my domain lapsed registration at http://www.terraceassociation.org/.

it seems some company has taken temporary control of it. I believe
also that they will release control of it some time in the near
future. what are my options in getting the domain back?
I have tried contacting the email address now listed on the site, I
have contacted  email addresses of my registrar, and no responses at
all.

thanks.

First, sorry to hear of your situtaion. A site our city held for years
was lost and diverted into a porn site. There where thousands of
complaints about it. Thankfully there is a chance for you to get it
back. Its called "domain backordering" The description GO DADDY gives
of backordering is as follows:
***********************************************************************
What is Domain Name Backordering?
 
If you "backorder" this name, we will ATTEMPT to grab it and to
register it on your behalf, if and when it expires and once again
becomes available.

The low $18.95 backorder cost includes the registration fee, ICANN
Fee, plus automatic monitoring and email alerts on changes to the
Registrar, Status, Expiration Date, and Name Servers. Your domain
backorder fee can be re-assigned to other names as often as you like,
until you are successful in acquiring a domain name.

You also have the option of making your backorder private -- which
means your personal identifying information (name, phone number, email
and home addresses) is shielded from public exposure in the WHOIS
directory from the very moment the backordered domain is successfully
acquired.

Please understand that a backorder does not guarantee that you will
acquire the domain name being backordered. The domain name you are
backordering may be renewed by its current owner and not become
available or we may be unsuccessful in our attempts to grab it and
register it on your behalf.

Once again if your backorder is not successful, it can be reassigned
to another domain name. (And if your unsuccessful backorder is a
private one, your private registration can be applied to any other
backorder).
 
****************************************************************************

The cost of backordering through GO DADDY is $18.95. This gives you
the right to have it if the registration is cancelled or expires. Not
a completely bad deal. I also attempted to pull information on who
owns the domain now and this is what I got:
***********************************************************
Domain ID:D94118289-LROR
Domain Name:TERRACEASSOCIATION.ORG
Created On:17-Jan-2003 23:23:43 UTC
Last Updated On:18-Jan-2005 10:47:50 UTC
Expiration Date:17-Jan-2006 23:23:43 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:eNom Inc. (R39-LROR)
Status:OK
Registrant ID:EBD9E15037250196
Registrant Name:Ralph Lee
Registrant Organization:n/a
Registrant Street1:2700 Hearst Ave #2B31C
Registrant Street2:n/a
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:Berkeley
Registrant State/Province:CA
Registrant Postal Code:94720
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.5106640198
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:damion023@yahoo.com
Admin ID:EBD9E15037250196
Admin Name:Ralph Lee
Admin Organization:n/a
Admin Street1:2700 Hearst Ave #2B31C
Admin Street2:n/a
Admin Street3:
Admin City:Berkeley
Admin State/Province:CA
Admin Postal Code:94720
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone:+1.5106640198
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin FAX:
Admin FAX Ext.:
Admin Email:damion023@yahoo.com
Tech ID:EBD9E15037250196
Tech Name:Ralph Lee
Tech Organization:n/a
Tech Street1:2700 Hearst Ave #2B31C
Tech Street2:n/a
Tech Street3:
Tech City:Berkeley
Tech State/Province:CA
Tech Postal Code:94720
Tech Country:US
Tech Phone:+1.5106640198
Tech Phone Ext.:
Tech FAX:
Tech FAX Ext.:
Tech Email:damion023@yahoo.com
Name Server:DNS1.NAME-SERVICES.COM
Name Server:DNS2.NAME-SERVICES.COM
Name Server:DNS3.NAME-SERVICES.COM
Name Server:DNS4.NAME-SERVICES.COM
Name Server:DNS5.NAME-SERVICES.COM
Name Server: 
Name Server: 
Name Server: 
Name Server: 
Name Server: 
Name Server: 
Name Server: 
Name Server

*****************************
Which shows it as being owned by ralph until jan of next year. And
then I see that your name is ralphs- and am wondering if this is
actually your information.

** ENOM actually shows that you had the domain but that is has
expired. It seems to actually be parked at enom according to the whois
source- see http://www.whois.sc/terraceassociation.org.  Also on this
page it gives you a option to monitor the site- clicking on the link
will allow you to sign up for the service without charge and then
watch the site.

I gathered this info from the enom site, which please read all of it-
states that you have 30 days from the time your name expires to pay to
keep the domain. Thay MUST notify you of this right. But here is the
info:


************************************************************
AFTER EXPIRATION OF THE TERM OF A DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATION: After
expiration of the term of a domain name registration and before
deletion of the domain name by the applicable registry, you
acknowledge that we may direct the domain name to name-servers and IP
address(es) designated by us, including, without limitation, to no IP
address or to IP address(es) which host a parking page or a commercial
search engine that may display advertisements, and you acknowledge
that we may either leave your WHOIS information intact or that we may,
but only under certain circumstances, change the contact information
in the WHOIS output for the expired domain name so that you are no
longer the registrant of the expired domain name.

After expiration of the term of a domain name registration, you
acknowledge that certain registry administrators may provide
procedures or grace periods during which expired domain name
registrations may be renewed. You acknowledge that you assume all
risks and all consequences if you wait until close to or after the end
of a domain name registration term to attempt to renew the
registration. You acknowledge that we, for any reason and in our sole
discretion, may choose not to participate in a post-expiration renewal
of a domain name and that we shall not be liable therefore. You
acknowledge that post-expiration renewal or redemption processes, if
any, involve additional fees which we and your Primary Service
Provider may determine. You acknowledge and agree that expired domain
name(s) may be made available to be registered or re-registered to any
party at any time.

You agree that after expiration of the term of a domain name
registration we may, for a period of 30 days, either i) remove the
domain name from the zone of the top-level-domain (meaning that the
domain name will no longer resolve), or ii) direct the domain name to
name-servers and IP address(es) of website(s) designated by us,
including, without limitation, to IP address(es) which host a parking
page or a commercial search engine. You agree that either are
functionally equivalent to ICANN's or a registry's redemption grace
period, which would normally occur after deletion, and that both
provide you with enough notice that your name is expired and that you
should renew it if you wish to renew it. If we exercise our rights
under this provision, and if you do not contact us to pay for and
renew the domain name prior to the end of the 30 days, you agree that
you have abandoned the domain name.

After this 30 day period, you agree that we may, possibly via a
sub-contractor, solicit and provide for a third party to pay to renew
the domain name's registration term and to allow such a third party to
assume complete control over the domain name as its registrant (a
"Post-Expiration Registrant Change", or "PERC"). If we enter into a
PERC transaction with such a third party (the "PERC Customer"), we
will send an email notification to the email addresses, if any, which
were listed for the registrant and the administrative contact(s) for
the domain name when it was registered by you (the "PERC
Notification"). You acknowledge that you might not receive the PERC
Notification and that it is not our obligation to confirm whether or
not the PERC Notification was received by you. The previously listed
registrant (typically you) may receive a portion of the funds received
by us for the PERC as follows: (i) if the domain name was registered
directly through us, the previously listed registrant may receive
twenty percent (20%) of the Net Proceeds received by us (either
directly or from a third party vendor providing services to us) as a
result of the PERC; or (ii) if the domain name was registered with us
through your Primary Service Provider (such as your website host, for
example), the previously listed registrant may receive fifteen percent
(15%) of the Net Proceeds received by us as a result of the PERC. You
acknowledge and agree that the PERC may be accomplished through an
auction involving one or more parties who are interested in the domain
name. If it is determined that either the registrant or the
administrative contact for the domain name or anyone acting on behalf
of such a party participated in the auction, then none of the Net
Proceeds will be paid out or if paid out must be returned to us. "Net
Proceeds" means the total fees paid to us (either directly or by a
third party providing services to us) as a result of the PERC, less
registry fees, ICANN fees, taxes, credit card charge-backs, processing
and check fees, and other costs or fees associated with the PERC. You
agree that we shall have no obligation to make the foregoing payments
unless, within ninety (90) days after the date of the PERC
Notification, the previously listed registrant provides us with the
name, address and other information requested (including, but not
limited to, a Form W-9, if applicable) in the PERC Notification. We
cannot guarantee, and we make no representation or promise, that any
PERC will occur with respect to a domain name registered by you. You
understand that, if you do not wish to participate in this process,
that you may renew your domain name registration in the available time
and that you may arrange for the sale or other disposition of the
domain name on your own.

Alternatively, if you do not contact us to renew the domain name
registration during the 30 day period described above, and if we are
unable or unwilling to arrange a PERC, you agree that we may either
(i) delete the domain name at any time thereafter or (ii) that we may
pay the registry free or otherwise allow it to continue to be
registered with the WHOIS information previously provided by you and
pointing to the name-server(s) and IP address(es) designated by us,
and that we will not remove it from the TLD zone. In the latter event,
the name will be designated as being in the extended redemption grace
period ("ERGP"), and you will be allowed to assume, during the first
90 days of the then extant registration term, complete management of
the domain name, including the right to control the DNS information,
provided that you pay the registration fees for a one-year
registration term and your Primary Service Provider's ERGP redemption
fee. After the end of the 90-day period, if you do not exercise your
rights under this provision, you agree that you have abandoned the
domain name, and relinquish all rights and control over the domain
name, and that you are no longer the registrant of the domain name,
and that we may list ourselves or another party as the registrant of
the domain name in the WHOIS. If we exercise our rights under this
provision and you do not wish to be listed as the registrant and you
wish to forego your option under this provision to pay to renew the
domain name registration for the then-current registration term, you
may notify us before the end of the 90-day period and request that we
remove your information from the WHOIS record for the domain name, in
which case we, or a third party we designate, will be listed as the
registrant, and in which case you relinquish all rights and control
over the domain name, and in which case we may i) continue to point
the domain name to IP address(es) designated by us, or ii) we may
delete the domain name.

*********************************************
I would be contacting them ASAP.

And good luck!

Ralphs-ga,

The same thing happened to me recently:  I registered a .org domain
name four years ago--an idiosyncratic one that was not likely ever to
be in demand by anyone for anything--and uploaded a personal website
that I maintained for four years.  One day in December, I suddenly
couldn't upload.  When I went to my URL to check it out, my website
was inaccessible, and instead there was a page saying that this domain
name was available for purchase from some service.  (It no longer says
that.  Now it looks exactly like yours, except that it says "This page
courtesy of: CeramTex USA" in the upper left corner.)

My husband was incensed and said that my domain had been seized by
domain-jumpers who would probably sell it back to me for a fee.  I
said I'd never pay them a cent, but he encouraged me to at least try
to find out what they wanted for it.

After some detective work, I finally figured out that I had registered
that domain using a paid e-mail account that I used to use mainly for
online shopping to keep it separate from my personal account.  It
later became such a spam magnet that I closed it, forgetting that it
was my contact for my domain.  So I never received any renewal notice
when my three-year registration came due.  From what I was able to
learn, my name was snatched up within 18 hours of its expiration,
probably by a bot that was watching the countdown.

I clicked the info link on the posted page to find out how I could
obtain this domain name.  I send a message of inquiry asking what they
would charge.  The message was never answered.  I also used 'whois' to
get contact information for the new posted domain-name owner and wrote
to that address.  Again no answer.

I still had no intention of paying anything to get it back, but I
would have liked to have a little word with them.  Despite my sense of
proprietary attachment to my domain name, I wanted them to lose their
investment.  I still can't figure out how they thought they were going
to make any profit off it; they must have paid something to claim the
registration, but they couldn't be reached by a prospective buyer.

I moved as quickly as possible to secure the .com version of the same
domain name before they could think to nail all variations, and a few
days layer I rebuilt and reuploaded my entire site to a new URL.  I am
still testing all the links and correcting errors, and I still have
some subpages to reinstate, but it's done.  And the new registration
is set up for automatic renewal on my credit card.

If this had been a commercial site or an active informational site or
anything other than something I did for my own entertainment, I would
have been outraged, even though the loss had occurred because of my
own slip-up, and I still don't know how I would have got it back.

Archae0pteryx