SonomaCity.org, the Internet domain name of the city of Sonoma’s website, expired Wednesday, July 25. The online snafu persists as of this writing and the site remains offline. If the city doesn’t address the domain expiration in the next 30 days, forfeiture of the name could result leaving it up for grabs in cyberspace.
A similar, widely reported incident occurred three years ago when the Washington Post failed to renew its $35 annual registration for its domain WashPost.com, resulting in cessation of all its e-mail communication. The most publicized case of failing to renew domain names, to date, occurred in 1999 when software juggernaut Microsoft let the domain name of its popular “passport” email system lapse, leaving thousands of customers temporarily without their email service.
“Registrars usually have a 30 day grace period but that’s up to the individual registrar. If someone doesn’t pay the registrar then the domain could be up for grabs,” said Three House MultiMedia director of technology J.M. Berry
Presently, SonomaCity.org points to a place-holding web page that boasts a series of “sponsored listings,” including an invitation to “Visit Sonoma County, CA,” an advert for a hotel in Mount Shasta and something called “Eclectic Essentials.”
