[Kuinox]

While you dont own a domain name, you have legals means to get it back.

Thats not the cast with a GAFAM email account.

[eminent101]

> While you dont own a domain name, you have legals means to get it back.

Can you or someone else share more about this? Do these laws work across countries? Can someone in Bhutan exercise their legal right to get back their .com or .org domain name? Must someone in Bhutan always buy a .bt domain name? I'd like to learn more about how the legal framework works and protects the customer from loss of their domain names?

[IYasha]

Provided you're in the same coutry as the registrar and using your passport for registration. And you don't miss your pay date (they usually don't allow to pre-pay for many years in advance). And payment remains available (I once had to resort to paying with cash(!) because of banking troubles). And registrar doesn't get bought, go bankrupt, etc. After losing an important domain I can't say it's THE way to go. Also, self-hosting e-mail is a nightmare. Not only because of ridiculously complex software, but also need to be trusted, which, in e-mail world, is hard as...

[Kuinox]

You don't have to self host your email, you only need to redirect to your preferred email service.

I prepaid my domain name for 15 years.

You can transfert your domain out of a registrar.

[aphantastic]

How do you actually get it back? Friend of mine has a portfolio website in their name they’ve been maintaining for well over a decade, they missed one payment and some scoundrel bought it up and is demanding thousands of bucks for it.

[Kuinox]

There is a grace period of 1-2 month before the domain is put back to sale.

[aphantastic]

What is the legal means to get it back?

[notpushkin]

No need for any tricks, just go to your registrar and extend/restore the domain. The fees are huge though, usually.

[Kuinox]

With a lawyer.