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news GoDaddy booted AR15.com, cracking down on what they don't believe in.

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Earlier today AR15.com, the largest firearms forum, ended up shut down after GoDaddy booted the domain.

Cancel culture is in full effect and now they are seemingly booting people off for domains they don't agree with.

Already recommended they go to @epik and why I am glad, as an owner of a large firearms domain portfolio I had moved ALL of my domains away from GoDaddy.

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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
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Idc about niche...but against Leftist beliefs IMO!

What expect? GD feels empowered in light of recent: Left Google, Twtr, FB, Apple; Cancel Culture craze. Conservative right voices cancel cultured censored masquerade use event as an excuse to cut off service.

Kind of relates. did this for PR; GD “Stay woke” reply.
They are taking position on polarizing issues (gun rights)
Godaddy made a political statement. “Stay Woke”.

Samer
 
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So they shut down a website by cancelling the domain?

Wow, just wow

Say what you want, we need Rob from Epik and even his fiercest critics will eventually have to admit that we cannot leave censorship in the hands of Google, Facebook, Amazon, Twitter and GoDaddy.

Even with the movement to gab.com it was necessary for there to be a platform.

People will always say stupid things, they can say it or print it and we cannot stop it.

At least in print we can rebut and correct it.

My opinion is we need to stamp out the affected posts that have illegal content but to shut down the platform is ludicrous.
 
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The good part about all of this is new smaller and more agile platforms will crop up. All these larger platforms that think they can control free speech will see that by stifling the public all they did was give new platforms an opportunity to creep up.

One cannot simply delete peoples opinions, one should respond to them and correct them so a lesson is learned. If enough voices correct those in the wrong then a reader can come to their own determination of what is right and wrong.
 
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So they shut down a website by cancelling the domain?

Wow, just wow

Say what you want, we need Rob from Epic and even his fiercest critics will eventually have to admit that we cannot leave censorship in the hands of Google, Facebook, Amazon, Twitter and GoDaddy.

Even with the movement to gab.com it was necessary for there to be a platform.

People will always say stupid things, they can say it or print it and we cannot stop it.

At least in print we can rebut and correct it.

My opinion is we need to stamp out the affected posts that have illegal content but to shut down the platform is ludicrous.

So I am not sure if they gave them 24 hours and they did not figure it out, but that is per ARfcom.

I completely agree on situations where the entire premise of the site is to promote hostility or do something illegal, however AR15.com IS NOT one of those sites. It is a very friendly, firearms focused community that was purchased by a BIG retailer in the industry, Brownells.
 
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The website loads for me and the name is still at gd.
 
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The website loads for me and the name is still at gd.
all this does, is confirm;

“Godaddy had a heart to leave; 24 hours notice.”

Talk to me in 24 hours if still up; in same circumstances.
 
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all this does, is confirm;

“GD had a heart to leave 24 hours notice.”

Let know in 24 hours if still up; in same circumstances.


GoDaddy has no pull of any kind here, simply transfer the domain to Epik and wait for the propagation to finish.

I sincerely hope the owner of the site was not stupid enough to have his webhosting at the same place as the domain because that would complicate it a bit.
 
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I sincerely hope the owner of the site was not stupid enough to have his webhosting at the same place as the domain because that would complicate it a bit.
Not sure it's really better, but it's AWS for hosting.
Also their backup domain is on Epik and AWS for hosting too
 
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Not sure it's really better, but it's AWS for hosting.
Also their backup domain is on Epik and AWS for hosting too

Well I guess we know godaddy hosting and amazon hosting should be out for most everyone.
If my site ran on either of those two I would be making arrangements to move right about now.

Lots of smaller guys (hosting companies) around where you can pick up the phone and reason with them.
 
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If you are surprised by Godaddy doing this you are naive. I still wonder how domainers remain in GoDaddy's trap.
 
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AR15.com Backup Site Live, Switching to First Amendment Friendly Site Registrar

On Monday, January 11, 2021, I received notice from our site registrar that AR15.com had violated their terms of service and that AR15.com would be shut down immediately. The registrar’s decision to de-platform AR15.com was final and no method to appeal was offered.

It remains unclear specifically what content allegedly violated the registrar’s terms of service.

However, I am happy to report that we have found a new, First Amendment-friendly site registrar and we have begun the process of transitioning AR15.com to the new registrar.

We expect the switchover to take up to 5 days. During that time, our famous “AR15.com” URL will not be usable. Once the switchover is complete, AR15.com will be fully restored to normal function.

In the meantime, I welcome freedom lovers and firearm enthusiasts to visit us at our temporary URL: www.ar15-backup.com. We will post on the backup site when the normal AR15.com has been completely restored.


Juan Avila, President & Co-Founder, AR15.com

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I'm guessing but probably something related to the forum section of the site, after taking a quick look around. Who knows.
 
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Well I guess we know godaddy hosting and amazon hosting should be out for most everyone.
If my site ran on either of those two I would be making arrangements to move right about now.

Lots of smaller guys (hosting companies) around where you can pick up the phone and reason with them.

So this also leads to the other thought that people were having in the hosting communities, do you want to be on a "cloud" versus having your own dedicated servers.

If anyone is on the cloud, this should be a stark warning...

If you don't have your own dedicated server(s), you are at the mercy.

One of my bigger plans is to purchase own server and have it colocated,

Fortunately, my current host has been completely solid with firearms websites for the past 12 years, however I do have a backup server at the ready offshore, in a place such as Switzerland, Norway or Bulgaria.
 
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I feel as though it's not a big deal. You're allowed to discriminate as long as it doesn't violate the protected classes of ppl.

There are countless registrars out there... costs 8 bucks to transfer out... not too hard to do tbh
 
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Simple point of clarification. First amendment only applies to government intervention, not private businesses.
 
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Just heard something on TV, heard AR-15 mentioned. It might be about that armed protest at the 50 state capitols deal. The timing fits. Checking out the forum, some topics came across a little "channy" 4chan, 8chan, whatever chan. Not sure.

If stuff like this was getting passed around, some companies are trying to distance themselves.

ErfiDTOXYAI2AGm
 
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I feel as though it's not a big deal. You're allowed to discriminate as long as it doesn't violate the protected classes of ppl.

There are countless registrars out there... costs 8 bucks to transfer out... not too hard to do tbh

Except, they are an internet Registrar... essentially a Utility.

Do they have a right to or should as a business? Sure... as a conservative I believe they have a right to do business with whomever they want... the BIGGER issue is just how they are fine taking your money, then DROP YOU and screw your business at the dime of a hat.

In either case, IF we are saying that Internet is the new commons, they have to be held accountable and cannot drop you for doing something totally legal.

In either case, Screw GoDaddy... I moved about 200 domains from them and cancelled my auctions membership.

Btw, would you still feel it is not a big deal if they just shut down your domains with no warning because you have Pokemon domains? Because they hate Pokemon? Or how about AMD domains because they are Intel Fanboys. lol.

Again though, Screw GoDaddy....

And thanks to them canning AR15.com, I know of a 3 domainers in the same firearms space that are transferring away their names to Epik as we speak.
 
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This is unbelievable! If this is true, I'll be moving all my domains out of godaddy this week. Any good transfer deals out there? I have about 300 domains I'll be moving from godaddy.
 
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My opinion is that AR15.com is getting the boot because of some of the wingnut members over there and the troubling stuff they post - and which the mods/owners allowed and didn't take down

AR15.com (aka "ARF.com/BARF.com", though these are NOT their domains) is a well known, heavily trafficked 2nd Amendment community sites - and maybe the most visited. As a short time member many years ago, I quickly found out that it had (and I'm going to assume still has) a reputation as being a haven for a small group of angry hard-right leaning, gun owning, know-it-alls, racists, bullies, and bigots who measure their self worth by how nasty they can be to others. You know, the kinda of Billy Badasses that might storm a Capitol!

And (deity) forbid you call out one of the a-holes for their posts, you very well could get chewed up both on and off forum... There ain't no a-hole NP'er that can hold a candle to the core a-holes over there, no matter how keyboard tough you think you are!

Of course the a-holes on ARF are not the majority of members by any stretch, but they sure make their presence known. Those that are there to learn quickly discover that it's best to keep a low profile and don't make any waves with the resident bullies.

As I spent more time there and saw some of the stuff these a-holes were posting, I couldn't believe the mods let it stand. Nor could I believe how many others joined in and seemed to hold the same mindset - and that was 10+ years ago. So I'm sure the last 4 years with the T-man in office, the clowns on there were feeling quite emboldened and went too town with posting their views, opinions and ideas.

The ARF supporters are likely to try to spin it this as a 1A thing because of their support for the 2A, and not even mention the inflammatory rhetoric of the a-holes I've described. The biggest irony if they try to argue 1A is that non-a-hole members are banned at the drop of the hat with no warning if "someone in power" didn't like their post.

I pop in there a few times a year when looking for some specific info, but it's not someplace I need to visit often. There are plenty of helpful and MUCH friendlier 2A sites out there - and which are not being de-platformed....

My 2 cents.

NOTE: The 1st Amendment only deals with free speech when it comes to the government. It does not cover businesses.
 
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Except, they are an internet Registrar... essentially a Utility.
No they are not. They are not a utility company, precisely because there are a ton of other registrars.

Do they have a right to or should as a business? Sure... as a conservative I believe they have a right to do business with whomever they want... the BIGGER issue is just how they are fine taking your money, then DROP YOU and screw your business at the dime of a hat.
Really? Dime of a hat? Terms of service is not dime of a hat. ToS violations (Assuming based on @JB Lions 's comment it is a ToS violation) must be dealt with else it tends to subvert the terms due to precedence and, also in doing so, creates a discriminatory situation.\

In either case, IF we are saying that Internet is the new commons, they have to be held accountable and cannot drop you for doing something totally legal.
Do you know the full situation? Can you say with complete confidence that there isn't a violation of ToS? Yes, I do personally think that there might be a different interpretation of the ToS that GD is using but so what? This is done pretty much by every single organization, government (for laws and rules), lawyers et all. Because ToS, in some cases, can be subjective, there is always an ambiguity when enforced.

In either case, Screw GoDaddy... I moved about 200 domains from them and cancelled my auctions membership.
This is the correct response. Not claiming that they are censoring or violating freedom of speech (they're not doing both) but hit them where it should hurt them - on the wallet

Btw, would you still feel it is not a big deal if they just shut down your domains with no warning because you have Pokemon domains? Because they hate Pokemon? Or how about AMD domains because they are Intel Fanboys. lol.
It is a big deal but there WAS a warning. A 24-hour warning. If there was no warning, then the domain would have gone down from before you even posted this thread. It might not be convenient but there WAS a warning issued.

The issue, *IMO*, isn't that the website sold guns. Look at the post from JB lions. This is the issue! They are organizing another potential riot/insurrection/attack whatever you wanna call it on the website's forums. Therein lies the problem. This does violate GD's ToS and they have the right to boot the domain. IANAL, if not done, they might get into legal trouble for supporting activity.

Edit: I can't believe I'm defending GD (Though I'm not). TBC, I'm defending GD's right to take this action. Substitute GD for any other registrar and my point still stands.
For those who are lauding about Epik, remember - Epik booted 8kun (or 8chan at that time) as well for their content. Why is this okay and Epik still a hero for taking a similar action but GD (or any other registrar) a leftist liberal pro-censorship cretin?
 
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Except, they are an internet Registrar... essentially a Utility.

This is an interesting point actually. GoDaddy can choose to do business with who they want, but there is a difference between (1) registrar not wanting your business, and every registrar not wanting your business.

What if no registrar will let you register a domain? ICANN should really have some sort of registrar of last resort, that covers this type of situation.

What if Verisign, as a monopoly, wants to block your registration?

Some businesses that are essentially monopolies, can't discriminate like normal private companies can, for instance regulated utilities. If there is only (1) electric company in your area, they are essentially a monopoly and have limited options to reject customers.

Brad
 
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How is it Godaddy's job to police the internet? Isn't ICANN responsible for that? I hope people learn from this and move their domains away from Godaddy. There is nothing wrong with not wanting to host or do business with a client that you do not like however given that they were already on the platform why not give them noticed to move.
 
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