Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with registration

How do I get my car title transfered into my name?

domnit — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:19:23 -0800

What is the process and what taxes must I pay when transferring a car title from my father to me? Interstate snowflakes inside. Due to circumstances when I was trying to buy my car, my father was the one who actually purchased and registered it in New York where he lives. I would like to officially take over the title and register the car in California, where I now live. What is the process?

My dad will be visiting me in California, so he can sign over the title to me in person. I figure this can be done as a gift. Then do I have to pay taxes / file paperwork in New York? I will need a California license, title, and registration. Will my NY inspection (good through August) satisfy the CA smog test or do I have to get the smog test done immediately? Do I get a CA license ahead of time (I still have my NY license), or do I just go to the DMV with my NY title and get everything done at once? What's the process that minimizes time and money spent while keeping my car legally on the road?

Troubles with the DMV after lapse of ins coverage. Advice sought.

cardinality — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 19:12:06 -0800

Hi all, longtime reader here, new poster. While dealing with multiple personal hardships (more inside), I had a lapse in insurance coverage for 10 days. This has snowballed into a major issue for me, and I may lose my driving privileges for 3 months, which means losing my job. Any and all advice/anecdata appreciated. Hi all, longtime reader here, new poster. Please bear with me regarding some of the backstory; I'll keep it as brief as possible. I'm located in PA.

So, I've been dealing with severe mental health issues off and on since the middle of last year. It's impacted my ability to take care of anything but the basics, essentially. I lost my primary job at the end of August, my unemployment claim was denied, and at the time I made too much for Legal Aid and couldn't afford a lawyer to help me appeal the decision. I've been struggling to get by since this happened.

I had missed (iirc) my insurance payment which was due on 11/28, and by 12/26, my insurance was canceled. I couldn't afford to get my insurance reinstated until 1/4. By this point, I was also three months behind on my car payment, and on 1/1 my car was repoed. It was only thanks to my dad's generosity that I was able to get the car back, on 1/8. The whole ordeal was unbearably stressful and more than I could afford, as I had to rent a car to get to work until I could get my own car back. (I work ~35-40 minutes away from where I live. It's in a rural area, so the bus/walk combo would take about 2-2.5 hours one-way, and I don't even know if the buses at that end still run when I get off of work, which can be anywhere from 10 PM to 1 AM.)

I received a letter from PennDot on 1/7 requesting a notarized affadavit stating that the vehicle hadn't been operated during those 10 days, but I was unaware that the insurance had expired (I thought I had a few days wiggle room, and had been waiting for my paycheck on 1/4), so I did drive to work on the 28th, 29th, and 1st. I freaked out about having to deal with this affadavit, let it go for too long while dealing with ongoing family and personal issues, and eventually had another downward spiral that resulted in an emergency room visit on 2/8. Since then, I've been tentatively diagnosed with a bipolar-spectrum disorder, and am waiting on a full psych eval + getting into a correct therapeutic/medication regimen. The psych appt isn't until the end of next month, and depending on the outcome of the evaluation, I may end up filing for SSDI. I don't know what is going to happen at this point. I can barely manage working P/T right now, and have been receiving some financial assistance from my dad, in addition to his help with the car, just to keep afloat. He can't afford to do this indefinitely, so I was hoping that after my appointment next month, I'd be on a meds combo that would allow me to take on another P/T job or just go back to F/T work.

So, on 2/15, I received another letter from PennDOT stating that my registration is being suspended for three months, effective 3/27. I have to mail all of my registration materials in and pay a $50 fee.

The letter states that I have the right to appeal this decision in the Court of Common Pleas within 30 days of the mailing date of the letter (today, 2/20), and have to send a time-stamped, certified copy of the appeal to the DMV.

I'm feeling unbearably stupid and defeated at this point. I rely on my car for work, and I also provide 90% of the transportation needs for a disabled, non-driving family member.

If I provide documentation of everything that's been going on, is there any hope that I might be able to avoid this based on a "hardship" scenario, pay a fine, or otherwise avoid losing my car for three months? If I lose my car, I'll lose my job, because the job duties are location-dependent. I don't know if I would get unemployment or not in this case. I have no options for ride-sharing, have no one to borrow a car from, etc. I'll still have a valid license, so I can drive provided I can find an alternate vehicle.

My options, as I see them, if the appeal process fails:
a.) I live near a major city in PA, and have access (I think) to both FlexCar and ZipCar. I don't know enough about them yet to determine if I can get by with that type of service, so I need to investigate their policies regarding standing reservations.
b.) I have a mountain bike and could theoretically suck it up and bus/bike commute *to* work, but getting home from work could be difficult.
c.) Start searching now for any semi-decent job within bus/bike distance, but that would mean giving up a good P/T job (in IT) where I have some tenure, make $13+/hour, and am given a large degree of autonomy in my daily tasks. My relative lack of coworkers is really the only thing that helps me continue to show up to work.
d.) Give up on car ownership right now, let my car be voluntary-repossessed, and try to find an apartment in the city when I'm able to do so.

Re: d.) - To add a fly to this ointment, I just found out that my roommate is likely moving in with his girlfriend as of next month, which would mean that as of 4/1, I'll be saddled with the full $645/month rent for our two-bedroom apartment. I have the option of converting to a month-to-month lease for an additional $50/month, but if I were to move out and try to find a cheaper apartment in the city proper, I'd have to give a minimum of 60 days notice. So that doesn't help me, either. I'd hope that I could find a new roommate before the 1st, but I can't count on that. I may have the option of finding someone to assume/take over the lease, and if my landlord will allow that, I'd be able to move sooner.

I'm at an impasse. I know I've screwed up, and I'm going to focus on getting my mental health and stability back. In the meantime, I have a mess to clean up and not sure where to begin.

Any and all advice is sincerely appreciated.

Getting an IMEI from an iPhone 4 serial number

painquale — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 22:05:28 -0800

My iPhone 4 was stolen. The police detectives want the IMEI number. I never backed up the phone or synced it to my computer, so I can't access the IMEI through iTunes. I don't have the original packaging. I do, however, have the phone's serial number. Is there a way to somehow use this number to get the IMEI? A poster in this thread was able to do so. The fact that he or she never revealed his or her method makes me think it's not easy to do legally or with publicly available tools.

Should I cast a provisional vote even though my registration is inactive?

blackjack514 — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 11:04:49 -0800

I am registered to vote in Illinois, but when I went to check my polling place online it said my registration is inactive. I called to inquire and was told that because I had changed addresses without updating it that my registration is inactive and I was also past the time when I could update it. Should I/ Can I show up at my local polling place and cast a provisional ballot? I am registered to vote in Illinois, but when I went to check my polling place online it said my registration is inactive. I called to inquire and was told that because I had changed addresses without updating it that my registration is inactive and I was also past the time when I could update it. I'm a little disappointed because I consider myself an involved citizen, but I understand this is my fault. The question is: Should I/ Can I show up at my local polling place and cast a provisional ballot? It would make me feel marginally better to participate in the process and I think it would provide a good example for my 4 year old daughter who I plan on taking with me.

Re-registering my car out-of-state

melizabeth — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 05:59:02 -0800

Registered car out of state and not living in that state. Will I run into any trouble? I registered my car a year ago in MA. Since then I was living out of the country and the registration expired. I was hoping to just drive the car over the border, stop at the closest gas station and re-register it. Although I am no longer living in MA. Do I still need a valid address in MA or would it be possible just to re-register and continue living in new state until I figure things out and get settled again. I plan to eventually change the plates/license again, but once I have full-time employment in the long term.

Not sure how this works, I'm sure people do things like this all the time.

What fees will I face to register a title transfer a year late

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 11:24:53 -0800

I bought about a year ago car in Chicago, Illinois but haven't yet updated the registration info. What penalties could I be facing? I know I'm definitely outside the 'acceptable' date but I am now worried about actually registering the change of ownership if I'm going to have to pay through the nose or face other penalties. I have no tickets or anything and have updated my Chicago sticker so that's at least heartening. The problem is my registration sticker is going to be out of date soon and those tickets are expensive if you get one.

On the title the seller, who's a friend of mine, definitely dated it for a year ago. It's on the documents as the date so I can't fudge it there. The purchase price was $1200 for tax purposes.

What damage am I looking at here?

I swear I'm not an Afghan weapons smuggler

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 12:53:28 -0800

Selling an undocumented gun in Washington state. How do I do it safely, legally, and quickly? I am ignorant about this in every way. I don't know much about gun laws, which seem byzantine and intimidating to me. My dad gave me an old .22 rifle many years ago. It doesn't have any paperwork that I know of, certainly nothing in my possession or on file anywhere in Washington state.

I've never used the gun and want to get rid of it, but I'm worried that if I try to sell it I'll get in trouble for not having the required registration, licenses, etc. I know the gun's not stolen. There's a pawn shop nearby that buys guns... can I take it there?

Please let me know what's involved in the gun-selling process and how long I can expect it to take. Money is very tight for me right now and I'm hoping I can get a few bucks in my pocket ASAP. I also have a box of ammo that goes with the gun. Can I sell it at the same time? Any extra hoops to jump through?

Additionally, I don't have a case for the gun. Suggestions for transporting it to the buyer? I know better than to carry it out in the open.

Sorry, I'm completely clueless. I just want to get rid of this thing and not worry about it anymore. Posting anonymously in case it turns out that I'm unknowingly a horrible criminal or something.

Pink Slip in Limbo? Another craigslist deal gone bad...what should I do?

wavejumper — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 22:59:46 -0800

So I was interested in this old Mercedes posted on craigslist and called the guy. He said it had just been crashed into in his driveway by his cousin and his insurance was "totaling" it; however it was really just cosmetic damage and there was a buyback option. The car would have "salvaged" on the title, but since he was getting paid by the insurance company, he would just let me have the car for whatever the buyback cost was. Called a few days later and he said that cost was $1000 less than the price he had originally advertised the car at, so I figured I might as well go look at it. Read on for the whole story... The most convenient place to meet was at his work, which was ~1 hour drive from where I live.

The guy turned out to be a kid, 20 years old, and he was the general helper / car washer at some kind of somewhat sketchy factory / repair place. His dad, who was a mechanic, kept yelling at him to get back to work, while he was trying to sell it to me. Anyway, it seemed like a reasonable deal for a fixer-upper, certainly the damage (smashed but functioning headlights and smashed grillplate) could be restored for far less than $1000, and it was mechanically sound. The kid talked a good game, and the test drive seemed fine. He didn't have the pink slip on him; it was at his grandma's restaurant, but his dad was heading over there, so his dad picked it up for me and we signed it over along with a homemade bill-of-sale. I paid him cash. However, he told me that because of the insurance deal and salvaging, etc., he was going to receive a new pink slip in the mail and I shouldn't register the car with that old pink slip. He would deliver the new pink slip along with some hubcabs for me when the pink slip arrived in the mail.

At that point his dad was fed up and sent him back to work, it was up to me for some reason to clean out the car of his possessions, which included a gun wrapped in a sheet in the trunk, some old playboy magazines, an incredible number of lip balms of various kinds, and a huge amount of gross trash. Well, I was getting a good deal, so...all right.

Cut to the chase: the kid never sent me the revised pink slip. I called and txted him and turned out his phone number had been canceled by Verizon. It's now been almost a month.

I'm worried that the five day grace period for submitting the pink slip has passed, as well as by some other paperwork I found in the car suggesting that there were other issues between this kid and the DMV.

One other note: about ~1 week in to my ownership of the car, the super-friendly kid turned sour on me when I called and told him my mechanic thought the (new, installed by the kid) starter was defective...I asked him to send along a receipt for it along with the pink slip. The Kid went off on a text-tirade berating my mechanic and bragging about his dad's mechanical achievements and experience, etc. Haven't heard from him since.

I do have his driver's license number and an old address, which I mailed a letter to. No response. I don't think it's the correct address since it's in a different town than where the craigslist ad said he was living. I could also try to track him down at his work or call his workplace. Dad was non-too friendly so I don't know how that would go and am a bit wary for some reason.

Should I: a) attempt to wade into the California DMV registration process with a somewhat deficient certificate of title, b) track the guy down at work and ask him what's up, or c) some other option?

Please help me register my wheels!!

afterdark — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:59:21 -0800

I really need help registering my car in CA. I realize questions like this have been asked before, but I would really appreciate guidance about what to do in my (not very snowflakey) circumstance. I moved to CA from NY/FL last year. My FL registration on the car is expiring in July, and I would like to go ahead and register it in california and get a california drivers license. My questions are as follows:

1. The car is registered in my dad's name. He, kind soul that he is, is willing to gift it to me using a form I obtained from my dealer. Will this settle the matter, so that I can register it here in CA, or are there other steps I should take? (It currently has the FL tags on it).

2. I got the car smoged in January. Have I waited too long for this to be valid? (The car in question is an rx-8 with less that 50k miles on it, so it smogs just fine). Should I get that redone before I head to the DMV?

3. What exactly do I need to bring to the DMV and is there anything I can do to make the process faster? Do I need to make an appointment? If there are not appointment times soon, can I just go and wait? Will I need to take the test for my license the same day I register?

I realize similar questions have been asked before, but I am a young adult and this is stressing me out and I just want to make sure I have everything. I appreciate your time and thank you for your help.

Interstate car purchase headaches

pamplemousse of love — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 07:53:49 -0800

I'm trying to figure out the logistics of purchasing a car in one state (MA) and registering it in another (TN). My current car is registered and insured in TN, but it (and I) am in MA until the end of the summer. For various reasons we want to replace the current car before I return to TN, trading it in for the new one.

My original idea was that we would buy the new car shortly before returning to TN, driving it with the temporary tags you usually get form the dealer (the ones that are hand-written with a date that tells you how long you have to get the car registered). I was trying to find out how long those temp tags would last in MA, but all I could find was this page which indicates that MA does not issue temporary tags.

Does that mean when you buy a car at a dealer in MA, there are no tags at all? Or am I just looking for the wrong keywords?

My spouse suggested that if that was the case then we could just transfer the plate from the current car to the new car, and get it officially registered as soon as we get to TN. But I'm worried about the legality of that in the off chance we get pulled over or in an accident or something on the way to TN. The TN tags don't expire until 01/2013, and we would have a bill of sale showing the car was recently purchased, but would we get a huge ticket or something like that? Also, can I put the new car on my insurance before it is registered?

I absolutely DO NOT want to just register the car in MA and then transfer the registration.

Bulk domain name checkers?

pete_22 — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 01:10:02 -0800

What are the best online tools for checking domain name availability? I'm looking mainly for "bulk" sites where you can type in a list of words and see in a single table which ones are available in which TLDs. Here's one example. I'd be particularly interested in one that automatically included domain hacks, e.g. if one of my words is "colors" then it'll check for colo.rs in addition to colors.com, colors.net, etc.

Note: this isn't for domain squatting or other nefarious purposes, I'm just going through lots of potential names for a product and want to check them all quickly without wading through all the "extras" and upselling on a typical registrar's site.

I also remember seeing one site that checked the availability of a username (not in bulk though) on dozens of different services at the same time. Does anyone know what that was?

GoDaddy holding my domain hostage

CTORourke — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 11:13:34 -0800

Help me transfer my domain off of GoDaddy, they are holding it illegally even though I've played by their stupid rules so far and I dont know what to do!! Ok so last fall I registered a domain through Google, and only found out later that they *actually* just farm out the domain registration through Godaddy. Yerg, fine. But then I became very frustrated with GoDaddy's service because they weren't forwarding my domain correctly and refused to do it properly. Irritated, I waited 60 days and then tried to transfer to Dreamhost.

...Which GoDaddy denied because I had changed the DNS information of my site (which is required in order to transfer domains) and they claim that that constitutes a resetting of the 60-days bullshit. I tried emailing, but to no avail. Irritated, I decided to just play their stupid game and wait 60 days and try again.

So it has now been three months and I decided to give it another go, only to have it DENIED! AGAIN! And there is NO REASON this time!!!

I dont know what to do and Dreamhost cant do anything and they are the only people that respond to my emails. Please, someone help! :( :(

Car Death and Taxes

d(-_-)b — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 07:40:07 -0800

How do I stop paying vehicle excise tax in RI when I haven't lived there in years and I don't even own the car anymore? I registered my car in Rhode Island about 3 years ago, but moved to PA a year after that and reregistered here. Today I got a letter saying I owe RI excise tax because I never cancelled my registration. It says you need to send back your plates to cancel, but I threw mine out when I moved to PA. I don't even have the car anymore (I donated it this summer). Can I use the proof of donation to cancel my registration? Should I just wait for the registration to expire? How long does that take?

Is it even possible to register a domain in the Cook Islands?

nerdfish — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 23:36:34 -0800

I want to register a domain in the Cook Islands but emails to Oyster keep bouncing. Has anyone registered a domain in the Cook Islands? Do you know the secret handshake? I want to register a .ck domain to house my portfolio, but I can't find any contact details at all aside from info @ oyster.net.ck, and I get an error message every time I try to contact it.

The twist: I am a poor junior, and domains in the Cook Islands cost USD$150 for two years. I carried out a one woman bake sale in the past month - I make one thing people in my old agency LOVED, so I made those and accepted donations and actually made quite a bit of money - to raise funds. As a leaving gift someone very senior offered to pay the remainder, which was a great gesture.

SO: I really want to get this domain, as people have supported me financially in doing so, but Oyster appears uncontactable.

Is there an alternate way to register in the Cook Islands? Am I missing something? How do I get my .ck?

Didn't register my car within 30 days, now what?

Corduroy — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:59:38 -0800

I live in Portland, OR and my grandpa in Minnesota gave me his old car which I drove out to Portland in September. Because of money issues (starting school, less work hours, etc) I did not get around to registering my car in Oregon within 30 days. I have some questions now that it's almost December and my grandpa just received a tab renewal notice in the mail. Very embarrassing. I started the registration process in Minnesota, have my grandma's death certificate and my grandpa's signature. That form is dated to mid-september, along with the insurance I bought in September, too. Will I be paying some sort of fine since, as far as I can tell, it will be obvious I didn't register my car on time? I know normal registration is something like $125. Anyone know if it's a lot? It would definitely disappoint my grandpa to know I haven't registered the car, so I'm hoping to make this all legal as quickly as I can and with the least amount of stress for him.

Titles, taxes, and insurance, oh my

Oktober — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 08:09:52 -0800

Buying a car from my mom in NJ for a token (i.e. far less than blue book) amount. What's the best (cheapest) way to get it legally registered/insured in Chicago, IL. Any pitfalls I should look out for?

Sticker shock

Spyder's Game — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 12:15:13 -0800

Just had our car registered with the DMV and got the 2012 tags. Also took it into the mechanic. His advice was to get another car, because this one is about shot. I haven't put the stickers on the car yet. Should I save them for the new car we'll be getting in less than two months? Will this save me money? Or is it non-transferrable to the new vehicle?

Car stuff -- moving to Cali

lewedswiver — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 13:58:18 -0800

I just moved to California. Tell me every automobile-related thing I should know. I recently moved to LA. I currently have Missouri license plates and a Missouri registration and a Missouri driver's license. At some point, I need to get everything related to my car to be California instead of Missouri. (Going strictly by the book, I know I should have transferred everything already.) Please help me in this regard!

This is my first car (a 2001 Nissan Altima). I bought it this past January and registered it in Missouri. Assume that you're talking to someone who knows absolutely nothing about cars, about registration, about insurance, about everything.

I am currently a AAA member, though not AAA of Southern California. (If I go into a AAA office, will they walk me through things step by step?)

Before I moved to LA, I took my car to the shop to get the oil changed. Immediately after I left the mechanic, the "Service Engine Soon" light popped on. Because the light turned on right after the mechanic changed the oil, the mechanic did a free diagnostic check. The problem is the following: "PO 1446 evap vent solenoid actuation." I have not yet taken any actions with regard to this problem. I have a feeling that this may make the car fail an emissions test -- but again, you're talking to an ignorant person. I see many signs for "Smog Check" around LA, but I don't really know the details. I gather that California has higher emissions standards than other states -- but one more time: blergh, this is not really my thing.

This whole situation is making me antsy -- and then the more I Google, the more anxious I get. I know I should just LMGTFY everything, and maybe it's ridiculous that I need handholding -- but still: hold my hand. Walk me through it.

-----

Please consider my questions as broadly as possible. However, in particular, I am wondering:

1) What do I do about this "evap vent solenoid actuation"?
2) What is the process by which I get everything about my car legally California-ized? (Consider license, registration, emissions, insurance, and anything else I'm not thinking of.)

But again, imagine you're talking to some who knows NOTHING. A point-by-point list of "Do this, and then this, and then this" would be VERY much appreciated!

[Also consider one other thing -- I have limited funds, and none immediately coming in, either. I'm afraid that I will have to pay huge amounts of money (for the "evap vent"? for registration? for new insurance? for who knows what else?) and that rent and food situations will become very tricky, very quickly.]

who knew moving with a car was so complicated

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:39:58 -0800

Some kind of sketchy questions about the legalities and insurance implications of moving from state to state and not switching car registrations over. I'm planning to move for a year for a job from Indiana to RI. It is likely that I won't live in RI for longer than a year. If I switch my car registration over, I'll be looking at re-registering it, switching my drivers license, possibly having to take another driver's test (?), getting it inspected, switching the title etc, and then switching everything back again when I move out. It seems like a huge amount of hassle and a lot of money that I don't really have for a temporary move. (I really don't have it... I'm moving for an americorps position, the fees will likely come close to equaling my living budget for the month. but if I have to do it I have to do it I guess).

I know that not switching over the registration could get me a ticket, but I'm not sure how likely it is, so that's the first part of the question. (fwiw, I've never been pulled over or ticketed, so it's not like I'm a crazy driver likely to be stopped). I can renew the plates right now before I leave and they'll be current during the time I'm living there, so I'll never have expired plates.

However, the thing that worries me a lot more are the insurance implications-- is it possible to take out auto insurance in one state if the car is registered in another state?

Or, the title for the car is actually in my mom's name. If I kept the title in her name and had her take an insurance policy out on the car and add me as an additional driver but then lived for the year in another state, would that be grounds to deny any claim I made to the insurance? (If relevant, I'm 23, not a student).

Basically, I'm okay with a possibility of getting fined, but I'm not okay with getting into an accident and then finding out I have no liability insurance. I've see neighbors keep out-of-state plates forever... is there a way to do this and still be insured? Or is there no way around it and I need to bite the bullet and spend the necessary time and money at the dmv?

Buy offers being made directly to (former-ish) owner during lapsed domain's "recovery period". Scam, or windfall?

nakedcodemonkey — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:10:20 -0800

Buy offers being made directly to (former-ish) owner during lapsed domain's "recovery period". Scam, or windfall? A while back I chose to let a domain's registration lapse. GoDaddy, its registrar, apparently put it up for auction soon thereafter.

Google turns up evidence that it generated a bunch of bid activity, and that the auction was scheduled to close weeks ago. The domain is no longer in GoDaddy's auction database. I have no idea what the closing price is, or if there even was one.

WHOIS says its mine for the moment. GoDaddy's control panel confirms it's expired and I can still recover it. The placeholder page says it's expired and "pending renewal or deletion".

Meanwhile I've gotten direct offers via email. The domain is still in the (expensive) recovery period. The offerers are savvy to that. They're also savvy enough to have reached me via contact info not in WHOIS.

a) Scam?

b) Why would it have been auctioned long before ending the recovery period?

Can we skip the renewal in Utah and register it in Oregon?

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 19:27:29 -0800

My partner and I are moving to Oregon at the end of the month from out of state (utah) and we are very poor. Our car's registration ended last month (July 2011). Since Oregon says we have to register our vehicle within 30 days of moving there, I want to wait till we get to Oregon to do our car's registration. We wont really doing any driving before the end of the month (we both walk to work and the grocery store), I can't see any problems with this, besides possibly getting a ticket on the drive to Oregon. Are we likely to run into problems registering our car in Oregon if our registration from Utah is expired? Thanks!

Do I need to keep my car registered if I want to only insure it but not use it?

bbhart113 — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 04:16:49 -0800

I work overseas, and my car is in storage in NC, but it doesn't get used so I figured I can keep it insured but turn the plates in since I want to claim TX as my residence state (have a TX drivers license, registered to vote and my mail goes there etc.) - do i have to have my car registered if i want to insure it but not use it?

Wordpress User Management Challenge

Danniman — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 20:26:45 -0800

Wordpress filter: I am trying to set up a user management system with some specific requirements. I have hit a road block. Please help. What I am trying to do:

I am designing a website (for a conference) where people can register for the conference by filling out a form with some information and paying the fee. After the spots are full, registered users can return to the website to sign the photo waiver and pick a roommate. The roommate must be of the same gender.

What I have so far:

I can use Gravity Forms (with paypal and user registration add-ons) to take care of the basic stuff. I can set up a form where people can register and pay the fee. Once the fee is paid, the user is registered with an account on the website.

What the road block is:

I don't know know to set up the later part of the process. How can I set up a system for roommate picking so that logged in users see a drop down list of same gender users from which they can pick a roommate from. There are two challenges involved with this:

1) How do I automatically generate the database of users filtered by gender

2) How do I set it up so that the system recognizes the gender of the logged in user and shows the appropriate list.

I don't know if Gravity Forms is capable of doing this. Are there any other plugins or combination of plugins that can help me achieve this? Is there any other solution besides plugins that can solve this?

Is my domain gone forever?

tobyslater — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 01:46:31 -0800

Can anyone talk me through the rules for domain expiry and backordering? My searches on AskMefi, Wikipedia and ICANN's site give lots of different answers and may be out of date. I had a domain registered with Network Solutions for over ten years and (due to email problems) didn't know it had expired until around 30 days after expiry. Then I paid the domain renewal fee, which Network Solutions accepted, but later found that they sold the domain on backorder to someone else. It seems that the domain never went into a redemption period and Network Solutions have given me the runaround since then, passing me on to customer service people who are determined just to repeat the same thing which is that 30 days passed and so I have no right to retrieve the domain (even though they took my payment for it!)

But the domain never became available to the general public. Is it true that redemption periods don't take place if there is a backorder from someone else? Annoyingly the domain was in my name and the person who has bought the domain is a German person with a completely different name.

What is the definition of private domain registration?

ezekieldas — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:08:51 -0800

What is the definition of private domain registration? I recently registered a domain via gandi.net and was surprised to find that even after selecting their "private domain registration" service my first and last name had been published via whois. I recently registered a domain via gandi.net and was surprised to find that even after selecting their "private domain registration" service my first and last name had been published via whois. I reviewed the process for registration to find that in collection of personal information a link is available to a PDF that discusses (2700 words) "private domain registration." This document states in only one place "... the following information will be seen in the Whois: Your first and last name ..."

There is also this page, https://www.gandi.net/domain/whois/ but nowhere here does it clearly state that "personal information" is limited to everything else but your first and last name --which is released. I find this horribly inconsistent and misleading.

I've done some googling and read some of the ICANN website but I can't find an absolute, conclusive, or authoritative definition for "private domain registration." I did find that many other registrars make a point of noting that *ALL* contact info, including first and last name will be proxied.

So can anyone tell me where I can find a referenced text on this --the gospel? I'm under the impression registrars are able to spin up their own definition --which in this case seems pretty unfair considering I overlooked the passage in the document.

Also, what can I do at this point? I've exchanged a couple of tickets with their support staff but they are neither very speedy nor forthcoming. I've been told "we have chosen in any rate to not hide the owner's name, as we feel that it is important that the domain's owner be very clear for domains registered at Gandi. "

I'd like to have a civil discussion with someone at Gandi about this but no telephone numbers are available. None.