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Reclaimed dead forum - can they take it back?
keme
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I used to go to a small forum for the past 15 years or so. By the end, there were only four of us left. The admin hadn't been seen in 10 years and the site that the forum is attached to is long dead with many broken links.
Recently, the forum just disappeared. You'd get a "file not found" error. I was sad because I went there for so long.
I decided to start a new forum and then invite these three other people to come. So I created an account on this same forum provider (it's a really old, free, outdated provider) and registered the same name as the old forum. I was amazed that the name was available.
I find out that I now have access to this old forum. I can't replace the messages, but I have access to the usernames and IP addresses and the usual stuff going back to when this other guy had the forum. I have the URL for the forum too.
So people are coming back and that's nice but I'm having a mini freak out that they're going to give the forum back to him or delete it or something. I don't know why it was deleted in the first place, whether it was him or the provider.
I'm thinking maybe he deleted his account and I was then able to register it but that seems a bit odd that I'd have access to information from when he was the owner.
If he complained, might they give it back to him? There were no shenanigans involved. I'm thinking it's like when people register for internet domains right after they expire to try to sell them to the previous owner.
Recently, the forum just disappeared. You'd get a "file not found" error. I was sad because I went there for so long.
I decided to start a new forum and then invite these three other people to come. So I created an account on this same forum provider (it's a really old, free, outdated provider) and registered the same name as the old forum. I was amazed that the name was available.
I find out that I now have access to this old forum. I can't replace the messages, but I have access to the usernames and IP addresses and the usual stuff going back to when this other guy had the forum. I have the URL for the forum too.
So people are coming back and that's nice but I'm having a mini freak out that they're going to give the forum back to him or delete it or something. I don't know why it was deleted in the first place, whether it was him or the provider.
I'm thinking maybe he deleted his account and I was then able to register it but that seems a bit odd that I'd have access to information from when he was the owner.
If he complained, might they give it back to him? There were no shenanigans involved. I'm thinking it's like when people register for internet domains right after they expire to try to sell them to the previous owner.
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Posts
but they're listening to every word I say
I think they're both things so unlikely as to not be worth adjusting your actions around.
Dude hasn't been seen in 10 years and you think he's gonna notice now? I doubt he even has any clue this exists and probably ignored (or didn't get) a string of email warning about the forum going offline.
If you're paying the hosting provider and he isn't, they care more about you than him.