makes it yours. If he wanted it that much he'd be trying to get it off you and paying his own bills.

you'd be doing him a favour really.. if it goes on hold he's lost it forever to some dom vulture. This way if he ever asks about it he can get some compensation.

Finders keepers. Losers weepers. As they say . . .

I think there are many examples that would support you taking the name. It's abandoned property.

its your dude, dont worry about it.

Sounds to me like they have amnesia and are wondering around lost in the Nairobi Desert . . I've seen this happen before . . . So sell the domain, grab a bunch of water, malaria medicine and bandages and get over there as fast a possible too help out . . You can do that on yer vacation and shoot yer new canon 20D while you're there


over and out -bmb