What's going on with Epik and Rob Monster?

[MapleDots]

I'm catching the tail end of this, seems to be some kind of controversy...

https://domaingang.com/domain-news/rob-monster-off-twitter-after-christchurch-massacre-controversy/

Must be something odd to evoke this type of a response from one of our members.

 

[Bernard Wright]

How is that any of our business?

 

[Slanted]

If you'd like to join us in helping the victims, please visit http://Give.Monster to donate. Thank you for your support.

Guys, don't you think it's a bit gross for a registry to be cashing in on this massacre and the scandal? In particular, to use the surname of Epik's CEO in that way? Surely not a coincidence. Of course, you're donating the money. But it is nonetheless a marketing ploy to gain positive exposure for .XYZ in the context of a massacre and a high-traffic NamePros thread.

You could have done this in a context that didn't piggyback on a really unfortunate scandal. And you could have done it in a way that didn't actively promote the new TLD you're selling or further link the name of Epik's CEO to the massacre.

Some people accused Epik of trying to profit off this massacre – which is nonsense, since it has only been a PR disaster that will cost Epik business. But it seems that the XYZ registry is genuinely attempting to profit off the incident, selling its new .XYZ under the guise of philanthropy and at the same time doing so with a personal insult to the CEO of Epik. I should remind you that we sign promo contracts with your registry regularly. Though you may not agree with Rob's decision – as I myself do not – it is surely inappropriate for a company try selling .MONSTER domains by linking that TLD to the surname of a CEO involved in a scandal that pertains to the death of dozens of innocent people.

I see that Epik isn't the only company making bad PR decisions in the context of a mass shooting. Please discontinue using a .MONSTER domain for this unseemly purpose. You can promote your cynical charity drive in some other NamePros thread – without trying to drive buzz here. Really gross, guys. Really gross.

 

[equity78]

Yes, that Cantwell person did. Fortunately we can all see it, condemn it, and hold him responsible – not just morally but legally. Utterly, utterly, utterly despicable.

Here is 1 aspect of this situation that drives me nuts. I'm an atheist, and I don't believe that bigots like Cantwell can or should be saved. I want them condemned irrevocably.

Rob, however, is a very sincere christian who believes that evangelism is a duty, that everyone can be and deserves to be "saved" or rehabilitated. Rob looks at a person like Cantwell and sees an opportunity to bring someone to Jesus. Rob himself would describe many "Saul on the road to Damascus" moments, where someone has had a 180-degree change of heart. (For those of you who don't know the Bible like the back of your hand, the story goes that Saul once persecuted Jesus. But on the road to Damascus he had a vision that changed his life completely, whereafter he changed his name from Saul to Paul.) For christians like Rob, it is an absolute duty to help people who are wrong – as clearly Cantwell is – find the truth. In practice, this means that Rob – who is a tolerant conservative – breaks bread with people on the extreme right, simply because he has encountered them since allowing the transfer of Gab.com to Epik.

I think Rob is naïve here. And he's playing with fire because most people will misconstrue his willingness to talk to someone like Cantwell. I don't believe for half a second that a violent racist like Cantwell is going to repent and see the error of his ways. But I also know – because I was raised as a christian myself – that for Rob this kind of outreach is a moral imperative of the highest order. Rob can't do anything else but talk to someone as a brother, no matter how morally repugnant or mistaken they may be.

Does this mean Rob is a saint or an angel? No, not at all. Rob himself has some very erroneous beliefs – such as seeing this video as a hoax. Yet that doesn't change the fact that Rob is sincere about trying to change the beliefs even of neo-Nazis.

This is complicated, folks.



Very true. But Rob is not hateful. I have worked alongside him daily for 2 years. And I have seen how he treats employees, customers, an colleagues who are muslim, Jewish, women, gay, any group you could name. In practice, Rob has only treated them with tolerance and kindness. Are Rob's opinions correct? No. But is he a "bigoted" or "hateful" person? No. Far from it.



No, Rob is not the victim. And I don't wish to portray him as one. Rob offended most of his employees and muslims around the world (to the extent that they run across this scandal). He alienated members of the domain industry, caused customer to question their commitment to the company, and damaged Epik's reputation among the general public. All of this was completely unnecessary. In short, Rob screwed up and needs to reappraise some of his decisions and news sources. I hope he will. Also, Epik's position needs to be redefined more sharply as that of political neutrality.

Rob is not the victim. At the same time, much of the criticism of Rob and Epik has gone too far. Calling him a neo-Nazi, for example, or implying that he is a racist who celebrates the death of muslims or who applauds antisemitic slurs against members of Epik's board. That's all totally false.

You are right it's complicated and I would say this, someone interested in those things should go off and do those things singularly, not be the head of any company that is dealing with employees and customers. The problem here from a business standpoint which is what I am addressing, this is Namepros not Public Policy Pros or Political Pros, NO one signing up to a domain registrar asked to be indoctrinated into the personal beliefs of the CEO. He is a man no better or greater than any other man or woman on the planet, why would his beliefs be held higher, or more pure, People did not know of, or sign up for anyone's morality, messiah complex or anything else.

And let's keep it real like 100% there are much more important things in the world than domain names, someone looking to preach and convert and educate, they should be out there doing work they believe in, stuff much more important than domain names, curing disease in impoverished lands, feeding the poor in their neighborhood, trying to save souls. IMO that does not belong at the forefront of a company. And in a large multinational the CEO is the face of the company in a small company they are all most people not on the inside ever know. That's my take.

 

[wwwweb]

Guys, don't you think it's a bit gross for a registry to be cashing in on this massacre and the scandal? In particular, to use the surname of Epik's CEO in that way? Surely not a coincidence. Of course, you're donating the money. But it is nonetheless a marketing ploy to gain positive exposure for .XYZ in the context of a massacre and a high-traffic NamePros thread.

You could have done this in a context that didn't piggyback on a really unfortunate scandal. And you could have done it in a way that didn't actively promote the new TLD you're selling or further link the name of Epik's CEO to the massacre.

Some people accused Epik of trying to profit off this massacre – which is nonsense, since it has only been a PR disaster that will cost Epik business. But it seems that the XYZ registry is genuinely attempting to profit off the incident, selling its new .XYZ under the guise of philanthropy and at the same time doing so with a personal insult to the CEO of Epik. I should remind you that we sign promo contracts with your registry regularly. Though you may not agree with Rob's decision – as I myself do not – it is surely inappropriate for a company try selling .MONSTER domains by linking that TLD to the surname of a CEO involved in a scandal that pertains to the death of dozens of innocent people.

I see that Epik isn't the only company making bad PR decisions in the context of a mass shooting. Please discontinue using a .MONSTER domain for this unseemly purpose. You can promote your cynical charity drive in some other NamePros thread – without trying to drive buzz here. Really gross, guys. Really gross.

It looks like they are using the feelings of hate, to raise money for the victims, kind of a swipe at your CEO, not really doing harm to anyone else in general, who other than a small domainer based community can put two, and two together. Maybe you should boycott all .xyz gtld's if you feel so strongly about the hate they are throwing your way.

Well, what do you know...rob.monster is available
$11,013.88
Renewal $13.88 for year

 

[equity78]

Epik being such a small register has received a pretty big target of backlash based on their CEO's comments in the past few days.

Anytime you are a CEO, and put yourself out there, given how highly charged this news is, and how it has sent shockwaves around the World, people have 0 tolerance for it. Take a look at Egg Boy, I think his gofundme is nearing $100K, he has become an online hero, because he stood up, wheras the CEO of Epik has basically gone offline, and made himself a target for a lot of the anger people have for what happend in NZ. It looks like he was trying to kind of get some PR for their anonymous file sharing service, and kind of put himself in the crosshairs of the national media, who just took everything they could find about him online, and just lit him up.

In the context of things Alpnames has more registrations than EPIK, which is not even in the top 50 registers, which means it has less than a 0.20% market share.

I see one board member has quit, given 1/3 of the staff I believe SLANTED stated were Muslim, some of them may not really enjoy Epik really being front, in sharing content which the home country has deemed illegal in a place they consider sacred. Workplace culture being so important these days in hiring, and retaining talent, I can't see every Muslim employee being happy about this situation.

Which board member quit?

 

[BRANDERX]

Hello,

Just a couple of hours ago, New Zealand marked 1 week since the horrific terror attack in Christchurch.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47662450

May they rest in peace, & may that country remain the peaceful country its always been.

 

[wwwweb]

Which board member quit?

I believe Tal Moore stepped down from the board of Epik after they took on Gab.com

 

[Bernard Wright]

As adults, we’ll have to take full responsibility for our actions. And the more of a “public figure” you are, the more harsh will the response be.*

Agreed, and I think plenty of information has now entered the public domain, whereby us all, the responsible adults we pride ourselves in being, can stop raking Rob and Slanted over the coals and proceed in the manner a responsible adult should. If you're not convinced at this point that Rob is not evil incarnate, you never will be.

Lots of kicking while they're down going on. I see Rob as a valued member of this community, and I would make the same statements on behalf of any other member here. Give it a break.

 

[Tia Wood]

Guys, don't you think it's a bit gross for a registry to be cashing in on this massacre and the scandal? In particular, to use the surname of Epik's CEO in that way?

I don't know. Seems like free speech to me?

 

[Bernard Wright]

Give it a break.

 

[johnnie018]

Guys, don't you think it's a bit gross for a registry to be cashing in on this massacre and the scandal? In particular, to use the surname of Epik's CEO in that way? Surely not a coincidence. Of course, you're donating the money. But it is nonetheless a marketing ploy to gain positive exposure for .XYZ in the context of a massacre and a high-traffic NamePros thread.

You could have done this in a context that didn't piggyback on a really unfortunate scandal. And you could have done it in a way that didn't actively promote the new TLD you're selling or further link the name of Epik's CEO to the massacre.

Some people accused Epik of trying to profit off this massacre – which is nonsense, since it has only been a PR disaster that will cost Epik business. But it seems that the XYZ registry is genuinely attempting to profit off the incident, selling its new .XYZ under the guise of philanthropy and at the same time doing so with a personal insult to the CEO of Epik. I should remind you that we sign promo contracts with your registry regularly. Though you may not agree with Rob's decision – as I myself do not – it is surely inappropriate for a company try selling .MONSTER domains by linking that TLD to the surname of a CEO involved in a scandal that pertains to the death of dozens of innocent people.

I see that Epik isn't the only company making bad PR decisions in the context of a mass shooting. Please discontinue using a .MONSTER domain for this unseemly purpose. You can promote your cynical charity drive in some other NamePros thread – without trying to drive buzz here. Really gross, guys. Really gross.

Xyz will do anything for publicity, not much better.

 

[wwwweb]

Give it a break.

The internet never sleeps, stop what exactly? Discussion? Isn't that what free speech is all about?

 

[Bernard Wright]

You are gossiping about his board. I find that rather distasteful. Ask the questions you need answered to proceed in the manner you deem appropriate. But stop gossiping and picking the man apart.

 

[Slanted]

I don't know. Seems like free speech to me

People have a right to be stupid, wrong, and offensive. That includes the XYZ registry. Never once did I say that those people shouldn't be criticized. The goal of free speech is to promote critique. That way, ideally people stop being stupid, wrong, and offensive.

 

[wwwweb]

You are gossiping about his board. I find that rather distasteful. Ask the questions you need answered to proceed in the manner you deem appropriate. But stop gossiping and picking the man apart.

Facts are facts, a board member resigned, it is public information. Are you censoring what people can talk about online Johnny join lately Jan 8, 2019, Trade Score 0? Maybe earn a few brownie points before you start telling people what to do online.

 

[Bernard Wright]

Ad hominems might help you here. Let's see what others think. I say things have gone far enough.

 

[DN Playbook]

Guys, don't you think it's a bit gross for a registry to be cashing in on this massacre and the scandal?

People have a right to be stupid, wrong, and offensive. That includes the XYZ registry. Never once did I say that those people shouldn't be criticized. The goal of free speech is to promote critique. That way, ideally people stop being stupid, wrong, and offensive.

Please just stop posting. The hypocrisy is nauseating. This would be a complete joke if it wasn't so devastatingly sad. Do what is right. The more you post the worse you sound. Action speaks louder than words.

 

[equity78]

Ad hominems might help you here. Let's see what others think. I say things have gone far enough.

But you have no authority here, nor does any other poster, and posts like yours just bring more people out of the woodwork, because they sit there and say "Who do they think they are? Now I will give my two cents."

This discussion was set up to be a clusterfuck from the get go. Why?

There are people here who are very conservative
People who are very liberal
People who are centrists
People who believe in tolerance and forgiveness
People who believe in fighting hate where they perceive it and will never forgive or forget.

So these threads end when they are closed, (with these pageviews, that ain't happening) or when they finally peeter out organically. But they never peeter out when one member, says "OK that's enough"

 

[bmugford]

Guys, don't you think it's a bit gross for a registry to be cashing in on this massacre and the scandal? In particular, to use the surname of Epik's CEO in that way? Surely not a coincidence. Of course, you're donating the money. But it is nonetheless a marketing ploy to gain positive exposure for .XYZ in the context of a massacre and a high-traffic NamePros thread.

Yes, several people already commented on that in this thread. They could have just linked to the fundraiser if they wanted, without promoting their extension and taking an obvious shot at Rob.

Brad

 

[carob]

Sometimes a thought experiment helps to understand a problem.

Picture this: it's Friday afternoon at Epik's offices and the staff are relaxed, looking forward to a weekend away from it all. But suddenly masked gunmen break in, and line everyone up against the wall. They start ranting, and are filming it. They say all domain investors are parasites, preventing freedom of speech by buying up all the best domains and stopping people using them, as part of a global conspiracy of the devious tribe of domain investor vermin that must be exterminated. The gunmen are livestreaming this.

"Cut off the head of the snake" they shout and one by one they behead the Epik staff. They are livestreaming this to social media.

How would you feel about that?

Domain registrars go into lockdown, domain investors start sweating, and the Godaddy website crashes as people rush to buy fresh WHOIS domain privacy. Many governments announce it is illegal to broadcast, save or view the video as it is terrorist propaganda, inciting violence, and an imminent threat to public safety. Social media platforms keep taking it down but people keep sharing it and reposting it just as fast.

Due to a regular Friday evangelising gig, Rob Monster was out of the office and his phone starts pinging like crazy. He looks on the Twitter app and sees the video of the Epik beheadings. Should he retweet it? Should he suggest it is a hoax? What should Rob do?

As his finger hovers over the Send Tweet button he sees tweets coming in saying this was a false flag attack arranged by Rob Monster and the cosmopolitan conspiracy of domain owners to get sympathy and boost prices. What should Rob Monster do?

Please note no freedom of speech was harmed in the construction of this thought experiment.