Imgur.com: Why We Dumped GoDaddy

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Imgur.com: Why We Dumped GoDaddy

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday December 28, 2011 @10:04PM from the it's-not-me-it's-you dept.

Velcroman1 writes "On the eve of what has been dubbed "Dump Go Daddy Day," imgur.com — the massive image hosting site responsible for an astonishing 28 terabytes of bandwidth and nearly 200 million page views per day — has already changed its registry entries, foreshadowing the potential negative effect of a boycott set to begin Thursday morning. GoDaddy.com originally supported the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) but quickly recanted its position when the call for a boycott circulated. 'The outcry kind of forced our hand,' imgur founder and owner Alan Schaaf said. 'I'm against the SOPA act and imgur as a company is against it. We just feel it is terrible that GoDaddy.com would support this legislation.'"

28 of 279 comments (clear)

Yea, well... by Black+Parrot · 2011-12-28 22:11 · Score: 5, Funny

GoDaddy.com originally supported the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) but quickly recanted its position when the call of a boycott circulated.
Nothing like money-at-stake to reveal whether someone has a spine.

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Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
1. Re:Yea, well... by Arancaytar · 2011-12-28 22:18 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Better spinelessly stop supporting evil than courageously continuing to support it, though. Boycott worked exactly as intended, that's great news.
2. Re:Yea, well... by Spad · 2011-12-28 23:21 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  This is the problem with assigning anthropomorphic characteristics to companies; in the context of people, I would rather that someone have the strength of conviction to make and stick with the choice that they believe is right, rather than flip back and forth to fit the prevailing opinion (subject to the original decision having been made with all the facts).
  With companies though, it's really not possible for them to ignore things like this because of the likely impact on their business, so while GoDaddy are just shamelessly pretending to drop support for SOPA to vainly try and appease The Internet, they don't really have a choice. Of course, they could have made the right choice in the first place, but they're dicks, so that wasn't going to happen.
  Either way, their initial support for SOPA and helping to write it to get themselves immunity from its provisions mean that regardless of their recent actions, there's no way I'd ever give them my business now.
3. Re:Yea, well... by rtfa-troll · 2011-12-28 23:22 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Boycott worked exactly as intended....
  It's astounding how long a meme can keep going. Go Daddy has not changed it's view; it has not changed it's actions; it has just removed a couple of press releases about those actions and started to support SOPA behind the scenes. If Go Daddy had changed their viewpoint, and actually was opposed to SOPA now, then we should stop the boycott and concentrate on others who are worse. However, this is not a decision we need to make. Even as I post today Go Daddy's "general counsel and corporate secretary" has a blog posting up which clearly states her opinion in support of SOPA and is undersigned in her official role.
  If Christine is acting against company policy then Go Daddy needs to be disciplining her now. Lets be clear; not because of what she believes, but because she has a representative role for the company, is directly opposing and contradicting company policy and is doing so using the name of Go Daddy to get publicity for that role. Also because she was involved in drafting SOPA and should take responsibility for the mess that it is which is a clear and visible failure to work in Go Daddy's customers interests.
  If Go Daddy is still employing her without disciplinary action, and that blog posting is still up then Go Daddy is effectively supporting SOPA and should continue to be boycotted.
  
  --
  =~ s,(.*),<sarcasm>$1</sarcasm>,g if any_point_you_wish();
4. Re:Yea, well... by Decameron81 · 2011-12-29 00:31 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  ...I would rather that someone have the strength of conviction to make and stick with the choice that they believe is right, rather than flip back and forth to fit the prevailing opinion...
  In this particular case, I do agree that GoDaddy has no merit in their change of mind - because they are acting consistently bad with their customers, and don't really seem to have changed their mind at all.
  
  But it seems to me as if in our society we preferred that people stick to their decisions, rather than change their mind if there's overwhelming evidence that they've been wrong. Does it make sense?
  
  Recognizing mistakes and dealing properly with them is IMHO a very rare and positive trait, which should always be encouraged. Think of how much better things would be if this was more widely encouraged.
  
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  diegoT
5. Re:Yea, well... by shentino · 2011-12-29 02:13 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  They didn't change their position.
6. Re:Yea, well... by Alsee · 2011-12-29 04:02 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  continuing to punish them after they've backed off of an unpopular decision
  Did you even read their press release? They have not backed off on SOPA. The press release starts out stating that they consider the issue of the "utmost importance" and that they intend to continue "working to help" on the language of SOPA in some unspecified manner, and then astoundingly proceeds to declare "It's very important that all Internet stakeholders work together on [SOPA]". GoDaddy actually has the psychotic GALL to tell us how important it is that WE support this turd.
  GoDaddy absolutely did not get the message here. The only message they got is that they are losing $$$.
  GoDaddy has only temporarily withdrawn their public endorsement of the law. The press release states they feel SOPA is "worth the wait" and "Go Daddy will support it when and if the Internet community supports it". GoDaddy still fully desires and intends to support SOPA in the future. GoDaddy expects US to get a clue and reverse our position to support it as soon as possible.
  They haven't changed their position in the slightest. All they have backed away from is the shitstorm over their pro-SOPA press release. They are merely trying to use the new press release as an umbrella to hide under while they continue "working to help" on SOPA.
  -
  
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  - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
Let me be the first to say by Fluffeh · 2011-12-28 22:15 · Score: 5, Insightful

Que seneveratis metes.
Or some such thing. My schools motto was that. What you sow, So shall you reap. One of those wonderful things that I recall as a kid I didn't think too much of. These days, can't be closer to home. GoDaddy, you fucked up. You got caught with your fingers in the cookie jar. All the advertisements on Australian TV won't help you enough. You have angered the internet. To you, we are anonymous. But we are not. We have domain names. We have money that you need. We have integrity. We have choices. You chose SOPA.
We choose someone else.

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Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
1. Re:Let me be the first to say by mgblst · 2011-12-28 23:03 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  You're so right. This one web address moving, imgur.com, is going to cost Godaddy millions, if not billions or karma. Or about $10.
  This will change nothing, Godaddy have already started lying about changing it's stance, when it has not.
Scr*w Godaddy by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-28 22:22 · Score: 5, Interesting

I had all my domains in Godaddy but I was fed up with trying to find the hidden option to manage my domains in pages and pages of advertisements.
It seemed to me that, if I paid for a service, I don't want to be bombarded by ads every time I need to use this service.
I moved to Namecheap and never looked back.
Left GoDaddy Years Ago by handsup · 2011-12-28 22:24 · Score: 4, Interesting

This is not the first time GoDaddy is exposed. I remember transferring my domains from them years ago due to some other Bad Thing they did.
It surprises me that they still are used by many high-profile sites who are now only transferring.
1. Re:Left GoDaddy Years Ago by Elbereth · 2011-12-28 22:53 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  It's human nature. If someone screws over a customer, a few outraged people will leave, but many others will stay, because the company never did anything to them. A couple on the sidelines will be wondering, "What the fuck is wrong with you? Right from the start, I could tell that company was slimy." And someone, somewhere will say, "It was his/her own fault for getting screwed. The company was perfectly justified in doing what it did. They're not a charity."
  As a smug asshole who loves to be right, this whole drama has been very fun. Not that I need the validation of the entire fucking internet coming around to my opinion or anything, but it's still nifty.
2. Re:Left GoDaddy Years Ago by David+Gerard · 2011-12-28 23:16 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  > It surprises me that they still are used by many high-profile sites who are now only transferring.
  The Wikimedia one was like:
  "WIKIPEDIA! WHY YOU USE GODADDY?!?!!"
  "... We do?"
  It's plumbing. No-one thinks about it. Until it turns out their plumber is HITLER. [citation needed]
  
  --
  http://rocknerd.co.uk
Re:Who dumped whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-28 22:35 · Score: 4, Insightful

Quite possibly, yes
Wikipedia also left GoDaddy by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-28 22:45 · Score: 5, Informative

Just so you know. (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Jimbo_Wales&diff=prev&oldid=467377954/)
Re:Who dumped whom? by CharlyFoxtrot · 2011-12-28 22:50 · Score: 4, Informative

Imgur was created for, and thus heavily used by a little site called Reddit. Godaddy is the McDonalds of domain registration.

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If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
But.. by andrewa · 2011-12-28 22:56 · Score: 5, Funny

Boobies!
http://www.joyoftech.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/1633.html

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:(){ :|:& };:
Mor organised boycotts by Kplx138 · 2011-12-28 22:59 · Score: 5, Interesting

Hopefully there will be a boycott and more boycotts if it fails to get the message across. Not something that should be given up on because it becomes all to hard and doesn't work the first time, after all how much do you value your freedom? Hell work to vote out every idiot that voted for it. Capitalism is supposed to be democratic, they tell you if people don't buy a product a company should understand that there's a problem with their product and rectify the problem or risk going out of business. Boycotts get that message across, worked well for south africa,
I swear schools should teach kids how to organise boycotts right along side the importance of voting. Generations of kids coming up willing to drop massive boycotts on companies for even looking like doing something evil. When someone says that the market will work it out naturally they mean it'll correct itself eventually and I'll a load of cash in the meantime... oh I'm slightly off topic now.
But they DIDN’T! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-28 23:06 · Score: 5, Informative

They *said* they changed their position.
They *didn't* *actually* change it. And they won’t change it.
There's a difference.
1. Re:But they DIDN’T! by Scutter · 2011-12-29 00:22 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  They *said* they changed their position.
  They *didn't* *actually* change it. And they won’t change it.
  There's a difference.
  They didn't even SAY they changed it. They said "we'll go look at it again" or some such nonsense. Weasel words.
  
  --
  
  "Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
Re:Who dumped whom? by mdm42 · 2011-12-28 23:10 · Score: 5, Funny

MacWho?

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New mod option wanted: -1 DrunkenRambling
I'm actually glad that I hosted with them by cptBongo · 2011-12-28 23:14 · Score: 5, Funny

...so I get the satisfaction of dumping them now.
Re:This is all bull**** by Seumas · 2011-12-28 23:40 · Score: 5, Insightful

Your comment is probably the most willfully ignorant of this entire topic. You don't think that any of them reallyc are about supporting SOPA or not and that it was probably just some random "hey do we support SOPA?" comment that lead to someone saying "sure, whatever" and then posting that on their website?
Then please explain GoDaddy's role in actively adding their names to the list of SOPA supporters.
Please explain GoDaddy's role in actually CRAFTING PART OF SOPA ITSELF.
Please explain GoDaddy's role in additionally crafting part of SOPA itself such that GoDaddy is exempt from it.
Re:THIS is why free markets work by jez9999 · 2011-12-29 00:03 · Score: 5, Insightful

For the next year (or so), this will be my counter-example when I debate politics with people who argue that a centrally regulated economy is better than the free market -- as in, "I will happily agree with you, if first you explain this one annoying fact please."
OK, I'll try: domain registrars do not operate in a free market. They are regulated by ICANN. If they were in a truly free market, GoDaddy could (and almost certainly would) simply refuse to transfer any domains away from themselves.
When you hear talk of a free market working and really look at it, you almost always find that the market isn't TRULY free; it needs regulation, and if that regulation weren't there it would be a disaster.
I agree that domain registration is a relatively free market and this is an example of where a relatively free market works well. However it's not truly free; there's your explanation. In fact I suspect you'd be hard pressed to find any market that needs literally no regulation, to protect people's safety, or prohibit companies from screwing customers over.

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== Jez ==
Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
One problem its who GoDaddy's customers are. by robbak · 2011-12-29 00:10 · Score: 4, Funny

I mean, how do we get lowlife scum like typo-squatters to boycott? Who else would tolerate them?

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Prediction for end of Universe #42: Fencepost error in Quantum_bogosort.cpp
Free market != Anarchy by mangu · 2011-12-29 00:40 · Score: 5, Insightful

If they were in a truly free market, GoDaddy could (and almost certainly would) simply refuse to transfer any domains away from themselves.
You seem to have fallen into the common mistake of thinking a free market is the same as anarchy.
Free market is composed of "free" and "market". Market assumes a certain set of rules, among them the right to property. If you have a domain hosted at GoDaddy the domain is yours.
GoDaddy refusing to accept transfer of domains would be like a commercial garage refusing to let people take their cars out. That would be theft, not freedom. What a free market means is that buyer and seller are free to negotiate among themselves the price and conditions of a sale. It does not mean someone is free to steal from someone else.
Good riddance GoDaddy! I can't stand 'em! by Frenzied+Apathy · 2011-12-29 02:43 · Score: 4, Insightful

As a web developer, I've worked on a couple of projects hosted at GoDaddy, and I can't stand anything about them - control panel overly confusing, unhelpful help section, horrible tech support, even their marketing (how can anyone take a web hosting company seriously that uses some hot chick to sell their business?). Every chance they get they throw some marketing pitch at you to get you to add on to your services.

They've had plenty of bad press over the year, too: The GoDaddy Saga Continues, GoDaddy Loses over 21000 Domains in One Day, GoDaddy Reverses Course on SOPA, GoDaddy VP Caught Bidding Against Customers.

Every new client I get I recommend they not use GoDaddy - if they insist, I tell them to find another developer...

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The cake is a lie.
SLASHDOT YOU MORONS by Weezul · 2011-12-29 03:45 · Score: 4, Interesting

Could you PLEASE STOP saying that GoDaddy recanted its support for SOPA!
GoDaddy has NOT withdrawn its official congressional support for SOPA

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The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell