Afternic.com banning sex and gambling (and trademarks now)

[JMJ]

Bad move I think. When will people realize sex and gambling will always be a part of our lives. You can't hide it and Ted Haggard learned that one the hard way. Pun intended.. Churches can run bingo halls and have raffles and as long as it's in the name of god it's all fine. Governments can setup lotteries and allow casinos but no online gambling. This is precisely why Repulicans are losing their stonghold. It's not a do as I say not as I do world.

Even if the owners vowed to never have sex, gamble, own any names related to sex or gambling or visit any site related to those subjects in this thread you could never honestly be sure they are the clean, reputable, bible toating (or beating) people they portray themselves to be as we have all learned from various priests, preachers, evangelists, and political leaders as of late.


I just went in a dumped all of my personal names and the truth is adult/gambling makes up 1% of my portfolio.. Going to chat with a client who's portfolio I manage aswell. Considering his adult and gambling related names outweigh his non I don't think it will be hard to convince him to do the same. No matter how it is portrayed it's censorship.

 

[Domagon]

I don't see any announcement about such bans on Afternic.

Please post a link(s) to the official announcement / news article.

Ron

 

[JMJ]

Date: 11/10/2006 11:42:49 -0500
From: Afternic.com
Reply-to: Roger Collins
To:
Subject: Afternic Policy Change All headers

Dear Members, Domainers and Friends:



We want to share with you a recent decision that we believe will put Afternic in an even better position to serve the small business, SOHO community and greater domain industry.



After extensive consideration, we have decided to no longer accept domain names that promote hate, sex, obscenity or self-destructive behavior, such as substance abuse, violence and gambling. The sole rationale behind our decision is to make Afternic a more comfortable site for mainstream domain name shoppers, especially small business owners. We recognize that taking a leadership role on this issue may have a negative financial impact on our business in the near term. Nonetheless, we believe strongly that it's the right thing long-term decision for our industry and Afternic.



In the next few days, we will de-list these kinds of domain names currently posted on our site. Members who own such names will receive a letter from us informing them which names will no longer be listed. We hope that they, and others, will understand that we have no interest in censorship and that we fully support First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and expression. And, there is certainly no lack of other Internet sites where such names are welcomed.



The Internet, much like the early days of television, is still a new frontier. We believe it is up to the industry leaders-and we include Afternic here-to step up and determine what constitutes professional standards and practices. We take this action in the interest of socially responsible corporate behavior and hope that it leads to further healthy industry dialog and discussion on the topic.



We greatly appreciate your business and support of Afternic, and will continue to endeavor to earn your confidence and trust.



Very best regards,

Roger Collins

President of Afternic, Inc.

 

[Domagon]

Like 5 minutes after I posted my reply, I just got the same email from Afternic.

Email headers look legit, but am still a little skeptical until I see a notice posted on their website and/or the adult section, etc there disappears.

Anyways, thanks for the headsup on this.

Ron

 

[AWest]

Email headers look legit, but am still a little skeptical until I see a notice posted on their website and/or the adult section, etc there disappears.

Hello Domagon,

You can find the information on the Afternic website here: https://www.afternic.com/news.php.

Best regards,

Amber West
Afternic.com

 

[JMJ]

Glad you could join us in the topic Afterchurch. Care to explain how this is going to cleanse us of all our sins? I'm sure my client would like to hear your explanation of his unprofessionalism before we hit the delete button on those thousands of names. Better hope I don't find any pictures of you guys hanging around in the stripclubs or playing at the tables at the conventions. Not saying that you did just better hope I don't.

 

[cityforums.com]

I think Afternic is trying to be cleaner than the government

that promotes lotto tickets to its poor citizens. This

is actually good news for its competition.

 

[Redleg]

Just got the mail myself, and all I can say is that it's great news Afternic!! :D


(At least for SEDO....)

 

[msfedxx]

That is good news for sedo.

 

[floatingworld]

just think of all those cat names caught up in the cleansing sweep! :td:

 

[IAmAllanShore]

Glad you could join us in the topic Afterchurch. Care to explain how this is going to cleanse us of all our sins? I'm sure my client would like to hear your explanation of his unprofessionalism before we hit the delete button on those thousands of names. Better hope I don't find any pictures of you guys hanging around in the stripclubs or playing at the tables at the conventions. Not saying that you did just better hope I don't.

We're free to disagree with any decision, but let us not forget that they are a private company and can decide for themselves what their business model will be, and you can decide whether or not to avail yourself of their offerings.

That being said, let's not take your disagreement with their decision to the level of ad-hominem attacks (The "after church" and "cleansing of sins" smacks of intolerance to the "churchgoing" among us... albeit I am not in that crowd, I still managed to find the tone of your content very displeasing...), and instead keep things above board.

Anyhow, the 'net is a scary enough place already for some small businesses or new ventures, and removing a lot of what is objectionable to some viewers could make some buyers feel more "at ease" amongst a crowd more hardened than they. In any event, this change won't effect my current offerings (or lack thereof) on afternic, but I will still be interested to see what, if any, effect there is on afternic's mention on dnjournal's big board

-Allan :gl:

 

[JMJ]

Afternic made the first slap in the face by calling anyone who deals with adult and/or gambling names unprofessional. Their comments are made as if they are speaking for the domain community with their self proclaimed "leadership" and how we should all follow in their footsteps. Even though I'm not a big dealer in those types of names I find it insulting.

They have every right to decide what to list or not to list on their site but trying to draw the community into their idea of what is and isn't right or wrong is wrong in itself. I want to know where I can put my vote in our these leadership roles because I surely don't them speaking for me.

They asked for the "dialog and discussion" they may not consider it healthy and I could care less so here it is.

 

[tipsfromthetop]

Afternic made the first slap in the face by calling anyone who deals with adult and/or gambling names unprofessional. Their comments are made as if they are speaking for the domain community with their self proclaimed "leadership" and how we should all follow in their footsteps. Even though I'm not a big dealer in those types of names I find it insulting.

Well said, i found that insulting also what bothers me also is people pay to be apart of Afternic and some people invest heavy into adult etc names these guys will now feel cheated out of subscription money by Afternic.

Personally i feel they have burnt themselves with this and all i can say is go Sedo!!

 

[markfromslo]

Somebody got religion.

Which is fine, if that is what they want to do.

I guess they figured they were losing to Sedo anyway and figured they'd carve out their own particular niche. And to think, Sedo is so screwed up that they'd be so easy to beat if they wanted to. This move won't do it. I guess Sedo can rule now without making the necessary changes to the user interface we really need.

Note: They said they wanted to be more responsible to the business community. That could have been done with a default filter in place. So that cannot be the reason. It's their beliefs, which I respect. But, it's a bad business decision.

Addition:

I just posted an article about this in my DomainRookie.com blog.

Here's the link: http://domainrookie.com/afternic-gets-a-case-of-the-goodie-two-shoes

 

[-db-]

...we have decided to no longer accept domain names that promote hate, sex, obscenity or self-destructive behavior, such as substance abuse, violence and gambling.

Sex and gambling aside... I won't miss those other topics.

 

[markfromslo]

I just sent the story to Digg. I think this story should make the rounds, so if you'd like to Digg it, go to :

http://digg.com/tech_news/Afternic_Gets_a_Case_of_the_Goodie_Two_Shoes

 

[MinionDH]

My 1-year Afternic subscription is expiring next month and I wasn't sure if I wanted to renew or not.. but after reading this post I definately will not.

 

[Dave_Z]

Just on the basis of that email, I don't see where they called "anyone who
deals with adult and/or gambling names unprofessional." I did see them claim
a leadership role, and that's it.

Perhaps I'm blind, but I don't see where exactly they are "trying to draw the
community into their idea of what is and isn't right or wrong is wrong". They
did indicate they "have no interest in censorship and that we fully support
First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and expression."

Then again, perception is sometimes everything for some people. And I guess
I ought to spend more time trying to read between the lines, though I don't
see why if I get the point on the spot.

Let's not forget what is the main reason (or rather the sole rationale) they've
specified in their email:

The sole rationale behind our decision is to make Afternic a more comfortable site for mainstream domain name shoppers, especially small business owners.

If recent events and their data indeed suggests of such, then can we really
blame them for making a "controversial" decision?

Perhaps one fault could be they didn't bother to "consult" their customers of
this matter before coming out with this. It's a nice idea, but it's not something
every business has to do all the time.

As always, move your business elsewhere if you don't happen to agree with all
or any of their decisions. Let the market decide.

 

[wot]

Cancelled my Afternic subscription last month, seems like they are seeking a few more cancellations.

Major opportunity for someone/ company to step up and make a site dedicated to selling all of the names that Afternic will not take or are deleting

 

[SpareDomains]

We believe it is up to the industry leaders-and we include Afternic here-to step up and determine what constitutes professional standards and practices.


I currently own 6 domains that could be considered light adult and 1 gambling domain so no big loss here. I agree that they have the right to change their policies as they are a private company, not saying that I agree with this decision however as I am all for a free market and point blank sex sells and gambling is strong as well. I think they should have posted their new terms in advance of putting them in force as they do require a membership fee so what happens to the guy that has 1000 gambling domains listed and nothing else? Refund or tough luck? I have paid membership for the last 2 years and will let it expire in a few months based on that email as I have made thousands selling adult domains in the past so I must be unprofessional. :hehe: