What’s wrong with 40nations.com?
September 24, 2014 40nations / STCL
In order for a website to work, the name servers where the website files are hosted must be provided to the registrar of the domain. There are not enough name servers identified for 40nations.com. Thus, the website is down.
Wait, what?
In other words, the files which are essential to the function of the site cannot be retrieved from the server that they are hosted on.
The website files are stored on a hosting server, which may be provided as a paid service, often administered by a website hosting company. The service they provide is called website hosting. In essence, website hosting a very specialized form of cloud storage, but with lots of bells and whistles geared at running a website. There are often more stringent usage restrictions specified for website hosting space than for cloud storage (e.g., no personal files; files must be related to the website, etc.).
The domain, a.k.a. the url, 40nations.com is still registered with the domain registrar.
That sounds like a good thing…
Yes, but it doesn’t really help us, since there’s still a disconnect between the registrar of the domain and the hosting server—if any.
Ummmm, say again?
In the case of a once-active website, usually this name server error arises when the site overseer fails to pay the website hosting or when the server is no longer available due to a misconfiguration.
Will 40nations.com ever come back?
It’s hard to say. In my opinion, given the lack of maintenance on the site, the decline of the 40nations forums, and the fact that the maintainer is not a current STCL student, it is very likely that we have reached…the end of 40Nations.
Can the files be recovered?
Usually website hosting companies will keep a backup of the site files for 30-60 days so that a website can be reactivated upon payment. After that period, the site files are usually purged from the servers. The account holder or the technical contact would need to take action to recover the files from the website hosting company or the hosting server if not administered by a service, grant consent for a new authorized user on the account, or accommodate the transfer the files to an active server, otherwise…well, things look bleak.
Is there anything else that can be done?
I sent an email to the registered owner of the domain, but haven’t heard anything back. Stay in the loop about new developments by checking back here on my site, or by visiting the totally-super-awesome STCL Bar Exam group on Facebook.
About the Author
Corbin Dodge is a professional web marketing specialist who has over 15 years of experience learning the ‘ins-and-outs’ of how the internet can be used as a tool to benefit, harm, or promote users and businesses. A self-described computer ‘power-user’ and efficiency hobbyist, he advocates utilizing technological and web-based tools as mechanisms to promote personal and professional success.