There's a website that's not mine on my domain!

I Have two domains with Dreamhost. One is active and DH is hosting it. The other one was parked.

Well, for kicks I typed the parked domain name into my browser yesterday and there's a whole web site there that I did not create!

Panicked, I checked to see if I was still listed on the WHOIS info for that domain. I AM STILL ON THE WHOIS, and it doesn't expire until 2008. So how in the world did someone access it to put up their own web site on MY Domain name?

The person that is using it is also a DH customer, judging from the DH banner ads on his/her site.

I want my domain back. What can I do?

When you go to the control panel to Manage Domains, is your parked domain still listed as Parked? Does the site there seem like it's related to your domain name? Usually the name of the site is on the main page. Sometimes unused domains will display the first domain listed in a webserver's virtual hosts list.

I'd suggest that you go to the control panel, Edit the entry, then click the "Park this domain now!" button to re-save the settings. Hopefully it'll update the webservers.

If that all doesn't work, contact support.

-Scott

If I go under "Manage Domains" only the actively hosted domain is listed.

If I go under "Registrations" I can see both domains.

And yes, the person using my domain has graphics and such with the domain name as the title. And at the bottom of each page he/she has "all info copyright 2006 "mydomain".com

I presume you created a WebID for this user. When you go into "Billing" | "Account Privileges", do you see the domain in question under "Setting" with a "Privilege Type" of "Domain"?

http://benconley.net
http://teamshocker.com

I'm not sure but that might be the page DreamHost uses with parked domains. If you post a link to the parked domain, we can check if that's the case.

Did you ever set that domain up as a Parked Domain? What happens now if you try to create it as a parked domain? If your domain registration points to DreamHost's nameservers, and you never host/park/redirect/mirror the domain, there's nothing stopping some enterprising person from Fully Hosting that domain at DreamHost. Since you do have the domain registered, you can always change the nameservers to point to ns1.foobar.com, etc. to shut down the offending site until this is resolved.

I've looked at other domains parked at DreamHost, and it's a blue background with a DreamHost logo in the middle. Not much confusion there.

-Scott

It's definitely not a placeholder site. Someone has set up a band-related site with podcasts, blog posts, etc.

How would I change the nameservers? Can I do that even though I am not hosting that particular domain at DH (it WAS registered with DH, but I chose to host my other domain instead)

I have not created a Web ID for this user. I'll look into doing that now if I can.

In reply to:
How would I change the nameservers?

That is not very intuitive. You have to go to the "Registrations" section of the panel, select the domain by checking the "box", and then hit the "modify whois for selected" submit button at the bottom of the page.

In reply to:
Can I do that even though I am not hosting that particular domain at DH (it WAS registered with DH, but I chose to host my other domain instead)

Yes.Nameservers are set by the "registrant* at the *registrar*, irrespective of where (or whether) the domain is hosted.

--rlparker

Go to the Registrations section of the Panel, where you two domains are listed. Click on the Whois Info button next to the "parked" domain. At the bottom of the new Whois screen are the nameserver listings for DreamHost. Change them to be ns1.foobar.com ns2.foobar.com ns3.foobar.com. Then click the Set these nameservers for this domain! button. It'll take at least a few hours for it to take effect.

Have you tried going to Manage Domains and set up a Parked Domain for that domain?

-Scott

There's no point in creating a Web ID (or even an FTP user) for a parked domain. Parked domains aren't even owned by a user.

-Scott

Hi Scott!
I'm now worried I'm not seeing the same "Registratons" page on the panel as you, as I have no "whois info button" at all on the "registrations page. Is this something that will only show up for "parked" domains or some such? (all my domains are "hosted" in some way or other).

All I see is a "first column" Titled "Domain", under which there is a text link that takes me to a whois display, and a "checkbox" that allows me to select/unselect a domain, or domains, for futher action. Is it possible we are seeing two different "Registration" sections? shocked

--rlparker

Okay, I'm getting closer. I found out where to change the nameservers. but when I type in ns1.foobar.com, for example, I get:

"Error: domain name must end with a letter or number."

I really appreciate all the help. I will look into officially setting it up as a parked domain ... gotta solve this somehow.

Thanks again, everyone. I am really grateful (still annoyed at the thief, but grateful for the help)

rl, are your domains registered here at DreamHost? I have just the one they gave me. Here's what mine looks like:
http://www.scottdayman.com/files/whois.png

-Scott

I'm guessing there's some sort of typo when you typed in that nameserver. There should already be ns1.dreamhost.com, etc. If you just double-click on "dreamhost," it should highlight and then you can type in "foo" instead.

-Scott

Got it. Now I just have to wait to hear back from DH to see what's up with all of this. Thank you again for all of your help.

Scott,

Yes, several of them are. Thanks for the screenshot. *Now* I get why we are seeing "different" screens:

Mine is here. The controls are set if differently for you and I because you only have a single domain managed by the screen. If you had *multiple* domains registered, your controls would look like mine (as it is, there is no need on yours to use "selection" checkboxes for a single domain) smile

--rlparker

In reply to:
Someone has set up a band-related site with podcasts, blog posts, etc.

Well, it sounds like this is all being handled, but here's what I would have done differently...

I would have had a "That band sucks" site designed and built, ready to take the current site's place when you get your domain back. ;)

Another option, if you weren't using it, would have been to just let them roll with it. Once it's a high-traffic site, get it back, throw up relevant content and some Adsense. tongue That income could cover their back payments for renting the domain. ;)

Nice blurring... Is someone getting special domain pricing? ;) hehe

Okay, the changes to the nameservers have taken effect. I can no longer see the offending site.

I still have not heard anything from Dreamhost, and it has been almost 24 hours since I put in my support request. Is this typical?

I DID, however, receive an email from the guy that put up the site. He says that it appears on his control panel, too, and that he *thought* he had purchased it (along with the .net version) several months ago.

Of course, this is impossible, since I have always kept my renewals up to date.

If it does indeed show up on his control panel, that means that ***Dreamhost is taking money from two different people for the same domain name!!!*** This would obviously be a VERY unethical and shady business practive on their part.

I will wait to hear from them. If any one else has any advice/experiences to share, I would appreciate it.

I don't think that I'd call my domain pricing "special", but there are some (slight) benefits to be found having been around since 1998, and "grandfathered" under an old "reseller" plan that offered certain discounts wink .

Under the oldest system, there was no $97.00 referral, rather a small discount on services, allowing a "reseller" to make a little money - and Dreamhost had promised to freeze prices (which they have kept). It all balances out though, as my Code Monster plan costs (a little bit) more than the current promo'd rates. I think it is worth a "little more" to me, given the way the "weekly increases" have bumped my available disk and bandwidth quotas up considerably over that period of time (not that I'm likely to use it all anytime soon) smile

--rlparker

Did they have an actual reseller setup back then, or could you just resell like you can now? I'm a noob from 2002, so I don't know. ;)

One of the last suggestions I entered was to offer a real reseller panel... or in their case, create one. That's about the only real advantage I see to some other panels.

I've been around a much shorter time, and while I haven't made much of anything reselling, I do recall the amazing limited-time offers DH used to run. That's what brought me here in the first place, and I sing the DH praises to anyone who'll listen. Although they did lock me in at a price that I would never reveal for fear of much animosity. :)

Besides, you deserve a discount for all the great posts. LOL.

http://benconley.net
http://teamshocker.com

Mike,

There were a couple of iterations of "reselling" at the very beginning, and a couple of different ways you could participate. One of them was a "% off deal from published prices (you get the "discount" and can sell at "published rate", and pocket the difference, etc.)

My *slightly* reduced rate on some services is a holdover from that, though it is irrelevant for the most part to what Dreamhost now charges. I just didn't want to to start a , "Hey, why that price?" discussion, hence the "blurring" or the Panel screenshot.

Suffice it to say that the current referrals and Promo Codes (yes, even with the "$97 off" codes) is a "better" deal for most users, if they are looking for significant income for "simple reselling".

I use an entirely different model, hosting clients' sites using my Dreamhost resources, and "bundling" the hosting cost into a package with other "value added" services (consulting, site development, maintenance, etc. - varies by client and situation). My clients never see a Dreamhost bill, and *very rarely* see a DH Control Panel or ftp directory. They pay me to handle that. With a Level 3 Code Monster account, and the occasional "xtra service" for a dedicated IP or certificate, etc, I can handle a *lot* of smallish brochure-ware or e-commerce sites, and each of those sites have their own "package" with *me*.

Sure, my clients can save some money on hosting by signing up for their own DH accounts, and I make them aware of that, but they *choose* to have me handle it all and consider my "monthly" or other "package" fees a good business decision, as they don't have to mess with *any* of this stuff.

While a "real re-seller" panel is of value, it isn't necessary for my business model wink

--rlparker

In reply to:
Although they did lock me in at a price that I would never reveal for fear of much animosity. :)

So you understand why I felt it was only right to "blur" certain pricing information on my Panel screenshot - in my case it isn't that much savings, but I didn't want to start confused discussion over "why different prices", or "what is it supposed to cost." wink

And thanks for the gracious comment about my posting here. The *many* users here that try to help others (including you!) is one of the reasons I like it at DH, and on this forum smile .

--rlparker

thunderbug, did support resolve this issue for you? Can you send me a private message with your webid so that I can look at the case myself? I have never heard of this happening before, so I am quite interested in knowing what occurred.

As for being "unethical" and "shady," those would be quite the allegations, so you should reserve your judgments there until the matter is resolved. I can assure you we are surely not shady or unethical, but actually quite nice and some would say rather attractive.

In reply to:
If it does indeed show up on his control panel, that means that ***Dreamhost is taking money from two different people for the same domain name!!!*** This would obviously be a VERY unethical and shady business practive on their part.

Actually, that's not true at all. YOU gave the other guy your name by not adding it to your control panel in the domains section (registration & hosting are not the same).

If you had added it in the domain section when you registered it, as a redirect or whatever, no one else could have added it to their panel.

All you did was register a domain and throw DH nameservers on it, leaving it up for grabs for the first person that claimed. The same thing would have happened if you registered it at Godaddy or any other registrar.

I was just messing with you about the pricing. ;) The blur is actually what caught my attention, though. If it said $1 or "FREE!!!!!!!!" and you left it, I probably would have missed it completely. haha

I host a few people here like how you mention and really don't need a reseller setup for that. They know where they're hosted and they couldn't log in and do anything themselves anyway, even if they had their own panel. So in those cases, it's better this way because I do it all through one log-in.

It just seems like it's the one common thing DH doesn't have--and could be nice in some situations. Either that, or I was bored and just felt like submitting a suggestion. tongue

I submitted another one I hope they do... discounts on IPs that are paid yearly, or bought in groups of five (yearly). I should probably put in another suggestion that they don't ban me from making suggestions for making too many!

Hey, can I register a few domains through your account? I'll give you $2 each, so you'll make $1 on each one. :P

In reply to:
I was just messing with you about the pricing. ;)

Ha! I figured as much, but I felt I probably should explain it anyway, so I wouldn't get asked again wink

In reply to:
It just seems like it's the one common thing DH doesn't have--and could be nice in some situations. Either that, or I was bored and just felt like submitting a suggestion.

That is true enough, but we really don't want DH to be "common" now, do we? Hey, depending upon how they implement it, it could be a "Good Thing"tm.

Discounted IP's would be nice, but given DH's growth, the "limited" nature of "static" IP's, and all, I'd be surprised if they will do anything to make dedicated IP's much cheaper, at least until IPv6 is full-out "up".

As for your suggestions, remember that the last one of yours I went to the panel to vote on never even made it into the queue before they implemented it (eliminating anonymous posts in the forum). wink

In reply to:
Hey, can I register a few domains through your account? I'll give you $2 each, so you'll make $1 on each one. :P

Ha! Believe me, me "discount" on registering domains is not *nearly* that deep....it's a (rather) smallish "percent" off. Not that I'm complaining, every nickel helps!

--rlparker

In reply to:
As for your suggestions, remember that the last one of yours I went to the panel to vote on never even made it into the queue before they implemented it (eliminating anonymous posts in the forum).

That's happened twice now... I need to start making crappier suggestions, so they'll just sit on the suggestion page and look pretty for awhile. ;)

Dreamhost did resolve this for me, to my satisfaction. Seems like someone else just saw an opportunity to use the name.

You are correct that I should have reserved my judgement. I received an email from the person that put up the web site saying that he had also registered the domain name (untrue) so I was a little upset about things when I posted that. I shouldn't have believed him.

Totally not Dreamhost's fault. Things are good now.

I'm glad to hear that you got it resolved, thunderbug! I also think it is very professional that you came back to the forum and explained what had happened. The fact that you remembered what you had posted in the thread , and came back to set the record straight speaks volumes about the kind of person you are. So few posters show this simple courtesty; your doing so is to be commended. Well done! smile

--rlparker

There's a website that's not mine on my domain!