Domain censorship - Links to news, etc?

[lothos]

I'm doing a new project and looking for info on domains that have been suspended by the registrar due to content on the site, a spam complaint, etc. (Something like the seclists.org/Godaddy incident, for example)

On the flip side of that, I'm also looking for registrars that won't suspend a domain unless they get a court order, registrars that don't suspend controversial sites. A link to a statement from the registrar would be ideal, but if someone could suggest a couple I can do my own research as well.

I'm looking for links to news articles, forum posts, stuff like that.

***EDIT TO CLARIFY:
I purchased DomainCensorship.com in February for this project. The website is in the early stages of development so I don't want to share too much about it, but some of the things it will contain are links to news articles, and document cases of domain censorship and suspension e.g. the Godaddy/Myspace/Seclists incident, Directnic/Kenyatech, FamilyAlbum.com, registrars violating ICANN rules, etc.

Example of news articles I'm looking for:

GoDaddy Yanks Security Site Offline After MySpace Complaint | Digital Media Wire
GoDaddy Defends SecLists Takedown | Threat Level | Wired.com
Survey: Are domain registrars free-speech friendly? - CNET News
Domain Name Wire » News » GoDaddy Deletes Domain Name for Inaccurate Email Address - The Domain Industry's News Source

A lot of these incidents haven't made mainstream news, so I'm also looking for links to forum posts regarding incidents that haven't gotten publicity.

 

[lothos]

any other big incidents besides the Godaddy/myspace/seclists incident?

 

[lothos]

is this in the wrong section or is no one interested? lol

 

[jberryhill]

Maybe nobody wants to help with your project.

Oh, by the way, I'm setting up a site for child porn, spam, and illegal drug sales. Can anyone recommend a registrar that would be the least likely to shut me down? Thanks, folks.

You are going to have to be less obvious when you are asking for help with whatever obnoxious or illegal thing you are planning to do. But, still, don't expect a lot of help.

 

[PlusNames]

Maybe nobody wants to help with your project.

Oh, by the way, I'm setting up a site for child porn, spam, and illegal drug sales. Can anyone recommend a registrar that would be the least likely to shut me down? Thanks, folks.

You are going to have to be less obvious when you are asking for help with whatever obnoxious or illegal thing you are planning to do. But, still, don't expect a lot of help.

I wouldn't suggest that... If someone comes to this site saying "I'm setting up a site for child porn..." then I'm pretty sure (and hope) that the person would be banned from this site.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[liquidcherry]

If someone comes to this site saying "I'm setting up a site for child porn..."

jberryhill just said that in his post!! lol:notme:

But i think he is right, the OP asked something fishy under the disguise"i am doing a project", i had the same suspicion when i saw it

Cheers

Liquid

 

[RicoShay]

+2

 

[PlusNames]

jberryhill just said that in his post!! lol:notme:

But i think he is right, the OP asked something fishy under the disguise"i am doing a project", i had the same suspicion when i saw it

Cheers

Liquid

Hehe I know I'm just saying if someone would actually do that then they'd prob be banned.

 

[lothos]

Maybe nobody wants to help with your project.

Oh, by the way, I'm setting up a site for child porn, spam, and illegal drug sales. Can anyone recommend a registrar that would be the least likely to shut me down? Thanks, folks.

You are going to have to be less obvious when you are asking for help with whatever obnoxious or illegal thing you are planning to do. But, still, don't expect a lot of help.

Wow. I see everyone has gotten the wrong idea, there is nothing illicit going on here. If I was going to setup an illegal site wouldn't I simply get a chinese registrar/host and be done with it?

I purchased DomainCensorship.com in February for this project. The website is in the early stages of development so I don't want to share too much about it, but some of the things it will contain are links to news articles, and document cases of domain censorship and suspension e.g. the Godaddy/Myspace/Seclists incident, Directnic/Kenyatech, FamilyAlbum.com, registrars violating ICANN rules, etc.

Just FYI I have been the head of security for AntiChildPorn.org since 1999 which can be verified on their website, and frankly your post and insinuation that I'm doing something wrong was very insulting.

 

[RicoShay]

Well in that case accept my apology because I thought pretty much the same thing as jberryhill posted. To us, or to me at least, it came across a bit random and suspicious - all we know about you or your intentions are your username and the post above.

But either way, apologies from me anyway - as for your question - sorry not much I can help with, but good luck, I'm sure its not going to be too hard to find.

 

[lothos]

Wow people, I'm simply asking for links to news articles! Did I not mention that twice in my original post? Where did I state "Hai guyz wut domain place won't shut me down?" :lol:

For example:

GoDaddy Yanks Security Site Offline After MySpace Complaint | Digital Media Wire
GoDaddy Defends SecLists Takedown | Threat Level | Wired.com
Survey: Are domain registrars free-speech friendly? - CNET News
Domain Name Wire » News » GoDaddy Deletes Domain Name for Inaccurate Email Address - The Domain Industry's News Source

---------- Post added at 01:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:54 PM ----------

Well in that case accept my apology because I thought pretty much the same thing as jberryhill posted. To us, or to me at least, it came across a bit random and suspicious - all we know about you or your intentions are your username and the post above.

But either way, apologies from me anyway - as for your question - sorry not much I can help with, but good luck, I'm sure its not going to be too hard to find.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

It's surprisingly difficult to locate these incidents, and I'm also looking for incidents that didn't make mainstream news, hence why I am asking here.

 

[liquidcherry]

well, sorry from me too if it came across as insulting but you should probably revise your original post then

Cheers

Liquid

 

[lothos]

well, sorry from me too if it came across as insulting but you should probably revise your original post then

Cheers

Liquid

Thanks, I appreciate it.

I was under the impression for some reason that posts in the Legal section weren't editable. I've added additional info to my original post, thanks for the suggestion.

---------- Post added at 02:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:03 PM ----------

I wouldn't suggest that... If someone comes to this site saying "I'm setting up a site for child porn..." then I'm pretty sure (and hope) that the person would be banned from this site.

Just my 2 cents.

I think you were sticking up for me and not jumping to conclusions, thank you.

 

[Ms Domainer]

*

You might find some info on the No Daddy site (if you haven't already found it).

*

 

[lothos]

*

You might find some info on the No Daddy site (if you haven't already found it).

*

Thanks for the suggestion, that's actually one of the few resources I've come across. I've also seen a few Slashdot articles and I'm going through the comments on those as well.

 

[Domagon]

I purchased DomainCensorship.com in February for this project. The website is in the early stages of development so I don't want to share too much about it, but some of the things it will contain are links to news articles, and document cases of domain censorship and suspension e.g. the Godaddy/Myspace/Seclists incident, Directnic/Kenyatech, FamilyAlbum.com, registrars violating ICANN rules, etc.

Sounds like a good idea, since there are numerous examples of legitimate, but controversial sites being shutdown.

Your domain is regged at eNom (via NameCheap reseller acct). eNom is pretty good as in being middle of the road - they don't suspend on every little thing like GoDaddy seems to.

If you're seeking a registrar that doesn't suspend anything ever (referring to .COM domains, in particular) - well there's only one sure way of accomplishing that ... become an ICANN accredited registrar...

Of course there's still the registry (again, in reference to .COM domains) to contend with, but they rarely get involved in suspending domains - I'd say never, but I seem to think there was an incident recently in which VeriSign itself did suspend a domain by court order.

Personally, the only two domains I've ever "lost" were "Sex.TM" and "F*ckCensorship.US" (yep, .US censors!) ... ccTLDs are far more restrictive than gTLDs - what registrar one chooses makes basically zero difference, since ccTLD policy is not governed by ICANN, but rather by the countries to which they're delegated.

Just FYI I have been the head of security for AntiChildPorn.org since 1999 which can be verified on their website, and frankly your post and insinuation that I'm doing something wrong was very insulting.

John calls em the way he sees em. Your initial question seemed suspicious - that presumably was the point he was making.

In regards to be involved with an AntiChildPorn.org - that's admirable, but does not get you an automatic pass. That may, if anything, make some more suspicious; there are numerous instances in which people will involve themselves with an organization against something - be it child porn, drinking and driving, fighting fires, etc and yet, secretly do the exact opposite - fighting fires, in particular, is a well known, studied example of such phenomena in action ... when there's a series of arsons, often the first people investigators closely scrutinize are the local fire fighters.

Digressed a lot, and yet not as much as it may seem, because I'm getting to my next point...

In my view, if you're truly sincere at raising awareness / fighting censorship, then drop the Whois Privacy on your domain - be open about who you are and what your motivations are.

Good luck with the project.

Ron

 

[liquidcherry]

Very good points Ron, the road to suspicion is open again! lol

Cheers

Liquid

 

[lothos]

Sounds like a good idea, since there are numerous examples of legitimate, but controversial sites being shutdown.

Your domain is regged at eNom (via NameCheap reseller acct). eNom is pretty good as in being middle of the road - they don't suspend on every little thing like GoDaddy seems to.

I mostly became interested in doing this project after Godaddy shut down seclists.org. The only site I could find documenting stuff like this was the Nodaddy.com site and they focus on Godaddy.

I don't use Godaddy anymore because of that incident, and because of all the other incidents that came to my attention because of that, e.g. violating ICANN rules, deleting domains for invalid email addresses when the phone numbers worked, etc.

I use Namecheap for the majority of my domains, but I also use Moniker and Dynadot.

If you're seeking a registrar that doesn't suspend anything ever (referring to .COM domains, in particular) - well there's only one sure way of accomplishing that ... become an ICANN accredited registrar...

Of course there's still the registry (again, in reference to .COM domains) to contend with, but they rarely get involved in suspending domains - I'd say never, but I seem to think there was an incident recently in which VeriSign itself did suspend a domain by court order.

I'm more concerned with finding news articles and forum posts about incidents like Godaddy/Myspace/Seclists.org than finding a registrar that won't suspend a domain ever. Every registrar that I use, and just about every registrar that I've heard of, will suspend a domain for child porn. Every registrar suspends domains with a court order. That's how it should be.

It would be nice to find a registrar that won't suspend DomainCensorship.com for publicizing incidents it has been involved with :lol:

Personally, the only two domains I've ever "lost" were "Sex.TM" and "F*ckCensorship.US" (yep, .US censors!) ... ccTLDs are far more restrictive than gTLDs - what registrar one chooses makes basically zero difference, since ccTLD policy is not governed by ICANN, but rather by the countries to which they're delegated.

Losing f*ckcensorship.us seems wrong to me, especially with free speech issues in the US. That's exactly the kind of stuff I'm looking for, you have a link to some details I can check out? Whois shows it's still registered, with neustar dns servers, and appears to have a registry lock on it. What's the story behind that one?

John calls em the way he sees em. Your initial question seemed suspicious - that presumably was the point he was making.

My initial post was vague because I didn't want to share info on a project that was just in the beginning stages. I still don't see how asking for links to news articles is suspicious.

In regards to be involved with an AntiChildPorn.org - that's admirable, but does not get you an automatic pass. That may, if anything, make some more suspicious; there are numerous instances in which people will involve themselves with an organization against something - be it child porn, drinking and driving, fighting fires, etc and yet, secretly do the exact opposite - fighting fires, in particular, is a well known, studied example of such phenomena in action ... when there's a series of arsons, often the first people investigators closely scrutinize are the local fire fighters.

We've all seen firefighters arrested for arson. I've also personally seen someone kicked out of ACPO for having ties to child porn. If that makes me suspicious, then so be it.

Digressed a lot, and yet not as much as it may seem, because I'm getting to my next point...

In my view, if you're truly sincere at raising awareness / fighting censorship, then drop the Whois Privacy on your domain - be open about who you are and what your motivations are.

Good luck with the project.

Ron

I see you use a PO Box Ron, why don't you use your home address? You got something to hide?

I don't see the issue with the private whois. Wikileaks is private, and anonymous speech is still valid speech. The domain privacy was added maybe a week ago, feel free to check out the whois history if you're interested. You can see my own PO Box that way. Would a PO Box make you feel better?

Thanks for wishing me luck, looks like I'm going to need it :lol: Looking forward to hearing more about your suspended domain.

---------- Post added at 08:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:44 PM ----------

Very good points Ron, the road to suspicion is open again! lol

Cheers

Liquid

Do you know how to think for yourself or do you just follow everyone elses opinion?

 

[Domagon]

Losing f*ckcensorship.us seems wrong to me, especially with free speech issues in the US. That's exactly the kind of stuff I'm looking for, you have a link to some details I can check out? Whois shows it's still registered, with neustar dns servers, and appears to have a registry lock on it. What's the story behind that one?

Initially, many .US accredited registrars allowed most any .US domain to be registered, much like they do in many other TLDs...

But around that same time the U.S. Department of Commerce (yep, the U.S. government) "consulted" with the .US ccTLD registry operator Neustar regarding "dirty" domains - and hence resulting in a "dirty" word prohibition policy being enforced, retroactively, similar to what Network Solutions had back in the pre-ICANN days.

For more details see the link below:

ICANNWatch | .US Registry Deleting Domain Names Retroactively!!

The F*uckCensorship.US domain is in perpetual limbo - not really sure why though - perhaps there's still ongoing litigation regarding the .US "dirty" word policy?

I don't see the issue with the private whois. Wikileaks is private, and anonymous speech is still valid speech. The domain privacy was added maybe a week ago, feel free to check out the whois history if you're interested. You can see my own PO Box that way. Would a PO Box make you feel better?

A PO box is not the same as full-fledged whois privacy, which is what you're using. My real name is shown in whois.

Anonymous speech is all well and good, but generally is best avoided except for when revealing one's true identity would significantly threaten one's personal security and/or mission. Wikileaks is in a way different league than what you're proposing.

For a project focused on public discussion of domain registrar policy and domain censorship, I don't see why it's necessary for you to hide who you are; your credibility and motivations will be strongly challenged. That was my point.

Ron

 

[lothos]

Initially, many .US accredited registrars allowed most any .US domain to be registered, much like they do in many other TLDs...

But around that same time the U.S. Department of Commerce (yep, the U.S. government) "consulted" with the .US ccTLD registry operator Neustar regarding "dirty" domains - and hence resulting in a "dirty" word prohibition policy being enforced, retroactively, similar to what Network Solutions had back in the pre-ICANN days.

For more details see the link below:

ICANNWatch | .US Registry Deleting Domain Names Retroactively!!

The F*uckCensorship.US domain is in perpetual limbo - not really sure why though - perhaps there's still ongoing litigation regarding the .US "dirty" word policy?



A PO box is not the same as full-fledged whois privacy, which is what you're using. My real name is shown in whois.

Anonymous speech is all well and good, but generally is best avoided except for when revealing one's true identity would significantly threaten one's personal security and/or mission. Wikileaks is in a way different league than what you're proposing.

For a project focused on public discussion of domain registrar policy and domain censorship, I don't see why it's necessary for you to hide who you are; your credibility and motivations will be strongly challenged. That was my point.

Ron

Why haven't you sued to get your domain back? To me that's a clear form of censorship and exactly the type of thing i'd like to feature on my site. Is there a thread on the forum about this? I haven't heard of that one in the mainstream press.

Why are you hiding a legit business behind a PO Box? Why don't you use your real address, do you have something to hide? Do you see my point?


The founder of ACPO passed away a couple years ago and my role has been limited to holding the domain name until we get the org going again. Real contact info is listed on that domain, and we've even gotten death threats regarding our work.

Prior to that my role was to safeguard the privacy and security of our members, and track down the people behind child porn sites. Believe me I've seen it all, whether it's a site hosted in the open to sites hosted on freenet and sites hosted in China on hacked servers and reachable only by IP address (and if I was running a child porn site, that's how I would do it)

Now that being said, would you guys like to continue discussing whether or not I came here for help in hiding my illegal sites, or can we get down to business and discuss the topic at hand?