Isn't savetoby.com illegal extortion based on this definition from the Hobbs Act, section 1951, "the obtaining of property from another, with his consent, induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear..."?
The code also says, "Whoever ... threatens physical violence to ANY person or property ... shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both."
Notice that this is not the same definition given at savetoby.com which is not a legal definition at all and does not cite a source. The author's key phrase "harm to HIS person" does not appear in the legal definition. Simply inducing "fear" is enough to qualify as extortion and no threat is allowed against ANY person or property. This is why I believe savetoby may indeed qualify as extortion.
I say "may" because I don't really know, but this is not the way the information is presented at savetoby. The author puts forth a definition in the "legal" section of the website which we now all know is NOT a legal definition. The author then stands on this definition as cut-and-dry proof that the scheme violates no law. Furthermore, he establishes all this to convince visitors that sending money is the only recourse for saving Toby and to dissuade the public from attempting criminal prosecution.
Either the savetoby owner invented his own definition or he intentionally chose a definition that casts his scheme in a favorable light. Now look up "fraud." One cannot misrepresent or omit facts in a blatant attempt to extract money from the public. The author clearly selected a common definition and presented it as "the law", citing no sources, to dupe visitors into sending money.
One possible safety for the owner (and for Bob) is to claim that they honestly believed they were accurately representing extortion law when they (loudly) persuaded the public that the savetoby scheme was unequivocally legal. Now that the actual legal definition has been brought to their attention (Bob's at least), that safety is gone. We can continue to argue whether savetoby qualifies as extortion but one thing is unavoidable, the website owner MUST change his misleading definition or he is UNDENIABLY committing FRAUD. I would assume, that Bob would not be party to such fraud which does indeed violate the godaddy terms of service.
Bob, I like your service and your radio show. I respect your opinion and your integrity. I believe this is an honest mistake and I think you will correct it. Savetoby may or may not be extortion, but the website is unquestionably fraudulent. William Frantz (http://williamfrantz.com) on Oct 24 2005, 04:05pm Reply
Your survey after viewing the ads on the website asks your political leanings (ranging from "very conservative" to "very liberal". YOU LEFT OUT LIBERTARIAN!
Not everyone who is an unabashed capitalist pig (like myself) is a stuffy old crab apple (as would be implied by the term "very conservative".
These days, "very liberal" means "socialist" and "very conservative" means "bible thumper". "middle of the road" means nothing. You have to give an option to the rest of us! Chris Schleyer (http://www.thegotoguy.com) on Apr 29 2005, 09:04am Reply
What about making your radio a 24/7 podcast and still have your talk show every wedsday. Could be very fun. If it is done well you could have viewers on all the time and you could promote you business. Just a thought though.
Ive seen those commercials before...and well sex sells...nice! Evan Miller (http://www.ktlc.us) on Apr 15 2005, 12:42pm Reply
Oh man, cant wait....im sure will be a good show Evan Miller (http://www.ktlc.us) on Apr 15 2005, 12:17pm Reply
First, I'd like to say that I'm a satisfied Go Daddy customer, and I commonly refer you to people who are looking for hosting, ecommerce solutions, and so on. Not everything's perfect, but by and large y'all have done a great job. Thanks much.
That said, I'm hoping against a trend towards Hooters-style business. The right way to win customers is not by inducing hormones in young men. Nothing against Candice or any other ladies. And I agree that there's no need to judge people because of their past. Just that skimpy clothing and logos right across the bust have obvious goals in mind. Even if you get short and medium term business gains, the damage you do to society in general can't help but contribute to long term problems.
If this marketing trend continues, I'll choose to find my hosting solutions elsewhere, and I'll stop recommending you, too. I hope not to do that.
How ridiculous! If that woman in the commercial were an 80-year old woman, would you feel the same way, or is it just because she's beautiful and buxom? What is so wrong with a beautiful woman or man showing a little skin? If you are religious, then it's God's creation, enjoy it! Don't be such a prude and start preaching "this will cause damage to society." What kind of damage will that cause exactly? Maybe you should be more concerned with children living in poverty right here in the USA, which is far more damaging to society than a pretty girl in a tight t-shirt. Sheesh! Tom NYC on Apr 19 2005, 04:09pm Reply
BOB,
I was in Vegas with only a wireless connection and didn't get the whole show. In future shows could you touch on subject like Changing DNS to another site or straight fowarding/masting all through your "manage domains" feature and which is best for search engines and how it treats your metatags and keywords listed in your page. The question is which works best with search engines and how the routing of the DNS number change works a bit. I only suggest this as I beleive many of your customers might now use the "forward/Mast" feature as we did and still do to some extent on many domains.
i have purchased several domain names from your company and have always been very happy with the prices and service. recently i checked out bob's blog, besides enjoying his comments, i made a terrific find. there was a link to microsoft's new anti-spyware program. the program works great! i ran aol and search and destroy's spyware software and then the new microsoft. to my surprise both of the former programs showed no spyware, yet the latter removed 3 new threats. thanks bob! stu kolinsky cherry hill, nj stu kolinsky on Apr 14 2005, 06:00am Reply
Downloading your podcast right now. Very nice . Thanks for doing that. I'd like to ask you a question about your topic of Scams, Shams and Shady Deals. Each week we'll talk about a new scam. This week we'll let you know how some companies are tricking unattentive folks into transferring their domain name to them, and forcing them to renew at sky high rates.
I get emails from godaddy QUITE frequently requesting that domain names of mine be transferred. These are UNAUTHORIZED and I get them quite frequently. I have asked support to have this stopped and they don't. Several of my business associates have the same issues with your comapny. These people are trying to steal domains using your service to make the transfers. Any unknowing individual can easily accidentally or mistakenly accept this transfer and approve it and have their names stolen. What makes matters worse is that your Crusade on privacy is protecting these wouldbe theives. When I've asked to have the email of the person requesting the transfer to tell them to CEASE the requests I am of course denied this information. Must I be pestered by this ? Must you continue to allow a loophole which jeopardizes domain owners ? and lastly must you continue to protect wouldbe theives ?
I have read your email twice and have had a hard time understanding exactly what you're saying.
If you have a problem with emails you get from GoDaddy, you can opt out of those anytime —- just check the appropriate boxes in the my accounts area. You can also opt out by clicking the links at the bottom of any email.
If it's emails you're getting from other companies, that's a bit more of a challenge for us. You should know that we have never made our list available to anyone for any reason. Beyond that I don't know what to tell you.
Bob
I thought that this was pretty clear here
"I get emails from godaddy QUITE frequently requesting that domain names of mine be transferred. "
but to clear it up more: I get transfer requests for domains that are NOT at godaddy currently. These requests come from a godaddy customer on a routine basis. These I am fairly safe to assume are attempts at stealing my domains using your company.
As George points out , it's important to have your domains locked which I do , but I honestly can't understand why godaddy doesn't stop these attempts at hijackings. Again, I'd like to see you address this issue of attempted domain thefts/hijackings. THANKS Adam on Apr 14 2005, 12:06pm Reply
Hi Adam,
If you can provide me with full information concerning the GoDaddy customer that is causing you problems, I promise you that'll I'll look into the issue and report back to you.
Adam and George make very accurate observations. I have had the same problem with customers of GoDaddy who try to transfer my domains from another registrar INTO GoDaddy. When I contacted support at GoDaddy - they were more concerned about protecting the thief than in sharing information with me about the thief because of privacy (criminal always has more rights). Why won't GoDaddy go after these people? All the great press you have recently received could easily be wiped away by stories about scams being run through GoDaddy (I am NOT saying GoDaddy is behind the attempted thefts, I am says GoDaddy needs to help us who are targeted).
Actually, we do help people stop domain thieves. The only reason registrants know that someone is trying to transfer their domain is because WE notify them. Other registrars just go ahead and let the name transfer but we try to protect registrants as much as we can.
As for giving up the customer data (i.e., who is behind the transfer request), we can't do that as a matter of law, even if we wanted to, because it would violate our privacy policy. Often times we get subpoenas for this type of information, but it is almost never due to a transfer request gone bad, because we usually stop bad transfers at initiation by notifying the registrant. So, while it may be annoying to respond to our email denying the transfer, it's really not that big of a deal.
Bottom line:
I think you are identifying a problem that isn't as big as you might fear. If there is really a problem with a transfer and it actually goes through, we have a new transfer dispute resolution policy (TDRP) to take care of that. So, one way or another, most of these never get to an actual domain dispute under the UDRP.
I think Adam means that folks are trying to hijack his domains (that are other registrars), and are doing so by initiating transfers FROM GoDaddy (or a reseller of GoDaddy).
I've had the same thing happen to me, where folks have initiated unauthorized transfers on very valuable domains, and would love to know who is making the attempt. So far, no registrar will spill the beans on who is making the hijacking attempts.
Might make a good topic for a show, to remind folks to have their domains on "registrar lock", up-to-date WHOIS info, etc. Even with domain lock in place, it would be good to be able to catch the hijackers in the act, and that would require greater cooperation by gaining registrars (e.g. I've not seen any stories about the panix.com hijacker getting punished). The new transfer policies, in my opinion, are flawed — rogue registrars and/or resellers can take advantage of those flaws to hijack domains. George Kirikos (http://www.kirikos.com/) on Apr 14 2005, 12:25am Reply
Well another great show and The chicken doesn't do much ahahahahahha. Candice Good luck and many wish's from all.
Bob, good job with the show, all your employees should be proud that you are a down to earth person, and that you don't want to outsource. This would be a great start to a never ending point on free AMERICA.
A few thoughts on the show and would like other's reply's.
1. let us talk about how to form a more safer net.
2. how do we address security, from online banking to just going to the library online.
3. can we make a calendar for 2006 with candice, the crew, and of course YOU.
Just wanted to say great job on the Radio show. I like to hear that you're talking about issues that matter, like privacy, how to avoid scams and registrar pricing - just to name a few.
Hey what up Bob!
Your show rocks! I like hearing a lot about those wacky domain names, and all that random stuff! Also thank you for the great service that your company offers!
Good luck on upcoming shows, I'll be looking forward for it! Carlos (http://calipe.com) on Apr 13 2005, 07:56pm Reply
Just got your newsletter and wanted to say that I'm impressed that you are keeping your call center operations in the U.S. — this is definitely a step in the right direction and I hope that other companies follow in your footsteps. Although I rarely have need to use them, your customer service reps are very helpful, and easy to understand. I recommend your site to everyone who is interested in hosting or domains. Cory Hamma (http://www.granitenetwork.com) on Apr 13 2005, 07:38pm Reply
Apple's 1984 Ad Voted Second Best Super Bowl Ad Of All Time
by Staff, 1:45 PM EST, January 29th, 2001
USA Today held a poll allowing readers and Web visitors to cast their vote for their favorite Super Bowl ad of all time. Apple's "1984" ad finished second, by a paltry 307 votes, to Coca-Cola's ad featuring football player Mean Joe Greene.
Over 75,000 votes were cast, and other all-time favorites included the Dorito's laundromat commercial, as well as last year's big winner, the E-Trade "wasting money" spot.
Apple's ad has been critically acclaimed as one of the greatest commercials ever made, and thrust the Macintosh into mainstream consumer thought. The 1984 ad, and the introduction of the Macintosh, were the beginning of Apple's run as the top personal computer maker in the world, which came to a halt several years later with the removal of Steve Jobs as the company's CEO.
Jobs is now back, as is TBWA/Chiat/Day, the company responsible for creating the original 1984 commercial.
I think the "rejected" godaddy ad was more memorable.
This is actually a post to mention the recent Go Daddy newsletter. I would like to say thanks to Bob and all Go Daddy leaders for keeping the tech support jobs here in the USA. I worked for two years in high school as a tech support specialist, and from recent personal experiences in the tech support world at other companies I can say that we were able to provide superior customer service then with high school kids as employees to the end customer, as opposed to the unintelligible ramblings of outsourced employees.
Also, I would like to say to all those out there who are running companies and outsourcing their "cheaper labor" jobs because they can do it so much cheaper there...isn't it interesting that Go Daddy remains to be the lowest priced internet registrar and hosting company on the market while keeping their jobs here and strengthening the US economy?? I think that all those companies that are too quick to scream for the need for cheap labor have something to learn from the Go Daddy model...look elsewhere in your budget to keep your profits up! There are other ways to do it! Unfortunately too many throw care for unemployed US workers out the window. Simple economics my friends...the more you can contribute to the strength of our economy, more benefits are available to businesses to help us all see higher profits.
I just got the GoDaddy Newsletter by email. I commend you for not only setting up a whole new army of customer support people, but making the decision to keep those jobs in the USA. When I was a Network Solutions customer, it was so obvious my calls were being handled by a company in another country just reading from a script who really couldn't relate to the frustrations I had with their product and service.
I've had first-hand experience with the stellar customer service you are building (Justin is a gem). This, coupled with your great prices, will make GoDaddy truly unstoppable! I was not fortunate enough to attend college after graduating from High School, but managed to build a small, prestigious web development studio here in NYC. You are a real and true inspiration to me personally, and I admire the impressive way you've built and run GoDaddy. I wish you continued success.
I still have a few dozen more domains to transfer to GoDaddy from NS, but, once that is done, all of our 100+ domains will be with GoDaddy after making the decision two years ago to start the migration process. I'll have a champagne toast in your name when the goal has been reached!
Been seing a new GoDaddy.com as w/ the GoDaddy girl and a biker. The biker looks like an actor I've seen in other movies. Who is he? TD on Apr 13 2005, 02:14pm Reply
Dear TD,
I'm not aware of the biker's prior credits. Sorry.
Bob - interesting to see the comments about the actor in the biker commercial. I live in New York and rode the Long Islad Railroad with the guy the day I was your new commercial. You should use him for the other half of your audience the way you use the gal. He's got a unforgettable look and an appeal to men and women. Gage on Apr 27 2005, 08:13am Reply
Bob,
I believe that although Apple may have kickstarted the computer industry in its own way with it's Superbowl ad, there is nothing wrong with stating that Go Daddy has also made it's own impressive mark in the computer related industry as well. Now college courses will surely be discussing Go Daddy's ad, along side Apple.
I'll be looking forward to listening to the live-stream tonight (for the first time). I recently signed up for Go Daddy hosting and I am very satisfied with the stability and features that are offered with this product. Keep up the great commentary!
You're making a very wise decision by not shutting down the "Save Toby" website. In addition to the fact that he is not doing anything illegal, it's very important to remember that when Censorship hits the internet in such a broad manner (i.e.: I didn't like it because I like petting rabbits because they're cute and I...) it won't stop. Everything offends someone, somewhere. We as a people really do need to learn to respect other peoples right to speech, even if we don't agree with it.
Individuals who wish to abuse the rules set in place regarding a registrar's ability to shut down a domain, really need to understand that those rules are not meant to further the success of their political views, or censor those who they disagree with.
I appreciate GoDaddy's efforts to protect the rights of its customers, and I think it demonstrates a level of corporate responsibility that is above and beyond the majority of corporations in America today.
Additionally, I've always enjoyed the fact that you care as much about me and my 7 domains as you do about your clients with 1000+ domains.
Thanks for a quality product, and good intentions,
Going by Alexa stats alone (not scientific, as Alexa's a biased sample of websurfers —- Bob would have the true webstats from the GoDaddy Apache logs), one has to say that the Superbowl ad was very effective.
Before the Superbowl, GoDaddy.com was ranking between 800th to 1000th for all websites. Since the ad (and subsequent commercials), and excluding the initial spike, GoDaddy is now ranking between 400th to 600th overall. My guess would be that's double the traffic.
I doubt that those are people transferring their domains or webhosting or SSL certs AWAY from GoDaddy.
If you compare the graphs of GoDaddy.com vs. Register.com (Alexa lets you do this in one graph), it was neck and neck before the Superbowl, but since then GoDaddy has taken it to the next level, leaving Register.com lagging.
Network Solutions still has a lead in Alexa rank over GoDaddy, but the gap is narrowing. It looks like NSI is starting to offer webhosting, but I don't know anyone who uses them. NSI is a dinosaur, I think, and doomed eventually. Most savvy folks don't use them, for a variety of reasons.
[Comscore.com might have better stats, but it's not free to read their reports, typically.]
The real battle is likely against webhosting companies in the future. That will be very interesting to watch, as Yahoo is a huge player in that market, and there are always rumours that Google might enter that arena also.
It would be interesting to see if GoDaddy counters those competitors, and becomes a search engine or portal!! Or perhaps they'll offer free email! I guess GMail.com is already taken, though....I'll have to watch my webserver logs for crawling from "GoDaddyBot".
Now that I think about it, GoDaddy doesn't offer anything for free, if I'm not mistaken. That's quite impressive, as many of the top 1000 Alexa sites are there mainly because of free content/services, not paid ones. George Kirikos (http://www.kirikos.com/) on Apr 13 2005, 11:43am Reply
Dear George,
Excellent analysis. Your comments are very accurate.
Don't expect us to become a portal anytime soon. We'd much rather focus on doing what we do and doing it well.
If you notice, Yahoo does many things, none of them very well. Just take a look at their pricing and feature sets. They're high and not updated often. There was time when they were the leading search engine. Not anymore. In contract, Google is the leading search engine, makes a world full of money doing that, and continue to focus on just that.
I have been a GoDaddy client for years and have several domains registered with you folks. That being said, I have to admit my disappointment in the tasteless ad you ran on Super Bowl Sunday. Yes, I am sure that it was affective simply because it was offensive. Since it only was aired one time people who didn't see it heard about it and I'm sure did lots of searching to see it...and eventually wound up on the site.
I tell anyone who asks who I register my sites through as well as use it to register all my client's domains as well. Your services offered as well as customer service simply cannot be beat. But it is a sad day when a company's product and service can't stand on it's own (or I should say isn't allowed to stand on it's own) and must resort to half naked women to attract more customers.
Well yes it will be great to hear allllllll about the dream of many folks. (Candace)How about a calendar with this FINE LADY and GODADDY STUFF ON IT. Like radiogodaddy,website stuff ext. Just a small one.
It will good to learn a few tricks on domain names to.
That poor toby he didn't know what he was getting into did he? If this man doesn't get his money? How will we know he reall did eat him? This guy just sitting back to see who in there wild mind would send money? Wonder if he will film it for all to see, so all the crazy folks can wathc blood and gore?
I'm a happy customer of GoDaddy.com myself with over 50 domains registered through your company. I truley loved the Super Bowl commercial and I would agree that it was probably the most effective one in the last 10 years or so....
However, I would strongly disagree that it was the most effective Super Bowl commercial ever.... No matter what figures you come up with, I don't think there will ever be another commercial that has had the lasting impact that Apple's 1984 commercial had. That commercial was played only one time, but kickstarted the entire personal computer age. The Apple commercial has also been studied over and over for the last 20 years by numerous college marketing classes.
Just had to call you on that, nothing wrong with being 2nd best ever... especially if Apple is the one in the lead.
The code also says, "Whoever ... threatens physical violence to ANY person or property ... shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both."
Notice that this is not the same definition given at savetoby.com which is not a legal definition at all and does not cite a source. The author's key phrase "harm to HIS person" does not appear in the legal definition. Simply inducing "fear" is enough to qualify as extortion and no threat is allowed against ANY person or property. This is why I believe savetoby may indeed qualify as extortion.
I say "may" because I don't really know, but this is not the way the information is presented at savetoby. The author puts forth a definition in the "legal" section of the website which we now all know is NOT a legal definition. The author then stands on this definition as cut-and-dry proof that the scheme violates no law. Furthermore, he establishes all this to convince visitors that sending money is the only recourse for saving Toby and to dissuade the public from attempting criminal prosecution.
Either the savetoby owner invented his own definition or he intentionally chose a definition that casts his scheme in a favorable light. Now look up "fraud." One cannot misrepresent or omit facts in a blatant attempt to extract money from the public. The author clearly selected a common definition and presented it as "the law", citing no sources, to dupe visitors into sending money.
One possible safety for the owner (and for Bob) is to claim that they honestly believed they were accurately representing extortion law when they (loudly) persuaded the public that the savetoby scheme was unequivocally legal. Now that the actual legal definition has been brought to their attention (Bob's at least), that safety is gone. We can continue to argue whether savetoby qualifies as extortion but one thing is unavoidable, the website owner MUST change his misleading definition or he is UNDENIABLY committing FRAUD. I would assume, that Bob would not be party to such fraud which does indeed violate the godaddy terms of service.
Bob, I like your service and your radio show. I respect your opinion and your integrity. I believe this is an honest mistake and I think you will correct it. Savetoby may or may not be extortion, but the website is unquestionably fraudulent.
William Frantz (http://williamfrantz.com) on Oct 24 2005, 04:05pm Reply
Not everyone who is an unabashed capitalist pig (like myself) is a stuffy old crab apple (as would be implied by the term "very conservative"
These days, "very liberal" means "socialist" and "very conservative" means "bible thumper". "middle of the road" means nothing. You have to give an option to the rest of us!
Chris Schleyer (http://www.thegotoguy.com) on Apr 29 2005, 09:04am Reply
You got me.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 29 2005, 01:54pm Reply
Bob (http://www.ideaattic.com) on Apr 15 2005, 01:09pm Reply
I don't know his name.
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 16 2005, 02:09am Reply
What about making your radio a 24/7 podcast and still have your talk show every wedsday. Could be very fun. If it is done well you could have viewers on all the time and you could promote you business. Just a thought though.
-Evan
Evan Miller on Apr 15 2005, 12:59pm Reply
Actually this is exactly what we are doing. The Podcats are always available for download and the live show is available every Weds.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 16 2005, 02:08am Reply
Evan Miller (http://www.ktlc.us) on Apr 15 2005, 12:42pm Reply
Evan Miller (http://www.ktlc.us) on Apr 15 2005, 12:17pm Reply
That said, I'm hoping against a trend towards Hooters-style business. The right way to win customers is not by inducing hormones in young men. Nothing against Candice or any other ladies. And I agree that there's no need to judge people because of their past. Just that skimpy clothing and logos right across the bust have obvious goals in mind. Even if you get short and medium term business gains, the damage you do to society in general can't help but contribute to long term problems.
If this marketing trend continues, I'll choose to find my hosting solutions elsewhere, and I'll stop recommending you, too. I hope not to do that.
Thanks much.
Tom on Apr 14 2005, 09:19pm Reply
Tom NYC on Apr 19 2005, 04:09pm Reply
I was in Vegas with only a wireless connection and didn't get the whole show. In future shows could you touch on subject like Changing DNS to another site or straight fowarding/masting all through your "manage domains" feature and which is best for search engines and how it treats your metatags and keywords listed in your page. The question is which works best with search engines and how the routing of the DNS number change works a bit. I only suggest this as I beleive many of your customers might now use the "forward/Mast" feature as we did and still do to some extent on many domains.
Jane Ann
Jane Ann (http://www.parishiltonbikinis.com) on Apr 14 2005, 09:31am Reply
stu kolinsky on Apr 14 2005, 06:00am Reply
I get emails from godaddy QUITE frequently requesting that domain names of mine be transferred. These are UNAUTHORIZED and I get them quite frequently. I have asked support to have this stopped and they don't. Several of my business associates have the same issues with your comapny. These people are trying to steal domains using your service to make the transfers. Any unknowing individual can easily accidentally or mistakenly accept this transfer and approve it and have their names stolen. What makes matters worse is that your Crusade on privacy is protecting these wouldbe theives. When I've asked to have the email of the person requesting the transfer to tell them to CEASE the requests I am of course denied this information. Must I be pestered by this ? Must you continue to allow a loophole which jeopardizes domain owners ? and lastly must you continue to protect wouldbe theives ?
THANKS
Adam (http://www.targetedtrafficforum.com) on Apr 13 2005, 10:28pm Reply
I have read your email twice and have had a hard time understanding exactly what you're saying.
If you have a problem with emails you get from GoDaddy, you can opt out of those anytime —- just check the appropriate boxes in the my accounts area. You can also opt out by clicking the links at the bottom of any email.
If it's emails you're getting from other companies, that's a bit more of a challenge for us. You should know that we have never made our list available to anyone for any reason. Beyond that I don't know what to tell you.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 13 2005, 11:57pm Reply
I thought that this was pretty clear here
"I get emails from godaddy QUITE frequently requesting that domain names of mine be transferred. "
but to clear it up more: I get transfer requests for domains that are NOT at godaddy currently. These requests come from a godaddy customer on a routine basis. These I am fairly safe to assume are attempts at stealing my domains using your company.
As George points out , it's important to have your domains locked which I do , but I honestly can't understand why godaddy doesn't stop these attempts at hijackings. Again, I'd like to see you address this issue of attempted domain thefts/hijackings. THANKS
Adam on Apr 14 2005, 12:06pm Reply
If you can provide me with full information concerning the GoDaddy customer that is causing you problems, I promise you that'll I'll look into the issue and report back to you.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 14 2005, 03:30pm Reply
adam on Apr 14 2005, 10:19pm Reply
Just post your ideas here. I read all posts.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 15 2005, 10:28am Reply
Thanks!!
LewR on Apr 18 2005, 04:04pm Reply
Actually, we do help people stop domain thieves. The only reason registrants know that someone is trying to transfer their domain is because WE notify them. Other registrars just go ahead and let the name transfer but we try to protect registrants as much as we can.
As for giving up the customer data (i.e., who is behind the transfer request), we can't do that as a matter of law, even if we wanted to, because it would violate our privacy policy. Often times we get subpoenas for this type of information, but it is almost never due to a transfer request gone bad, because we usually stop bad transfers at initiation by notifying the registrant. So, while it may be annoying to respond to our email denying the transfer, it's really not that big of a deal.
Bottom line:
I think you are identifying a problem that isn't as big as you might fear. If there is really a problem with a transfer and it actually goes through, we have a new transfer dispute resolution policy (TDRP) to take care of that. So, one way or another, most of these never get to an actual domain dispute under the UDRP.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 19 2005, 10:16am Reply
I've had the same thing happen to me, where folks have initiated unauthorized transfers on very valuable domains, and would love to know who is making the attempt. So far, no registrar will spill the beans on who is making the hijacking attempts.
Might make a good topic for a show, to remind folks to have their domains on "registrar lock", up-to-date WHOIS info, etc. Even with domain lock in place, it would be good to be able to catch the hijackers in the act, and that would require greater cooperation by gaining registrars (e.g. I've not seen any stories about the panix.com hijacker getting punished). The new transfer policies, in my opinion, are flawed — rogue registrars and/or resellers can take advantage of those flaws to hijack domains.
George Kirikos (http://www.kirikos.com/) on Apr 14 2005, 12:25am Reply
Thanks for the translation and suggestion.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 14 2005, 07:27am Reply
Bob, good job with the show, all your employees should be proud that you are a down to earth person, and that you don't want to outsource. This would be a great start to a never ending point on free AMERICA.
A few thoughts on the show and would like other's reply's.
1. let us talk about how to form a more safer net.
2. how do we address security, from online banking to just going to the library online.
3. can we make a calendar for 2006 with candice, the crew, and of course YOU.
CHARLES Bex (http://WWW.AMERICAN-VALUES.US) on Apr 13 2005, 08:06pm Reply
I will be sure to tune in every week!
Dustin (http://www.investmentlinks.com) on Apr 13 2005, 08:03pm Reply
Your show rocks! I like hearing a lot about those wacky domain names, and all that random stuff! Also thank you for the great service that your company offers!
Good luck on upcoming shows, I'll be looking forward for it!
Carlos (http://calipe.com) on Apr 13 2005, 07:56pm Reply
Cory Hamma (http://www.granitenetwork.com) on Apr 13 2005, 07:38pm Reply
by Staff, 1:45 PM EST, January 29th, 2001
USA Today held a poll allowing readers and Web visitors to cast their vote for their favorite Super Bowl ad of all time. Apple's "1984" ad finished second, by a paltry 307 votes, to Coca-Cola's ad featuring football player Mean Joe Greene.
Over 75,000 votes were cast, and other all-time favorites included the Dorito's laundromat commercial, as well as last year's big winner, the E-Trade "wasting money" spot.
Apple's ad has been critically acclaimed as one of the greatest commercials ever made, and thrust the Macintosh into mainstream consumer thought. The 1984 ad, and the introduction of the Macintosh, were the beginning of Apple's run as the top personal computer maker in the world, which came to a halt several years later with the removal of Steve Jobs as the company's CEO.
Jobs is now back, as is TBWA/Chiat/Day, the company responsible for creating the original 1984 commercial.
I think the "rejected" godaddy ad was more memorable.
Anonymous on Apr 13 2005, 06:39pm Reply
I also think it was more memorable. However, I'm a bit biased.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 13 2005, 11:50pm Reply
Hope the show will be the bomb.
CHARLES Bex (http://WWW.AMERICAN-VALUES.US) on Apr 13 2005, 06:09pm Reply
Also, I would like to say to all those out there who are running companies and outsourcing their "cheaper labor" jobs because they can do it so much cheaper there...isn't it interesting that Go Daddy remains to be the lowest priced internet registrar and hosting company on the market while keeping their jobs here and strengthening the US economy?? I think that all those companies that are too quick to scream for the need for cheap labor have something to learn from the Go Daddy model...look elsewhere in your budget to keep your profits up! There are other ways to do it! Unfortunately too many throw care for unemployed US workers out the window. Simple economics my friends...the more you can contribute to the strength of our economy, more benefits are available to businesses to help us all see higher profits.
Kudos Bob and the Go Daddy team, and thank you.
Eric (http://www.rock30games.com) on Apr 13 2005, 05:50pm Reply
I just got the GoDaddy Newsletter by email. I commend you for not only setting up a whole new army of customer support people, but making the decision to keep those jobs in the USA. When I was a Network Solutions customer, it was so obvious my calls were being handled by a company in another country just reading from a script who really couldn't relate to the frustrations I had with their product and service.
I've had first-hand experience with the stellar customer service you are building (Justin is a gem). This, coupled with your great prices, will make GoDaddy truly unstoppable! I was not fortunate enough to attend college after graduating from High School, but managed to build a small, prestigious web development studio here in NYC. You are a real and true inspiration to me personally, and I admire the impressive way you've built and run GoDaddy. I wish you continued success.
I still have a few dozen more domains to transfer to GoDaddy from NS, but, once that is done, all of our 100+ domains will be with GoDaddy after making the decision two years ago to start the migration process. I'll have a champagne toast in your name when the goal has been reached!
Keep up the GREAT work!
Warm regards,
Tom
Tom H. (http://www.kultureshock.com) on Apr 13 2005, 03:42pm Reply
Thanks for taking the time to post these very kind words.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 13 2005, 11:46pm Reply
TD on Apr 13 2005, 02:14pm Reply
I'm not aware of the biker's prior credits. Sorry.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 13 2005, 11:40pm Reply
Gage on Apr 27 2005, 08:13am Reply
I believe that although Apple may have kickstarted the computer industry in its own way with it's Superbowl ad, there is nothing wrong with stating that Go Daddy has also made it's own impressive mark in the computer related industry as well. Now college courses will surely be discussing Go Daddy's ad, along side Apple.
I'll be looking forward to listening to the live-stream tonight (for the first time). I recently signed up for Go Daddy hosting and I am very satisfied with the stability and features that are offered with this product. Keep up the great commentary!
Carlos (http://CarlosPalomino.com) on Apr 13 2005, 01:52pm Reply
Sean Rayne
Sean Rayne (http://www.hollybug.com) on Apr 13 2005, 01:23pm Reply
You're making a very wise decision by not shutting down the "Save Toby" website. In addition to the fact that he is not doing anything illegal, it's very important to remember that when Censorship hits the internet in such a broad manner (i.e.: I didn't like it because I like petting rabbits because they're cute and I...) it won't stop. Everything offends someone, somewhere. We as a people really do need to learn to respect other peoples right to speech, even if we don't agree with it.
Individuals who wish to abuse the rules set in place regarding a registrar's ability to shut down a domain, really need to understand that those rules are not meant to further the success of their political views, or censor those who they disagree with.
I appreciate GoDaddy's efforts to protect the rights of its customers, and I think it demonstrates a level of corporate responsibility that is above and beyond the majority of corporations in America today.
Additionally, I've always enjoyed the fact that you care as much about me and my 7 domains as you do about your clients with 1000+ domains.
Thanks for a quality product, and good intentions,
Ryan C.
Ryan C. (http://www.basicintellects.com) on Apr 13 2005, 12:00pm Reply
Before the Superbowl, GoDaddy.com was ranking between 800th to 1000th for all websites. Since the ad (and subsequent commercials), and excluding the initial spike, GoDaddy is now ranking between 400th to 600th overall. My guess would be that's double the traffic.
I doubt that those are people transferring their domains or webhosting or SSL certs AWAY from GoDaddy.
If you compare the graphs of GoDaddy.com vs. Register.com (Alexa lets you do this in one graph), it was neck and neck before the Superbowl, but since then GoDaddy has taken it to the next level, leaving Register.com lagging.
Network Solutions still has a lead in Alexa rank over GoDaddy, but the gap is narrowing. It looks like NSI is starting to offer webhosting, but I don't know anyone who uses them. NSI is a dinosaur, I think, and doomed eventually. Most savvy folks don't use them, for a variety of reasons.
[Comscore.com might have better stats, but it's not free to read their reports, typically.]
The real battle is likely against webhosting companies in the future. That will be very interesting to watch, as Yahoo is a huge player in that market, and there are always rumours that Google might enter that arena also.
It would be interesting to see if GoDaddy counters those competitors, and becomes a search engine or portal!!
Now that I think about it, GoDaddy doesn't offer anything for free, if I'm not mistaken. That's quite impressive, as many of the top 1000 Alexa sites are there mainly because of free content/services, not paid ones.
George Kirikos (http://www.kirikos.com/) on Apr 13 2005, 11:43am Reply
Excellent analysis. Your comments are very accurate.
Don't expect us to become a portal anytime soon. We'd much rather focus on doing what we do and doing it well.
If you notice, Yahoo does many things, none of them very well. Just take a look at their pricing and feature sets. They're high and not updated often. There was time when they were the leading search engine. Not anymore. In contract, Google is the leading search engine, makes a world full of money doing that, and continue to focus on just that.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 13 2005, 11:37pm Reply
I tell anyone who asks who I register my sites through as well as use it to register all my client's domains as well. Your services offered as well as customer service simply cannot be beat. But it is a sad day when a company's product and service can't stand on it's own (or I should say isn't allowed to stand on it's own) and must resort to half naked women to attract more customers.
Just my $.02.
H. Ward (http://www.n2ition.com) on Apr 13 2005, 11:33am Reply
The woman (or actress) in our commercial was not half naked. In fact, viewers seen more exposed during the Academy Awards.
You exaggerate my friend.
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 13 2005, 11:34pm Reply
It will good to learn a few tricks on domain names to.
That poor toby he didn't know what he was getting into did he? If this man doesn't get his money? How will we know he reall did eat him? This guy just sitting back to see who in there wild mind would send money? Wonder if he will film it for all to see, so all the crazy folks can wathc blood and gore?
Looking towards the future.
CHARLES BEX (http://WWW.AMERICAN-VALUES.US) on Apr 13 2005, 08:20am Reply
I'm a happy customer of GoDaddy.com myself with over 50 domains registered through your company. I truley loved the Super Bowl commercial and I would agree that it was probably the most effective one in the last 10 years or so....
However, I would strongly disagree that it was the most effective Super Bowl commercial ever.... No matter what figures you come up with, I don't think there will ever be another commercial that has had the lasting impact that Apple's 1984 commercial had. That commercial was played only one time, but kickstarted the entire personal computer age. The Apple commercial has also been studied over and over for the last 20 years by numerous college marketing classes.
Just had to call you on that, nothing wrong with being 2nd best ever... especially if Apple is the one in the lead.
Keep up the good work...
G Stewart (http://www.eastwave.com) on Apr 13 2005, 06:20am Reply
I warned you my friend. I've got the stats to back up the claim. I'll tell you about them on the show.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 13 2005, 08:20am Reply