It’s the first of the month, and my inbox is stuffed with the routine reminders from the third-party services I use. Today I received a separate email for each domain name registration and hosting service that is expiring during August, September, and October. Quite a pile of email.

Unfortunately, we have to be more careful about these messages than we did just a few months ago.

The services I use are cutting off domain name registration the date after expiration. They are giving no grace period.

If you don’t pay by the date due, your site will disappear. In it’s place will be single page filled with spammy advertisements.

True, the registration service has given multiple warnings that the balance was due. No doubt that they are within their rights to disappear you website.

But, this behavior is new and startling. In the past, the service provide a 30-day grace period. But, not now. Not in these economic times.