This story tells us: don’t casually reset your phone on a whim.
As for my current domain name yuhang.ch, it’s the simplest combination of my full pinyin name and the initial ch of the surname “陈”. I’d had my eye on it ever since undergrad, but limited by my living expenses at the time (even though it was only ¥120/1yr), I could only play around with promo domains that were a few RMB per year. In December 2018 I suddenly thought of this domain again, immediately checked it on Godaddy, and found it was available. I was over the moon, didn’t think too much, registered it for a year and felt completely satisfied.
The tragedy started after one login. Obsessed with tapping red notification dots, I clicked to enable two‑step authentication. Then, driven by a self-destructive curiosity for “trying something new,” I chose OAUTH, using an open‑source app from the App Store. When I reset my phone, I didn’t tap backup because I trusted icloud so much. Back then I’d even thought through the worst case for Godaddy 2FA: at worst, I’d just get an email to disable authentication, right?
Turns out I was far too optimistic T_T. In December 2019 I started getting renewal reminders. I logged in with my username and password → “enter your two‑step authentication code.” My heart instantly sank halfway. I clicked to see how to disable two‑step verification. Great, the process filled a whole page. I followed the steps and sent the email. I let out a long sigh of relief—after all, it’s my own stuff. I took a bunch of random photos of my ID card. Surely that would prove the number was mine, right?
Three days later, it turned out I was still way too optimistic. The reply was:
Thank you for the additional information, we are happy to continue. A certified English translation of your government-issued photo ID or alternate identification in English is required to move forward. We recommend utilizing your favorite search engine to find local companies in your area that are certified to do official translations of documents. A Certified Translation consists of the following three parts:
• The document in the original language text
• The document in the translated text
• A statement signed by the translator or translation company representative, with his or her signature notarized by a Notary Public, attesting that the translator or translation company representative believes the translated document to be an accurate and complete translation of the original document. Sometimes this statement bears the title “Certificate of Accuracy” or “Statement that Two Documents Have the Same Meaning.” Some translators will attach a Curriculum Vitae to the notarized statement.Once this is received, we will inform you if there is anything additional needed to process your request, or we will let you know that your request has been completed.
I was honestly a bit pissed when I saw this. Such a big corporation and they don’t have a single staff member in China? My grand Celestial Empire’s ID card still needs me to translate it for you? Angry as I was, out of love for this domain, I obediently looked up certified translation companies in China and checked the prices. My god, it cost more than my annual domain fee. My heart sank another quarter.
Treating a dead horse as if it were still alive, I sent the same application again unchanged. This time the bolded part of the reply spelled out the three steps:
Thank you for your documentation unfortunately we cannot accept. A certified English translation of your government-issued photo ID or alternate identification in English is required to move forward. We recommend utilizing your favorite search engine to find local companies in your area that are certified to do official translations of documents. A Certified Translation consists of the following three parts:
• The document in the original language text
• The document in the translated text
• A statement signed by the translator or translation company representative, with his or her signature notarized by a Notary Public, attesting that the translator or translation company representative believes the translated document to be an accurate and complete translation of the original document. Sometimes this statement bears the title “Certificate of Accuracy” or “Statement that Two Documents Have the Same Meaning.” Some translators will attach a Curriculum Vitae to the notarized statement.Once this is received, we will