9 ms·

Christians Bailing on GoDaddy Due to 'Immoral' Advertising

29 points by tortilla 18y ago

tortilla 18y ago
I didn't care about the sexy ads, I bailed because of their car salesman interface.
- brm 18y ago
  and their sneak attack auto-renew
  - cstejerean 18y ago
    sneak attack auto-renew? what's that?
    - brm 18y ago
      The default setting on their domain registrations is to auto-renew them at the end of each year. Both good and bad parts but it certainly doesnt hurt their bottom line
      - aaronblohowiak 18y ago
        I do not want my domains to expire by default -- the principal of "least harm" in defaults certainly applies. One accidental lapsing could cause more pain than a hundred accidental renewals.
- sant0sk1 18y ago
  I was just on GoDaddy this morning trying to change some DNS settings for one of my domains. I made the changes and clicked 'submit' only to find they pushed an up-sell ad in there and made me click another 'submit' button to make the changes. On a freakin' settings page! What'd you end up switching to?
  - brm 18y ago
    name.com 9 bucks and free private registration combined with a simple interface wins for me
  - paulgb 18y ago
    I'm not the OP, but I switched to namecheap and never looked back. They usually have a coupon for discounted transfers, if you decide to go for them. (Try RetailMeNot or just google "namecheap coupon february 2009")
  - tortilla 18y ago
    I switched to dynadot.com. Love the clean interface, slightly more expensive. I did a gradual switch of my 30 or so domains. No problems in the past year I've been with them. I've also heard good things about moniker.com. Here's a blurry screenshot of the control panel, no ads: http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/7423/dynadotnq4.png http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/7423/dynadotnq4.png
  - TrevorJ 18y ago
    I have a godaddy and a hostmonster account. hostmonster is VASTLY superior in my experience. They use cpanel for the backend interface so it's somewhat standardized. Also the call center is in the USA and they actually TELL you what number you are in line when you are waiting on hold. When you do speak to somebody, it's not usually that long of a wait and they actually know something about how to provide support.
  - reidman 18y ago
    Same here. I switched away from them back in 2003 when the "car salesman" mentality (an excellent and concise term, btw) really started to kick in. Went to Domainsite -- http://domainsite.com http://domainsite.com -- whose site is as poorly designed as GoDaddy's except for the fact that they don't have ads at every corner. That alone makes it worth switching, but Domainsite is also considerably cheaper and more up-front with their pricing. I dare anyone to figure out how much it costs to renew a domain name with GoDaddy. It took me a full 5 minutes, and that was with a logged-in account.
ErrantX 18y ago
This kinda stuff makes me really cross/sick; as someone majorly opposed to cencorship.... It's a fairly pathetic episode and a sad description on modern religion. (as an addendum when I asked the Church at the end of the road to stop handing leaflets/preaching to my young cousin as she walked passed I got into all sorts of trouble for religious descrimination.... double standards!). /rant over (sorry)
- wheels 18y ago
  This isn't censorship, it's a boycott, and it's a perfectly valid way to express your dislike for a company's PR decisions. I don't care about the ads, but I wish more consumers would put their money where their mouth is in dealing with company practices they find inappropriate. Censorship would be these groups lobbying the FCC to ban the commercials.
  - ErrantX 18y ago
    It's boycott to a point yes. But spamming media outlets with it is an attempt at censorship. It's a fine line but if the aim is to make GoDaddy tone down the Ad's to "religion approved" [sic] versions (as it seems it is) then it is an attempt at censorhip surely ;D
    - wheels 18y ago
      No, really, it's not. A boycott wouldn't do much good if you didn't tell people about it.
      - ErrantX 18y ago
        No really it is ;) As I said it is a fine line: but read into it and their main aim is to stop them using the ads. That's an attempt at censorship (I'm not disagreeing that it is a boycott too).
        wheels 18y ago
        Censorship requires a censor with the ability to remove information. They don't have that and at least as far as is reported in this article, they're not pushing the people with the power to censure the media to do so. Trying to get a company to stop doing something that a consumer considers offensive isn't censorship. This is just like the anti-sweatshop boycotts that are common on the left end of the political spectrum.
tsally 18y ago
How about bailing on GoDaddy because they provide the exact wrong balance between control and simplicity. Also: http://nodaddy.com http://nodaddy.com And a comic I find particularly funny: http://echopic.com/gnv http://echopic.com/gnv
jcromartie 18y ago
I thought the ads were stupid and tasteless... but come on, you're already watching war porn (pro sports) and you are going to get upset about some cleavage?
- unalone 18y ago
  That's rather a sensationalist way of putting it. Different people watch football for different reasons. Yes, psychologically sports exist as a way of channelling male aggression (which is a fascinating subject besides) but people don't watch it as an alternative to watching war. There's an element to entertainment like the Superbowl that nothing else has. Also, it's an old adage that America's fine with violence but hates breasts and naughty language. See South Park/every anti-censorship comedy ever made in America. Also also, it;s fair enough to say you don't want to deal with a domain host because they think the best way to advertise services is to wave tits in your face. I'm regretting that I use it to register domains, because frankly I'd like to hold companies to a slightly higher level of self-respect.
TrevorJ 18y ago
Anytime you take a strong position on anything you risk losing part of your client base. A lot of people (myself included) feel strongly about how portraying sexuality in certain ways can impact a societies attitudes in a negative manner. The fact that those opinions affect purchasing habits stands to reason.
callmeed 18y ago
Confession: I'm a christian entrepreneur and I purchase all my domains and SSL certificates from GoDaddy. I never got the memo that I should boycott their services. I have no problem with groups (christian or not) choosing to boycott certain companies because they object to their marketing practices. But I personally don't have time to cherry-pick these companies myself and make a public statement out of it. I'm too busy trying to nurture my own family and business to worry about GoDaddy. One last note: when it comes to watching sports (which my daughters enjoy watching with me), I find ads for E.D. treatments much more uncomfortable than GoDaddy's.
- exfswlkrji 18y ago
  Why were you watching tv/sports on sunday anyway? Has the 8th commandment been changed?
  - sant0sk1 18y ago
    I don't believe this is the forum for that discussion, but the Jewish Sabbath was never on Sunday. Sabbath means 7 (and rest), and Sunday has never been the 7th day of the week.
    - exfswlkrji 18y ago
      If you are a christian the Council of Laodicea forbid you from keeping the sabbath on the same day as the Jews - it also forbade you from eating bagels, so you can probably ignore it. It is interesting that a christian was watching ads coverting their neighbours SUV on their sabbath - while complaining about someone mentioning tits.
      - sant0sk1 18y ago
        The "Council of Laodicea" has no bearing on Christian doctrine. Your response is what I feared might happen and why I stated that this forum isn't great. If you want to take this up out of band feel free to email me.
glomek 18y ago
No, some Christians are bailing on GoDaddy because of the ads. Many of us just don't care. A whole lot of Christians are not Fundamentalist Christians who want to control your life and dictate your morals. Unfortunately, the sane ones don't get nearly as much press.
- tptacek 18y ago
  I don't think you have to be a fundamentalist to have a problem with companies that run sexually suggestive advertising on programs that children are watching.
  - axod 18y ago
    I disagree. I don't know if you have kids, but mainly, they find nudity very funny. I'd much rather my kids see a pair of boobs, than see a guy shooting another guy with a gun, which for some reason seems to be totally acceptable.
    - tptacek 18y ago
      I respect your decision, I don't think you're harming your kids in any way, but I've made a different decision about how to raise mine. Swearing, yes. A boob or two? Maybe. Overt sexuality? No.
      - axod 18y ago
        I'm not 100% sure I found the right youtube video of the advert... (hulu is flat out countriest), but it sounds like either kids won't get the sexual references, or will just see it as funny nude people :/ It's a tough call for parents though...
- randallsquared 18y ago
  Well, if a person's Christianity doesn't affect others, then it doesn't really matter to others that they're a Christian, does it? Someone trying to control my life is exactly the sort of thing I'd want to hear about, if it's happening. :)
giles_bowkett 18y ago
who didn't see this coming? it all goes tribal. all of it. read "here comes everybody" and "snow crash."
phony_identity 18y ago
I'm an atheist and a confirmed sexual libertine but those ads pissed me off too. Too tacky even for the Superbowl, which is saying something. Much worse, though, was the ad for some damn NBC crime drama which showed some pretty young girl falling into the hands of a serial killer, then showed him burying her in a shallow grave down by the river or something. Yet another show about fear, pain and misery.
giles_bowkett 18y ago
you know when the Christians bail, they say, "professionally, we are fucking OVER."
astrodust 18y ago
Christian Bale? I can only imagine his GoDaddy rant.
custie 18y ago
I am unhappy with Hostmonster. They auto renewed my account 15 days before it expired and it cost me $120 for a basic package. Sure, they probably told me in fine print when I checked the renew option, but who can remembers what they read in fine print 350 days ago? At least Godaddy only costs me $4 a month for auto renew.

29 points by tortilla 18y ago

tortilla 18y ago

I didn't care about the sexy ads, I bailed because of their car salesman interface.

brm 18y ago
and their sneak attack auto-renew
- cstejerean 18y ago
  sneak attack auto-renew? what's that?
  - brm 18y ago
    The default setting on their domain registrations is to auto-renew them at the end of each year. Both good and bad parts but it certainly doesnt hurt their bottom line
    - aaronblohowiak 18y ago
      I do not want my domains to expire by default -- the principal of "least harm" in defaults certainly applies. One accidental lapsing could cause more pain than a hundred accidental renewals.
sant0sk1 18y ago
I was just on GoDaddy this morning trying to change some DNS settings for one of my domains. I made the changes and clicked 'submit' only to find they pushed an up-sell ad in there and made me click another 'submit' button to make the changes. On a freakin' settings page! What'd you end up switching to?
- brm 18y ago
  name.com 9 bucks and free private registration combined with a simple interface wins for me
- paulgb 18y ago
  I'm not the OP, but I switched to namecheap and never looked back. They usually have a coupon for discounted transfers, if you decide to go for them. (Try RetailMeNot or just google "namecheap coupon february 2009")
- tortilla 18y ago
  I switched to dynadot.com. Love the clean interface, slightly more expensive. I did a gradual switch of my 30 or so domains. No problems in the past year I've been with them. I've also heard good things about moniker.com. Here's a blurry screenshot of the control panel, no ads: http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/7423/dynadotnq4.png http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/7423/dynadotnq4.png
- TrevorJ 18y ago
  I have a godaddy and a hostmonster account. hostmonster is VASTLY superior in my experience. They use cpanel for the backend interface so it's somewhat standardized. Also the call center is in the USA and they actually TELL you what number you are in line when you are waiting on hold. When you do speak to somebody, it's not usually that long of a wait and they actually know something about how to provide support.
- reidman 18y ago
  Same here. I switched away from them back in 2003 when the "car salesman" mentality (an excellent and concise term, btw) really started to kick in. Went to Domainsite -- http://domainsite.com http://domainsite.com -- whose site is as poorly designed as GoDaddy's except for the fact that they don't have ads at every corner. That alone makes it worth switching, but Domainsite is also considerably cheaper and more up-front with their pricing. I dare anyone to figure out how much it costs to renew a domain name with GoDaddy. It took me a full 5 minutes, and that was with a logged-in account.

ErrantX 18y ago

This kinda stuff makes me really cross/sick; as someone majorly opposed to cencorship.... It's a fairly pathetic episode and a sad description on modern religion. (as an addendum when I asked the Church at the end of the road to stop handing leaflets/preaching to my young cousin as she walked passed I got into all sorts of trouble for religious descrimination.... double standards!). /rant over (sorry)

wheels 18y ago
This isn't censorship, it's a boycott, and it's a perfectly valid way to express your dislike for a company's PR decisions. I don't care about the ads, but I wish more consumers would put their money where their mouth is in dealing with company practices they find inappropriate. Censorship would be these groups lobbying the FCC to ban the commercials.
- ErrantX 18y ago
  It's boycott to a point yes. But spamming media outlets with it is an attempt at censorship. It's a fine line but if the aim is to make GoDaddy tone down the Ad's to "religion approved" [sic] versions (as it seems it is) then it is an attempt at censorhip surely ;D
  - wheels 18y ago
    No, really, it's not. A boycott wouldn't do much good if you didn't tell people about it.
    - ErrantX 18y ago
      No really it is ;) As I said it is a fine line: but read into it and their main aim is to stop them using the ads. That's an attempt at censorship (I'm not disagreeing that it is a boycott too).
      - wheels 18y ago
        Censorship requires a censor with the ability to remove information. They don't have that and at least as far as is reported in this article, they're not pushing the people with the power to censure the media to do so. Trying to get a company to stop doing something that a consumer considers offensive isn't censorship. This is just like the anti-sweatshop boycotts that are common on the left end of the political spectrum.

tsally 18y ago

How about bailing on GoDaddy because they provide the exact wrong balance between control and simplicity. Also: http://nodaddy.com http://nodaddy.com And a comic I find particularly funny: http://echopic.com/gnv http://echopic.com/gnv

jcromartie 18y ago

I thought the ads were stupid and tasteless... but come on, you're already watching war porn (pro sports) and you are going to get upset about some cleavage?

unalone 18y ago
That's rather a sensationalist way of putting it. Different people watch football for different reasons. Yes, psychologically sports exist as a way of channelling male aggression (which is a fascinating subject besides) but people don't watch it as an alternative to watching war. There's an element to entertainment like the Superbowl that nothing else has. Also, it's an old adage that America's fine with violence but hates breasts and naughty language. See South Park/every anti-censorship comedy ever made in America. Also also, it;s fair enough to say you don't want to deal with a domain host because they think the best way to advertise services is to wave tits in your face. I'm regretting that I use it to register domains, because frankly I'd like to hold companies to a slightly higher level of self-respect.

TrevorJ 18y ago

Anytime you take a strong position on anything you risk losing part of your client base. A lot of people (myself included) feel strongly about how portraying sexuality in certain ways can impact a societies attitudes in a negative manner. The fact that those opinions affect purchasing habits stands to reason.

callmeed 18y ago

Confession: I'm a christian entrepreneur and I purchase all my domains and SSL certificates from GoDaddy. I never got the memo that I should boycott their services. I have no problem with groups (christian or not) choosing to boycott certain companies because they object to their marketing practices. But I personally don't have time to cherry-pick these companies myself and make a public statement out of it. I'm too busy trying to nurture my own family and business to worry about GoDaddy. One last note: when it comes to watching sports (which my daughters enjoy watching with me), I find ads for E.D. treatments much more uncomfortable than GoDaddy's.

exfswlkrji 18y ago
Why were you watching tv/sports on sunday anyway? Has the 8th commandment been changed?
- sant0sk1 18y ago
  I don't believe this is the forum for that discussion, but the Jewish Sabbath was never on Sunday. Sabbath means 7 (and rest), and Sunday has never been the 7th day of the week.
  - exfswlkrji 18y ago
    If you are a christian the Council of Laodicea forbid you from keeping the sabbath on the same day as the Jews - it also forbade you from eating bagels, so you can probably ignore it. It is interesting that a christian was watching ads coverting their neighbours SUV on their sabbath - while complaining about someone mentioning tits.
    - sant0sk1 18y ago
      The "Council of Laodicea" has no bearing on Christian doctrine. Your response is what I feared might happen and why I stated that this forum isn't great. If you want to take this up out of band feel free to email me.

glomek 18y ago

No, some Christians are bailing on GoDaddy because of the ads. Many of us just don't care. A whole lot of Christians are not Fundamentalist Christians who want to control your life and dictate your morals. Unfortunately, the sane ones don't get nearly as much press.

tptacek 18y ago
I don't think you have to be a fundamentalist to have a problem with companies that run sexually suggestive advertising on programs that children are watching.
- axod 18y ago
  I disagree. I don't know if you have kids, but mainly, they find nudity very funny. I'd much rather my kids see a pair of boobs, than see a guy shooting another guy with a gun, which for some reason seems to be totally acceptable.
  - tptacek 18y ago
    I respect your decision, I don't think you're harming your kids in any way, but I've made a different decision about how to raise mine. Swearing, yes. A boob or two? Maybe. Overt sexuality? No.
    - axod 18y ago
      I'm not 100% sure I found the right youtube video of the advert... (hulu is flat out countriest), but it sounds like either kids won't get the sexual references, or will just see it as funny nude people :/ It's a tough call for parents though...
randallsquared 18y ago
Well, if a person's Christianity doesn't affect others, then it doesn't really matter to others that they're a Christian, does it? Someone trying to control my life is exactly the sort of thing I'd want to hear about, if it's happening. :)

giles_bowkett 18y ago

who didn't see this coming? it all goes tribal. all of it. read "here comes everybody" and "snow crash."

phony_identity 18y ago

I'm an atheist and a confirmed sexual libertine but those ads pissed me off too. Too tacky even for the Superbowl, which is saying something. Much worse, though, was the ad for some damn NBC crime drama which showed some pretty young girl falling into the hands of a serial killer, then showed him burying her in a shallow grave down by the river or something. Yet another show about fear, pain and misery.

giles_bowkett 18y ago

you know when the Christians bail, they say, "professionally, we are fucking OVER."

astrodust 18y ago

Christian Bale? I can only imagine his GoDaddy rant.

custie 18y ago

I am unhappy with Hostmonster. They auto renewed my account 15 days before it expired and it cost me $120 for a basic package. Sure, they probably told me in fine print when I checked the renew option, but who can remembers what they read in fine print 350 days ago? At least Godaddy only costs me $4 a month for auto renew.