Hoopla.com was stolen

[DnPowerful]

Please read this carefully, as I wouldn't want the current owner to be scapegoated in this current situation. He has done nothing wrong.

The domain hoopla.com was stolen some months back from a terrific woman named Leslie Harpold.

Background here:

http://www.textism.com/article/490/

Leslie's temp site here:

http://www.harpold.com/

Long story short is that the current owner got it on a drop after the registrar where it was hijacked to (away from Verislime) got freaked by the pressure, and rather than return it to its rightful owner--ie Leslie--they simply let it drop. Someone in Taiwan grabbed it, and they are trying to get as much money out of Leslie as possible.

We have offered them $750, which is 100 times their profit, and promised them endless goodwill if they accept the offer. So far they have not accepted, or even counter-offered.

They did get it on a drop, legally, but they're being jerks about it. Many hundreds of people have emailed them, but to no avail. We have secured the hoopla.net domain, but Leslie has many links in to hoopla.com and wants the name back on principle (can't blame her)

If you know anything about this individual or company, or can help in any way, please contact me here or Leslie through her harpold.com site.

Leslie is a super talented and clever woman, and she was clearly wronged here.

Write a letter to Verisign directly. CEO name is Stratton Sclavos, Mountain View CA, 94043. Remember, if the name was stolen and had a false Who Is, that is Verisign's fault. Verisign is accountable to the US Dept of Commerce for its accuracy.

Write ICANN: halloran@icann.org

Crowning touch, she should see her local congressman with her story. She will get satisfaction IF she is a registered voter and has voted in the most recent election (they check!).

Good luck.

[draqon]

i doubt any of that will do any good. NSI does whatever it wants to, when it wants to. NSI is like a brontosaurus; it moves slowly, it doesn't care what you think, and it should be extinct.

Yes, you are generally correct but persistence can hit the right button. The brontosaurus has but a small brain and can be outfoxed. Only when Verisign sees a potential threat to its market base will it take notice......

Im a licensed lawyer in Texas. I was inactive for a long time, but I was forced to come back. Reason: to do business in the USA, you will almost inevitably face either litigation, or losses, and sometimes both. Big business today is at an ethical low for modern times. Even name brand corporations are scrounging everyway they can, cheating their customers, investors, employees, etc. I maintain that ultimately, the question arises as to whether or not you can sue them. Thus, here I go again with SUEM.COM.

[Omni]

Welcome SunnyGlasses, "we need some of your brain cells" around here (trademarked: mole I think )

[domainicanicanica]

Verisign "accidentally" deleted one of my domain names that was registered with them in June of this year. They even sent me a welcome email, with the expiration date stated clearly as June of NEXT year.

Someone picked it up immediately after it dropped.

Verisign acknowledges the "mistake" but refuses to reimburse me for the reg cost.

Absolutely, positively the biggest bunch of A***OLES I've ever come across.

Leslie, I feel your pain.

[morel]

I think that the current owner of hoopla.com is behaving the same way that most of us would.

Unfortunately for Leslie, hoopla.com is worth more than $750. According to netcraft.com, there are about 90 sites that have the word "hoopla" in them. I would be willing to bet that at least one of these sites would be willing to pay $5000+ for hoopla.com.

Plus, the current owner has no way of knowing whether Leslie is telling the truth. He can't know if the domain was really hijacked or not, and he probably doesn't think that it's his responsibility.

I wish you luck in getting the name for her... but given human nature, I doubt that he will relinquish his newfound treasure.