[volunteers] Introducing domain-check

[Rick Moen]

Been working on a nice Perl script for a while, with Ben Okopnik; it's
downloadable from http://linuxmafia.com/pub/linux/network/ .
(Command-line mode is shown below, but the _real_ lifesaver is running
domain-check as a weekly cronjob, to send e-mail if any of a list of
domains approaches expiration.)


 $ domain-check -d=svlug.org
Processing svlug.org... (NOTE: Subsequent ORG queries will be delayed by
20 seconds each due to rate limiting) 

Host                    Registrar                           Exp.date/Days left
==============================================================================
svlug.org               CSL Computer Service Langenbach Gmb 06-Aug-2007 /    9
 $ date
Fri Jul 27 14:53:40 PDT 2007
 $


Personally, I keep domains I care about a few _hundred_ days away from
expiration.  Expiration can be very bad; you don't want to even get
close to it.  Any domain I want to keep reaching nine days from
expiration would make me very nervous.


Fortunately, in SVLUG's case, all it takes to fix that problem is...
money.  I happen to have some right here.

(/me goes to the joker.com Web site, pays $36 to extend SVLUG's 
domain registration by three years.  Renewal tracking ID was:  13842467)

As mentioned many times on this mailing list, _anyone_ (any credit
card holder) can do our renewal.  You, the reader, can, for example.
(You would have known to use Joker.com by checking "whois svlug.org" --
which also includes the expiration date.)

Results:


 $ domain-check -d=svlug.org
Processing svlug.org... (NOTE: Subsequent ORG queries will be delayed by
20 seconds each due to rate limiting) 

Host                    Registrar                           Exp.date/Days left
==============================================================================
svlug.org               CSL Computer Service Langenbach Gmb 06-Aug-2010 / 1105
 $


You're welcome.




By the way, if SVLUG ever decides to abandon the "svlug.org" domain,
rather than just letting it expire (and get grabbed by domain squatters
to use for one of those "search engines"), it would be really
neighbourly to donate it to the Southern Vales Linux User Group -- or to
any of the other SVLUGs anyway.  For heaven't sake, don't let domain
squatters grab it through sheer neglect.

By the way^2, I'm now out $36 on y'all's behalf.  Anyone feeling
grateful?

By the way^3, svlug.net's expiration is this December.  Hint:  I'm 
not paying for that.