The GNWT let a domain name expire. Now it’s an odd UFC blog
Previously, you could go there for the latest NWT government job postings and advice on a career with the territorial government. Now, you can learn about the rules of UFC.
At some point in the past few months, the GNWT let the gnwtjobs.ca domain name expire. Instead of pointing to a careers website, the domain now sends people to a small, homespun website about mixed martial arts.
The territorial government acknowledged the domain had been mistakenly allowed to lapse in a brief email on Monday.
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The territory’s careers website still exists – nothing has happened to it, and it was not the victim of any form of hack.
Instead, the domain name gnwtjobs.ca acted as an additional, easy-to-remember way for people to find the careers website.
Registration records for gnwtjobs.ca suggest it was registered in October by an entity named Sunnyvale ISP Corp, which appears to be a company based in British Columbia. No response was received when Cabin Radio contacted the individual listed as Sunnyvale’s representative.
The bland UFC website now occupying gnwtjobs.ca offers no means to contact its author or operator.
The new website for some reason retains, in large type, the title GNWTJOBS, even though this would appear to have no relevance to any aspect of UFC. The name appears next to a graphic of the UFC octagon in which fights take place.
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Articles available on the website include:
- How did UFC evolve?
- Mixed martial arts: new passion in the world
- Most famous UFC fighters
- Female UFC fighters
Each article contains text that appears, from a cursory search, to be unique on the web.
Whether the website is a genuine – if strange – attempt to host a UFC website at an unusual location, or a form of domain squatting where the creator expects to charge the territorial government in order to give the name back, is not clear.
However, Sunnyvale appears to own a wide range of domain names, many related to casinos or forms of betting.
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The territory’s Department of Finance holds responsibility for issues related to the NWT government’s websites.
Spokesperson Todd Sasaki said by email: “The GNWT is aware that this domain is now hosting other content. The domain name gnwtjobs.ca was purchased by another company after its registration lapsed and we are working to resolve the situation.
“The GNWT apologizes for any inconvenience this has caused users and would like to assure the public that the website itself has not been impacted in any way. Job seekers can still access our careers website at www.gov.nt.ca/careers.”
The territory’s centralized careers website was launched in August 2013, alongside the gnwtjobs.ca domain name.
At the time, the territorial government did promise: “New content will be added on a regular basis.”