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Help?
So. The domain names for my two websites are registered through GoDaddy, which I first put together in 2007 (ye godlings, yes, that long ago) back when I didn't know any better. I have my webhosting through A Small Orange, who are generally fantastic, and I want to switch my domain name registrations over to them, too.
But apparently this is not possible unless you're a lot smarter and more Internet savvy than I am. ASO is more than willing to help and step me through their side of things, as they have many times before (the cliché champagne service on a beer budget is not an inapt description of them in general), but, obviously, they cannot help me with the GoDaddy side of things. GoDaddy is living up to their reputation (which I didn't know about when I signed up with them), being as obstructionist and obfuscating as corporately possible.
Reading the documentation is beyond hopeless. The words are in English, and they do appear to be structured in grammatically sound sentences, but otherwise the instructions might as well be written in Swahili. Or Klingon. The "help" chat is -- I'd say less than helpless, but that's insulting the word helpless.
I feel like a bloody hostage, but I don't know how to get myself out of this situation.
Has anyone here ever extracted themselves from GoDaddy's clutches and lived to tell the tale? If so, would you be willing to hold my hand as we get *me* out of them? I figure it can't hurt to ask...
But apparently this is not possible unless you're a lot smarter and more Internet savvy than I am. ASO is more than willing to help and step me through their side of things, as they have many times before (the cliché champagne service on a beer budget is not an inapt description of them in general), but, obviously, they cannot help me with the GoDaddy side of things. GoDaddy is living up to their reputation (which I didn't know about when I signed up with them), being as obstructionist and obfuscating as corporately possible.
Reading the documentation is beyond hopeless. The words are in English, and they do appear to be structured in grammatically sound sentences, but otherwise the instructions might as well be written in Swahili. Or Klingon. The "help" chat is -- I'd say less than helpless, but that's insulting the word helpless.
I feel like a bloody hostage, but I don't know how to get myself out of this situation.
Has anyone here ever extracted themselves from GoDaddy's clutches and lived to tell the tale? If so, would you be willing to hold my hand as we get *me* out of them? I figure it can't hurt to ask...
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https://www.godaddy.com/help/transferring-domain-names-to-another-registrar-3560 is the current checklist.
mmjustus.com is registered with Domain Privacy enabled, which means that you have a Domains by Proxy account that you probably don't know how to get into. You will need to cancel the domain privacy before you can transfer the domain.
https://www.godaddy.com/help/retrieving-your-domains-by-proxy-login-information-4497 is probably your first step.
I see that mmjustus.com is good until October 22nd -- if it gets to be about October 14th and the transfer isn't started yet, I would renew at GoDaddy for another year. You don't lose time when you switch between registrars, and a single year of renewal is a *lot* less hassle than an expired domain.
I went to https://www.domainsbyproxy.com/ and used mmjustus.com to send a reminder to the email on the DBP account of the account number. If you still have access to that email address (probably your address in 2007) you should be able to get access to the Domains by Proxy account without a lot of obnoxious paperwork.
Once you get access to the Domains by Proxy account, you will need to cancel the privacy. DO NOT update the contact information on the domains, even if some of it is out of date. The ONLY thing to update is the Administrative Contact email address, and that's only if you can't get email at the old address anymore. (Updating anything else will freeze the domain to stay at GoDaddy for 60 days.)
After you have canceled the privacy in the Domains by Proxy account, go back into your GoDaddy account. You will have to "unlock" the domains to allow them to be transferred. https://www.godaddy.com/help/unlock-domains-410
Once the domains are unlocked, get a cup of tea (to let the registry get the update, takes a little while) and then have the authorization code sent. It goes to the Administrative Contact email address. https://www.godaddy.com/help/get-an-authorization-code-for-transfers-1685
Once you have the authorization code, talk to A Small Orange again.
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Can you put this in non-tech speak? Pretty please? Or is that just not possible?
Also? This isn't anything like the instructions the ASO guy gave me (not that I knew how to do what he told me, either). Also, he told me to make sure I *did* update my information on GoDaddy. I don't have the same email address I had in 2007, either [sigh]. That one's *long* gone.
See what I mean?
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The ASO guy is probably working on the assumption that you don't have domain privacy. Domain privacy changes things a bit, and adds an extra obnoxious step or five. Domain privacy is the thing which keeps your mailing address from being splashed all over the internet. It's worth having, in my opinion, but it also makes things harder to move.
There are two sets of information that will be in your account at GoDaddy. One of them is your customer information, which GoDaddy uses to contact you. The other is information that is tied to the domain. Because of past shenanigans involving he-said-she-said and domain theft, the governing board for domains eventually made a rule that changing certain information about the domain owner meant that the domain shouldn't move between companies for a while.
The *only* thing to update on the domain information while it's still at GoDaddy is the email address that's in the section labeled Administrative Contact. That's the one which it's necessary to have updated in order to move it, and that's the only one that can be changed and still have the domain OK to move according to the arcane domain ownership protection rules.
Since you don't have your 2007 email address anymore, the first step is to go to https://www.domainsbyproxy.com/emailupdate.aspx and fill in the form for both of your domains. This will take a while.
(The company "Domains by Proxy" is a sub-division of GoDaddy, and while the tech support people there are GoDaddy people, they have to pretend they're not. It's awkward.)
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For instance, I started to fill out the domains by proxy form, but, and this is going to sound idiotic, I don't know what to put for my name (not my domain names, *my* name). Because I don't remember whether I used M. Meg Justus, M.M. Justus, or Meg Justus back in 2007. The first is what's on my official ID and credit card, the second is my authorly name, and the third is what I use on a day-to-day basis. If I put the wrong one, what will happen?
*This* is the level of stupid I'm at.
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1) I am quite sure I never had to send GoDaddy or anyone else a copy of my ID to set up my account in the first place, but they're asking for it now. Is this right? Do I have a choice? I really don't like this.
2) The whole point of me moving my domains now is so that I don't have to renew with GoDaddy for another year. I suspect I should have started the process a month or so ago, but I tend to forget about such things until the renewal email shows up in my inbox (I've been meaning to do this for several years now). But now I'm worried about my registrations expiring before the process is done. If I end up renewing with GD for another year, I don't want to pay double (GD *and* ASO). Would I just be better off renewing now and putting this on next year's calendar to start the process in August? I really don't want to do that, but I also don't want to risk my domains expiring? Thoughts?
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If your domains did expire, GoDaddy would try to bill you on the following day if you have autorenew turned on. If you don't have autorenew turned on, it will set up a detour such that people trying to visit your website get GoDaddy ads, and set up a detour that would interrupt your email. If that did happen, you could get it turned back on fairly quickly as soon as you renewed; it doesn't get actually repossessed until 42 days after expiration. Paying them on the day of expiration or the day before would be just fine.
And correct, you don't need ID to buy domains, but you're expected to use your wallet name on the domain's ownership record. (I think this is a somewhat obnoxious thing, but it's a requirement for most if not all types of domains.) Under normal circumstances (unless they get a complaint that someone is using a bogus name on a domain) they don't attempt to make you prove it as long as you have control of the email address that is listed as "administrative contact" for the domain.
The only other way I can think of in order to get in to the Domains by Proxy account is to remember what your GoDaddy account password was at the time you purchased the domain name (because the Domains by Proxy account used to be set up with the same password), and get the Domains by Proxy account number. I don't know if it's listed in the GoDaddy account anywhere anymore.
This is how that old trick worked, but I don't know if it still does. It requires a call in to their tech support/sales.
1) Call and explain the situation.
2) Have the tech put a random domain name into the shopping cart. It doesn't have to be one you actually want, it's just to run through the process.
3) Apply privacy to the domain.
4) At this point, the tech support is presented with a Domains by Proxy account number or two (depending) and asks if you would like to put this domain under account number XXXXXXXXXX or YYYYYYYYY. (This is the point where it helps when the tech knows what you're doing.)
5) Write down the account number.
6) Change your mind and tell the tech you can take the shopping cart from here, and cancel the order.
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Some things are just over my head when it comes to technology. I think this is one where crying uncle is the better part of valor.
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(GoDaddy's website was *terrible* when I worked there, and I don't think it's gotten much better. Experienced techs look at it and occasionally cry.)
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