Stop me if you heard this one before. Or else help me out if you can explain why I have to go for 60 days without changing contact info in order to transfer a domain from GoDuddy to another registrar.

I was trying to transfer my domain from Godaddy to another registrar. I first got an e-mail saying that transfer was denied because I had objected to it via e-mail-- kind of weird logic-defying word usage. I definitely didn't object to the transfer since I was the one who initiated the transfer at Namecheap!

I e-mailed support about this and was told that because I'd changed my contact info "several times in the past few days" that I'd have to wait 60 days before transfer would be approved. I had no idea about this policy when I jumped ship from Dotster to GoDaddy.. in 2001 I think it was. I'm not sure what they meant by "several times in the past few days". Yesterday (Sept. 4) I unlocked the domain so it could be transferred. Then I'd changed the contact info from a nonsense name and the address of an abandoned building to my legal name and address (thinking this would help with domain transfer in case namecheap doesn't like that my billing info doesn't match the BS I put for the contacts that a whois reveals).

I wasn't very civilized in my reply to their "nope sorry, we're keeping it for sixty days" e-mail. To me it smacked more of retaining a dissatisfied customer against their will than following ICANN policy or for "security" reasons. I thought seven days was the usual time, not sixty? I doubt my measly <$9 a year means that much to them and far as I can see, they don't seem to give a rip about bad publicity.

New registrations or transfers can't be transferred for 60 days, and with Godaddy, (not sure about others) a change in registrant data is treated the same way.

So I noticed. and was given some cockandbull story about the 60-day wait period for transferring a domain that's 6 years old (and registered to me only since it was registered) is part of a traffic management strategy to control "domain squatters". Gee... ya'd think they'd take a look at how long a domain was registered to one person before dumping me in the long-wait queue.

Whoops, never mind. Despite me not finding anything about GoDaddy's proprietary 60 days wait compliant with ICANN's policies about transferring and refusing transfer, I guess I gotta wait it out.

If someone else happens to get into your account and changes the contacts to themselves, then does a transfer and approves it before you realize what happened, you lose the domain. That's probably why they do that.

I had the same thing happen a couple months ago. I moved so I updated my address and was also transferring some of my domains to Enom. I found that after I changed the address on one, I couldn't transfer it, so I transferred a couple others before updating.

Good reason for having a real email in the contacts at all times. ;)

Then I'd changed the contact info from a nonsense name and the address of an abandoned building to my legal name and address (thinking this would help with domain transfer in case namecheap doesn't like that my billing info doesn't match the BS I put for the contacts that a whois reveals).

1. You clearly violated GD ToS by putting non-real info in your whois record. Your account could have been suspended solely because of that.

2. I think there's an additional warning from GoDaddy (something 'Do you really agree that changing registrant you'll not be able to trransfer out?' or something to that effect) before you'll hit the final 'submit' button. They have put this recently...

3. 60-days policy is clearly written in their 'Universal' TOS.

If you think I love GoDaddy, you're dead wrong. However, you're bashing them without reason, as it looks.

GoDaddy puts a 60 day hold on a domain only when anything in the Registrant Info is changed. You can change Admin, Tech, Billing as many times as you like.