TL;DR Hashflare domain name expires in 10 days! But this probably doesn't matter.
FULL BLOG BELOWOk, I'm back in freakout mode. I saw in another thread that Hashflare domain expires on December 15. So, I went to check it out myself. Anyone can do it, simply Google "whois hashflare.io." Sure enough, the domain name is set to expire on December 15.
This is worrisome since December 15 is just 10 days away. So, I sent an email to Hashflare. Basically, the email was, "Dear Hashflare, in case you didn't know, your domain name is set to expire in 10 days. Are you going to do something about that?"
I got back the following automated response:
"Your request (359822) has been received and is being reviewed by our support staff and a member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Please note, that due to the emerging issues, the support queue currently has ~4000 tickets. Our customer support team will reply to every request, though the response time may reach 3-5 days in some cases.
You can reply to this email to add additional comments. Please do not create multiple tickets for the same issue as it will not speed up the resolution.
Best Regards,
HashFlare.io"
Great. Looks like I'm going to be freaking out for at least the next 3 days and probably longer. If they don't renew the domain by December 15, then we can no longer reach the site. The domain would go into an expired status and Hashflare would have a minimum of 0 to 45 days to renew the domain (at discretion of the registrar). From the whois information, I see that Hashflare's registrar is key-systems. Out of curiosity, I decide to check their policy on expired domains (it's a minimum of 14 days before they actually delete the domain registration). But, I stumbled into something more important. Their domain renewal policy. It reads:
"Renewals of Registration
1. Renewals of registration are possible for 1 to 10 years depending on the domain name.
2. A contract for the registration and administration of
a domain name shall be renewed automatically for another 12 month term at the end of the registration period if it is not terminated with a notice period of 3 months prior to the date of expiry, unless agreed otherwise.
3. For renewals the price list at the renewal date is applicable.
4. Customer will be informed by e-mail of his obligation to pay for the renewal in accordance with the provisions of ICANN or the respective registry in time before the end of the registration period. If Customer does not terminate the contract on time and Customer has either identified his payment method to be credit card or bank debit and entered current and valid payment details, then Registrar will automatically charge the due amount 10 days prior to the expiration date and the contract will be renewed accordingly. Customer is solely responsible for ensuring the timely receipt of the fees applicable or for the functioning of the chosen payment."
(Emphasis added by me)
Ok. So, the domain should renew automatically. 10 days before the expiration, they'll charge Hashflare's credit card or bank account...that's tomorrow! If the payment goes through, the domain should be registered through December 15, 2018. Financial transactions usually take a day or two to clear, so the domain should be renewed by Friday, December 8. Ok. I'll stop freaking out until Friday.