Why and how Epik allows CoronaVirus domains to be listed

[Rob Monster]

Epik has a history of standing for responsible free speech that is within the bounds of the law. As such, when it comes to the topic of Corona Virus domain names, I doubt there will be a large change on that position.

This is not a light matter, and we certainly will remain vigilant to acceptable use. However, to pre-judge that every Corona-related domain is to be used for evil is akin to Dystopian Minority Report pre-crime.

May rational heads prevail and may orderly free speech be used to accelerate progress and to encourage those who are suffering in one way or another.

For additional context, I posted a short video on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1243196903581499397

 

[Rob Monster]

Can you provide the quote? Could not find ~20% quote.

Here is the screen shot of the 1st paragraph:

Really? Isn't that like Satan telling Jesus to go throw himself off the wall of the temple to put God to the test?

Non sequitur.

Use all precautions. Use medical intervention as needed.

Pray.

It is not an either/or. It is both.

Related comment

https://www.namepros.com/threads/mu...t-editable-thread.1163950/page-2#post-7689830

 

[Compassion]

Chinese herbs are one reason numbers improved after the initial shock in China...I can share a video showing one province with great success treating with herb formulas

 

[NotFromBayArea]

Reading all of the wise replies by Rob in this thread convinced me to try Epik.com out.

 

[Picorio]

Personally, I don't see any issue with registering or buying a corona/covid related domain unless it's meant for ulterior motive like selling false information.

I have some and will be willing to give it to a responsible nonprofit organization that needs it to better help people without making profit from it themselves.

But if it's an organization that is working on a medication that it will patent etc and sale the drugs to people for a profit, then I can only sale it to them.

People that sale casket etc are producing more of it and selling it. They cannot be attacked for "making gains" from the pandemic.

That's my opinion your entitled to yours.

@myfavorite amen

 

[TCK]

to pre-judge that every Corona-related domain is to be used for evil is akin to Dystopian Minority Report pre-crime

Unfortunately, few bad apples (assuming its few) can hurt others. In another thread, the topic was whether registering COVID-19 related domains for profit is immoral. Immoral is not on the same level as evil.

If your motive is to help others with directing them to accurate information, you don't need an explicit Coronavirus domain name. You can even use social media pages.

At this point, any domains of real value on the subject have already been registered. So any new domains registered would be confusing.

If you register a COVID-19 domain to make profit, it is immoral. Not necessarily evil. But each one has their own conscience. This is only my opinion.

 

[Rob Monster]

Doesn’t other domain marketplaces banning coronavirus domains also tell you it’s wrong?

The easy solution is a cop out -- ban everything. It is what some have chosen. It may be politically correct. and it may be safe, but it also shows no regard for intelligent discernment around acceptable use. My hope is that people who own these domains will price fairly, donate liberally, and use proceeds wisely.

 

[Samer]

What's wrong with Holocaust deniers now?

Being Jewish and Israeli, and one who lost more than half of my ancestor families in occupation during WW2, i don't see any problem in Holocaust deniers.

If people are idiots, how can they harm me? Just let them be. Can they convince any sane and educated and critically thinking person that Holocaust never happened? I really doubt so.

The real problem and threat to the free world are, in opposite, fighters with Holocaust deniers, all those anti defamation leagues etc etc. Because they want to shut people up, to ban free speech, and ultimately themselves are now the biggest cause of antisemitism in the modern times.

Sorry for derailing this thread to politics.

No i like it!!
thread political in nature, u added ur personal.

Thank you!!! maybe Frank finally give it a rest.

 

[Ostrados]

Well, FWIW, I just bought CoronaPrayer.com for $99 on Godaddy. I used an account credit that we had there. Godaddy apparently sells Corona domains still. And I am glad they do. The person who sold the domain had an asking price of $99 which I was fine to pay.

I see that someone else is already using the plural for a multi-faith approach to model prayers:

https://coronaprayers.com/

I think that's great.

Does anyone have a problem with that?

You still don't get it, don't you?

It is unethical to profit from a global epidemic especially when economy is collapsing.. no example you will give will change that fact.

What should domainers do? Stop registering coronavirus domains and donate what you already registered to community.

I totally support Dan & Sedo decision to ban these domains, it was the right thing to do and Epik should follow there are no excuses!

 

[Samer]

Totally off topic and not related at all to my points of discussion it is like you replying to entirely different posts.. Do you even read my posts?

Realy Rob what are you doing here? It is not the time for marketing using viral controversy.. really it is not the proper time for this sh*t.

You support coronavirus domains to be sold for $$$$ ?! Good for you.. It is free world you can do wherever you like, but stop trying to justify it as something ethical because it is not

You're letting emotions cloud your judgement.

You say "unethical" Rob showed why CAN be ethical; numerous examples of positive Corona domain usages, "did you read his posts..?

This will all pass, soon, like all the rest...hopefully. Meanwhile i implore you to check out a website that would be banned under your hard-line, zero-tolerance, "blanket-ban"

https://covidvisualizer.com

This wouldnt exist under your draconian regime. Youre the crowd DAN, Sedo, etc virtue-signal, grandstand try appease, lose something more important. not your definition of "ethics"!

Samer

 

[Rob Monster]

When you start comparing a domain to hand sanitizer you know things have got out of hand....

I see what you did there:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1243695724656840707

 

[bmugford]

Does the fact that there are criminals in society mean that we should lock up everyone?

Dumb analogy. Additionally, that is a straw man argument as no reasonable person would ever seriously suggest that.

Do you know what that guy who sells that sanitizer for far above cost is doing with their profits?

I have mixed feelings on this. I am pro capitalism, to a point.

There is a reason though in capitalism, there still needs to be rules. Some people just have very low morals and ethics, and without limits in place the system could be highly abused.

Do you understand that price is a free market safeguard against hoarding?

Not really. If sanitizer is $50/bottle it just means the already richest people will have it and everyone else won't. The higher the price goes the fewer people have access to it.

With that said there is clearly a difference between a tangible staple good, and an intangible good.
You can't survive without food, medicine, water. You can survive without domains.

Brad

 

[Ostrados]

You are conflating, throwing the baby with the bathwater.

I will answers your questions:

1. I don't judge them.

2. I don't judge them.

Now answer mine:

Does the fact that there are criminals in society mean that we should lock up everyone?


Do you understand that price is a free market safeguard against hoarding?

You are unable to answer with simple yes/no means that there is no point in discussing with you, it is one way discussion, continue discussing with your own self until you satisfy your ego.

Do you know what that guy who sells that sanitizer for far above cost is doing with their profits?

I dont care about what they do with their profit. They should not sell it at high price in these conditions because lifes of thousands may depend on it! Their greed can be a reason that many die.

Your inability to comprehend basic ethical concepts is unbelievable, thats why I will not reply more to this discussion.

 

[bmugford]

In my particular case, I owned UVSanitizer.com for many years. The appraised value was above $20K. I sold it for $6500 and was hoping to see it in use. So far it is still parked. I guess I sold it too cheap.

That is a product domain that had value before this, will have value now, and in the future.

I think there is a difference between buying a domain like that which is clearly not just playing on this pandemic, and to the amount of garbage that is being registered and peddled at the moment to try and profit directly off this pandemic.

Brad

 

[Ostrados]

Ostrados, my man, you are equating junk domains to life and death. Monster is stepping up to the plate, and trust me, it's not about DN he's stepping up to.

Do you honestly think anyone that's in dire straights with the covid gives two hoots about bogus corona domains registered by bandwagon trendees? They're going by advice of doctors. People that are prone to rumours, they will go to whatever lengths anyways to satisfy their appetite. Are these the people you want making your DN investing decisions for you? Come on now.

Someone can use these domains to help people during this deadly pandemic, others may use these domains to save lifes. When all coronavirus domains are taken, no option left but to pay $$$$, that money that will be spent by health organizations on domains worldwide could be saved to be spent on medical equipments to help infected people and save lifes!

But selfish people will never see the full picture because they just dont care, they only care about their own profits. Ethics are not even relevant for many people, they just call it capitalism and move on. OMG

 

[TCK]

As long as domains are being used lawfully and responsibly, let them be used.

How do you enforce that? And how do you judge what is responsible?

In my particular case, I owned UVSanitizer.com for many years. The appraised value was above $20K. I sold it for $6500 and was hoping to see it in use. So far it is still parked. I guess I sold it too cheap.

Can you prove this sale?

If you think it is ethical to force manufactured consensus through approved media outlets, that is your prerogative.

Do you believe that CDC, WHO, and other countries' counterpart organizations are manufactured consensus?

Does the fact that there are criminals in society mean that we should lock up everyone?

Again, immoral does not equal criminal. Your are looking at the world through a black and white lense.

Let me ask you this. Who do you trust to provide accurate information on the COVID-19 crisis?

 

[Rob Monster]

How do you enforce that? And how do you judge what is responsible?

Case by case. It's called discernment. Mature adults have it but most are too lazy to use it.

If folks abuse our marketplace with outlandish BIN prices for COVID domains, we'll move all COVID-related domains to "Make Offer".

Can you prove this sale?

Sure, it was PayPal transaction ID Transaction ID: 2M843585BV069284V on March 17 for $6500. If someone I trust wants to audit the transaction, I will send the screen shot of the transaction detail for independent auditing. I don't find it to be so impressive but perhaps it impresses you.

Let me ask you this. Who do you trust to provide accurate information on the COVID-19 crisis?

Huh? How is that a topic? Have I publicly questioned the official narrative? No, I have not.

Sure, people are dying en masse.

Do you know what the survival rate is on a ventilator for someone with COVID-19? About 20%. Don't believe me? Read Lancet.

Fortunately God is merciful. You get about about a week of fever, vomiting and diarrhea, and then if it gets to your lungs, you will have less than 24 hours. Contrary to urban legend, the ventilators don't help that much.

The best respiratory therapists in the USA are in Seattle. Survival rate there? It is not all that better with a 30% survival rate, assuming there are any competent respiratory therapists available!

So, for folks who get this in a bad way, I offer this prayer:

https://coronaprayer.com/

I give it a lot more chance of success than any ventilator! However, I suggest don't wait for the lung infection to seek God's mercy.

 

[Rob Monster]

Urban legend? What is your source?

Please try a little harder:

https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-rich-in-us-trying-to-buy-their-own-ventilators-2020-3

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/11898-fearing-covid-19-russian-oligarchs-buy-their-own-ventilators

ICYMI, automated ventilators are a lot harder to operate than a defibrillator.

 

[Compassion]

 

[Rob Monster]

You still haven't supported your claim. Please read my response. Be careful of spreading incorrect info. It can cost lives.

ICYMI, my wife is a doctor in Seattle. Their clinic is still operating. She is intimately familiar with the status of COVID treatment, speaking directly with hospital directors of hospitals in Seattle. The info presented was a reference to one of the leading medical journals called Lancet. Please go waste someone else's time rather than engage in endless circular logic and non sequitur. Nobody has time for that nonsense.

 

[branding]

I saw and interview on TV tonight about this initiative:
https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2020/03...r-food-supplies-to-new-yorkers-stuck-at-home/

They could use the exact match domain which seems to be registered at GoDaddy, probably by a domainer.

Would it be right for someone to make a profit selling the name to them, or a similar initiative? Profiting from people who voluntarily risk their own health for the greater good?

Guess not. It's not just black and white though. Both preventing it from having been registered nor preventing someone from selling it is gonna help them to obtain the domain.

I'm sure some marketplaces and registrars put restrictions in place with good intentions but ultimately there are multiple scenarios I can think of that will actually make it harder to get the right name to the right people under this kind of censorship.

The big difference is, in my opinion, had this domain been registered at Epik and listed there I'm 100% sure that I would be able to work with Epik to convince the owner to let it go for the greater good.

That being said, most people would probably think, crap it's taken and move on not even concidering reaching out to the owner or registrar.

 

[Rob Monster]

I saw and interview on TV tonight about this initiative:
https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2020/03...r-food-supplies-to-new-yorkers-stuck-at-home/

They could use the exact match domain which seems to be registered at GoDaddy, probably by a domainer.

Would it be right for someone to make a profit selling the name to them, or a similar initiative? Profiting from people who voluntarily risk their own health for the greater good?

Guess not. It's not just black and white though. Both preventing it from having been registered nor preventing someone from selling it is gonna help them to obtain the domain.

I'm sure some marketplaces and registrars put restrictions in place with good intentions but ultimately there are multiple scenarios I can think of that will actually make it harder to get the right name to the right people under this kind of censorship.

The big difference is, in my opinion, had this domain been registered at Epik and listed there I'm 100% sure that I would be able to work with Epik to convince the owner to let it go for the greater good.

That being said, most people would probably think, crap it's taken and move on not even concidering reaching out to the owner or registrar.

Right on.

There are going to be a lot of stories about communities coming together. Here is a story about my wife's medical clinic:

https://www.facebook.com/robmonster/posts/10159501906699409

If someone wanted to use the domain CoronaMasks.com to locally source hand made masks, I think that would be fine. That domain is on Godaddy.

Anyway, you are right, it is not black and white. There is going to be a lot community co-creation in the coming months. The supply chains have only just barely begun to collapse.

 

[Rob Monster]

This is basically the model that the Web functions on already. There are authority websites where you can report abusive sites, IP addresses, emails, etc. Browsers and email clients will then block them.

The issue is that people with nefarious intent, when reported and having their sites/IPs banned, will simply register a similar domain in another extension, or same extension but with a variant of the name, on a different IP and continue. It is a cycle. When we're dealing with a pandemic where people are affected by strong emotions such as fear and anxiety, it makes it that much worse.

And that is precisely why Domainers did humanity a favor by taking all of those cheap domains off the market so that scammers will struggle who need DISPOSABLE domains will greatly struggle to find them. It is actually an unintended consequence of the free market!

 

[TCK]

And that is precisely why Domainers did humanity a favor by taking all of those cheap domains off the market so that scammers will struggle who need DISPOSABLE domains will greatly struggle to find them. It is actually an unintended consequence of the free market!

What stats are you going by? With hundreds of extensions and many millions of combinations, how do you know domainers took "all of those cheap domains off the market"? There are still many "disposable" coronavirus/covid-19 variant domains available at hand-reg. Even quite a few for 0.99 for the first year. And even if a domainer sells a domain for a few hundred then how does he know it is not going to be misused?

 

[Rob Monster]

Related comment about operating within the bounds of the law during chaotic times:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1244713538586894336

Hope everyone is having a good start to the week!

 

[Rob Monster]

Reading all of the wise replies by Rob in this thread convinced me to try Epik.com out.

How cool is that?