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Why and how Epik allows CoronaVirus domains to be listed

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Rob Monster

Founder of EpikTop Member
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Epik has a history of standing for responsible free speech that is within the bounds of the law. As such, when it comes to the topic of Corona Virus domain names, I doubt there will be a large change on that position.

This is not a light matter, and we certainly will remain vigilant to acceptable use. However, to pre-judge that every Corona-related domain is to be used for evil is akin to Dystopian Minority Report pre-crime.

May rational heads prevail and may orderly free speech be used to accelerate progress and to encourage those who are suffering in one way or another.

For additional context, I posted a short video on Twitter:

 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
I disagree with ya on this one Rob, and seldom disagree with you, COVID, Coronavirus names were registered out of greed, just that reason alone is enough to ban them IMO
 
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I disagree with ya on this one Rob, and seldom disagree with you, COVID, Coronavirus names were registered out of greed, just that reason alone is enough to ban them IMO

What do you mean by registered out of greed?
 
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I disagree with ya on this one Rob, and seldom disagree with you, COVID, Coronavirus names were registered out of greed, just that reason alone is enough to ban them IMO

Thanks.

So, in your view, in a world of post-GDPR WHOIS destruction, these domains that were registered should now be unsellable. Genius move.

I think the main thing is just for COVID domain owners to just lower their expectations and make a best effort to get domains into the hands of reputable end-users.

As for greed, let me know when you start donating all of your domain sale proceeds to charity.
 
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Thanks.

So, in your view, in a world of post-GDPR WHOIS destruction, these domains that were registered should now be unsellable. Genius move.

I think the main thing is just for COVID domain owners to just lower their expectations and make a best effort to get domains into the hands of reputable end-users.

As for greed, let me know when you start donating all of your domain sale proceeds to charity.

Yes , They should be 100% unsellable , there is actually to much coverage of the virus as it is, the people who feel a real need to cash in on this virus, are not good people IMO
 
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Yes , They should be 100% unsellable , there is actually to much coverage of the virus as it is, the people who feel a real need to cash in on this virus, are not good people IMO

Fact: Only a select few of corona domains are strong enough to be sought by buyers.

Fact: If those strong domains are not sold and put to use, they turn into PPC landers and all that is left is limited-end-user-value-creating-experiences.

How is not selling them to developers who can turn them into value-adding and informative websites preferable, in your opinion? Don't you want the strong, memorable, names to be developed and their potential reached, thus, saving lives?
 
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Yes , They should be 100% unsellable , there is actually to much coverage of the virus as it is, the people who feel a real need to cash in on this virus, are not good people IMO

Agree to disagree. :)

When I get to know these price-gouging scoundrels, I might try and talk some sense into them. As you know, we encourage "Make Offer" pricing which is probably the best way to avoid scandals and rebuke.

As I see it, thoughtful info on life in the time Corona is still in short supply which is why I am not on board with the idea of bulk null-routing of these domains, for example.

In the meantime, feel free to condemn the folks with cancer domains, rehab domains, divorce domains, etc.

In case you are wondering, we'll happily empower those folks too.

If some registrars and marketplaces want to PC themselves into tiny boxes, so be it.

We'll use proceeds to help domainers feed their families and use our modest margin to keep growing Epik, provide great value money, and fund cool empowerment projects.
 
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Are the doctors working for free? Nope. Are the n95 masks being manufactured for free? Nope.

So, why should the domain investor not be afforded the freedom to operate?

There is a disparity in those comparisons. Doctors are not getting paid any more than they would be at any other time. In fact, they are risking their lives to save others and some have even died. Masks also provide a life protecting element. And there even some sellers have been called out for price gouging.

A domain investor is not providing any of these services unless he contributes truly beneficial and accurate info, or links to such. Selling a domain for profit is pure commercialism and profiting directly from a crisis is very questionable.

Also, there are many other opportunities that don't prey on people's misery. Why not register domains on working from home, online business, health, etc.
 
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Thank you for the thoughtful reply.

There is a disparity in those comparisons. Doctors are not getting paid any more than they would be at any other time.

I've seen reference to corona domain price gouging. I haven't looked for it, so I'm admittedly ignorant, but regardless, the issue at hand isn't whether domainers are charging too much for corona domains. The sentiment seems to be that domainers shouldn't profit at all from corona domains. Those are two separate issues. And, regarding domain price gouging, domains are very elastic. If a name is too expensive it won't sell. We're not talking food and water here.

So, back to your quote. Nobody said corona names should be super premium. My argument is that they should be able to be sold. I'm not concerned with the price. That's between the buyer and the seller. If a buyer wants a name for $x amount, who are any of us to tell that buyer he cannot buy the name from the seller?

In fact, they are risking their lives to save others and some have even died.

Whether doctors are risking their lives doesn't seem to draw any correlation to whether a domain can be sold at a profit. The doctors are driving their cars to work, yes? The gas station who sells them their gas isn't risking much by selling gas. And a domainer isn't risking his/her life by selling a domain. We all play our parts. Some have riskier roles than others.

Masks also provide a life protecting element.

A good domain can be used to host informative content and that info can save lives. If you had a really good site you wanted people to see, would you want to host it at coronafacts.com, or coronaisouttherehereiswhatyouneedtoknow.com.

Good domains provide a service. Don't discount that fact. If you don't agree, you're in the wrong business.

A domain investor is not providing any of these services unless he contributes truly beneficial and accurate info, or links to such.

Seems to me that most domainers don't have the capacity to develop a valuable site. Agreed? I'll assume yes. So, why choose to shove them in a corner with their domains, instead of allowing them to sell their names to others who want them and can develop them to their full potential, creating value and saving lives?

You have a domainer with a great corona name. You have a developer who wants to buy it and turn it into a valuable site for the public, but DAN says no-go, TCK says no-go... it's the domainer who is acting immorally? Really?

Also, there are many other opportunities that don't prey on people's misery. Why not register domains on working from home, online business, health, etc.

That's irrelevant. A moot point. Yes, there are plenty of opportunities. Who are you to tell anyone what they can pursue? And, why draw the conclusion that anyone is preying on others' misery? Back to my default scenario: What is more exploitative?

a) a developer buys a great aftermarket corona name and turns it into an informative site that saves lives
b) DAN and TCK tell the domainer he can't sell the domain, and so he parks it with PPC

You're endorsing option b. It might not be your intention, but it's the reality.
 
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I forgot to mention, there's an option c. Sell through Epik.
 
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I have mixed feelings on this topic. I don’t think people should be registering Covid or Corona names in the first place period (I did not) but on the other hand this is very typical of domainers to jump on trends, unsavory or not, and register.

There isn’t a domainer out there who is pure and innocent on what they have registered or bought. It is always with the intent to profit, hopefully greatly, no matter what the niche. We monitor trends and pounce on keywords (hopefully before they are in demand).

To say a domainer chasing these types of names is “greedy” or a “bad person” is unfair and hypocritical. Everyone is in this business to find opportunities and maximum profit. Everyone wants more sales and the occasional windfall.

Just because I didn’t chase this niche and don’t like that people did that does not make them bad people or any greedier than any other domainer looking for a profit.

I can disagree with the action without condemning the people involved. They will learn to avoid controversial registrations when nobody buys and they drop alot of names next year.
 
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if the medical team treating coronavirus are not working for free, you have no point knocking off the sale of coronavirus domain names. We are not being objective and that's it, We all jump on trend pls
 
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Might be quoted or posted in separate thread, but still.
Just noticed the following in my Sedo account (important updates section):

Why you shouldn't list corona virus related domains

Safeguarding Sedo’s Marketplace against Misuse of Critical Domains

As the Corona Virus situation unfolds, we want to assure our customers and the domain community that we take the use of domains related to tragic events such as this one very seriously. Utilizing these types of domains to initiate scams or take advantage of people by soliciting illegitimate donations, etc. are strictly forbidden within our Terms and Conditions.

Furthermore while Sedo strives to protect our users’ rights to exercise free speech and maintain a diverse marketplace of domain names, Sedo cannot endorse practices which may capitalize on these types of events. We have therefore made the decision to bar domain names related to the Corona Virus or COVID-19 from our marketplace or parking program. These domains are now blacklisted and we have instituted other system-wide parameters alerting us to their use.
 
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As more and more folks are forced to move their activities online, we have to be careful of these people from places like Dan or Namecheap, whom are going to take advantage of their positions in the domain name industry to control what can or can't be allowed in the face of "morality" or whatever. It is one thing to have a viewpoint on something like this, it is another to take stance on it and then force it upon others.

Dan does not matter so much as Namecheap, as they are not a registrar. But when we start condoning registrar actions that limit our rights to naming, then we've opened up floodgates to a slew of other control methods. Like a stepping stone. It happens slowly, and soon we are chained. It's not like it's a some grand plan by the companies either, really, they get sucked into this stuff themselves, and before they know it, they are victim to their own actions.

So be aware, when we might applaud these kinds of decisions by digital companies to restrict certain items, we are moving the onus of freedoms from the individual and into the laps of the faceless.

This doesn't just affect investors, it also affects netizens. What about my right as an internet surfer to pick and choose crappy corona virus domains to go click on and visit? People are like that, they will click anything and trust anything that shows up in results. Instead of protecting stupid, we should focus on educating smart. This keeps everything truly free. It's already happening in other areas of our lives. Digital is 0's and 1's, try governing it before it does you. Maybe it already does. If you think your fridge telling you you're out of milk is freedom, think again.
 
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Kettle calling pot black. Already some people see all Domain Investors as Squatters/Opportunists.

By using very unpleasant words against people that regged amounts to pointing one figure at a person, while the rest is pointing at you. And justifying accusations against domain investors because the accusations wasn't as a result of corona/covid domains.

As a result of the pandemic, some prices of stocks/shares are falling, am presently trying to raise fund to take position in those companies with good fundamentals. If you see it as immoral that's your problem.

If we really want to look at morality in our transactions, then some people should be ashamed of the kind of domains in their portfolio. Each to his own.

However, I will not encourage using such name for fraudulent activities.

As I said early, am willing to transfer such domain to a responsible nonprofit organization for free to the benefit of humanity. But if it's a profit oriented organization, they have to buy it.
 
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In the meantime, feel free to condemn the folks with cancer domains, rehab domains, divorce domains, etc.

I don’t agree with that either. But someone made a point in this thread about how casket makers will be benefiting from this, there’s a difference here. Casket makers are essential, casket makers offer a service and they won’t be overjoyed at making more money from the coronavirus or advertising their service more because of coronavirus or linking their services to cornonavirus in any shape or form.

Domain investors sticking their flag into the ground and hand registering a coronavirus domain for $8 and then putting it for sale for 4 or 5 figures is a scumbag move, there’s no sugar coating it or trying to defend it, it’s a scumbag move and it says something about one’s character who does that.

Price gouging from the coronavirus (ie people stocking up on toilet rolls and hand sanitizers) and selling for inflated rates are being banned from selling all around the internet, being shamed in the press, even having their goods confiscated:-

https://www.wkyt.com/content/news/I...see-brothers-sent-to-Frankfort-568964591.html

Looking at the above article of goods being confiscated (in America), Epik being an American based company is it even legal the service you offering and advertising in this thread? Afterall as company you would be benefitting finically from any coronavirus domains sold on your platform.

Doesn’t other domain marketplaces banning coronavirus domains also tell you it’s wrong?

Although NamePros arn't benefiting fincially from coronavirus domains, i hope they remove the coronavirus domain showcase thread and ban all talk of coronavirus domain investments as a means of showing that the domaining community as a whole (like many domain marketplaces) don't support this.
 
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Kettle calling pot black. Already some people see all Domain Investors as Squatters/Opportunists.

By using very unpleasant words against people that regged amounts to pointing one figure at a person, while the rest is pointing at you. And justifying accusations against domain investors because the accusations wasn't as a result of corona/covid domains.

As a result of the pandemic, some prices of stocks/shares are falling, am presently trying to raise fund to take position in those companies with good fundamentals. If you see it as immoral that's your problem.

If we really want to look at morality in our transactions, then some people should be ashamed of the kind of domains in their portfolio. Each to his own.

However, I will not encourage using such name for fraudulent activities.

As I said early, am willing to transfer such domain to a responsible nonprofit organization for free to the benefit of humanity. But if it's a profit oriented organization, they have to buy it.

This is a really balanced comment.

Ironically, domainers did the world a great service. Do you know how? By taking a lot of decent Corona domains off the market, they made it really hard for actual scammers to find an endless supply of decent Corona domains that they could buy for cheap to be able to run convincing schemes. Scammers are forced to either negotiate with a domainer who has one, or register a garbage name that few would trust.

The free market probably prevented a lot of scams that would have otherwise happened. The question remains as to where folks who have those domains point these domains while waiting for bids. For example, they might use free domain forwarding from Epik to redirect the domains to a site that is doing some good that is relevant to the topic of the domain. And yet, they can still list it in a marketplace.

In short, I think domainers, sometimes in their greed, may have done more to prevent scams than to cause them, and now they can do more good by using them strategically. That is all a question of personal choice. The main thing I would advise is to remove all BIN pricing for Corona domains and shift to Make Offer so that you can discern some info about the prospect when setting a price.
 
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Doesn’t other domain marketplaces banning coronavirus domains also tell you it’s wrong?

The easy solution is a cop out -- ban everything. It is what some have chosen. It may be politically correct. and it may be safe, but it also shows no regard for intelligent discernment around acceptable use. My hope is that people who own these domains will price fairly, donate liberally, and use proceeds wisely.
 
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Something doesn’t sit right with me with this whole thread, everything from the title “Epik allows Coronavirus domains to be listed” and even all the follow up comments.

I think we need to call this thread what it is. Epik know other platforms are banning Coronavirus domain names so they are making very clear (publicly) ‘come sell your Coronavirus domains with us’ – Therefore encouraging these domains to be still in circulation when other platforms and many in the domaining industry (and other industries) are trying to stop people profiting from a global disaster.

Same time though, Epik are also profiting from this pandemic, as you will be taking percentage of any Coronavirus domain sales sold on your platform so I don’t buy it all this ‘free speech’ stuff as a reason for doing this, let's have it right the only reason for Epik doing this is for money.

If Epik said ‘we will allow Coronavirus domain sales on our platform, but we will donate our cut to charity (ie. ventilators/finding a cure for Coronavirus), that is a totally different story, but you are not!

Epik are attempting to profit from a hole in the market and profit from a global pandemic in the same way people are who trying to sell these domains, which makes you just as bad (possibly worse) than people holding these domains as you are knowingly hosting a platform for people to sell these controversial domains, for (as said) profit yourself.


@Kingslayer
thank you, so I don't have to be the messenger this time

controversial subjects are the butter and bread business of @Rob

1) give "gab" a home as nobody wants it
2) give Holocaust deniers a platform as nobody would want to do so
3) claim the earth is flat just for fun and traffic
4) hey come transfer/register your corona name with epik

I don't like it
-you may-

you are welcome to your own opinion
and so am I




We'll use proceeds to help domainers feed their families and use our modest margin to keep growing Epik, provide great value money, and fund cool empowerment projects like:

- Hi.Tv - Free video chatting
- PrayerMeeting.com - For churches without walls
- Websites.org - a new project to help people to download entire websites for offline viewing without tracking.

That list is just from this month but you get the idea.

and here we go with promoting epik:
-who is exploiting the current pandemic?-


This is a really balanced comment.

Ironically, domainers did the world a great service. Do you know how? By taking a lot of decent Corona domains off the market, they made it really hard for actual scammers to find an endless supply of decent Corona domains that they could buy for cheap to be able to run convincing schemes. Scammers are forced to either negotiate with a domainer who has one, or register a garbage name that few would trust.



are you kidding me?

domainer trying to profit from domain names related to coronavirus are actually
doing something good as they prevent the scammer from registering them..?????
 
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domainer trying to profit from domain names related to coronavirus are actually
doing something good as they prevent the scammer from registering them..?????

Of course it can’t be proven that this has happened, but let’s assume at least some of the names currently parked could otherwise have been put to nefarious use if they’d been purchased by someone else. Is that too much a stretch of the imagination?
 
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I agree it's useful for communities to be able to access domains relating to this while the world is rattled into a still point. Are domains with "911" banned from exchanging? How about the word "virus" or "disease" - should those be banned from exchanging? Perhaps in a 1984 world...

If Bill Gates and his eugenicist crew have their legal team eyeballing domains, they could start riff raff with you as the Gates cartel owns the patents to COVID-19 to both the virus and the vaccine.

Although you might get hired to their team if you repeat their rhetoric and scripts to their liking.
 
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Folks using the word "price gouging" should reconsider. It's silly to even mention this on a DOMAINER forum, where most of us make a living being first and making hard-to-find assets available to the most qualified market participant.

 
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A few days ago I sold the domain name UVSanitizer.com for $6500. Demand for this domain was clearly driven by COVID. The appraised value is actually higher. I certainly could have held out for more. However, our cost basis was low so fine to sell it and hopefully it gets used for a good purpose. We shall see!

There are plenty of ways to add value in the war on this plague. However, if we start drawing a line on a term like COVID or Corona, then soon we'll also be moving that line so that anything that is private sector that seeks to address the problem of containing a modern plague would be off limits.

To the free market advocates and free thinkers, thank you for holding the line.
 
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give Holocaust deniers a platform as nobody would want to do so
What's wrong with Holocaust deniers now?

Being Jewish and Israeli, and one who lost more than half of my ancestor families in occupation during WW2, i don't see any problem in Holocaust deniers.

If people are idiots, how can they harm me? Just let them be. Can they convince any sane and educated and critically thinking person that Holocaust never happened? I really doubt so.

The real problem and threat to the free world are, in opposite, fighters with Holocaust deniers, all those anti defamation leagues etc etc. Because they want to shut people up, to ban free speech, and ultimately themselves are now the biggest cause of antisemitism in the modern times.

Sorry for derailing this thread to politics.
 
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What's wrong with Holocaust deniers now?

Being Jewish and Israeli, and one who lost more than half of my ancestor families in occupation during WW2, i don't see any problem in Holocaust deniers.

If people are idiots, how can they harm me? Just let them be. Can they convince any sane and educated and critically thinking person that Holocaust never happened? I really doubt so.

The real problem and threat to the free world are, in opposite, fighters with Holocaust deniers, all those anti defamation leagues etc etc. Because they want to shut people up, to ban free speech, and ultimately themselves are now the biggest cause of antisemitism in the modern times.

Sorry for derailing this thread to politics.

No i like it!!
thread political in nature, u added ur personal.

Thank you!!! maybe Frank finally give it a rest.
 
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What's wrong with Holocaust deniers now?

Being Jewish and Israeli, and one who lost more than half of my ancestor families in occupation during WW2, i don't see any problem in Holocaust deniers.

If people are idiots, how can they harm me? Just let them be. Can they convince any sane and educated and critically thinking person that Holocaust never happened? I really doubt so.

The real problem and threat to the free world are, in opposite, fighters with Holocaust deniers, all those anti defamation leagues etc etc. Because they want to shut people up, to ban free speech, and ultimately themselves are now the biggest cause of antisemitism in the modern times.

Sorry for derailing this thread to politics.

even if you were right @golan,
why would somebody want to give a home to those people?

but unfortunately, there are a lot of uneducated people
and younger people who don't "know"
and they are absolutely open for these thoughts
that can and will be converted into some "anti" jewish attitude

and there is a good reason for Germany to treat it as a severe crime

but the topic is
epik giving a home to any controversial group
as Rob likes the PR related to that

for example:
he invented a long story about the earth being flat
just for the traffic, it produces
here at namepros
even admitting he doesn't think the earth is flat

so the story of giving a home to corona virus-related domains is pure PR
in the same manner as all the other stupid stories
starting with the New Zealand shooter being a hoax.

New Zealand shooter:
https://www.namepros.com/threads/wh...k-and-rob-monster.1128748/page-7#post-7159683


flat earth:
https://www.namepros.com/threads/wh...-and-rob-monster.1128748/page-76#post-7260999

https://www.namepros.com/threads/wh...-and-rob-monster.1128748/page-76#post-7260999

https://www.namepros.com/threads/wh...-and-rob-monster.1128748/page-75#post-7259885


https://www.namepros.com/threads/wh...-and-rob-monster.1128748/page-41#post-7183262
 
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