B166ER - Made in Cyberspace

Gmail account appears fully operational now, and the suspension appeared to be active for only around 20 hours. During account suspension time I wasn’t able to download attachements, but was able to read email and view attachment previews.

The reason for the suspension appears to be a massive burst of emails with attachements from other gmail users - Even though I cannot confirm that this is the only true reason, it is the only anomality I’ve noticed when I was notified of the “Lockdown in Sector 6″.

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After getting a nice barrage of funny emails from a friend of mine, I was notified by almighty Google that my Gmail account is suspended, for up to 24 hours.

To Google’s defense I must say that I was sent around 50MB in random movie and PPS files, with very little content or description, except the Fwd: Fwd:Fwd:Fwd:Fwd:Fwd:Fwd:Fwd:Fwd:Fwd: Ha-Haaaa and Fwd:Fwd:Fwd:Fannay titles.
This is the exact text of the notification:

Our system indicates unusual usage of your account. In order to protect Gmail users from potentially harmful use of Gmail, this account has been disabled for up to 24 hours.

This is likely due to the use of a third party software tool with Gmail. If you are using any third party software that interacts with your Gmail account, please disable it or adjust it so that its use complies with the Gmail Terms of Use. If you feel that you have been using your Gmail account according to the Terms of Use or otherwise normally, please contact us.

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Click Here for the Banned from Gmail Screenshot.
I was able to get back to reading my emails, but no longer able to download any attachments, at least not immediately after the notification of account suspension. Hopefully the account will be get back to normal withing 24 hours as described .

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…Back .

Registering the B166er.com domain

The domain b166er.com was registered on April 27, 2004 through Dotster . Not that I had any special plans for it , just seemed like a nice idea to own a domain name(d ) after the one robot that just didn’t want to die, the robot that has initiated the chain reaction that brought the human race to it’s knees in the Matrix series.

Loosing the B166er.com domain

A year has passed, I haven’t done anything with the domain, but I was in a rather complex situation personally and financially, and simply forgot to renew the domain, effectively losing it to one of those domain-hoarding companies that monetize such names by putting ads and directories on the expired domain’s pages. It’s a rather big industry , fitting somewhere between typosquatting and domain parking. It my eyes, it’s a sort of legitimate Cybersquatting, they get to use the domain name after it expires, and sometimes get to cash in when someone wants to either purchase or the original owner wants to get it back from them.

Getting It Back

Time has passed, and I decided I want my domain name back. I checked the WhoIs records , and to my very pleasant surprise, the domain record was pending deletition(PendingDelete) and there was nothing on its homepage.
I wanted to make sure I get the domain as soon as it becomes available. Having no idea how to do this, I turned to what seemed like professionals, GoDaddy Inc, and place the following order:

Sounds cool, doesn’t it? DomainAlert Promonitoring, and costs a whooping 19$, more than a two-year domain registration. Not a high price to pay to get my domain back at all, and I don’t even have to waste my time on emails or negotiations, pay and forget kind of service . Too bad it didn’t work.

“This notification is generated automatically as a service to you because you subscribe to DomainAlert®.
We’re sorry, but the following domain name(s) that you backordered was not captured successfully:“

And there was no refund.

I apologize the backorder attempt has failed. Currently the backorder as submitted as requested therefore it is not eligable for a refund. You may change the backorder for another domain if you would like.

The easiest 18.99$ GoDaddy ever made.
Not giving up, I went to seek an advice on the Digital Point forums, asking if someone could point me in the right direction so I will get my domain name back. And point they did - A good man named BlitzOnline pointed me to

And they were actually having an auction for this domain name. Being taught the GoDaddy lesson, I read the not-so-small print first:

• No Up-front Cost: All fees are due on delivery. Bidding is free.
  
• Simple, Least-Cost Bidding: Set the most you are willing to pay, and our system will bid for you, entering the least amount necessary to maintain your winning status, but never more than your limit.
  
• Automatic Notification: You will be notified by email about each important event, such as auction won, auction starting, or if you are outbid.

So I went in, placed the lowest possible initial bid of 30$, and just 48 hours later and without any other interaction, received an email containing some helpful domain management information and the following notification:

Congratulations! You have successfully acquired the domain name b166er.com.

We have debited your account $30.00, the amount of your winning bid.

Fees for your first year of registration were included in the cost of your purchase.

And this is how I got the B166er.com domain name back.
Hopefully this story will help others make the right decisions when it comes to domain acquisition and backordering. And most important of all, I want to thank the Digital Point community for providing the priceless free advice.
Asking my questions earlier could have saved me 18.99$.

Useful Links : Domain Status Types, SnapNames Partners

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