A Call for Help Naked Hiking

[eyesup]

I typed in "who owns website domains", and selected the one for:
GoDaddy: WHOIS Lookup | WHOIS Domain Availability and extracted the following info after looking up www.hikingnaked.com. Unfortunately the email contact is to the site that is currently not up and running. There is an address but no phone number. The registrant, tech and admin info is all the same. I guess he wore all the hats!
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Domain Name: HIKINGNAKED.COM
Registry Domain ID: 590478846_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.godaddy.com
Registrar URL: http://www.godaddy.com
Update Date: 2016-07-04T21:22:55Z
Creation Date: 2006-09-12T11:54:36Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2017-09-12T11:54:36Z
Registrar: GoDaddy.com, LLC
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Registry Registrant ID:
Registrant Name: John James
Registrant Organization:
Registrant Street: Main street
Registrant City: Brattleboro
Registrant State/Province: Vermont
Registrant Postal Code: 05301
Registrant Country: US
Registrant Phone: +1.8020000000
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax:
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email: john@hikingnaked.com
Registry Admin ID:
Admin Name: John James
Admin Organization:
Admin Street: Main street
Admin City: Brattleboro
Admin State/Province: Vermont
Admin Postal Code: 05301
Admin Country: US
Admin Phone: +1.8020000000
Admin Phone Ext:
Admin Fax:
Admin Fax Ext:
Admin Email: john@hikingnaked.com
Registry Tech ID:
Tech Name: John James
Tech Organization:
Tech Street: Main street
Tech City: Brattleboro
Tech State/Province: Vermont
Tech Postal Code: 05301
Tech Country: US
Tech Phone: +1.8020000000
Tech Phone Ext:
Tech Fax:
Tech Fax Ext:
Tech Email: john@hikingnaked.com
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>>> Last update of WHOIS database: 2016-09-09T15:00:00Z <<<

For more information on Whois status codes, please visit https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/epp-status-codes-2014-06-16-en

[Greenbare Woods]

Hmmmm?  No phone number.   His domain registration is paid until next year.

Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2017-09-12T11:54:36Z

But his server bill is apparently not paid.  Often the server is from a different company than the domain registration.  Someone would have to get legal custody of both to take over the site before it all expires.   

[jbeegoode]

I wrote him a check. Maybe I can find out who cashed it. I googled the stuff Eyesup provided and turned up zilch.
Jbee

[John P]

The first message in the thread refers to a PO box in West Chesterfield, New Hampshire, but that's not far from the Vermont border, and close to Brattleboro. Can you write a check to someone when you only know their first name?

I'm not sure of the ethics involved with taking a website over from someone, unless they agree to it. Maybe if "John James" can't do it any more, he'd let somebody else have it, but what if he claimed it had commercial value, and wanted money for it? I assume that if you grabbed the name after it became available because of non-payment, all you'd get would be the name itself, without the software or the records of past messages etc. That would make it very much like starting from scratch.

Hey, maybe this will end up being like that Secret Naturist Society thing, where an influx of new people find their way to this site.

[jbeegoode]

It could be that he still wants to do it, but can't pay for it because of the healthcare bills. He was having trouble just getting to the bank.
Jbee

[eyesup]

There is also an email there you could at least try to get some information.
The name in the whois printout is John James but located on Main in a town was odd.
Maybe the email will result in more information.

Duane

[Greenbare Woods]

I see that HikingNaked.com now takes people to Go Daddy web hosting which offers to sell you the domain for about $70.   But that would not have the mail list, software, or previous discussions.

I wonder if the guy died.

[eyesup]

Maybe they could put you in touch with the previous owner.

Duane

[reubenT]

Last communication he said he was having repeated mini strokes with no idea why.  He may have had a big one suddenly and be gone.   I got no response to my response soon after the last message was sent.   He always indicated full intention to maintain site whether he got financial help or not.  Therefore I would assume he's either incapacitated or gone.   

[nudeed]

He has survived his strokes. However due to them he has had a lot of medical expenses. As a result he is in financial difficulty. He had sent an email out a few weeks ago asking for money for housing, and other expenses.

[jbeegoode]

Would he want to turn over the site to someone else? Can you communicate with him?
Jbee