Enthusiasms

Enthusiasms is an edited stream of consciousness, by Simen.

Since I have several domains registered through GoDaddy, including this one, I was naturally interested when I saw this. So says Jason Kottke: “Seeing who still has domains to transfer away from Go Daddy is the internet’s walk of shame.” People naturally asked him why. So here’s his attempt at explaining himself. (Oh, sorry, I meant “passing along information”. Fucking weasel words.) It’s shameful to have a domain registered through GoDaddy because: (1) “The company uses scantily clad women to sell domain names and whatnot.” (2) “Go Daddy’s founder, Bob Parsons, goes to Africa every year to kill elephants who he says are ruining crops.” (3) “Most recently, Go Daddy came out in support of SOPA.” Let’s run through them.

  1. Does Jason Kottke boycott every company that ever commissioned ads that contained scantily clad women? Do you, Jason? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone, even hardcore anti-porn activists, who boycotted every company that ever made gratuitous use of scantily clad women to promote a product. Is this really a good reason not to spend money on a product or service? It is, at best, incredibly hypocritical.
  2. Does Jason Kottke boycott every company whose founder, CEO, or other leader or owner is an asshole? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone… Is there anything particular about Bob Parsons that makes him a special case? Rich White Guy is an Ass, news at eleven.
  3. Ok, SOPA is horrible. I would be willing to part with a product or service if I thought it might help in fighting SOPA. But I don’t obsessively monitor which companies have publicly stated their support for this bill, or any other bill that might affect me if it becomes US legislation. To suggest that it is shameful not to be compulsively up-to-date on who said what about which bill is… An overreaction at best. And in any event, GoDaddy withdrew its support before I even heard they supported SOPA in the first place.

You know what the real internet walk of shame is? Seeing who will resort to writing blatant linkbait to generate traffic to their website.

Dec 24, 2011