Don't Complain if Someone Snatches Your Old Web Address

 

Several years ago, John Elkington let the domain name inspirationlanding.com expire. There was no reason given, but this lapse came to light just as the Sheffield office for the land development was closing. A few local wags suggested they should purchase the domain name - perhaps even host something using the name. The name is still up for grabs if anyone wants it. The current price on GoDaddy is $1,988.00.

At that point, it should have been obvious that Elkington wasn't going to complete his end of the bargain to build a mixed-use development at Furnace Hill. Oh, well, as Steve Stanley says, it's only the taxpayers' money.

Fairhope city councilman did a similar thing. After the 2020 election, Jack Burrell let his website JackForFairhope.com expire. Then this year, he reused some campaign designs which featured the web address - only to be told by some of the town's electorate that it now sent voters to a site called "Drag Story Hour." It seems Councilman Burrell and the Drag Story individuals had been at war over Fairhope library content.

1819 News picked up the story and used the word "hacked" in one paragraph:

Number 2 is the definition of "hacked":

The article by Erica Thomas did mention at the end that nothing about purchasing the site was illegal. That's right, your claim to a domain will lapse after approximately 80 days. If you don't pay to maintain it, you shouldn't complain about domain companies selling it to someone else or who purchases it.