Open Letter Re. Seclists.org
To whom it may concern:
My name is Travis Snoozy, and I have registered a couple of domains
through GoDaddy over the years. I have recently heard about how
seclists.org was summarily de-listed[1], and found the story to be very
disappointing and disturbing, as a customer. The fact that this
person was deprived of the use of their domain that they purchased,
without even having a chance to correct the problem first, completely
boggles my mind (independent of the First Amendment/censorship
implications).
Unfortunately, this incident greatly taints my opinion of GoDaddy’s
integrity, and I’m considering transferring my current domain (which I
purchased for a 10 year block) to a more responsible registrar — even
if it costs me money to do so. We, the customers, are what make business
possible; treating paying customers as second-class citizens is
disrespectful, and a very poor way to retain business. I would be
extremely upset if this ever happened to my domain, after having paid
for the right to use it. GoDaddy should have no interest nor control
over the content that my site serves, and immediate de-listing of a
site on request sets a very dangerous precedent. It is like buying a
house, and then being told that if I paint the walls a certain color,
my mailing address and phone number will be taken away[2]. Neither the
post office nor the telco should care what’s on the lot, let alone be
able to cut off service because of it; even if illegal activity was
occurring, that’s the business of the cops and courts, not USPS. The
exact same standard should apply to DNS registrars.
I hope that GoDaddy issues a public apology for this — and until such
an apology is issued, I intend to refrain from purchasing any further
products and services from the company (and will advise friends and
associates to do likewise). I hope that in the future, GoDaddy will
learn from this experience and refrain from taking such extreme action
without a court order.
Thank you for your time,
–
Travis Snoozy
- http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-6153607.html
- If the house was rented, the renter (e.g., the host) could kick me
out for painting the walls in violation of lease, but it’s still
none of the post office’s business.
