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> When you use someone else's platform you are completely dependent on the owner of the platform, and being dependent on something you don't control is a huge b

by xienze 6y ago

> When you use someone else's platform you are completely dependent on the owner of the platform, and being dependent on something you don't control is a huge business risk. Being off of YouTube doesn’t make you immune to this. You can still be deplatformed by your host, domain registrar, payment processor, etc.

flyinglizard 6y ago
All of the examples you listed are easily recovered from and don’t cause a complete disconnect from your audience in the same way YouTube deplatforming does. From Amazon sellers to YouTubers to high ranking apps to prominent social media profiles, I’m in awe of how much value sits at the whim of some platform which usually won’t even have a person to talk with on the other end.
mdavidn 6y ago
Unlike YouTube, a business can replace many of these services transparently from the perspective of their customers.
- 2pEXgD0fZ5cF 6y ago
  I agree, it is easier to replace a single part if you don't put your whole presence into one single monolith. It also helps that many other companies offer the benefit of being able to reach an actual human in case something goes wrong, which is something that is basically impossible with anything Google.
matheusmoreira 6y ago
There are hosts out there which will host you as long as you're not breaking any laws. This is actually how things should work. Registrars won't take away your domain just because they don't like your site. Companies will delete your personal account on their platforms without even talking to you. I can't think of any case where a domain was seized without a court order. Circumventing payment processor censorship is one of the many purposes of cryptocurrency technology. All you have to do is accept Monero as payment. The more people that do this, the more legitimate and popular and well supported it will be.
- SV_BubbleTime 6y ago
  > There are hosts out there which will host you as long as you're not breaking any laws. Yea? Or must mean those “alt right hosts”. Because the second someone ACTUALLY practices this, they’re themselves labeled as AltRight. See the problem? > Registrars won't take away your domain just because they don't like your site. Has a domain ever been seized without a court order? Ar15.com went down without warning, provocation, or cause because one day around the election GoDaddy made a decision to cancel them. > Circumventing payment processor censorship is one of the many purposes of cryptocurrency technology. That’s one option... OR... we give equal protections to anyone not breaking the law?
  - matheusmoreira 6y ago
    > Yea? Or must mean those “alt right hosts”. No, I mean hosts like Nearly Free Speech which has been operating since 2002. I've seen this one posted many times on HN and it seems great. https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/ https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/ I understand what you mean though. Since they are usually smaller hosts, they aren't used by big name companies and eventually acquire a reputation for hosting only offensive content. > one day around the election GoDaddy made a decision to cancel them Huh. How could they just do that? It eventually went back up right? Do you have more examples? > we give equal protections to anyone not breaking the law? What do you mean?
    - ttt0 6y ago
      >> one day around the election GoDaddy made a decision to cancel them > Huh. How could they just do that? It eventually went back up right? > Do you have more examples? The first big deplatforming case was probably Cloudflare pulling The Daily Stormer. This is what Cloudflare CEO said: > "Literally, I woke up in a bad mood and decided someone shouldn't be allowed on the Internet. No one should have that power." Seems like even he agrees that they shouldn't be allowed to do that.
      - matheusmoreira 6y ago

by xienze 6y ago

flyinglizard 6y ago

All of the examples you listed are easily recovered from and don’t cause a complete disconnect from your audience in the same way YouTube deplatforming does. From Amazon sellers to YouTubers to high ranking apps to prominent social media profiles, I’m in awe of how much value sits at the whim of some platform which usually won’t even have a person to talk with on the other end.

mdavidn 6y ago

Unlike YouTube, a business can replace many of these services transparently from the perspective of their customers.

2pEXgD0fZ5cF 6y ago
I agree, it is easier to replace a single part if you don't put your whole presence into one single monolith. It also helps that many other companies offer the benefit of being able to reach an actual human in case something goes wrong, which is something that is basically impossible with anything Google.

matheusmoreira 6y ago

There are hosts out there which will host you as long as you're not breaking any laws. This is actually how things should work. Registrars won't take away your domain just because they don't like your site. Companies will delete your personal account on their platforms without even talking to you. I can't think of any case where a domain was seized without a court order. Circumventing payment processor censorship is one of the many purposes of cryptocurrency technology. All you have to do is accept Monero as payment. The more people that do this, the more legitimate and popular and well supported it will be.

SV_BubbleTime 6y ago
> There are hosts out there which will host you as long as you're not breaking any laws. Yea? Or must mean those “alt right hosts”. Because the second someone ACTUALLY practices this, they’re themselves labeled as AltRight. See the problem? > Registrars won't take away your domain just because they don't like your site. Has a domain ever been seized without a court order? Ar15.com went down without warning, provocation, or cause because one day around the election GoDaddy made a decision to cancel them. > Circumventing payment processor censorship is one of the many purposes of cryptocurrency technology. That’s one option... OR... we give equal protections to anyone not breaking the law?
- matheusmoreira 6y ago
  > Yea? Or must mean those “alt right hosts”. No, I mean hosts like Nearly Free Speech which has been operating since 2002. I've seen this one posted many times on HN and it seems great. https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/ https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/ I understand what you mean though. Since they are usually smaller hosts, they aren't used by big name companies and eventually acquire a reputation for hosting only offensive content. > one day around the election GoDaddy made a decision to cancel them Huh. How could they just do that? It eventually went back up right? Do you have more examples? > we give equal protections to anyone not breaking the law? What do you mean?
  - ttt0 6y ago
    >> one day around the election GoDaddy made a decision to cancel them > Huh. How could they just do that? It eventually went back up right? > Do you have more examples? The first big deplatforming case was probably Cloudflare pulling The Daily Stormer. This is what Cloudflare CEO said: > "Literally, I woke up in a bad mood and decided someone shouldn't be allowed on the Internet. No one should have that power." Seems like even he agrees that they shouldn't be allowed to do that.
    - matheusmoreira 6y ago