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What's going on with Epik and Rob Monster?

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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.

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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
I read the Huffington Post slam job they did on Rob and about Gab. It was b.s. Being controversial and taking a stand about free speech is really tough. Those that do take a stand are the ones who change the world.

The decision to permit Gab.com to be transferred to Epik was made while I was on vacation. So that's another case where I arrived at work to find a controversy in my lap. In that case, I'm in full agreement with Rob's decision to let the domain be transferred to Epik. Had no registrar accepted the domain, then that would call into question free speech in the online era.

Also Escrow.com would have been forced to cancel an ongoing lease because they can do nothing without a registrar. Imagine if you were the owner of a large ongoing domain lease. One day Escrow.com tells you, "Sorry, no domain registrar on earth will accept this domain now. So, despite the contract and a willing buyer, you won't get paid."

Ironic that Escrow.com is now sabotaging Epik in a rather dishonest way. State regulators, instigated by Escrow.com, are now suggesting that all domain marketplaces sales need to be licensed in multiple states. A ridiculous idea, and big news if Escrow.com gets their way. Sedo, Afternic, Uniregistry, BrandBucket – everybody may soon be shut down unless they get licensed as escrow agents. Right now, I'm the guy fighting that fight. If I lose, then we all lose. It's not a small issue for the domain industry.

But I digress.
 
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Many people are passing judgment on Epik or Rob Monster. Given my role at Epik and my daily communication with Rob, it seems reasonable for anyone interested in forming an opinion of Epik or Rob to listen to my perspective.
I can't wait! Seriously, though, I understand you feel the PR need to placate some people here, but the long winded prefaces are unlikely to do this. This was Rob's personal "thing", has nothing to do with Epik - is all you need to say, which to me, goes without saying. I'm not moving my domains out of Epik, because I disagree with Rob's personal opinion (actually, I don't care about his opinion on this matter).
Also, I have a personal life. And I refuse to neglect the people who are near and dear to me in order to argue online about a scandal caused by my boss during my weekend or after my workday should be over...
Perfectly understandable. If anything, Rob should do any clarifying here.
Let me add that nothing I say is me acting in my capacity as an Epik employee...
Now, this is a mistake, IMHO. As Epik's exec, you should not entangle Epik in this controversy any further. It's your call to make, of course. I speak only as a client with 100+ domains at Epik.
 
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Yes, I mean:

https://twitter.com/EpikDotCom/status/1074058943519969280

That graphic was made at one of the chan sites. It's a common anti-semitic trope.

You can see the same graphic here and elsewhere:
https://www.heyalma.com/what-jews-control-according-to-twitter/

Ha, and now somebody just deleted it a minute after I posted a link to it.

It was this, the graphic, not the guy saying How many jews control your life:

spreadsheet.png
 
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Had no registrar accepted the domain, then that would call into question free speech in the online era.

Exactly. Free Speech is being attacked daily by a wide variety of sources and getting worse. It would be nice if more people left social media for their own website so they have nobody to “answer” to or be censored and can publish freely.
 
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LMAO
Weak

I didn't see that tweet at the time, the first time I was aware of it was when some Gab troll stopped by:

Great job by Epik here. Doing the right thing isn't easy.

Imaging if GoDaddy pushed back against censorship and spread the truth the way that Epik does. SJW heads everywhere would explode.
http/ twitter.com /EpikDotCom/status/1074058943519969280
(Helpful reference for understanding who decides what most Americans see, hear and think.)
How many Jews vs Gentiles in the top media positions? Take a guess before you click.

Someday Epik will have a far larger reach than registrars like GoDaddy and will be able to spread facts like these to wake people up.

You all should try Gab, 1000x better than twitter anyway.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/so...er-or-suspension.1107245/page-20#post-7119034

And you see who liked that post**. It's like one thing is being said at 1 place, then something different elsewhere. I couldn't believe that type of stuff was being tweeted, and from the registrar Twitter account.

**Now you can't, because somebody just unliked it. So I guess based on unliking and deleting tweets, it's not a good look.
 
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Ironic that Escrow.com is now sabotaging Epik in a rather dishonest way. State regulators, instigated by Escrow.com, are now suggesting that all domain marketplaces sales need to be licensed in multiple states. A ridiculous idea, and big news if Escrow.com gets their way. Sedo, Afternic, Uniregistry, BrandBucket – everybody may soon be shut down unless they get licensed as escrow agents. Right now, I'm the guy fighting that fight. If I lose, then we all lose. It's not a small issue for the domain industry.

Thank you for taking the time to post here and thank you for the fight to keep escrow.com in their place. If they succeed in their quest to try and create a short term monopoly, I will not ever process a sale through them again.
 
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Let me make 1 more point. Rob's comment created a scandal for Epik. So I have asked him not to make any more public comments about that issue for awhile. That includes here in NamePros.

I'm sure that Rob would rather engage with people and defend himself. That's his personality. Unlike other registrars, Epik's CEO responds to customers personally about issues large and small.

Some of you will scoff: "Right, Joseph is trying to keep Rob Monster and his views out of sight until this all blows over." Maybe.

But here's what you don't know, folks. Rob agreed to allow Gab.com to be transferred to Epik on the grounds that registrars should support free speech and fight de-platforming efforts. I wholeheartedly agree with that. When Rob did that, he made the decision to be the public voice of Epik regarding why. I had volunteered to explain the decision, since my own politics are exactly the opposite of the alt right. But Rob, as CEO, decided he would do it.

When Rob did that, he was immediately smeared in public as being antisemitic. Months later, I learned that Rob's neighborhood had been leafletted by activists condemning him as a Nazi. They harassed his wife in her workplace. The mainstream media published more than 1 hit piece, giving accounts of Rob's decision whose tone was full of innuendo or condemnation – far from the journalistic integrity that I expected. Instead of describing Rob as a "christian", they used the pejorative "Bible-thumping" for example.

Given that experience of being vilified by the mainstream press, being harassed and slandered where he lives, is it really that surprising that Rob was appreciative of the support he received from Gab members? They were evidently the only community that agreed with the free-speech decision he had taken. Rob is a conservative. And, as any American knows, conservatives already distrust the so-called "mainstream media". Having found some common ground with Gab members regarding free speech and perhaps sharing some other conservative political views, it is not hard to understand how Rob's rhetoric became more extreme during the months since. He had been driven into an echo chamber by the mainstream press and by left-wing activists – people who should have more respect for freedom of speech.

I've never paid attention to Rob's tweets or Epik's or anybody's tweets. But it is my hunch that Rob's Twitter activity became more overtly political and controversial since August or September, which is when the media began demonizing him. To some extent it is a defensive reaction – to justify oneself after being persecuted. And, yes, Rob was persecuted. Rob is not a victim in this current scandal about the New Zealand massacre. But Rob was, in fact, harassed unfairly and slandered as as result of allowing the domain Gab.com to be transferred to Epik in mid 2018. It was a courageous decision, actually. And Rob paid a price for it.

So am I trying to keep Rob out of sight until this blows over? No, I'm talking about him. But I don't want him to become a punching bag. Plenty of domainers like to throw punches. And there are rivals in this industry who play dirty tricks. Plus, there are left-wing activists who have gone out of their way to harass Rob and his family. That is not paranoia. I'm on the political left myself. It's just the truth.

Another reason I don't want Rob defending himself is this: When someone is being driven into a corner and asked to defend their honor – or especially to justify a bad decision they've already made – it's human nature to "double down" on the previous bad decision or to escalate the views expressed. That's not a fair representation of what someone believes. But there is always a small risk that can occur.

Also, the original scandal was caused by insensitivity to muslims, calling a video of a massacre a hoax. I don't want even the slightest risk of that claim being repeated, since it would only rub salt in the wound. Even if Rob realizes his mistake, he could still make another mistake. There is much less chance that I will say anything inadvertently offensive here. And I'm not Epik's CEO. So I can speak freely without risk that some phrase might be interpreted as "Epik". For example, I can insult the president of the United States at length; and nobody will assume Epik is anti-Trump. Not being the CEO, I have much more freedom of speech than Rob is allowed.

For the record, Rob deleted his own Twitter account after speaking with me and others.
 
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OK. I said that I would re-post my comments from Shane Cultra's blog. Some of what I say only makes sense given the context of other people's remarks there:

https://dsad.com/domain-shanes-daily-list-of-domains-at-auction-for-monday-march-18th-2019

There are 2 comments. One was published earlier. The other hasn't appeared yet. Here is #1:

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1/3 or 1/4 of Epik employees are muslims. That includes Epik's oldest / earliest employee and 2 of the 3 newest hires. (Depends on how I count part-time staff. I'm leaving out overseas programmers.) These are not token hires. They have very important roles at the company.

In saying this, I realize that some obnoxious person might find these individuals and begin harassing them. Please don't. Above all, if you're horrified at this massacre of innocent muslims (as I am), or annoyed by Rob's treatment of the incident (as I am), then persecuting other innocent muslims would be a strange way to show it. Not the moral high ground.

One of the commenters here refers to "the Vermin" – which I assume means Epik. "Vermin" can only apply to people, after all – certainly not to Epik's products / services. And it is plural. I assume that means Epik employees are "vermin"? Or perhaps our customers?

Indeed, I see that several people here expect "any respectable domain investor [to] remove their domains from Epik". I myself am a domain investor. So are many of the customers I help daily. If we don't do as some of you demand, then we are not "respectable". Meaning you will not treat us with respect. Because we are "Vermin"?

Maybe it is unhelpful to regard one's peers as "Vermin". Maybe we shouldn't rush to judgment – like lemmings jumping off the proverbial cliff.

Sometimes morality is black-and-white. Murdering 30+ innocent people is a vile act. Publishing a video after other websites act in concert to censor it? That is not so clearcut. People will have strong opinions about it, understandably. I might disagree with it.
But it's not the same as murder.

When horrific content is published, the motivation for publishing it is very important. Censoring footage of murder – though an easy choice to make – is not necessarily a good thing.

For example, what if racist cops shoot a black teenager in the back as he is running away? Should that murder footage be suppressed? Another example: There is reportedly an audio recording of journalist Jamal Khashoggi being tortured and killed inside the Saudi embassy in Turkey. Trump officials have stated that they feel no need to listen. They deny it happened. What if the tape could be published and expose the murderers' guilt?

This does not mean that I approve of Rob's decision to publish the video of the New Zealand massacre. I haven't seen his tweets. But to infer that he did this because he hates muslims and condones murder is not just simplistic; it is LUDICROUS. One person murders 30+ muslims. The other person hires them and works with them closely on a daily basis. To equate these 2 is simply wrong. Whatever the reasons Rob felt it necessary to re-publish a link to content others had decided to censor, hatred of muslims was NOT the reason.

For clarity, I'm Epik's Director of Operations. And I also have a close connection to the muslim world. I was born in Egypt, studied Arabic, and have lived 3 times in the Middle East during my life.
Part of my childhood was spent in Jerusalem, مدينة القدس . My grandfather, as it happens, was an army photographer whose task was to photograph the survivors (and non-survivors) of the concentration camp at Mauthausen. Through my Grandpa, I've lived with the knowledge of that genocide all my life. Any massacre is terrible. But when it's a synagogue or a mosque, it's more personal for me.

Why the personal details? Because I object to Epik – the team I work with and the customers we look after – being portrayed falsely as some epicenter of "hate speech" or the alt right. We are not. We are a domain registrar and marketplace with a wide range of services. We are a company whose boss has taken controversial (and in some ways courageous) steps to protect free speech. Unfortunately, that same boss has stepped on that message with some very bad PR moves. When Rob does that, it irritates me to the point of exasperation. And I tell him so.

Nevertheless, the core argument in defense of free speech is a legitimate position for someone to hold. You may disagree with that position, but you should not confuse an anti-censorship stance with the worst things that can be censored. Yes, an anti-censorship stance permits something to be shown or said, but that doesn't imply an endorsement. And when others are censoring content, then someone who is an anti-censorship activist will go out of their way to publish or exhibit something they may not agree with. That is not a new idea. "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it," dates back to a biography of Voltaire.

Rob's political and social views have little in common with mine. He is a believing christian who inclines right on politics. I'm a progressive socialist atheist with a "feminist as F*ck" sticker on my laptop. I was so disgusted seeing Trump elected in the USA that I vowed to leave the country permanently. And did. Currently I live on the other side of Trump's nonexistent wall. And the only English I speak is online. My fiancee is Peruana. You can infer from that that I also object to racism against latinos. (I mention this because someone mentioned the non-mention of "hispanics" as a reason to leave Epik.)

Rob and I may disagree, as people in any diverse group will do.
But we do agree on 2 crucial things: Tolerance and Free Speech. There is no such thing as "free speech tempered with morality". Either speech is unconstrained or else it isn't free. Not everyone believes in free speech. Indeed, absolute free speech is not the standard in the UK or the EU. But those of us who do espouse this principle inevitably find ourselves in a role that is misconstrued: Defending someone else's right to say something stupid, wrong, perverse, or even evil. Or to see video footage of evil. That doesn't mean that we agree with it.

I have never witnessed any bigotry from Rob, though his opinions have made my eyes roll on occasion. Rob himself has lived in other countries and cultures during many years. At Epik, he has assembled a truly international team. Rob and I clash often – about strategic decisions related to Epik products, about mixing politics with business, and about specific political views. And because Rob actually is tolerant and believes in free speech, he does what few bosses would do ... listens and lets me criticize him.

Is Epik a hotbed of the alt right? No, of course not. We are a domain registrar. Our staff and customers hold viewpoints in every color of the rainbow. Arguably Gab is a hotbed of the alt right. But it's just 1 domain at a registrar.

Some of Rob's political views do bother me. But America's political views overall bother me. They elected a president whom I abhor beyond words; and this reflects badly on the country. Am I going to condemn half the people in America? No. Yet they did something far more harmful than publish a video, which has put children in cages at the border, which has cost lives in Yemen, which has emboldened white supremacist terrorists all around the world – including this villain in New Zealand.

If I air my political views, as I have just done, then roughly 35% of the voting public of the USA will declare me their enemy. To the extent that they identify me with Epik, then perhaps they will demand that their acquaintances boycott Epik. This cuts both ways, folks.

Society is divided along tribal lines. And the rush to judgment in social media causes the tribe members to align instantly and unthinkingly like iron filings in a magnetic field. There is a tendency toward censorship and de-platforming that even some of us progressives are opposed to. Bill Maher, for example, criticizes this constantly.

I believe emphatically that de-platforming efforts – trendy and crowd-pleasing though the are – are a danger. Rob and I share this view. I wasn't involved in the decision for Gab.com to come to Epik, which was made while I was on vacation. But I support any domain's right to be registered and anyone's right to publish legal content, even if I might hate the views expressed.

At other times, censorship has focused on progressives. Books have been burned and banned. In the 20th century, Bertrand Russell was forced out of a professorship in the USA – teaching mathematical logic – because of his views on sex and marriage. The principle that would have defended his right to teach also defends people on the other end of the spectrum.

It is alarming to see angry mobs mobilized like this: "Thou shalt boycott company X because the personal views of someone there don't match those of your tribe." Very well, consumers can choose to business with whomever they please. But should we pronounce them unworthy of respect if they don't boycott company X because we happen to disagree with some tweet by someone who works at company X? Come on, guys! Stop painting with a broad brush.

Slow down. Rob is not a monster. The worst thing that I could ever say about him is that he has a weird conspiratorial streak. In particular, he interprets every massacre as a "false flag" – from 9/11 to the synagogue shooting to this New Zealand attack. Yes, even the moon landing. Rob told me he believes that flag is false too.

Does this "conspiracy theory" reflex make him a bigot who condones violence? No, not at all. It might make him somebody's "crazy uncle" who thinks far too much about the JFK assassination and the Apollo mission. And that can lead to severe misunderstandings when Rob is simultaneously standing up to censorship on social media networks by publishing the controversial banned content himself. In the heat of the moment, people are going to misinterpret that.

Don't. Take a step back. Think.

Try to tolerate and understand people who are different from yourselves. That includes people on the right and even the alt right. It includes people who voted for the opposite party. It includes people who believe the media or the government is perpetrating hoaxes. It includes Rob Monster. You can shake your heads at someone's personal views without calling them "Vermin" or demanding that everyone shun them.

Epik is a good company. It consists of a diverse team. And we help customers of all kinds. The free-speech stance is ABOUT diversity. Everybody has their own views. That includes Rob. But nobody's views define what a whole domain registrar is about. Epik is neutral, and we defend any domain's right to exist and engage in legal activity. That's an important principle. If no registrars support that principle, than free speech in the internet age would cease. Online communication is essential. It's what we're engaged in here or on Twitter or on FaceBook or via email. And all of that depends on domains – hence on registrars. Domainers, above all, need to understand the importance of domains in this respect.
 
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And here is comment #2:

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@Brad Mugford,

"Rob Monster posted a link to the shooter’s video and also implied it was a hoax."

Correct.

"I don’t think there is really any defense for that. I find this behavior reprehensible."

Personally I was appalled. Of course, it's terrible for the Epik brand and embarrassing for the people connected with Epik. Beyond that, it is horribly insensitive to the muslim community, including Epik's own muslim employees.

Is there a defense for it? Listen, I'm not going to waste my breath defending conspiracy theories I don't believe. But it's fair to point out that Rob also believes the 9/11 massacre was a hoax or inside job. Ditto the moon landing. About school shootings I haven't asked. Maybe those too.

Because white supremacist violence is on the rise, that has led Rob to call racist massacres hoaxes. But he is at least consistent. Nobody would call him a white supremacist for saying that 9/11 wasn't really perpetrated by islamic terrorists or for saying that a school shooting involved actors or for saying that Neil Armstrong didn't really set foot on lunar soil.

There is no defense that I would offer for Rob's opinion. Much less will I defend a CEO's insensitive blunder in sharing that opinion while mentioning his own company's brand.

But since Rob is being called a neo-Nazi, and I know that to be untrue, I will defend him. Also since Epik is being attacked, I will defend Epik. Rob's personal views about the moon landing, 9/11, or recent news are utterly irrelevant to Epik's services as a domain registrar and marketplace. We are a good company.

Something I consider reprehensible is to tar and feather all the employees at a company merely because of a comment made by 1 person on his personal Twitter account:

"If you feel good about working for a company that profits off of hate and murder that’s all that counts I reckon."

It should be obvious to any observer that Epik is not profiting as a result of Rob's misguided tweets. Quite the opposite.

"Did twitter take RobMonster offline"

No. After speaking with me and others, Rob deleted his personal Twitter account. That doesn't imply that Epik is trying to hide something. Here I am talking about it, after all. But it does mean that 1 person's controversial views should not define a company's brand – particularly at a domain registrar, which prides itself on neutrality.

@Mike, Nope. Nobody in Bellevue. Nobody on Indian work visas. Paying shooter's legal bills? Also no. As for .NET sales, they're fine. Had a $3k - $4k opening offer for 1 .NET a few days ago. Thanks for the veiled insult. Wrong as always.

"It’s against my ethics to actively solicit business as a result of murder. Epik doesn’t share the same values."

Rob made a dumb decision on his personal Twitter account. That has nothing to do with my values or those of anybody else who works at Epik. And it doesn't even reflect Epik's strategy as a business. It was a foolish tweet.

Speaking of leaders' rash tweets, and mixing politics with business, I could point out that the USA in general strikes me as a hotbed of white supremacists who elected an president who is literally profiting from his position while promulgating racist conspiracy theories that lead to murder. I could denounce any American who doesn't cut ties with the USA and leave the country as I have done.

But I won't. This is a broad social issue. And it is more complicated than some people are prepared to acknowledge.

Rob's opinion is wrong. The insensitivity to muslims was wrong too, especially given the number of muslims who work closely with Rob at Epik. And his decision to mix his opinion with a public reference to Epik was misguided.

But I can explain Rob's mistake without defending it. The primary motivation in Rob's case was his sincere belief that censorship is a problem that needs to be actively combated. Since he saw Twitter as censoring content that he regarded as important, he took action to stand up to censorship. That is how Rob viewed his own action. And the reference to Epik was about tools to fight censorship, which is a cause Rob is personally passionate about. And this is actually a legitimate concern. Online censorship is a growing problem.

I am not justifying Rob's opinion or action, since I disagree with both. But I do object to an angry mob that says Rob is a neo-Nazi and insists that I'm profiting from murder merely because I work at Epik, helping customers with their domains.

The tendency in recent years is for everybody online to take sides in an us-versus-them battle. Everyone lives in their own bubble or echo chamber. That's what causes someone like Rob to express views that (in other contexts) people around him agree with. That's what causes people here to label Rob a neo-Nazi without taking time to understand the circumstances fully. This tribal rush to judgment is what drove the birther conspiracy, what brings applause when Trump calls latino immigrants "rapists & murderers" or says "Islam hates us". Ultimately it's what drives white supremacists toward murder.

It is possible to criticize Rob Monster's action without condemning him as a neo-Nazi. It is also possible to distinguish between Rob's misguided tweet and Epik, the company that he runs. It is possible to deplore Rob's insensitive action while at the same time understanding (even if you don't share) the anti-censorship motivation that drove it.

Of course, it's easier and more fun to join an angry mob than to stand up to one. You don't need to do either. Take a step back and review what is actually happening, if you genuinely want to understand it.
 
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I'm trying to stay out of this thread because the only time this stuff even comes into my mind, is when somebody bumps the topic here at Namepros but then you had to post something ridiculous:

"He had been driven into an echo chamber by the mainstream press and by left-wing activists"

That's you blaming the media and left-wing activists. Seriously.
 
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Let me make 1 more point. Rob's comment created a scandal for Epik. So I have asked him not to make any more public comments about that issue for awhile. That includes here in NamePros.

I'm sure that Rob would rather engage with people and defend himself. That's his personality. Unlike other registrars, Epik's CEO responds to customers personally about issues large and small.

Some of you will scoff: "Right, Joseph is trying to keep Rob Monster and his views out of sight until this all blows over." Maybe.

But here's what you don't know, folks. Rob agreed to allow Gab.com to be transferred to Epik on the grounds that registrars should support free speech and fight de-platforming efforts. I wholeheartedly agree with that. When Rob did that, he made the decision to be the public voice of Epik regarding why. I had volunteered to explain the decision, since my own politics are exactly the opposite of the alt right. But Rob, as CEO, decided he would do it.

When Rob did that, he was immediately smeared in public as being antisemitic. Months later, I learned that Rob's neighborhood had been leafletted by activists condemning him as a Nazi. They harassed his wife in her workplace. The mainstream media published more than 1 hit piece, giving accounts of Rob's decision whose tone was full of innuendo or condemnation – far from the journalistic integrity that I expected. Instead of describing Rob as a "christian", they used the pejorative "Bible-thumping" for example.

Given that experience of being vilified by the mainstream press, being harassed and slandered where he lives, is it really that surprising that Rob was appreciative of the support he received from Gab members? They were evidently the only community that agreed with the free-speech decision he had taken. Rob is a conservative. And, as any American knows, conservatives already distrust the so-called "mainstream media". Having found some common ground with Gab members regarding free speech and perhaps sharing some other conservative political views, it is not hard to understand how Rob's rhetoric became more extreme during the months since. He had been driven into an echo chamber by the mainstream press and by left-wing activists – people who should have more respect for freedom of speech.

I've never paid attention to Rob's tweets or Epik's or anybody's tweets. But it is my hunch that Rob's Twitter activity became more overtly political and controversial since August or September, which is when the media began demonizing him. To some extent it is a defensive reaction – to justify oneself after being persecuted. And, yes, Rob was persecuted. Rob is not a victim in this current scandal about the New Zealand massacre. But Rob was, in fact, harassed unfairly and slandered as as result of allowing the domain Gab.com to be transferred to Epik in mid 2018. It was a courageous decision, actually. And Rob paid a price for it.

So am I trying to keep Rob out of sight until this blows over? No, I'm talking about him. But I don't want him to become a punching bag. Plenty of domainers like to throw punches. And there are rivals in this industry who play dirty tricks. Plus, there are left-wing activists who have gone out of their way to harass Rob and his family. That is not paranoia. I'm on the political left myself. It's just the truth.

Another reason I don't want Rob defending himself is this: When someone is being driven into a corner and asked to defend their honor – or especially to justify a bad decision they've already made – it's human nature to "double down" on the previous bad decision or to escalate the views expressed. That's not a fair representation of what someone believes. But there is always a small risk that can occur.

Also, the original scandal was caused by insensitivity to muslims, calling a video of a massacre a hoax. I don't want even the slightest risk of that claim being repeated, since it would only rub salt in the wound. Even if Rob realizes his mistake, he could still make another mistake. There is much less chance that I will say anything inadvertently offensive here. And I'm not Epik's CEO. So I can speak freely without risk that some phrase might be interpreted as "Epik". For example, I can insult the president of the United States at length; and nobody will assume Epik is anti-Trump. Not being the CEO, I have much more freedom of speech than Rob is allowed.

For the record, Rob deleted his own Twitter account after speaking with me and others.

It is sad to see Rob's neighbors turned against him with hate and there was harassment to his wife at her workplace just for allowing Gab into Epik.
Rob/Epik is extremely lucky to have you there.
Much Respect Joseph.


Ironic that Escrow.com is now sabotaging Epik in a rather dishonest way. State regulators, instigated by Escrow.com, are now suggesting that all domain marketplaces sales need to be licensed in multiple states. A ridiculous idea, and big news if Escrow.com gets their way. Sedo, Afternic, Uniregistry, BrandBucket – everybody may soon be shut down unless they get licensed as escrow agents. Right now, I'm the guy fighting that fight. If I lose, then we all lose. It's not a small issue for the domain industry.

But I digress.

Thank you.
I am rooting for your fight for us all here.
 
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Yes, I mean:

https://twitter.com/EpikDotCom/status/1074058943519969280

That graphic was made at one of the chan sites. It's a common anti-semitic trope.

You can see the same graphic here and elsewhere:
https://www.heyalma.com/what-jews-control-according-to-twitter/

Ha, and now somebody just deleted it a minute after I posted a link to it.

It was this, the graphic, not the guy saying How many jews control your life:

spreadsheet.png
https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/...merican-media-controlled-mostly-by-jews/19975
 
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And here is comment #2:

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@brad Mugford,

"Rob Monster posted a link to the shooter’s video and also implied it was a hoax."

Correct.

"I don’t think there is really any defense for that. I find this behavior reprehensible."

Personally I was appalled. Of course, it's terrible for the Epik brand and embarrassing for the people connected with Epik. Beyond that, it is horribly insensitive to the muslim community, including Epik's own muslim employees.

Is there a defense for it? Listen, I'm not going to waste my breath defending conspiracy theories I don't believe. But it's fair to point out that Rob also believes the 9/11 massacre was a hoax or inside job. Ditto the moon landing. About school shootings I haven't asked. Maybe those too.

Because white supremacist violence is on the rise, that has led Rob to call racist massacres hoaxes. But he is at least consistent. Nobody would call him a white supremacist for saying that 9/11 wasn't really perpetrated by islamic terrorists or for saying that a school shooting involved actors or for saying that Neil Armstrong didn't really set foot on lunar soil.

There is no defense that I would offer for Rob's opinion. Much less will I defend a CEO's insensitive blunder in sharing that opinion while mentioning his own company's brand.

Joseph, I appreciate you trying to clear this up but I am unmoved.

I mean Bob Parsons (GoDaddy CEO) got endless shit for killing an elephant. I don't have much sympathy for someone who decides to share a video of people getting massacred then implying it was a hoax.

I am sorry but the CEO of a company should really know better. It obviously reflects poorly on the brand.

If the CEO of a major company had done this on their personal account they would no doubt be immediately terminated by the board. "Free Speech" does not mean freedom from consequences when it comes to companies, groups, organizations, etc.

If you want to say and do offensive things under the guise of "free speech" then don't be surprised when people are offended by it, and don't be surprised when you lose business because of it.

Brad
 
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"Epik hires Muslims and Latinos? Let's dox the CEO and out him at his Christian community" - Said NO conservative EVER!

I will say... It is disgusting what many on the left will do.

I run a regional firearms website that is dedicated to creating a safe community for both conservatives and liberals to learn about shooting, the laws, etc. A few years into it... a few similar domain names were registered and I was Docsed. They even put up pictures of the house where they thought I lived but was a family member. Yep... a liberal who did not believe in firearms.

I firmly believe in people's rights to believe in whatever they want, as long as they are not doing it in my face, on my property.

Even as a Jew who lost plenty of family in the holocaust, I respect the right of storm front, the KKK and any other loonie Nazi to have their safe space online. As long as they are not harming people or throwing people on the cross, it is their God given right.

This is what I find disgusting, people who supposedly value freedom who only support it as long as people agree with them. The censorship coming form NZ is even worse and worse than what you would expect from China or Russia.

Censorship coming out of the Free World, a Western Utopia... which is threatening its own people with jail time for merely sharing FACTS and what happened.
 
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That's you blaming the media and left-wing activists. Seriously.

Yes, deservedly so.

If the CEO of a domain registrar permits a domain transfer to occur, is it appropriate to leaflet the man's neighborhood and harass his wife, calling him a Nazi? No, it is not. And I do blame the activists who did that.

Should a journalist use pejoratives like "Bible-thumping" instead of "christian" when characterizing someone's decision in a controversial freedom-of-speech case? No, I demand more objectivity from journalists. They failed to do their job properly, and I do blame them for having an agenda to smear Rob. Even if he deserves blame, journalists should not distort the case by using pejoratives or innuendo.
 
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... and in full disclosure...

NZ shooting - the video after looking more into it was purely the Facebook compression algo...
JFK - No way Oswald shot JFK... as a shooter I can tell you nothing made sense about it. Shot came from different angle.

But once again, a few know that I focus on the gun communities which are easily vilified... this is why I have used offshore registrars in the past and why I value Epik. They care more about privacy and domain rights than they do about what your domain name is.
 
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Yes, deservedly so.

No, it's a cop out, a weak one at that. You're responsible for your own posting. Nobody makes you do that. Left wing activists made me do it is crazy.
 
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Hi @Slanted ,

First off, thank you for coming on here, to engage & explain.

I have read almost everything, maybe missed a few things here & there.

I am not American, so I do not have any political agendas.

But I am a Muslim, & I practice my religion to the best of my ability.

I have direct family members that are devout Christians.

I have lived abroad for many years & I know the world.

Where Jesus Christ was baptized (Al Maghtas) Jordan river, is 20 minutes away from where I am located right now in Amman.

& finally I am in the domain business.

So thats why I am here, engaging with you, just for clarity.

We are all sinners, we make mistakes, we learn from them.

I know for a fact, true Christians, true believers cannot also be racists, bigots etc..

Since Mr. Rob Monster is known to be a devout Christian, I am now choosing to believe that it was not his intention to offend or hurt anyone & that he doesn't not in anyway endorse or encourage violence & hate.

This is what I do, I look for the good in people. I encourage others to do the same, & I hope they can find it within themselves to forgive & let go

I wish you, your family, Mr Rob Monster & his family all the best.

On the Gab issue, I will not get involved in American politics.

I hope Epik will continue to be one of the top registrars.

Thank you,

Mohammad Shahin
 
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Killing people is not the same as sharing links to videos. Rob didn't shoot anyone, or any elephants. Yet, one would think from the reaction he's getting that he'd done something unforgivable. Rob shared a link. Perhaps it was insensitive, but since when is offending someone such a big deal? He/she who has not offended anybody in the past month, chime in. If you indeed have not, I'd hazard a guess that your life is rather mundane, or that you do not hold many ideals with fortitude in these contentious times.

I've written quite a lot about this in another thread, so I'll keep this concise. Rob is responsible for one of the few free speech bastions in an increasingly-intolerant world. Given the amount of weight on his shoulders, and the value he provides to society in carrying that weight, my forgiveness for any insensitive tweets or any similarly fleeting actions is swift. I'm sure he will learn the lessons he is to take away from this situation and be a better man for it.
 
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Killing people is not the same as sharing links to videos. Rob didn't shoot anyone, or any elephants.

I agree. There is a difference between being a criminal and just being an asshole.
It takes a real asshole to share a video of people being slaughtered then implying it was a hoax.

Perhaps it was insensitive, but since when is offending someone such a big deal?

Offending people is a rather big deal when it comes to business.
Do you really want to offend current or potential future customers?

I doubt sharing a video of people getting murdered is going to lead to a real groundswell of new customers.

Brad
 
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You might be right. But I don't think for one second that the CEO of any competing registrar is of complete pureness of mind, body, and soul. We are fortunate to have a very clear picture into the inner workings of Epik and its CEO. And we can be confident that any advice or criticism we offer will be properly considered.

And to that I say, do better. We need you to. And I think you will.
 
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I agree. There is a difference between being a criminal and just being an a*hole.
It takes a real a*hole to share a video of people being slaughtered.



Offending people is a rather big deal when it comes to business.
Do you really want to offend current or potential future customers?

I doubt sharing a video of people getting murdered is going to lead to a real groundswell of new customers.

Brad

I think Rob made the mistake of posting it on his account as CEO...

But honestly, in a few weeks no one is going to care as the media is going to find someone else to crucify. Remember, it's crucify first, ask questions later and NEVER apologize.

I think the reason why Rob shared it is even more important though, because the government wants to censor it and jail anyone who shares it.

Burying the past is not how you deal with it. I mean... are you an ass if you share a video about the world trade center being bombed? How about world war 2 videos? Or videos about US soliders and others doing horrible things as acts of war?

Rob was not promoting hate... but was trying not to suppress what happened.

While I have personally not seen the video nor do I care to, I don't hold it against anyone if they do.

Suppressing it is essentially saying it is fine for Governments to control what you look for on the internet.
 
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But here's what you don't know, folks. Rob agreed to allow Gab.com to be transferred to Epik on the grounds that registrars should support free speech

I am willing to be open minded and say maybe I don’t know all the facts that would make this make sense. I have some questions that would help me understand further.

1. Do you have a public policy somewhere that defines this? For instance, how would a user or Epik know when a line has been crossed?

2. Would Epik allow, for instance, the explicit discussion of child pornography? Rape? Any other kinds of abuse? Where maybe actual pictures or videos are not involved but members openly discuss grooming, maybe fantasy stories, etc?

3. Would Epic allow the explicit discussion, website, content, etc from groups such Antifa?

4. What about the same as above but with an LGBT related group?
 
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According to the comment on that page:

[Rob Monster’s] tweet with the live link to the video is still cached on Google search results. Here is that tweet, judge for yourself:

“And while you are at it, here is the shooter’s video, also now on IPFS and also accessible through any IPFS gateway:

[LINK REDACTED]

While I definitely do not condone violence, maybe discerning eyes will decipher the use of symbols and runes.”


:facepalm::xf.eek:(n)

That was my comment. After seeing the threads here, I had to elaborate:

https://www.dnplaybook.com/from-a-s...litator-of-hate-and-promoter-of-conspiracies/
 
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