As you may recall, I blogged about the problem I encountered when I updated my blog to WordPress 2.9. In a nutshell, my posts were missing their schedule, which happened once before after a blog overhaul. I have since found a fix to the issue (well, my designer/programmer found it), but I am still cautious as a result.

I just noticed that WordPress is urging people to update to WP 2.9.1 now with a notice at the top of the Admin dashboard. If you are thinking about making the upgrade, it’s advisable to see what features were changed and to evaluate whether it’s worth the bit of risk that could accompany any upgrade.

If you do decide to upgrade to 2.9.1, make sure you back your site up first before you push the button. Trust me, one small issue can cause hours of work for you or for your programmer. You were warned!

I just noticed something within my domain account at Moniker that I want to share with you.  On domain names that I transferred into Moniker from other domain registrars, the auto-renew function was set to “off.”  Since most domain names I transfer in to Moniker are aftermarket acquisitions, these are important names that shouldn’t be dropped by me and should be set to auto-renew prior to expiration.

Although I monitor the weekly “expiring domains” email that Moniker sends, I think it’s better to be proactive about domain renewal status than to be reactive. Keep your better domain names on auto-renew to avoid any oversights. My other advice is to renew your key domain names for multiple years in the event of a credit card expiration or some other system error.

It’s better to be overly cautious than to make a regretful mistake.

When trying to buy a domain name from a person or company in private, I frequently come across private registrations. I usually use the Whois history tool to see if there was an email address previously on file. I concurrently visit the website to see if there is contact information on the page.

Oftentimes people or companies acquired a generic domain name many years ago, and sometimes their projects failed or the domain name isn’t being used any longer. When the Whois history tool doesn’t help and there isn’t any current contact information on the website (or the site doesn’t resolve), there is one great option to find contact information: Archive.org.

Simply visit Archive.org and search for previous iterations of the website. You may find a phone number, email address, or the name of people previously involved with the website and domain name. This information can be used to inquire about a domain name.

Think about it this way. Most of the low hanging fruit has already been plucked. The great generic domain names that may still be acquired are out there, but many require sleuthing and research. Archive.org is another great tool to use to contact domain owners.