X.Org Might Lose Its Domain Name

[rhavenn]

a) why would one use Network Solutions as a registrar? They should have transferred that name long ago.
b) why would one ever use a single persons email vs. a mailing list or at least an email at your own domain for a domain like this? That's just stupid.
c) For Network Solutions to make them jump through hoops is also pretty stupid. It's darn obvious who / what X.org is and the people associated with it. Okay, perhaps not to the level 1 peon on the phone, but some of the engineers / nerdier types at Network Solutions should be able to jump in on that and get it straightened out.

[kenjo]

This whole issue of loss of domain control and ownership is an embarrassment and a really big security whole. How often do people fail to renew a domain on which they were receiving emails and then find that domain has been squatted for ransom?
)

well it happens http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/11...renew_hotmail/

[Thpn]

This is one more reason to use Gandi for domain registrations. From their recent email notifying me to renew one of my domains:

A tip from Gandi's Support team: if you are in an emergency situation and you have forgotten your handle and/or password, you can renew a domain name from any other Gandi handle, or create a new one just for that purpose:

http://www.gandi.net/contact/create

(Note that renewing a domain from a different handle does not affect the domain's ownership.)

[Ardje]

One organisation bought it, not one person.
This organisation was dissolved: nobody owns the domain anymore. Which means that the new organisation has no more rights than anyone else to get it.
In order to have preferential access to the domain (renewal instead of buy), the new organisation must prove that it is in fact related to the one that was dissolved.
That's what they mean by "paper trail".

It seems that most of the people here have never ever really managed domain names. You seem to be the only one that really grasps the problem.
And it's a contract, the contract was with the now non-existing organisation. Nobody took care to transfer the ownership to the new organisation, and now the organisation is dissolved, nobody is actually authorised to change it. Personally I don't have a clue how they are going to fix that (legally).
Even with Gandi it is a hassle, but if you manage 3000+ domains gandi helps a lot with bulk ownership changes.
OTOH, silently paying the bill also helps ;-).

[hoohoo]

Given the likely future of X Window, perhaps they should register "ex.org" instead LOL

[peppercats]

Why would they keep it private for so long instead of reaching out to the FOSS community to help earlier?

[GreatEmerald]

Welp. And yet, http://xfree86.org is still truckin'...

On the other hand, this isn't going to be a problem. After all, /etc/hosts exists, right?

[asdfblah]

Shouldn't have they TRANSFERRED the domain name months/years ago?

[sloth77]

This is true of many personal email domains (and why I advise friends against setting up email on a personal domain).

Until you want or need to change email hosting provider, in which case you lose your email address. That's how many ISPs have retained their customers IMO.

[daniels]

Given it's an issue that we've known about for 10 years now, you can assume we've tried all the obvious steps which would occur to anyone within about ten seconds' worth of thought. When it expired in 2007, it was renewed outside of the usual channels as it did construe unusual circumstances (the domain still existing is an extremely unusual circumstance - one-letter domains are not, as a matter of course, available). We have attempted to contact Leon via email, phone, snail mail and even physical contact, but he remains uncooperative, and without his assistance then we cannot modify the domain as he is the sole contact.

Were it possible to do anything with the domain, then it would've been smoothly handled and transferred a long time ago. (Note 'we' is mixed tense, as I was involved in the same issue nine years ago, but am not heavily involved in the current attempts to renew.)