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Brody · 01-27-2004, 03:49 AM

Out of an interest of public service to the MUD community, I'm poking my head out of the gopher hole long enough to share the following:

Last Wednesday, I sent a posting to the moderated rec.arts.sf.written Usenet group promoting the games of jointhesaga.com.

The next day, players started complaining: They couldn't reach any of my websites. And when they did a whois check, the registration showed that my domain name had been suspended for spam and abuse by my registrar, GoDaddy.com.

No email. No phone call. No form of warning whatsoever. Not even a complaint from the Usenet group moderator to me.

So began my arduous trek.

I called GoDaddy.com long distance. Waited for 15 minutes. Finally got a customer service rep who told me I'd need to email the abuse department to find out what the problem was. Great!

So, I emailed the abuse department and found out that I'd been marked as a spammer because of a single post to that Usenet group. If I wanted to dispute the complaint, I could pay $29 to unlock the domain once I got proof I didn't do anything wrong. If I wanted to swear up and down I'd never spam again, I could pay $100 and get the domain unlocked.

Naturally, I was livid. I've made Usenet postings about these games for about six years and I've *never* had a complaint that wasn't handled between me and the moderator. If it's against posting rules, I have no problem with ceasing and desisting. But I never got that chance, and GoDaddy never contacted me before acting - talk about presumed guilt.

GoDaddy claimed they'd tried to contact me, using a defunct administrative email address. But my account information on the GoDaddy website (which I assume they must use to sell to telemarketers and spam e-mailers, since they didn't use it to contact me) included current email addresses, home phone number and a mailing address.

This made me absolutely furious. I don't even host my sites on GoDaddy.com. They just held the registration for jointhesaga.com, which was redirected to the name servers at RPG Works. I didn't send any e-mail via GoDaddy's servers. As far as I know, they've got ZERO jurisdiction over Usenet management. I really, really, really wanted to fight this. But, as I've just spent A LOT of money on print advertising for the games, I can ill afford to leave the address in dispute.

So, I sent an email back, calling GoDaddy.com extortionists and incompetents, informed them they could take the $100, but I'd be taking my business elsewhere immediately thereafter. I also notified the folks at RPG Works, as well as all my players - and this led to some angry but well-written letters from supporters who were prepared to yank their business from GoDaddy.com.

This yielded a response that if I didn't like their terms or couldn't comply with their terms, then they'd happily accept $29 to unlock the domain so I could change registrars.

I told them: Take the money. I'll be on my way. So, they did. I'm now in the process of moving jointhesaga.com to Register.com. It's much more expensive than GoDaddy.com, but in my experience, Register.com doesn't stab good customers in the back to make an extra buck, which is all this maneuver reeked of. GoDaddy's definition of "spam" is so broad that just about anything qualifies, and they act so rashly, without anything approaching due process or even simple manners, that you're not treated like a customer: You're treated like a criminal.

Now that this process has started, I've demanded a pro-rated refund on jointhesaga.com's registration (I'd paid through 2007), as well as six other domain names I'm cancelling with GoDaddy.com. If they agree, I should end up with more than $100 back in my accounts, which will cover the expense of paying their stupid penalty and transferring the domain. And they lose a loyal customer - all over one complaint about one email to one moderated Usenet group, because they were too damned lazy to pick up a phone.

If you registered with GoDaddy.com, think twice about staying with them. They use their "noble" anti-spam policies to make money on the back end. Most people probably just suck it up and pay without complaining and don't have the friends I do who can complain even louder and more convincingly. Don't let them make *you* a victim.

If you were thinking about GoDaddy.com, think again! They're nothing, in my opinion, but a bunch of crooks.

01-27-2004, 03:49 AM	#1
Brody Legend Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: North Carolina Home MUD: OtherSpace Posts: 1,599	Out of an interest of public service to the MUD community, I'm poking my head out of the gopher hole long enough to share the following: Last Wednesday, I sent a posting to the moderated rec.arts.sf.written Usenet group promoting the games of jointhesaga.com. The next day, players started complaining: They couldn't reach any of my websites. And when they did a whois check, the registration showed that my domain name had been suspended for spam and abuse by my registrar, GoDaddy.com. No email. No phone call. No form of warning whatsoever. Not even a complaint from the Usenet group moderator to me. So began my arduous trek. I called GoDaddy.com long distance. Waited for 15 minutes. Finally got a customer service rep who told me I'd need to email the abuse department to find out what the problem was. Great! So, I emailed the abuse department and found out that I'd been marked as a spammer because of a single post to that Usenet group. If I wanted to dispute the complaint, I could pay $29 to unlock the domain once I got proof I didn't do anything wrong. If I wanted to swear up and down I'd never spam again, I could pay $100 and get the domain unlocked. Naturally, I was livid. I've made Usenet postings about these games for about six years and I've never had a complaint that wasn't handled between me and the moderator. If it's against posting rules, I have no problem with ceasing and desisting. But I never got that chance, and GoDaddy never contacted me before acting - talk about presumed guilt. GoDaddy claimed they'd tried to contact me, using a defunct administrative email address. But my account information on the GoDaddy website (which I assume they must use to sell to telemarketers and spam e-mailers, since they didn't use it to contact me) included current email addresses, home phone number and a mailing address. This made me absolutely furious. I don't even host my sites on GoDaddy.com. They just held the registration for jointhesaga.com, which was redirected to the name servers at RPG Works. I didn't send any e-mail via GoDaddy's servers. As far as I know, they've got ZERO jurisdiction over Usenet management. I really, really, really wanted to fight this. But, as I've just spent A LOT of money on print advertising for the games, I can ill afford to leave the address in dispute. So, I sent an email back, calling GoDaddy.com extortionists and incompetents, informed them they could take the $100, but I'd be taking my business elsewhere immediately thereafter. I also notified the folks at RPG Works, as well as all my players - and this led to some angry but well-written letters from supporters who were prepared to yank their business from GoDaddy.com. This yielded a response that if I didn't like their terms or couldn't comply with their terms, then they'd happily accept $29 to unlock the domain so I could change registrars. I told them: Take the money. I'll be on my way. So, they did. I'm now in the process of moving jointhesaga.com to Register.com. It's much more expensive than GoDaddy.com, but in my experience, Register.com doesn't stab good customers in the back to make an extra buck, which is all this maneuver reeked of. GoDaddy's definition of "spam" is so broad that just about anything qualifies, and they act so rashly, without anything approaching due process or even simple manners, that you're not treated like a customer: You're treated like a criminal. Now that this process has started, I've demanded a pro-rated refund on jointhesaga.com's registration (I'd paid through 2007), as well as six other domain names I'm cancelling with GoDaddy.com. If they agree, I should end up with more than $100 back in my accounts, which will cover the expense of paying their stupid penalty and transferring the domain. And they lose a loyal customer - all over one complaint about one email to one moderated Usenet group, because they were too damned lazy to pick up a phone. If you registered with GoDaddy.com, think twice about staying with them. They use their "noble" anti-spam policies to make money on the back end. Most people probably just suck it up and pay without complaining and don't have the friends I do who can complain even louder and more convincingly. Don't let them make you a victim. If you were thinking about GoDaddy.com, think again! They're nothing, in my opinion, but a bunch of crooks.