missionblvd.com

…for years, register.com is the only registrar I’ve used, and the one I’ve recommended, especially after hearing horror stories of other registrars failing to follow through on renewals and legitimate users getting locked out of their own domains. Register.com was always a little more expensive, but they were professional and did their basic job: you registered, you set DNS, and then you renewed when you got your renewal notice.

However, in the last few years, they’ve dogpiled some “other offers” info into the “expiration and renewal” notices, so, to turn off ALL of the marketing crap, you also have to turn off the more needful expiration notices.

Since you don’t want to miss renewing an URL, you don’t ever want to turn off the notices. Of course, this turns into stupidities like what I got this morning:

- A notice to renew an address that doesn’t expire until January 2009

- A notice to renew an address that doesn’t expire until April 2009

And, to be sure, these “other offers” are subtly positioned as “reminders”. Enough of these emails, and it becomes like the boy that cried wolf: I don’t trust them, don’t act on them, and addresses come dangerously close to expiring.

I keep Unsubscribing to this noise, but still it arrives. Now I’m texting with a register.com support drone, we’ll see what happens.

* * * * *

Well, much as I suspected, I can’t turn off the marketing noise without also turning off the expiration/renewal notices. Here’s the chat text:

tech1:: Thank you for visiting Register.com’s Live Support. How can I help you?
keef: hello.
keef: how do i make ALL of the marketing emails stop?
tech1:: Hello keef.
tech1:: I will assist you in this regard.
tech1:: Please provide me with your domain name.
keef: missionblvd.com
keef: i have 15 domains
tech1:: Thank you for the domain name.
tech1:: Can I have a few minutes to check the records?
keef: sure
keef: sorry, actually, missionblvd.com is a delegated domain
keef: you should use immersivenetworks.com
tech1:: Okay.
tech1:: Please give me a few minutes.
keef: take your time
tech1:: Thank you for waiting.
tech1:: Let me know, to which email address you are referring to?
keef: [redacted]
tech1:: Okay.
tech1:: Do you want to stop the future notification emails regarding the expiration/renewal and other offers of your domain name?
keef: is there any way to get just a 30-day notice on expiration?? because the “other offers” slope is very slippery.
tech1:: Please give me a few minutes.
tech1:: I need a few more minutes, please.
keef: thank you for the warning. take your time.
tech1:: Your patience is appreciated, I will be with you shortly.
tech1:: Thank you for waiting.
tech1:: Unfortunately, you cannot stop only offers emails of your email account.
keef: so then stop all emails
keef: it’s the same result as me blocking you
keef: and, frankly, i think it’s a bad marketing decision.
keef: this will chase me away as a register.com customer
tech1:: Can you just provide me with any such marketing email?
keef: would you like me to forward it to you, or copy it?
tech1:: Can you just copy and paste the contents of the email in this chat window?
keef: sure. this one arrived today at 10:16 am

Your domain name is counting on you. Renew your domain name at Register.com and save 52%. RENEW EARLY AND SAVE!

Dear keef,

You’ve done so much for y4music.com and other web addresses thus far. But you can do more by simply renewing early. And right now, for as little as $.05 a day, you can keep y4music.com going for the next seven years with this limited time offer.
<…snip…>

keef: the address in question doesn’t expire until april of next year
tech1:: Thank you.
keef: with 15 domains, i get two or three of these a day
keef: most of them i have to ignore
tech1:: The email you have received contains an offer to renew the domain name at discounted price.
keef: and that means that i miss real, important message
keef: i know what i offers
keef: i asked for the offers to stop
keef: still they come, in the guise of “renewal” notices
keef: this one arrives SIX MONTHS before the address in question “expires”
keef: this is obnoxious
tech1:: Okay.
keef: with 15 domains, i get two or three of these a day
keef: it becomes the boy who cried wolf–i miss the real, important expiration notices
keef: it’s customer hostile
tech1:: Please give me a few minutes.
keef: i should be able to choose to get JUST expiration notices
keef: it sounds like i can’t
tech1:: Thank you for waiting.
tech1:: Sorry for the delay in responding.
keef: no worries, any luck?
tech1:: I am forwarding your request to appropriate department after this chat session.
tech1:: You will still receive expiration notices of the domain names.
keef: have you stopped the marketing emails?? a six-month “notice” isn’t really helpful
tech1:: To stop the future marketing and offers emails, I am forwarding your request to appropriate department after this chat session.
keef: ok, thanks vincent. i appreciate you forwarding the content.
tech1:: You are most welcome.
tech1:: Can I be any further assistance?
keef: no, thanks, that’s it.

So, there we have it. Apparently, I can’t just get the real warnings, I have to take all the spam, too. I’m beginning to hate register.com, and I’m thinking this will cause me to migrate these addresses to another registrar. Anyone got any ideas?