discuss Blatantly Racist Domains

[Ategy]

So I'm going through tomorrow's auction list at GoDaddy (technically today, but I haven't slept yet) .. and I come across the following domain:

GasTheJews.com

I really don't want this to be a "GoDaddy" thing .. as in fact I've probably gone through well over a million domains and for the most part now that I think about it I'm actually impressed with how few I've seen considering the number of domains. The very reason it's hard to find good domains is why I like domaining as the best way to be successful at domaining is to find good names that don't get noticed .. so it's very understandable that occasional bad names also might go under the radar.

I've seen tons of adult domains which don't bother me at all .. I've seen a few borderline or potentially dual meaning domains which also don't bother me .. even the reaction to having "retarded.com" in the NamesCon auction seemed a little much to me as there are potentially possible uses of the domain that wouldn't necessarily be offensive ... but I don't ever recall seeing a domain quite as blatantly racist as this one with absolutely no dis-ambiguity or potential alternate/dual-meaning. I'm not jewish .. but the domain still crosses me as wrong.


I came here to share because I'm truly curious as to if anyone has seen anything similar? Are there policies in place for things this extreme? I'm a hard core believer in freedom of expression .. GasTheJews really crosses my usually extremely tolerant line.


Note: Sadly .. not only was it registered once .. but it actually has a bid!

 

[deez007]

As much as this domain is downright despicable, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that perhaps it shouldn't be reported. Purely based on the fact that it's one step closer to Internet Censorship... who defines exactly what is "offensive" I mean yes this domain is insensitive but the person who owns it has the right to be a royal racist douchb@g if he/she chooses to be. We all have a right not to associate with those sort of people... If the owner actually decides to develop the domain into a site then we have a choice not to visit the site. Reporting it or trying to shut the site down will just give the domain or site attention..more attention that it deserves.

It's no different from walking into a KKK meeting and trying to shut them down... if they want to be narrow-minded bigots then that is their choice. Everyone has their own choice to be who or what they want and we all have a choice on who we want to associate with.

I think we need to realize that NOBODY can offend you or UPSET YOU... it is impossible. The only thing we are in FULL control off is our emotions, nobody has control over that besides ourselves. If someone is racist or offensive towards me, I have a choice on how I react. I can choose to make a big deal about it and get offended and give them control over my emotions, get p*ssed off and make their face get intimately acquainted with my fist, repeatedly! OR I can choose to NOT give a cr@p and not give that person control over MY emotions.

 

[lock]

Do you want to enforce internet censorship and live in a bubble also?

 

[Want2learn]

Personally as one who is Jewish but not religious I say, don't take it down. Sell it develop it. I like to know who it is that hates me. Not many legit companies are going to invest in a domain like this!

 

[uglydork]

I own Hatred.com and Blacks.net - people have told me I should donate both so they don't end up in the wrong hands.
We cant censor the internet or it will end up a government mule. If it offends you, keep moving

 

[Kuffy]

I'm not politically correct, and I don't have problems with discussing issues that many people avoid. What annoys me are the members of the knitting club that get a blackboard renamed as a chalkboard, and who move away when a black guy sits next to them. Also, I think that "black" is a simple description of skin colour, and shouldn't cause any problems. The current alternative " a person of colour" is far more racist, and it smacks of white supremacy, and I refuse to use it.

 

[Kate]

Even offensive names may have a purpose and be developed in a certain way.
Check out hitler.de for example.

On the occasion, I have registered sensitive domains so that they are not left available to other people who may have less honorable intentions. Yes, many domains are registered/acquired just to keep them out of 'competitors'.

My guess is, a domainer will park it and it will never sell, then it will drop again. It's not very much different than buying names after tragedies live VT shooting or AF447.
So I would say it depends what will be done (or not) with this domain.

 

[Ategy]

Hey .. I'm not completely disagreeing with you .. lol .. partially playing devil's advocate .. and partially just trying to demonstrate how it really isn't the simple choice most people immediately make to jump on either side. Anything free speech is actually a really interesting debate/discussion .. as there truly are very strong and valid points on both sides.

How "speech" (spoken/written) relates to the web and further to actual domain names is even more interesting .. just by having this discussion I've thought of a couple pros/cons for both sides I didn't see before ...

If I truly wanted everyone here to be on the same side I'd have used the hyphenated domain:

NukeTheA-HolesResponsibleForAppraisalScams.com

 

[mattG]

So I'm going through tomorrow's auction list at GoDaddy (technically today, but I haven't slept yet) .. and I come across the following domain:

GasTheJews.com

I really don't want this to be a "GoDaddy" thing .. as in fact I've probably gone through well over a million domains and for the most part now that I think about it I'm actually impressed with how few I've seen considering the number of domains. The very reason it's hard to find good domains is why I like domaining as the best way to be successful at domaining is to find good names that don't get noticed .. so it's very understandable that occasional bad names also might go under the radar.

I've seen tons of adult domains which don't bother me at all .. I've seen a few borderline or potentially dual meaning domains which also don't bother me .. even the reaction to having "retarded.com" in the NamesCon auction seemed a little much to me as there are potentially possible uses of the domain that wouldn't necessarily be offensive ... but I don't ever recall seeing a domain quite as blatantly racist as this one with absolutely no dis-ambiguity or potential alternate/dual-meaning. I'm not jewish .. but the domain still crosses me as wrong.


I came here to share because I'm truly curious as to if anyone has seen anything similar? Are there policies in place for things this extreme? I'm a hard core believer in freedom of expression .. GasTheJews really crosses my usually extremely tolerant line.


Note: Sadly .. not only was it registered once .. but it actually has a bid!

You're clearly not too offended by it. Based on your snide little poll, I can't even take you seriously. Get real dude. Everyone knows that the internet cannot/should not be censored and that from time to time, people are going to reg some despicable names. But here you are, not only promoting a despicable name, but turning it into joke by including "sell it to Donald Trump" in your poll.

 

[Ategy]

So the question would be ...

I think you meant to say "questions"! lol

But seriously .. you asked a lot of good questions .. I'll actually again answer to the best of my knowledge .. but just keep in mind I'm not a lawyer or anything .. I'm simply very interested on the subject and read a couple of books on it ...

This considered hate speech or just a string of words with a "potentially" hateful meaning? Who should decide if it is or is not hate speech?
This domain is a call to action for genocide .. obviously in the end a court would need to decide that fact .. but this case is very clear.

Is this even speech?
As domainers .. I think this is far and away the most interesting question. I'm fairly sure it could be legally argued that it is. The "speech" in free speech really is the wrong term .. it's more "communication". A lot of texts on the subject refer to pamphlets .. but it could be books .. or sign language. It's a very sticky subject sometimes.

Who's jurisdiction should it fall under if deemed a hate speech crime? Probably the domain owners jurisdiction?
Due to the international nature of the internet I'm thinking an international court. I'm not sure what legal authority ICANN actually falls under. Although I'm not sure that matters. If not international than it would more likely be at the registrars' jurisdiction. Maybe ccTLD's would fall under national court. Again .. these are my guesses .. I'd love to get an expert's opinion .. although I'm not sure if a domain has ever even faced this sort of test.

What if hate speech is not outlawed in the domain owners jurisdiction?
It might or might not matter .. I can think of arguments on both sides. It certainly wouldn't matter under international law. Whereas if it was a ccTLD it could possibly mean they can do what they want as I'm pretty sure ICANN has no oversight on ccTLD's

What if the name is held in privacy?
The wouldn't matter ... IF this did make it to court a subpoena would quickly and easily get the information required/

Who would be responsible to provide the legal challenge to uncover the privacy. And pay for that legal challenge?
These sort of things aren't really an issue for international cases .. there are treaties and such things that allocates funds to support these courts and staffing (in The Hague I think)


Where do we draw the line? IHateDogs.com? KillRedheads.com? Is that now considered hate speech.
Actually .. I'm quite sure that there are indeed very clear guidelines for clear offences. There obviously is a line of tolerance draw .. and in the end it's usually the courts who decide based on law. This is one part of the debate that a lot of people admittedly have a hard time with though.

Does that make it right? Ethical? Professional? No! But the reality is, there is too much gray area here to expect the registrars/registries to manage this.
For the 99% of other dual-meaning borderline domains we cross everyday I completely agree. But again .. I'm rather certain this domain falls well past the defined line.
There also is the age old question of even IF the registrar is responsible or not for the content of others. This type of thing is a huge debate for sites like Facebook and YouTube .. where content owners are suying them because pirated media is being shared on their sites .. but those companies argue they are simply tools and that it is the end user who is responsible .. both arguments do have some validity .. but I think the way things are going .. that the networks are indeed responsible for the content shared in their network.

 

[mr-x]

You may feel better but you've accomplished nothing.

These domains will be re-registered when they drop, you're just bringing attention to them.

 

[mr-x]

I wouldn't use it as an opportunity to slander someone

 

[RogueWriter]

Why would you turn this political by making a stupid ‘sell it to Donald trump’ option? Please enlighten me how he is racist. Please. Please enlighten me on how Making a dumb—- remark like that is appropriate to domaining. That is in itself offensive.

 

[Addison]

So I'm going through tomorrow's auction list at GoDaddy (technically today, but I haven't slept yet) .. and I come across the following domain:

GasTheJews.com

That's too far. I'd report it to the marketplace, but your poll lacks that as a choice.

 

[DNWon]

I'm all for Freedom of Speech, Expression and Religion within the confines of the Laws of the Land.

hate speech *IS* a crime in most modern jurisdictions.

So the question would be, is this considered hate speech or just a string of words with a "potentially" hateful meaning? Who should decide if it is or is not hate speech? Is this even speech? Who's jurisdiction should it fall under if deemed a hate speech crime? Probably the domain owners jurisdiction? What if hate speech is not outlawed in the domain owners jurisdiction? What if the name is held in privacy? Who would be responsible to provide the legal challenge to uncover the privacy. And pay for that legal challenge?

There is way too many domains (infinite one may say) that could be construed as hateful, depending on someones point of view, that it would be nearly impossible to police. Where do we draw the line? IHateDogs.com? KillRedheads.com? Is that now considered hate speech. Does that make it right? Ethical? Professional? No! But the reality is, there is too much gray area here to expect the registrars/registries to manage this. I suppose if it was reported as "hate speech" they would probably have to answer to it, with their terms of service as this is most likely covered in GD's TOS? My guess is, that all domains on face value, are protected as Free Speech, because there is no context in which to say it's hate speech, unless the domain is developed as such.

It's a an extremely offensive domain name and I can't see any market for it's profitable resale or commercial development, but was probably originally registered, owned, and now bid on, by an anti-semetic neanderthal looking to flex their "Freedom of Speech" muscle!

 

[Pepto]

Personally as one who is Jewish but not religious I say, don't take it down. Sell it develop it. I like to know who it is that hates me. Not many legit companies are going to invest in a domain like this!

I think who originally registered it has no anti-Semitic beliefs just a quirky name . I think i am the only one who actually thinks its a clever domain because its a well known phrase.

I'm all for freedom of speech though as @Want2learn says if anyone should be offended its the Jewish i just don't pander to feeling offended by a race/religion/sex that isn't my own.

Everyone has there right to an opinion i especially do not like heavy handed tactics used by all types to prosecute or target .

Just to add opinions are like arseholes everyone has one.

 

[Ategy]

KillBlacks.org

Another one .. now in closeout at $8.. which means it's been kicking around the GoDaddy Platform upwards of 2 Weeks:

https://auctions.godaddy.com/trpItemListing.aspx?miid=239674979

 

[Ategy]

I sent them an email about an hour ago .. and it's already down (or somebody bought it because I posted it here).

 

[Silentptnr]

Unfortunately there are people that think these types of domains are funny, okay, even profitable.

I don't outright support banning anything, but I do believe that each platform has duty to ensure quality and to prevent this type of domain from getting on their platform.

These issues are real life issues and I find that the internet mirrors real life to some extent so I'm in no way surprised. It just reminds me that people with these types of thoughts exist.

Let the people that auction it and the people that buy it live with the stigma of having interest in this type of negative domain.

 

[Paul Nicks]

fixed

 

[RogueWriter]

You tell me ??? I never even said he was racist .. lol

You create a thread about what do you do with racist domains then one of your solutions is to sell them to Donald Trump, the implication being he could make use of them. Because why? Why are you suggesting that Donald Trump would need racist domains? You knew exactly what you were implying and I don’t like it.

 

[wormfood]

This thread is idiotic on so many levels.

"My issue is them "profiting" on such names"

Not all domains in expired/closeouts are registered at GoDaddy, but many are, so they could have ALREADY profited from these.

Anyway, there's more than one reason why a person might buy a weird domain. What is the big deal with GoDaddy taking their money for it? It's their choice to bid on it, just as it would be their choice to register it.

We know that GoDaddy would never support murder, rape, or whatever else, so why does it matter if GoDaddy gets more money? You are COMPLAINING that a racist and/or violent person might have to pay MORE than reg fee for a disturbing domain, if it happens to be one of those people bidding. Why the hell would you care? Guys, guys, we've gotta let it drop completely so we can let them have it for $10 instead of $25 or more. This is very important. We can't let GoDaddy profit more than that! We can't let them take any more of these evil people's money beyond the registration fee!

"I'm am actually VERY VERY pro free speech .."

Yet you're bothered by a few domain names.

Domains are just a string of characters registered in a database with no website or intention or context attached. I could buy something "bad" and do something GOOD with it. KillAllBlackPeople.com being a "call to action" domain doesn't matter at all if there's no context. NOBODY is uttering those words, they're just in a domain name. If somebody buys the domain, it doesn't mean they agree with what the words say.
I can also buy RapeCounseling.com and put something really bad on it. Is it the seller's fault for not vetting me if I do? They sold it to me for thousands of dollars....how horrible of them. They profited from this....

BTW, gasthejews is listed on Afternic.
https://www.afternic.com/domain/gasthejews.com
and killallmen that's just silly though.
https://www.afternic.com/domain/killallmen.com

So are you going to whine about these? Obviously, Afternic shouldn't put them on the front page, but otherwise, what's the problem?

There doesn't even seem to be a solution to this problem you've made up. If you keep the domain off Afternic, it could still sell at expired auction or be re-registered by a weirdo eventually. I guess people like you who are obsessed would have to hoard all the bad phrases in the world just to keep a few crazy people from getting them. Sounds expensive.

 

[Ategy]

On auction today: RapeGirls.com

@Paul Nicks .. how's that bug fix coming along?

 

[MapleDots]

On auction today: RapeGirls.com

@Paul Nicks .. how's that bug fix coming along?

Just to toss something out there...

What if a rape support group for girls wanted to use that name for their support group?

Looking at it from that side would it still be so bad?

I'm kind of with @golan on this one, we don't so much need a domain police for the domain name itself but much more for how the domain is used once it goes live.

One should not judge a blank canvas until the artwork has been put on top and there are numerous ways for offensive domains to be marketed, where does it stop? I mean what about a Trump domain? That's pretty offensive to a lot of people.

 

[Ategy]

GreenGrape would then also trigger the filter right?
Rape is a tough word to filter, it's part of a lot of legitimate words unlike the f word.
There will probably always have to be a human touch there to assure nothing slides through.
Better yet a simple report button similar to what we have on the forum could be an option.

That's pretty much why I keep posting these .. it's really beyond me that a public company like GoDaddy doesn't have a dual bot/human filtration process. Basically automatically flag anything with problematically prone keywords .. then have a human go through those.

It's important to remember that particularly with expired domains registered at GoDaddy, that these domains now effectively belong to GoDaddy and any potential sale nets them 100% profit PLUS renewal PLUS the potential continued future business of the potential buyer.

The one thing that really bothers me with all these new technology companies like Uber, Facebook, AirBnB, etc .. is their claims that they are merely intermediaries and as such are not responsible for their content or the goods/services being sold via their service. At a certain point there needs to be a minimum of corporate responsibility.

The case here however is really one step worse in that GoDaddy can't make that claim of only being an intermediary, as they own the expired domains when they sell at auction. So sure I'll be the first to agree it's a pain in the ass to take racism / hate and other such issues seriously when it comes to removing inappropriate domains .. and I'll be the first never to expect complete perfection .. but the domains that are getting through really show that they have no smart combination filter (Bot + Human) .. or that the person doing the human portion might need some stronger coffee.

It's not just _rape domains .. for me it's more the calls to action (I'm actually very pro-free-speech, so there's actually a lot that I'm fine that they sell that most would think I wouldn't be ok with considering all my posts about this) .. here's another one that I found while going through the main list building tomorrow's auction list for NameCult .. SellYourKid.com