Social Network Gab.com being threatened by GoDaddy: 24 hours to transfer or suspension

[domainguy50]

backstory: Gab is a social network alternative to twitter. their selling point is free speech (all speech is welcome, including what you believe might be hate speech.) which is basically is the first amendment. no unlawful material is allowed, but virtually any speech is. recently they purchased the "gab com" domain for $220k.

this site is very controversial as a result, with mainstream media outlets claiming it is popular with nazi and anti-semite messages. the site has 800,000 users and has experienced modest growth recently so it really isnt all bad hate speech. regardless, those disgusting messages on the site by some users are also lawful no matter how distasteful they are. as a result of these media attacks, (and the recent revelation that the synagogue shooter in pittsburgh yesterday had an active gab profile) gab is being unfairly targeted by smear campaigns online reporting the site as "a hate speech site" via email to gab's service providers.

gabs host (microsoft) revoked its contract with gab a few months ago

gabs payment providers (paypal and stripe) just revoked their services

just a few minutes ago, godaddy has said they will stop working with gab:
(i cant post the image or link idk why)
"BREAKING: Godaddy is threatening to suspend our domain (which is worth six figures) if we do not transfer to a new provider by tomorrow. This is madness."

the complexity of the situation is compounded by the fact that Gab is on a payment plan to fully own the domain since they recently purchased it. the broker/escrow agent control this which makes it even more difficult for the company to transfer to a new registrar by EOD tomorrow.

I understand that Godaddy is a private business and its clauses may allow it to do this, but this seems extreme overreaction. "24 hours to transfer or else" is a very menacing way of doing business.

-if you were in charge of gab what would you do? create your own payment processor, host, and DNS? they got deplatformed quickly... i guess they could try to get an offshore Hosting company or invest in native hosting.

-what is the most "free speech" friendly DNS provider there is?

-is it fair for internet infrastructure companies to de-platform a small upstart social network because of controversial speech? or should companies like DNS and hosting should be regulated and allow any customer as long as it is lawful content being hosted.

 

[domainguy50]

theres blatant racism on every website including twitter and youtube comments but i still dont believe those websites deserve to be de-platformed by critical internet infrastructure companies. that really wasnt any of my questions either but thanks for your response.

 

[Rob Monster]

Use him to get what they want. A non-believer that serves as a vessel for them. Basically look the other way, make excuses for him, sell themselves out. Flattering him, comparing him to a King, will do the trick.



I don't think domains will live or die based on GoDaddy or other companies enforcing their TOS against encouraging violence/killing people.

I suggest you research the term "false flag". Find a PDF copy of the book Propaganda by Edward Bernays. Hard copies are almost impossible to find but digital copies are archived all over the web, at least for the moment. Quite frankly, unless you want to live under Orwellian climate of thought police, it is imperative to let freedom ring.

 

[offthehandle]

And I mentioned the bans because it reminds me of when Alex Jones was wormholed from the internet in the span of 2 days. If you are a threat to big techs lf big medias agenda, they will collude together to un-person you off the internet. this just my opinion. Both Alex Jones and gab represent free speech and conservative values online. Alex Jones was #2 news app on iOS and android, yet it was banned because Tim cook deemed him unreasonable. 3 companies all in san Francisco are deeming what we can view online

Exactly, The EU just set precedent with a free speech ruling too the other day with the Austrian Woman and her comments about a religion that seems to be sensitive to negative comments. Yet, all other religions are open season. It makes little common sense.

This is crazyland world anymore. Either fall in line, or get the public attacking you.

In America, Nobody has a right to NOT be offended, but private monopolies can rally their own political views however they want. They don’t need to follow the first amendment because it’s their territory. It isn’t really public. This is why free speech is under attack due to platforms and large corporations. If the web returned back to independent websites, and open minded small webhosts then it would be much easier. This social media world is polluted with all ranges of opinion, and the wrong place for free speech.

The silicon swamp is growing. Selective Censoring, banning, preventing anyone who isn’t in agreement with them. GD is a public company, they have shareholders just like Twitter who they must answer to. Godaddy hosts Black Lives Matters, which is controversial but to the narrative that is somehow acceptable.

Somehow starting riots and Yelling to kill police, Black Lives Matter a domestic terror group fits in the terms of service, but they should be banned too if Godaddy was morally correct, but of course that would be all over the news, be called racist, etc. Politically correct world.

https://whoisip.ovh/184.168.138.1

https://whoisip.ovh/blacklivesmatter.com

 

[golan]

You should never, ever, have your domain registration and hosting with the same company.

Exactly. But more than that: you should never ever have your own domain registered with GD, and/or your own site hosted on GD. When i grab a domain there for my own use, not for sale, i only start developing a site on it once i successfully transferred this domain out of GD.

Also i always suggest all my clients against using GD.

free speech includes hate, sorry... Freedom 101

You cannot have real freedom when you are telling others what to do, as long as they do not initiate actual violence.

Exactly!

In fact, it was the free press that exposed Trump for the fallen man that he was. Whether or not he is rehabilitated now, God only knows. Funny enough, the Jews in Israel compare Trump to the Persian King Cyrus, circa 530 BC. Look that one up sometime. You might learn something. It is secular history.

Rob, i never had any business with Epic, but now i shall look at your site and maybe move all my new regs there.

 

[Rob Monster]

Plus godaddy wouldn't hold twitter to the same standard. Would godaddy terminate twitters domain? No they would work and communicate with them to get the violent content removed. But if its a small startup trying to compete with limited moderator resources? "24 hours or we suspend!"

That is really the fundamental issue -- Godaddy is aiding and abetting a squashing of a global contender that could rival much larger entities that are owned by private equity and other institutional capital.

The same pattern that allows Amazon to systematically wipe out boutique retail companies also plays out in all other categories of economic activity, in this case mainstream vs alternative media.

The DigitalTown movement which I started in 2016, and which continues today, is addressing a similar issue but from a different vantage point. My TED Talk addressed it -- you can watch while it is still online here:

Anyone who thinks that systematic censorship cannot come to their country needs to study what is happening in China. Start here:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09...el-citizen-in-a-digital-dictatorship/10200278

The Chinese members of NamePros can no doubt add color. For calibration, I have met rational and professionally successful people who left China because they saw what was unfolding.

 

[Rob Monster]

Does that apply to Abortions as well and does it apply to letting women have their own reproductive choices?

If you really want to go there, we can go there.

<sermon>

Life is created at conception -- there is a literal flash of light -- when the soul is implanted in the embryo.

Child sacrifice goes way back to the time of Baal worship. Nothing new. However, what is new is that it is treated as a form of birth control, i.e. socially acceptable. So, yes, everyone has free will to do whatever they want to do. It was designed that way -- free will during a life of nominally 70-80 years.

The myth of evolution and the myth that the earth is the product of randomness are all designed to make people think that they don't matter. That mindset, once internalized, makes life disposable, wars natural, suicide acceptable, and sex cheap. The universe, which as precise as a Swiss watch, is no accident.

And yet Jesus did atone for anyone who confesses to repents of whatsoever sin, for which no other intermediary, facilitator or institution is needed. People can join churches or not. They can give tithes and offerings, or not. Most religions are businesses. You don't need them -- a Bible and prayer will do.

And while I judge nobody, the Lord chastens those He loves. In my case, I believe the Lord began to deal with me in earnest starting around the year I turned 40 in 2007. I did not grasp the Gospel until one day in Fall 2013, having dabbled for years in self-righteousness while diligently searching for truth. I am 51 now.

So, bottom line, I believe in Free Will. I also believe in forgiveness and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross whose Grace is Sufficient.

</sermon>

As for domains in the Epik Marketplace, if you check it out, there are plenty of adult names in there. In other words, not too much censorship happening at Epik as far as I can tell so we can dispense with that nonsense. We have about the lightest hand that exists when it comes to banning domains.

 

[Vito]

@equity78 This is a rather disturbing threatening comment by one of your readers, just the same sort of lunacy being discussed. Free Speech includes threats of harming others?

https://www.thedomains.com/2018/10/30/gab-com-lands-at-uniregistry/

“That NamePros thread is one of the craziest threads I have ever read on there in 10 years.
Free Speech, Violence, Religion, Porn, Moral Debate, Politics, Hidden Agendas, Passion, Capitalism, Stupidity…
Oh and a sprinkle of beastiality too… WTF

If you can read thru that whole thing without wanting to punch somebody in the throat, well then you’re a liar.”

It was me. I was being sarcastic. This is a very hotly contested debate and passions are running extremely deep here. Seems like no matter what one sides message is here, the other side is getting very hot.

It was just exaggerated sarcasm. Thats it.
If that was offensive to you or anyone else, then you have my apologies.

 

[domainguy50]

I think what you're not understanding with regards to this discussion, is that deliberate calling for harm or violence towards others is one of the few exceptional cases that DOES NOT fall within the protection of free speech. It is actively causing harm and/or actually impeding on the freedoms/rights of others.

Saying things like "I don't like purple people" is not illegal .. but saying "purple people should be killed" is a tangible call to action most definitely is illegal and is in no way protected by "freedom of speech", just as freedom of speech does not protect the producers of child pornography.




The problem with your entire discussion .. is that it was not simply one guy who used profanity.

"GoDaddy investigated and discovered numerous instances of content on the site that both promotes and encourages violence against people." - GoDaddy

I can say with virtual absolute certainty that GoDaddy would not have made such a statement without clearing it past their legal department ... and that in turn .. their legal department would not have worded it as "promotes and encourages violence against people" if that were not in fact the case.




Very well put together post that deserves more than a like!

Calling for harm is illegal and not allowed on gab to begin with, so I'm not sure why you're including this as an argument



Godaddy said they found examples of violence. My problem with this is:

-they Didn't give the examples to gab that they found so that gab can remove it. Do you think godaddy would have done the same to twitter? "hey we found this tweet where someone wanted to punch someone. Twitter, You have 24 hours or were suspending your domain"

No they wouldn't. Godaddy did this to gab as an attempt to hurt the website, its revenue, and as an act of virtue signaling. Also because godaddy is bad customer service at times

 

[domainguy50]

In the meantime, nobody cares about victims.
Gab is not the biggest victim here, if we are even to accept they are a victim.

Another thing:
Maybe it's because the guy is American and not Muslim (White privilege) the people and the media seem to be reluctant to call him for what he is - a domestic terrorist. Instead they prefer more neutral terms like shooter, or shooting suspect, or gunman. It is striking, really.

Usually when a terrorist goes on a killing spree it is expected that law enforcement is going to crack down or at least investigate the sites where he peddled hate and never mind the downtime, free speech takes a backseat.

But if the victims are Jews or Muslims, maybe free speech is more important than compassion ?

1. No such thing as "white privilege." that phrase itself is a racist phrase.

2.
Facebook- tons of active ISIS group pages. YouTube- Tons of active ISIS propaganda pages. Twitter- Tons of ISIS member accounts. When can we expect these sites to shut down ?

 

[bmugford]

This is very interesting me. I see this play out time and time again. I was literally wsiting for the media to call Stephen Paddock a domestic terrorist like his actions have shown to be the case but it didn't happen. Same story with Dylan Roof. Back to Stephen Paddock: reminds me of how around the time of the Orlando shooting tragedy awhile back they never once referred to Stephen Paddock as a domestic terrorist and I honestly didn't hear a lot of news media going nuts about how we must crack down on crime or anything like thst even though the event was one of the most deadly in recent history. They literally started to tell the tale of the persons family life and how he was apparently a good person to close friends which is pretty appalling for such a light hearted commentary to even be spun for someone who carried out such a vile act. Just recently we had the Synagogue shooting (shootings are places of worship are pretty despicable) yet the shooter is an "assumed" or "alleged" shooter. Anyone have any thoughts?

Here is an interesting case that has barely been in the news -

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...ed-mosque-bomb-plot-ask-more-lenient-sentence

Attorneys representing a Kansas man convicted of a 2016 plot to massacre Somali Muslim refugees by bombing a mosque and apartment complex in Garden City, Kan., have asked a federal judge to consider a more lenient sentence, arguing that President Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric should be taken into account as the “backdrop” for the case.

Patrick Eugene Stein faces life in prison for conspiring with two other men to carry out the attack, which was supposed to take place on the day after the 2016 presidential election. On Monday, his attorneys filed a memo in U.S. District Court in the District of Kansas, requesting that Stein receive a sentence of no more than 15 years. They note that Stein was an “early and avid supporter” of Trump and argue that the climate in the months leading up to the 2016 election should be taken in account when evaluating the comments prosecutors used to build their case.

I am pretty sure if instead of white guys bombing a mosque it was Muslims bombing a church that would be reported all over the place.

This type of thing should be labeled what it is. Terrorism is terrorism regardless of skin color.

Brad

 

[offthehandle]

I do believe in accountability and corporate responsibility though. All that Godaddy and other hi-tech companies have done is to draw a line and take responsibility to protect the rest of us.

Like hosting Black Lives Matters? Protecting who? Did you see the video above? One group still being hosted and “Untouchable” calls to murder police! No requesting they move.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/so...fer-or-suspension.1107245/page-5#post-6957030

https://www.namepros.com/threads/so...fer-or-suspension.1107245/page-8#post-6959960

 

[Rob Monster]

Just saw the news.... Excellent news. Haven't finished reading the blog post but looks great so far.

I'd pay to see you print out the emails and tweets that will surely be coming soon from angry leftists (who will be asking you to deplatform gab) and burn them all in front of a waving american flag. Lol. Joking but These censorship mobs are relentless from what I've seen


If we deplatform and ban and censor everything that anyone ever considered hate speech, we'd be left with nothing

I have resolved to pray for those who would choose to send me hateful commentary. Other than that, I will do my best to be an ombudsman where appropriate.

 

[jberryhill]

Looks like Pennsylvania doesn't care about the first amendment or the CDA Protections of webmasters

Okay, I'll bite. Can you explain to me how sending an investigative subpoena violates either of those two things?

Is figuring out how (or indeed even whether) to object to a subpoena too complicated for this crew?

Obviously, the attorney who advised them to post it on Twitter and rant about it believes that is the appropriate course of action for them. So, it may be best to let them handle a relatively simple legal matter in the manner they've been counseled.

 

[jberryhill]

One thing worth mentioning about the CDA - 47 USC 230.

Paragraph (c) has two parts:

(c) Protection for “Good Samaritan” blocking and screening of offensive material

(1) Treatment of publisher or speaker

No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.


(2) Civil Liability

No interactive computer service shall be held liable on account of—

(A) any action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict access to or availability of material that the provider or user considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether or not such material is constitutionally protected; or

(B) any action taken to enable or make available to information content providers or others the technical means to restrict access to material described in paragraph (1).

There had been a suggestion in a now-deleted comment that Gab should sue GoDaddy, and there have been various statements that Gab is entitled to immunity from certain claims under Section 230.

What these persons fail to understand is that the same law which confers immunity from certain claims based on the speech of other people ALSO immunizes a service provider for censoring material that the provider finds objectionable.

 

[Lauren Stephens]

gab is just a social media network and so is twitter, facebook, instagram, etc. so what? i think their platform sucks and im not a member, but gab isnt doing anything hateful. does everyone in this thread have a problem with all the elected democrat politicians who are outright calling for violence? why arent they getting kicked off? or black lives matters? there is a lot of hate out there. there always has been. in any event, this is why we NEVER EVER use godaddy for ANYTHING! EVER! cant believe people give them a dime.

 

[Rob Monster]

Show attachment 105367
God is not impressed..

Despite the ongoing attempts by the mainstream media and various social channels to vilify both me and Epik, I am very sure that free speech is on the right side of history. Those who intend to control the message have gone too far. They overplayed their hand and have awakened moderates with intellect who will defend the very reasonable use of God-given and constitutionally-protected rights on which the USA was built.

 

[Rob Monster]

Just noticed there's a Pimbo in this thread that goes by the name of NYJimbo, who seems to have a very nervous finger that keeps hitting the Dislike button on my Posts.

There's nothing worse than assh*les that do this and yet have nothing to say, nothing to contribute to this thread, whether good or bad!

Hey NYPimbo... The Cat Got Your Tongue? Come out of the closet and speak your mind, but first shove your twitchy finger where the sun don't shine!!!

The

Hate to break it to you but you were tricked into thinking you left.

To be fair, true liberty is still on the horizon. That much is true.

As to whether or not the US is or not a UK colony, or whether any nation or any individual actually has sovereignty, this is a useful debate but outside of the scope of a thread about digital censorship.

Two notable developments from Epik last week in terms of digital liberty and free speech:

1. The Anonymize VPN is free for everyone and works like a champ. It includes UK exit points so now anyone can look like a Brit online:

https://anonymize.com/vpn/

2. The acquisition of BitMitigate last week now means that any Blockchain domain, and for that matter any virtual domain added at BitMitigate can now resolve just like any other domain. This was Tweeted last night:

https://twitter.com/EpikDotCom/status/1096987291157962752

Coming soon: .TRUTH TLD where the domains are owned Forever, can be owned anonymously and where the domain is paired with a free DDoS-resistant Wiki. Think of it like a decentralized Wikipedia.

@Internet.Domains

 

[maksimfa]

Wow.

Been away with some family stuff and working on content for recently acquire domains. Was looking at domain transfers, etc. Logged in to my Epik account and asked a question. To my surprise, it was Rob who was on the live chat. woot woot. Pointed me to this after asking about domain privacy.

Even though I consider myself a conservative (God fearing, gun toting Jew), I do not agree with the far right... by that I mean neo-nazis, Stormfront, KKK, etc... HOWEVER I also respect their right to exist and the right to their opinion.

You can't fix stupid, BUT it is their right. I am a firm believer in "Your rights end where my nose begins."

Yes, let white supremacists, Black Lives Matters, Black Panthers, etc have a place to organize, who cares... much the same as with fundamentalist/extremists religions zealots, etc. We live in the United States and people have that right. That's the beauty of the country. As long as they are not doing you harm or on your property, they are not doing anything wrong. Hence the big difference between Nazi Germany, Communist China/Soviet Union and many other places in the world.

I would also agree with the fact that private companies have the right to do business with whomever they want.

What is disturbing however is that in a sense, we NEED registrars... it is not like a bakery, groceries etc where you have a ton of choices. A FEW companies really do have near full control over someone's livelihood.

If registering a domain name was a GUARANTEED right... or at the very least Digital Property, I would have ZERO issues with other service providers where there are no barriers to entry, to limiting whom they do business with. i.e. you can always start your own blog.

Even hosting can be done by yourself... but if internet access was looked at as a "fundamental need"... then let people own their domains and all is good.

Until that happens, GoDaddy as one of the largest, if not THE largest vehicles to having an online presence, simply kicking off people they "don't agree with politically or just for any reason..." that is truly disturbing for rights.

Despite despising BLM or some uber liberal/communist group, If they were kicked off... as a conservative who likely sees things completely differently, I would be there standing with them for their freedom of speech.

As someone who runs a number of gun websites... this was completely eye opening. Really helpful to see how some registrars reacted to this and quite a few others in the business who would use their business to politicize their viewpoints.

@Rob Monster over time you will have 100% of my domains. It would be one HEFTY bill to transfer them all now. lol.

 

[NameLlama]

https://twitter.com/onlinedomaincom/status/1107701477164896261
Konstantinos Zournas‏ @onlinedomaincom

Replying to @robmonster

You are running a registrar. Why do you get involved posting a video from a shooting. I really don't get it.


Good Question


Run to your safe space Gab and post it sence you seem so eager to share
Latch on to tragedy to bump yourself up as free speech warrior

 

[xynames]

That's the point, you (Bernard Wright, and Rob Monster) have your agenda(s) just like anyone else. I disagree with a lot of what you posted, but so what - it's just your opinion(s). It's not selling you any domains, you're just spinning wheels here and if anything making some people here dislike you two. Great business acumen. Keep it up.

I'm too busy selling domains and my other businesses to maintain this dialogue.

Best to all.

 

[Silentptnr]

Interesting read on tough topics....

My only insight would be that our differences are not about free speech. Our differences come from taking a side on a specific topic. Once sides are taken, tension can elevate. It's that simple.

I am not the most religious person in the world but I do follow basic rules of respect, courtesy and so on. I try not to hurt people's feelings if I have a sense of what would be hurtful to them.

I do, however, believe individuals should take a stand on issues they believe in. It's natural. But there are always consequences. At the end of the day, life is about consequences. The consequences of our actions and our words.

God help us.

 

[Bernard Wright]

To those who haven’t yet recognized the looming threat that this thread, and other recent threads, describe: this is what free speech advocates are trying to prevent from arriving in your hometown. History teaches us that the below example is only the beginning.

 

[~ The 34 Year Buzz!!]

...it never stood for free speech, it was a safe-haven for these far-right hate groups.

free speech includes hate, sorry... Freedom 101

You cannot have real freedom when you are telling others what to do, as long as they do not initiate actual violence.


````
``````
The non-aggression principle (or NAP; also called the non-aggression axiom, the anti-coercion, zero aggression principle or non-initiation of force) is an ethical stance asserting that aggression is inherently wrong. ... The NAP is considered by some to be a defining principle of natural-rights
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-aggression_principle

 

[Recons.Com]

This seems heavy-handed to me. Anyone have contact info for their owners?

So you are trying to benefit from the controversy and offer home for a breeding ground terrorists and supremacists?

 

[domainguy50]

There has been so many users on Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat etc. that committed acts of violence and posted about it....What I'm trying to see here is, what's the difference with GAB? .....and why ban the domain?

Agreed

Elliot Rodger posted his videos On youtube vowing to kill every sorority girl in the city the next day. youtube did not forward this video to law enforcement and the kid unfortunately did the act the next day. will PayPal and godaddy stop advertising on youtube? Of course not because money is more important to these.companies than morals or values. Its much easier to stifle a small Startup like gab to make a statement While looking the other way at antisemite on facebook, murderers on youtube, and pedophiles on twitter