Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

When a Domain is no longer yours

Jul 2, 2019 9:42AM PDT

What do you do if you “Give up” your personal domain or say die. and not renew it, and someone else obtains it?

I have a personal domain and it hosts the email address I use to register most of my accounts online. So if I no longer have this domain, I would loose access to my accounts someone else could reset the passwords.

Most systems have a “forgot password” system that sends an email to the registered email address to allow reset. The new owner of the domain may well have set up the same email account and get the email, reset the password, and they are me, to the rest of the world.

Change all the email accounts you say, but can you remember all of the accounts you have after 30 years online? And if you are dead, you cannot. They would guess you have an account when the emails start to arrive, like Cnet ones.

OK Bank accounts should be shut down, but other things may not.

So I have to go on paying for my personal domain, for maybe another 30 years.

Should domains be free after 30 years of registration if not transferred to a new owner?

Should accounts not be linked to email addresses or, even worse, phone numbers?

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Should domains be free after 30 years of registration if not
Jul 2, 2019 9:55AM PDT

"Should domains be free after 30 years of registration if not transferred to a new owner?

Should accounts not be linked to email addresses or, even worse, phone numbers?"

That would be your opinion but not how things are. Domain registrations cost to maintain so what you do at the end is up to you.

As to the question about if you can remember all your accounts after 30 years, there are a few thoughts about that. Some keep that in their "little black book" and if you don't remember, maybe it's best forgotten.

Back to free. What you run the risk of here is sounding entitled. As these are businesses and not something like social security how would they pay for giving folk a free ride?

- Collapse -
Many times, Mr Mod, I've told complainers
Jul 2, 2019 10:44AM PDT

on SE to demand that Lee refund their money.
Grin

- Collapse -
There is a discussion about your digital after life.
Jul 2, 2019 10:54AM PDT

The past had books and such but now, there's the digital stuff.

I think the OP (original poster) is asking about their digital presence when they have retired which would cost to maintain. Since there is no free lunch, they may have to lobby for change. (Good luck?)