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.

 

[frank-germany]

Yes, I agree...if folks are interested in a religious debate, it would best to start another thread. Many of the actions of Christians and Muslims throughout history are well documented and all it takes are a few searches, clicks and an open mind to disseminate the information.

So to get back on topic as to what is going on with Rob and Epik.

the problems is that it looks like Rob can't post w/o quoting some text passages from a bible
and keeps on talking about God in regard to profane things

I really wished he could just leave that part out

free speech - yes he can do so

but it makes him less trustworthy in my eyes
as I would suggest his spoke based on his own insights
instead of what he thinks "God" wants or the Bible's view of it

 

[Mister Funsky]

the problems is that it looks like Rob can't post w/o quoting some text passages from a bible
and keeps on talking about God in regard to profane things

I really wished he could just leave that part out

free speech - yes he can do so

but it makes him less trustworthy in my eyes
as I would suggest his spoke based on his own insights
instead of what he thinks "God" wants or the Bible's view of it

I understand your point and I also understand Rob wants to share his convictions.

It is hard for many to keep personal thoughts/opinions out of the professional arena...I know it is tough for me to do. When interacting with someone one on one I will let the other person know that the conversation is heading toward a point when/where my belief system will begin to kick in. They are then given the option as to carry on and go 'there' or stop the current path of the discussion.

Many times the scenario has happened where the other person chooses to stop the personal part of the discussion and we conclude business...and after the contract is signed or the sale is made we go back and revisit the point/counterpoint...often ends up being a learning experience for both of us.

The significant downside to social media is that the info being shared is viewed by parties that are not involved in the primary discussion and may attract a troll wishing to sew discourse and entertain themselves. For this exact reason I have zero 'social' accounts...the namepros platform is all I can handle!

 

[Rob Monster]

I cant understand as you are mostly arguing with your fellow christians but still you are trying to fit your Islam bashing in between like previous post about spread of Islam by swords.

Hey Wali -

First of all, I mean no disrespect to you. You seem like a very capable, articulate, and thoughtful guy who is deeply studied on Islam.

As context, I have traveled throughout the Middle East, including recently UAE, Oman, Qatar, Turkey, and Israel. I have not been to Pakistan, which I believe is your home country, but have worked extensively with Pakistani developers in the past.

Specific to the domain industry, with Sufyan Alani Director of Business Development, recently onboard, we are actively exploring cooperation with ccTLDs across the Middle East, Indonesia and Pakistan. In particular, I think .ID and .SA are good candidates for international adoption similar to .AI.

In other words, I am not in any way an isolationist. I love the idea of being able to cross borders without waiting at immigration. I also enjoy exploring other cultures and have experienced amazing warmth and hospitality from many Muslim friends and business associates when visiting for business and leisure.

Culturally, I embrace tolerance, free will and want peaceful coexistence. However, if a group wants to impose their religion or mandate cultural norms, they cross a line that should not be crossed. I have no interest in being required to pay Jizya, for for the privilege of being an infidel.

I would like to ask you 4 questions:

1. How would you describe Shariah Law?

2. Under what circumstances might a country be expected to adopt Shariah Law?

3. Do you believe it is possible that some Islamists are interested in spreading Islam, including imposing Shariah Law?

4. Lastly, without resorting to Taqiyya, please tell me if you believe if anyone should ever be allowed to impose their cultural norm on another country's people.

In the context of ChristChurch, we have a nation being asked to participate in a spiritual invocation of Allah, in the form of Adhan, or Islamic Call to Prayer while requesting all women to be covered. Of course this was in the wake of a horrific event for which empathy and mourning is warranted.

If you prefer to answer privately, or discuss via phone, in order to not have this thread become excessively theological, that would be fine. Personally I think the context of civil liberty is relevant as it determines whether and how people are allowed to publish and consume content on the Internet.

Thanks, and blessings to you and yours!

 

[DaveX]

Here's an example of the free speech Rob claims to be protecting. This is from the front page of news on g**.

https://gab.com/AntiZogAction/posts/Q2RZbFBLUzhCOXRLT09KUTFoZytzQT09

I fail to understand in good conscience how rob can justify providing a platform that allows and encourages this type of speech. Any child can go on that site with no barrier and read this type of stuff.

Excuse me but this is just idiotic.

Now, let me be direct and clear...

Rob, you should be ashamed of yourself for even remotely being associated with type of content. If you are a man of honor, you must distance yourself from this type of organization immediately.

I absolutely do not and would associate in any way with people that hold these attitudes. Neither should you.

You have lowered yourself to that level by association.

 

[DaveX]

In domaining, we say...If you have to explain your domain, it's probably not good.

Rob, if you find yourself constantly having to explain, it's probably not good friend.

 

[Wali Dahot]

I would like to ask you 4 questions:

1. How would you describe Shariah Law?

2. Under what circumstances might a country be expected to adopt Shariah Law?

3. Do you believe it is possible that some Islamists are interested in spreading Islam, including imposing Shariah Law?

4. Lastly, without resorting to Taqiyya, please tell me if you believe if anyone should ever be allowed to impose their cultural norm on another country's people.

In the context of ChristChurch, we have a nation being asked to participate in a spiritual invocation of Allah, in the form of Adhan, or Islamic Call to Prayer while requesting all women to be covered. Of course this was in the wake of a horrific event for which empathy and mourning is warranted.

If you prefer to answer privately, or discuss via phone, in order to not have this thread become excessively theological, that would be fine. Personally I think the context of civil liberty is relevant as it determines whether and how people are allowed to publish and consume content on the Internet.

Thanks, and blessings to you and yours!

1 and 2:
Sharia Law is divine Islamic law as revealed in the Quran and the Sunnah(the teachings and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and His companions). Human understanding of this law is called fiqh. Fiqh expands and develops Shariah through interpretation of the Quran and Sunnah by Islamic jurists (ulama) and is implemented by the rulings (fatwa) of jurists on questions presented to them. Thus, whereas sharia is considered immutable and infallible by Muslims, fiqh is considered fallible and changeable. So the point is; to implement Sharia Law, the Leader and his Islamic Jurists must be well versed in Islam and Quran and must interpret laws justly(without corruption and bias). There is an old saying, To implement Sharia Law you need to have a Leader as good as four companions of the Prophet. In this age its infeasible to implement Sharia Law as every sect of Islam has its own understanding and interpretation of Fiqh so any attempt to implement Sharia Law is bound to fail as those who want to implement Sharia Law are not well versed in Fiqh. Without proper knowledge and understanding of Fiqh will lead to a theocratic and tyrant state similar to rule of IS in Iraq.
3. No Islam wont spread by tyranny and forced conversions as Quran is clearly against it by saying their is no compulsion in religion. In this age of corruption and greed, lobbying for Sharia law is nothing more than an excuse to get into Power.
4. Religion is a personal thing so its practice shouldnt be imposed on others. If you are referring to Hijabs, then its just a peace of clothing and nothing more. If one wants to wear it, fine but it shouldnt be imposed forcefully.
“Say to the believing men that: they should cast down their glances and guard their private parts (by being chaste). This is better for them.”
(Al Quran 24:30)
“You have heard that it was said by them of old time, you shall not commit adultery. But I say unto you, That whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.”
The Gospel of Matthew, chap. 5, verses 27-28

 

[Rob Monster]

1 and 2:
.
3. No Islam wont spread by tyranny and forced conversions as Quran is clearly against it by saying their is no compulsion in religion. In this age of corruption and greed, lobbying for Sharia law is nothing more than an excuse to get into Power.
4. Religion is a personal thing so its practice shouldnt be imposed on others. If you are referring to Hijabs, then its just a peace of clothing and nothing more. If one wants to wear it, fine but it shouldnt be imposed forcefully.

Thanks Wali --

I like your interpretation. I also appreciate you being a resource to this group and would encourage folks to visit Islamic countries. I am personally quite fearless about visiting other cultures and have not experienced a sense of being unwelcome in any islamic country.

It does sadden me to see an uptick in acid attacks on women in the UK or to hear ongoing reports of genital mutilation. At the same time, I have seen first-hand how Islamic husbands protect their wives like royalty, up to and including walled palaces as I saw a lot of while touring through Oman, for example.

Two practical questions:

Are there any parts of the world where you would advise an uncovered woman not to visit without being accompanied specifically due to danger of vigilante justice being meted out by those who support shariah?

What can non-muslims do to prevent more part of the world from becoming no-go zones as is now happening in the UK? The issue goes back many years, including CNN covering it already in 2013.

We can probably agree on a lot of what is "right". The difference is whether a group has license to impose or force a code of conduct on another group.

Finally for avoidance of doubt, I am not an "Islamophobe" and never had an intent to pick on Islam. As I see it, free speech is an antidote to tyranny -- religious tyranny, economic tyranny, medical tyranny, etc.

If the term "medical tyranny" sounds odd, look into the news this week in NY of forced vaccination as a condition for being in public spaces. We are dealing with a slippery slope and the trend is not good.

Thanks again.

 

[DaveX]

This morning I was briefly thinking about this thread which reminded me how I found it.

A person I have come to have great respect for, Shane Cultra, wrote an article expressing his opinion on Rob's decision to provide a platform for gab.

I reserved my opinion until I had more of a grasp of the situation.

I have done that and can say with absolute conviction that I agree with @Domain Shane .

The content perpetuated on gab is not content that I could ever be remotely associated with.

I wish Rob nothing but the best despite my disappointment in his judgement.

 

[Internet.Domains]

1 and 2:
Sharia Law is divine Islamic law as revealed in the Quran and the Sunnah(the teachings and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and His companions). Human understanding of this law is called fiqh. Fiqh expands and develops Shariah through interpretation of the Quran and Sunnah by Islamic jurists (ulama) and is implemented by the rulings (fatwa) of jurists on questions presented to them. Thus, whereas sharia is considered immutable and infallible by Muslims, fiqh is considered fallible and changeable. So the point is; to implement Sharia Law, the Leader and his Islamic Jurists must be well versed in Islam and Quran and must interpret laws justly(without corruption and bias). There is an old saying, To implement Sharia Law you need to have a Leader as good as four companions of the Prophet. In this age its infeasible to implement Sharia Law as every sect of Islam has its own understanding and interpretation of Fiqh so any attempt to implement Sharia Law is bound to fail as those who want to implement Sharia Law are not well versed in Fiqh. Without proper knowledge and understanding of Fiqh will lead to a theocratic and tyrant state similar to rule of IS in Iraq.
3. No Islam wont spread by tyranny and forced conversions as Quran is clearly against it by saying their is no compulsion in religion. In this age of corruption and greed, lobbying for Sharia law is nothing more than an excuse to get into Power.
4. Religion is a personal thing so its practice shouldnt be imposed on others. If you are referring to Hijabs, then its just a peace of clothing and nothing more. If one wants to wear it, fine but it shouldnt be imposed forcefully.
“Say to the believing men that: they should cast down their glances and guard their private parts (by being chaste). This is better for them.”
(Al Quran 24:30)
“You have heard that it was said by them of old time, you shall not commit adultery. But I say unto you, That whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.”
The Gospel of Matthew, chap. 5, verses 27-28

Thank you @Wali Dahot for being a great steward! Hello Brother

 

[Omar.]

In the UK there is a criminal offence of "glorifying terrorism."

Thats exactly what the Monster was doing: Glorifying terrorism and racism too! He made a Big mistake on his twitter account that Will have very serious consecuenses for his small registrar epik and for his own reputation.

Internet destroyed HIS life and his small registrar epik:

 

[oldtimer]

As I mentioned earlier we are at a crossroads, the humanity can make a leap and enter a new era of peace and harmony, or be destroyed by the many different threats that are simmering around us. We can use our intuition, wisdom, and common sense along with advances in technology such as Artificial Intelligence to help create a better World that is based on logic, compassion, and Universal rights and values or continue on the same course as we are which most likely will end in destruction and extinction especially if Artificial Intelligence is used in the future to make more Wars or to suppress and oppress people even more.

On the subject of medical tyranny that was mentioned by Rob, I believe if humanity chooses the right path, we might be able to use technology to solve many of our problems. I have used some of my domains in the past to express my thoughts on some of these subjects.

We are shaping the future by our decisions and actions (and our thoughts), what we do now is going to have profound effects on how the World is going to look like in the coming years. Heaven or Hell it's going to be a choice that the present generation of man kind has to make for the ages.

www.AiMedicalCenter.com

www.GlobalReform.com

www.UniversalHumanRights.net

Good luck to everyone, it was nice to hear all your opinions,

Now signing off to go back to my favorite hobby: domaining

 

[carob]

Here's an example of the free speech Rob claims to be protecting. This is from the front page of news on g**.

https://gab.com/AntiZogAction/posts/Q2RZbFBLUzhCOXRLT09KUTFoZytzQT09

I fail to understand in good conscience how rob can justify providing a platform that allows and encourages this type of speech. .

That is awful stuff. I wouldn't want to show it to anyone, but it is relevant to what follows in this post

Now let's have a look at the Epik.com Tos for domain registrants, including the above gab.com
https://www.epik.com/registration.php

Epik.com may also cancel the registration of a domain name, after thirty (30) days, if that name is being used, as determined by Epik.com in its sole discretion, in association with spam or morally objectionable activities. Morally objectionable activities will include, but not be limited to: activities designed to defame, embarrass, harm, abuse, threaten, slander or harass third parties; activities prohibited by the laws of the United States and/or foreign territories in which You conduct business; activities designed to encourage unlawful behavior by others, such as hate crimes, terrorism and child pornography; activities that are tortious, vulgar, obscene, invasive of the privacy of a third party, racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable; activities designed to impersonate the identity of a third party; and activities designed to harm or use unethically minors in any way.

So what action will Epik take?

Will my post about Homeless Domains become topical sooner than expected?
https://www.namepros.com/threads/so...er-or-suspension.1107245/page-23#post-7168249

 

[Internet.Domains]

That is awful stuff. I wouldn't want to show it to anyone, but it is relevant to what follows in this postShow attachment 113878

Now let's have a look at the Epik.com Tos for domain registrants, including the above gab.com
https://www.epik.com/registration.php



Show attachment 113881

So what action will Epik take?

Will my post about Homeless Domains become topical sooner than expected?

There is no defense for that language. Completely intolerable for a peaceful society. I can only hope that Gab takes action and closes (suspends) such accounts and users. Just as Facebook, Twitter and others do when hate speech is found on their platforms.

Lets not forget that hate speech is found on all social media platforms. The largest one being Facebook is constantly struggling to keep up with the problem of hate speech, but the media seems content to pick on the smaller social media sites.

Disclosure: I am not a user of Gab. I have never made an account nor have I visited the site.

 

[DN Playbook]

Hate and racism can be very complex issues, if we let them.

Just think about this...

There are certain people that are racist and hateful even within their own race. There are Mexicans that put down other Mexicans. I know, my in-laws are Mexican (and wonderful people). Germans dislike other Germans. My step-father was German, and I have German friends that told me so. I am Polish and know that even Poles can hate each other. And just look at the racial, class, and political divides in the US. I am sure the same can be said of other nations as well.

So you can imagine how much worse those same individuals would think about immigrants, who are truly of a different nationality, race and culture.

But to insert this narrative into a public profile like that of RM, and drag Epik along with the rest of us into this, is totally nuts.

How Epik responds will determine their longevity. How we respond will determine the longevity of domaining as a mainstream industry (we are yet to see it become one).

The big social media platforms are grappling with this issue already as well.

 

[DaveX]

There is no defense for that language. Completely intolerable for a peaceful society. I can only hope that Gab takes action and closes (suspends) such accounts and users. Just as Facebook, Twitter and others do when hate speech is found on their platforms.

Lets not forget that hate speech is found on all social media platforms. The largest one being Facebook is constantly struggling to keep up with the problem of hate speech, but the media seems content to pick on the smaller social media sites.

Disclosure: I am not a user of Gab. I have never made an account nor have I visited the site.

Yet Rob, in his finite wisdom, disliked my post. Certainly he can, but I give a failing grade for his lack of action or even response.

Did someone say Rob is a quality, intelligent person?

Have I so hurt Robs widdle feewings that he can't find words?

I suppose he has his widdle weasons.

I don't know of any Christian like Rob.

 

[frank-germany]

Did someone say Rob is a quality, intelligent person?

I can't remember

I don't know of any Christian like Rob.

everybody can believe whatever they want

but to irrelevantly publish about it in every -let's say- 4th post
that doesn't make somebody a Christian

no I have never seen that before
and I wish I hadn't this time

 

[DaveX]

God forbid some member of gab commits a major crime. All the while Erik leadership was aware and didn't even enforce their terms of service. Mr. Monster single handedly resurrected that hate site despite his complete knowledge of what his actions meant.

All this might become evidence.

 

[DN Playbook]

By the way, I am also concerned how NamePros and other industry forums and blogs respond to this as well. So far crickets from the majority of them. Silence on hate speech is tantamount to condoning or, at minimum, indifference. Especially when it hits this close to home.

 

[DaveX]

By the way, I am also concerned how NamePros and other industry forums and blogs respond to this as well. So far crickets from the majority of them. Silence on hate speech is tantamount to condoning or, at minimum, indifference. Especially when it hits this close to home.

It's been my experience that NP vigorously enforces its TOS and its rules of conduct. And they don't play favorites.

 

[mr-x]

EU votes to effectively ban memes electronically as Article 13 'copyright filter' passes.