[sf-lug] done: Re: sf-lug.org "32-bit" (i386) to "64-bit" (amd64)

[Rick Moen]

I commented last night to Daniel:

> Unfortunately, I think what you're seeing there is a very common
> registrar dodge that _many_ (not all) registrars use on expiring
> domains.  The registrar steps in and changes the Registrant (owner) to
> itself or to something deliberately murky, and adds _exactly 1 year_ to 
> the expiration field beyond the actual date of expiration -- that future
> date then displayed to the public.  
> 
> The registrar then steps in and acts like the new owner with a new
> one-year runtime on the domain, and (at its option) offers the domain
> for sale.
> 
> I infer/guesstimate, based on the other data shown in whois fields, that
> the sf-lug.org and sf-lug.com domains ticked over to an actual
> expiration on 2015-07-02, and NetSol's scripts then artificially
> inflated that to 2016-07-02 for purposes of its own business interests.

Confirmed.  (See below.)

Part of the problem with public whois data about Internet domains is
that historical data aren't offered:  All you ever get shown is the
_latest_ whois data for any domain.  

Therefore, in cases where registrars play games with the publicly
displayed data, like artifically tacking a year onto the Expiration Date
and changing the displayed Registrant information, you're thus at a
disadvantage unless you can somehow remember what is _supposed_ to be
shown in the whois data.

Anyway, I vaguely recall there being a few third-party services that
occasionally snapshot whois data somewhat the way archive.org snapshots 
much of the Web.  I just re-found one of them:  whoisology.com

https://whoisology.com/archive_10/sf-lug.com  <- 2015-03-30 snapshot
https://whoisology.com/archive_10/sf-lug.org  <- 2015-03-22 snapshot

Notice that, for both domains, the correct expiration date of 2015-07-02  
is on file in Whoisology's March snapshots, rather than the '2016-07-02'
one that resulted from NetSol's fiddling with the records right around
the time of expiration.


Anyhow, at the risk of pounding the point into the ground:  Better hurry
up and hope NetSol honours the usaual 'grace period', because they won't 
keep doing it for very long.