It could all have been worse. As a postscript to my cautionary tale, one more lesson: be sure the contact information your registrar has is up to date. Exhibit A, Bill Tieleman:
A firm in Kenya poached my website – they have thousands of them now – by watching the registrar for live websites with names expiring.
My charming ISP can’t even guarantee they sent me notification to an underused second email address I had and I can’t prove they didn’t. The Kenyans won’t sell it back to me for less than an undisclosed extortionate amount I’m supposed to “bid” for.
There for the grace of my Visa card go I. So, unless you’re certain your registrar has your most recent e-mail address, check it out right now. The domain you save may be your own.
