[sf-lug] SF[-]LUG & domain(s) Re: Domain ...

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Michael Paoli (Michael.Paoli at cal.berkeley.edu):

> Domain(s) ... SF-LUG ... I see, without hyphen, compared to the
> existing sf-lug.org (canonical) & sf-lug.com ...
> without -, I see .org is taken, but .com is available.
> Not sure if you were referring to the former or the latter.
> I also notice from the expiration date of the former, it was
> probably very recently (Expiry Date: 2020-04-06T14:09:16Z)
> either acquired - or renewed.

At the moment I was composing that message, /usr/bin/whois reported
sflug.org as available for registration.  I was conflicted about whether
it was wise to mention that fact explicitly, so I split the difference
and hinted.  Yes, the .com equivalent is currently still registerable,
but it was sflug.org that occasioned my comment.


That having been said, my other, and larger, pressing concern was
the sudden appearance of 'private' WHOIS.  I'm not even 100% sure who
currently owns sf-lug.org/com.  Is it Jim?  That's one of the effects of
'private' whois:  The public cannot even see who the stakeholders are.

Seriously, I'm curious, who the Registrant, Tech Contact, and Admin
Contact are for the two existing SF-LUG domains.  Anyone know?  And does
anyone know what group of SF-LUG volunteers have working credentials for
the registrar account at Joker.com?

Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?  ;->

If nobody knows, then if some mishap occurs like accidental domain
expiration, then everyone at SF-LUG is going to be left wandering
around saying _someone_ ought to fix the problem, but with no clue who
can and should do so.  This is one of the side effects of 'private'
WHOIS entries, such as I cited earlier this afternoon as having been 
recently (and currently) applied to sf-lug.org/com.


When I looked at the archives of this mailing list for discussion of 
SF-LUG domain registration (hoping to refresh my memory), I found a
posting of mine from January 19, 2012 where I cited to Jim Stockford's
attention several severe problems with the LUG's DNS and domain
registration, the latter covered in my point #3:

  POINT3:  Contact names/mailboxes in sf-lug.org's public domain records
  are a total train wreck -- completely broken.

  The public 'whois' records are the official method for reaching domain
  officials and owners, e.g., to say 'Dude, your DNS is broken' or many
  other things -- including warning notices about upcoming domain
  expirations.  The sf-lug.org domain is (wisely) registered out to the
  middle of next year, so it's not going to expire soon, but it's a very
  bad idea for lots of other reasons to have your public contact
  information be broken.

  Public points of contact are:  Registrant, Admin Contact, Technical
  Contact.  SF-LUG's domain data _fail_ to specify a named person for any
  of those roles, and (worse) shows 'no.valid.email at worldnic.com' as the
  contact mailbox for all three roles.

  These are serious problems.

Jim was at the time in sole administrative control of the domains.
At the time, he said thanks for the help, and that he'd investigate and
report back.  Subsequent postings to that thread addressed site-internal
problems such as the Web server displaying directory listings rather
than a main index page, but did not address the DNS or domain problems.


SF-LUG has a long history of ignoring prominent system-administrative
problems and later regretting having done so.  IMO, this would be an
excellent time to stop doing that.  So, to repeat, for starters:

1.  Who owns Internet domains sf-lug.org and sf-lug.com?
2.  Who are the Admin Contact and Tech Contact?
3.  Which people have the relevant Joker.com login credential?