What to do if somebody bought my old domain name before I could renew it and is using one of my old layouts...?

[Christy]

It's strange... I had a baby and didn't work on my blog for a while and let my domain expire. Sometime else purchased it and started using it as a parked domain with ads. When I was ready to continue it, I had to get a .org instead of my original .com and added all my original content. Anyways, I randomly went and checked my old .com and found my old layout and content from back in 2009 instead of the parked domain with ads. What could be going on? There is no contact page and I don't want my old stuff up there... has this happened to any of you?

[Jack Mittal]

You can try to contact them, but you will have to find the contact details first. Read this article for full details: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/12/...-now-what/

[AnnOzerguy]

You don't provide enough information Christy. Who did you buy your .com from? Where was it hosted? Normally, you should be able to find the new owner's contact info by checking the whois for the domain ending in .com. Try entering the domain name at http://www.whois.com/whois/

If they turned on privacy, you would still have an email address to which you would be able to write.

Good luck!