MD plates promoted Phillipine gambling site... (Baltimore: appointed, 2015, home)

[cvetters63]

https://wtop.com/maryland/2023/06/on...now-promoting/


"Almost 800,000 Maryland license plates, designed to commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812, now promote a Philippines gambling website that features online gambling.


When the plates were created in 2007, the website listed — www.starspangled200.org — pointed computer users to the state’s War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission.


“Star-Spangled 200, Inc. is the nonprofit entity affiliated with the Commission that led the efforts to raise funds for bicentennial projects and events,” said Ashley Millner, deputy director of media relations for the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Administration, in an email.


However, authorization for the commission ended in 2015, and ownership of the domain has changed. Now, that URL address redirects users to the gambling site.


“The MVA does not endorse the views or content on the current website using that URL,” said Millner.

The problem is widespread. “There are currently 798,000 active War of 1812 license plates,” said Millner. That’s approximately 15% of the 5.2 million vehicles registered in Maryland.


It’s not clear how the state plans to deal with the situation, since the matter was brought to the MVA’s attention. Millner said the MVA “is working with the agency’s IT department to identify options to resolve the current issue.”


Lol. It's like they didn't know how the internet worked and by not keeping up with the domain name, it would expire and get bought by someone else. Luckily for them, they came up with a plan:


https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/...e-registration


"The site now redirects to the MVA website, but it cost the state $1,000 to get it back.
In a news release last week, MVA said that the agency used a "domain broker" to get back the URL. Registering a domain name that no one currently uses can be relatively inexpensive, anywhere between $2 and $20 per year, depending on the service used to register the domain. If the owner of a domain stops paying, the registration expires and anyone can buy it."


Honestly, $1000 is cheap for what they got. But now they have to remember to keep it current.

[Quick Enough]

Originally Posted by cvetters63

https://wtop.com/maryland/2023/06/on...now-promoting/


"Almost 800,000 Maryland license plates, designed to commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812, now promote a Philippines gambling website that features online gambling.


When the plates were created in 2007, the website listed — www.starspangled200.org — pointed computer users to the state’s War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission.


“Star-Spangled 200, Inc. is the nonprofit entity affiliated with the Commission that led the efforts to raise funds for bicentennial projects and events,” said Ashley Millner, deputy director of media relations for the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Administration, in an email.


However, authorization for the commission ended in 2015, and ownership of the domain has changed. Now, that URL address redirects users to the gambling site.


“The MVA does not endorse the views or content on the current website using that URL,” said Millner.

The problem is widespread. “There are currently 798,000 active War of 1812 license plates,” said Millner. That’s approximately 15% of the 5.2 million vehicles registered in Maryland.


It’s not clear how the state plans to deal with the situation, since the matter was brought to the MVA’s attention. Millner said the MVA “is working with the agency’s IT department to identify options to resolve the current issue.”


Lol. It's like they didn't know how the internet worked and by not keeping up with the domain name, it would expire and get bought by someone else. Luckily for them, they came up with a plan:


https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/...e-registration


"The site now redirects to the MVA website, but it cost the state $1,000 to get it back.
In a news release last week, MVA said that the agency used a "domain broker" to get back the URL. Registering a domain name that no one currently uses can be relatively inexpensive, anywhere between $2 and $20 per year, depending on the service used to register the domain. If the owner of a domain stops paying, the registration expires and anyone can buy it."


Honestly, $1000 is cheap for what they got. But now they have to remember to keep it current.

Just another example of, "you get what you VOTE FOR"!

[cvetters63]

Originally Posted by Quick Enough

Just another example of, "you get what you VOTE FOR"!

I doubt anyone involved with this was voted into office. This is all lower level employees, not even appointed by those that WERE voted in.

[MidValleyDad]

This is not unusual. I know of Fortune 500 companies that have forgotten to renew internet domain names. They register a domain for a specific project and when that project ends no one remembers to keep the domain registered to protect it. In some cases they have had moderately expensive lawsuits to get them back.


It appears that Maryland did a pretty good job of recovering the domain for a fairly low cost.

[Quick Enough]

Originally Posted by cvetters63

I doubt anyone involved with this was voted into office. This is all lower level employees, not even appointed by those that WERE voted in.

Those that are voted in make the laws, appoint the judges, etc. that make these kinds of things acceptable.

[emmmcubed]

Originally Posted by Quick Enough

Those that are voted in make the laws, appoint the judges, etc. that make these kinds of things acceptable.

Unclutch the pearls, dearie, it was a simple mistake, not some Sodom-and-Gomorrah-level horror that was deliberately done and is now "acceptable."

[Cloudy Dayz]

This is why vanity license plates should just go away. Everywhere else in the world, license plates have one purpose and one purpose only. To easily and clearly identify the motor vehicle displaying the plate. But for some reason in the US, they have become nothing more than glorified bumper stickers.

Wide format European style license plates should be adopted everywhere. Every plate should have random black on yellow numbers on the rear, black on white numbers on the front, with a state seal on each plate to identify what state the vehicle is registered in. No exceptions for anyone. Problem solved.

[MidValleyDad]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

This is why vanity license plates should just go away. Everywhere else in the world, license plates have one purpose and one purpose only. To easily and clearly identify the motor vehicle displaying the plate. But for some reason in the US, they have become nothing more than glorified bumper stickers.

Wide format European style license plates should be adopted everywhere. Every plate should have random black on yellow numbers on the rear, black on white numbers on the front, with a state seal on each plate to identify what state the vehicle is registered in. No exceptions for anyone. Problem solved.

Nope, The US license plate size ids sacrosanct. The format is designed into to many vehicles. In fact I believe it may be an SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers, an industry standards organization) Standard.


These were not Vanity plates. They were simply a new standard plate. I can remember when Maryland changed their plate color every year. March was the new month for new car tags, April for commercial and truck tags. It was interesting as kids to see who on the block got the new tags first and what the color combo would be.


Also vanity (and organizational) plates are a decent revenue stream for the state. They get extra cash for each tag. Organizational plates can be a source of revenue for special projects (which reduces the pressure on state gov't to supply funds directly to tose projects)


Also why the different colors front and back? and why not go to a single tag for each vehicle instead of two?

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by MidValleyDad

Nope, The US license plate size ids sacrosanct. The format is designed into to many vehicles. In fact I believe it may be an SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers, an industry standards organization) Standard.


These were not Vanity plates. They were simply a new standard plate. I can remember when Maryland changed their plate color every year. March was the new month for new car tags, April for commercial and truck tags. It was interesting as kids to see who on the block got the new tags first and what the color combo would be.


Also vanity (and organizational) plates are a decent revenue stream for the state. They get extra cash for each tag. Organizational plates can be a source of revenue for special projects (which reduces the pressure on state gov't to supply funds directly to tose projects)


Also why the different colors front and back? and why not go to a single tag for each vehicle instead of two?

I believe the reflective yellow on the back plate is for extra visibility, and to help drivers tell which direction the car is traveling. If for example the driver has their lights turned off. Not all EU countries have yellow on the back. Most have white on the front and back. But yellow on the back seems like a nice safety feature.

I don't care if they are standard plates or not, they are still just glorified bumper stickers. What does the War of 1812 have to do with your car and why is it so important that every car in the state should display it? It's so random. They don't do it for other wars, Just for the War of 1812? It makes no sense.

It's also a security risk. If you are driving home and someone hits your car and takes off, which license plate would you rather try to read?

[cvetters63]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

I don't care if they are standard plates or not, they are still just glorified bumper stickers. What does the War of 1812 have to do with your car and why is it so important that every car in the state should display it? It's so random. They don't do it for other wars, Just for the War of 1812? It makes no sense.

The War of 1812 had a lot to to with Fort McHenry in Baltimore and the writing of the Star Spangled Banner there at that time. So it's kind of a big deal to MD.


Maybe stop being so judgmental and closed minded.