Owners of an @Chicago.com email address got a surprising email Thursday: The Chicago.com domain had been sold, and the email service was shutting down.
"We regret to inform you that, due to the sale of the domain “chicago.com”, the chicago.com email service and any sub domains will terminate operations for all users at noon on February 15th, 2017 (the “Effective Date”)," the email read. "All current and paid customers will receive a pro-rated refund for the unused months of their subscription."
However, the Chicago Community Trust, a local philanthropic foundation, said Friday that it was the purchaser of Chicago.com and will in fact keep the email business going.
"We fully intend to keep that business up and running," Chicago Community Trust CTO Daniel Ash told Chicago Inno Friday afternoon. "We will be sending a clarifying email to subscribers letting them know that their service will be uninterrupted." The news was first reported by domaininvesting.com.
Chicago.com was registered in the early 1990s and launched an email service in 2012 to offer people an @chicago.com email address. Founded by Josh Metnick and Karl Swartz, the domain was sold in 2013 to Wrapports, owners of the Chicago Sun-Times, which at the time was owned by Michael Ferro. The domain was sold this week to the Chicago Community Trust, whose executive committee chairman is Ferro, the current owner of Tribune Publishing.
Since 2012 people have been able to purchase @chicago.com email addresses, with prices costing anywhere between $55 per year and several thousand dollars per year, depending on the demand of the name.
It's somewhat unclear exactly how the initial email was sent and where the miscommunication came from. The email was sent from the previous owner, not the Chicago Community Trust, Ash said.
"There was a snafu with the transaction, we don't know sort of how that all happened but we're working very, very fast to get everything right, and to let folks who do have the email address know that they will still be able to use all the associated services."
What is clear is that the Chicago Community Trust is much more concerned with the Chicago.com domain than the email business.
"There was some confusion on would we be acquiring both the domain and the associated email business," Ash said. "We were very much focused on the domain and didn't know much about the email business."
It's unclear exactly how many @chicago.com email users there are, but a tweet from founder Josh Metnik put it at 3,000.
Ash said the trust plans to make Chicago.com a place to celebrate what's happening in Chicago and promote the city's philanthropy.
Chicago.com has a somewhat controversial background. It was found to have plagiarized several local news sites in 2016, including Chicagoist.
