[Sysadmin] evolters.org (Fw: Automated Reminder: Your Domain isExpiring 2004-06-16)

[David Kaufman]

David A. Ulevitch wrote:
> anybody can renew a domain...getting the ownership/admin stuff sorted
> out is a bit more of a pain...
>
> you don't have to own to renew: http://www.doublewide.net/
>
> -davidu

hi David,

while that is true of Network Solutions (as the story linked
illustrates), i don't think it applies to the case of OpenSRS resellers.
the way their reseller network is structured, the reseller signs up for
the program and *prepays* some deposit amount, after which her customers
can use the scripts on her site to register and renew their domains.
this is possible only because her scripts are configured to tell
OpenSRS's servers (using OpenSRS's API) which reseller is handling the
transaction.  the reseller set's their own prices and collects payment
from their own end-users themselves, and when their deposit runs low,
they must replenish it by making another bulk payment to Tucows.

so if i pay the wrong reseller i don't know if A) the API will even "let
them" renew the domain of a *different* reseller,  B) i will have, in
effect, *transfered* the domain from one reseller's account to the
other's or C) what would happen if the resellers have different markups,
and therefore different prices...

the OpenSRS reseller i use is a friend who marks up his OpenSRS rate 1
dollar, does not accept credit cards (takes PayPal pre-payments only)
and has the shit-simplest web interface i have ever seen:
www.SimchaNIC.net

he this it up a few years ago just to play around with perl and the
OpenSRS API when it first came out, and asked (on the pair Networks
newsgroups) to get a few people together to register 25 domains so he
could afford the (then) $250 deposit (because he was inhigh school at
the time!).  several of us did and now he is the registrar for an
alarmingly large number of pair's domains, as most of us on those
newsgroups are pair web hosting resellers, with numerous client domains
to manage :-)

i've always had an itch to setup an OpenSRS reseller account, as just my
own domains would justify the cost :-)  maybe this would be a(nother)
great idea for a revenue stream for evolt!

> On Jun 17, 2004, at 10:46 AM, David Kaufman wrote:
>
>> Just received this domain expiration notice:
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
-
>> From: "goinhome.com" <hblair at hotfootmail.com>
>> To: <treasurer at evolt.org>
>> Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 22:58:39 -0400 (EDT)
>> Subject: Automated Reminder:  Your Domain is Expiring 2004-06-16
>>
>> The following domain name(s) will expire in 5 DAYS:
>>
>> Domain Name, Expiry Date
>> evolters.org, 2004-06-21