Bravo, Dawn, Bravo!
maria horvath | 02.04.06 - 3:50 pm | #

You ... absolutely ... rock.
C.J. | Homepage | 02.04.06 - 4:01 pm | #

Yeah, rock on!
Mia | 02.04.06 - 4:11 pm | #

Thank you! If you'd like to write to Bob Parsons too, his e-mail is president -at- godaddy.com.
Dawn Eden | Homepage | 02.04.06 - 4:13 pm | #

P.S. Can anyone recommend a good Web-site registrar?
Dawn Eden | Homepage | 02.04.06 - 4:18 pm | #

I guess I'll be looking for a new one, too.
Sean | Homepage | 02.04.06 - 4:52 pm | #

Us, too.
RR&R | 02.04.06 - 6:49 pm | #

Aplus.net is cheap ... used them once recently with no glitches. A quick trip around their web site showed no indication of creepy execs ...
C.J. | Homepage | 02.04.06 - 7:31 pm | #

Dawn, if you really cared about women you'd be fighting for the unionization of sex industry workers rather than trying to control what they do with their bodies.

[NOTE TO READERS: The Raving Atheist is joking--see his comment below. Normally, off-topic gibes like this are deleted as soon as I find them, but since some previously silent commenters came out of the woodwork to respond, I didn't want to delete them as well. - Ed.]
The Raving Atheist | Homepage | 02.04.06 - 7:32 pm | #

Dawn: Way to go!

RA: Are you nuts? What does unionizing or any other move to make prostitution an "industry" do for the thousands and thousands of women and children in this country and world wide who are forced into prostitution and have no way out?

What does that do for those who speak no English but have been brought into this country illegally, locked up in basements or houses and forced to ply their "trade"?

Give me a blinking break! What good is it to fight abortion when you are perfectly willing to approve another form of human degradation?
Colleen | 02.04.06 - 7:45 pm | #

Dear Raving Athiest,

Pornography of its very nature objectifies and degrades women. The "sex industry" commodifies and denigrates what should be a most intimate union between spouses.

A unionized sex industry will not change the fact that pornography turns thinking and feeling women into "boy toys."

A unionized sex industry will never assist men to see women as thinking, feeling, spiritual persons.

A unionized sex industry will not assist ordinary women in developing a healthy sense of self-esteem.

A unionized sex industry will never heal the illness that grows in the hearts, minds and souls of the men that it enslaves.

A unionized sex industry will never restore the innocence of children who discover their parents' "stash" and who subsequently pollute the hearts of their innocent, young friends.

A unionized sex industry will not end violence against women which is the result of their having been been "objectified."

Unionizing the sex industry makes about as much sense to me as unionizing the mafia.
Suzanne | Homepage | 02.04.06 - 7:56 pm | #

Suzanne is right on the money and I heartily second here comments.

As for switching away from GoDaddy - thanks for the heads up Dawn - I'm leaving them too, and I don't need to see the advert videos to do it. Your word is enough. I recommend Totalchoice Hosting (totalchoicehosting.com). I use them as my web host - now they'll get my domain registration business too.
John
John | Homepage | 02.04.06 - 8:12 pm | #

We're leaving GoDaddy too, and taking 22 domain names and accounts with us. I cannot see why a man who purports to be such a patriot, and is so pro Marines cannot understand that Marines have daughters too. The girl in that ad is someone's daughter. How sad for them to see her degraded that way on National television at the superbowl.

We have a bunch of other sites at Dreamhost, so I guess they will be getting all of our business now. They don't seem to feel the need to push a bunch of garbage down my throat.

What a shame.
lot | 02.04.06 - 8:22 pm | #

Prostitution and porn are bad for women on every level. Unionizing prostitution is madness.
womenrock | 02.04.06 - 8:27 pm | #

Raving Atheist, if you were being satirical--which I suspect you were--could you please say so, so that we're off that tangent? Assuming you were joking, your point was too subtle.

The reason I do believe you were joking, aside from that I've never seen you take this kind of tack before, is that your comment acknowledges that the woman in the commercial is supposed to be a prostitute.
Dawn Eden | Homepage | 02.04.06 - 9:04 pm | #

I apologize.

Yes, I was joking. I had just been reading something about "sex industry workers" at Feministe and was parodying the sort of comment they'd likely make in response to your post -reducing everything to a "control your body" soundbite.

Specifically, I had just been reading this post by Jill, in which she talks about "sex workers" being more likely to be raped than non-sex workers. She's angry that their credibility is challenged in rape prosecutions (the piece starts out, sarcastically, with "You can only be raped if you hate sex, apparently . . . otherwise you're a liar and a whore").

(Would I really seriously start a comment with "Dawn, if you really cared about women . . . ).

Again, sorry.
The Raving Atheist | Homepage | 02.04.06 - 9:11 pm | #

Colleen, sorry to delete your follow-up--just wanted to try to get things back on topic.

OK, back to discussing GoDaddy and alternate Web-site registrars, everyone -- thanks.
Dawn Eden | Homepage | 02.04.06 - 9:22 pm | #

BTW - if you visit the GoDaddy site you'll see that they are crowing about their several intial commercial submissions being rejected by ABC! These folks are too much.

GoDaddy - going, going, gone!
John | Homepage | 02.04.06 - 10:50 pm | #

All women, and all men who love and respect women (gee, that's all of us, isn't it?), should exercise our economic right to choose and ensure that GoDaddy's customer list becomes the null set (i.e., nada, zilch, the big goose egg).

My only remaining curiosity point is whether the "professional feminists" will offer any comment. Once upon a time, there would be a rain of indignation falling on GoDaddy. Hmm. I see Betty Friedan has left the building.

Other than that abortion stuff, of course, much of feminism is right on target. Okay, well some of feminism is on target. The NOW gals are currently "outraged" that an unpardonable sin has been committed: the DISH Network has dropped Lifetime from its satellite service! To DISH, it's a contract issue; to NOW, it's just short of anarchy. I'm not making this up! But I digress.
C.J. | Homepage | 02.04.06 - 11:17 pm | #

Dawn - tremendous witness to follow eloquent words with a difficult action. This is the type of vigilance and courage that it will take to re-educate the entertainment industry.
David | Homepage | 02.04.06 - 11:27 pm | #

Blue Host is excellent. This is the fourth registrar/host I've had in 6 years. When I have technical problems I always speak to a friendly, knowledgeable person with in minutes of calling. They're very affordable too.
MaryB | Homepage | 02.05.06 - 12:41 am | #

Also, Blue Host makes setting up with Wordpress very, very easy. They are the best!
MaryB | Homepage | 02.05.06 - 12:44 am | #

Just took a look at the ad...I also filled out their little survey and told them I thought the ad and the girl were offensive. I have a few domains registered with them -- not my blog domain, but some others I have. It looks like I'll have to move them. IIRC, Bob Parsons is the same guy who runs (or used to run) Parsons Software, which sold -- get this -- Bible and church software.

And if the link provided by RA is any indication, the professional feminists won't have much to say about this ad. After all, the GoDaddy Girl is just a liberated "sex worker" doing her thing...
Susan B. | Homepage | 02.05.06 - 12:54 am | #

Dawn--

I suggest ItsYourDomain.com for $14.95 per year.
Nathan Sheets | Homepage | 02.05.06 - 12:57 am | #

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone--really appreciate it. Does anyone second ItsYourDomain.com? That $14.95 sounds like a good deal.
Dawn Eden | Homepage | 02.05.06 - 1:50 am | #

Well, I don't know http://www.itsyourdomain.com/. I do know http://www.mydomain.com/, and they seem like a decent company. Domain names are $8.50 a year there.

I did some searching and found out that Yahoo does domains for $2.99 a year. Yahoo is a brand that I trust, so maybe I could go with that.

Thoughts?
Dennis | Homepage | 02.05.06 - 8:39 am | #

If I am ever in a position to secure a domain (which won't be for awhile I'm afraid) I will not be using GoDaddy. I wanted to join in but thought it seemed kind of silly to boycott something I was in no danger of using for the foreseeable future.
J Rob | Homepage | 02.05.06 - 9:59 am | #

You mean GoGitmo.com? I have never used GoDaddy (I use Domainmonger; no problems), preferring not give money to companies run by people who advocate torture.
Vidiot | Homepage | 02.05.06 - 3:36 pm | #

Vidiot, that's the strongest condemnation I've seen of GoDaddy's commercials.
Dawn Eden | Homepage | 02.05.06 - 3:43 pm | #

I use GoDaddy. A couple of weeks ago I saw a brag from this guy about their upcoming Superbowl "boundary pusher" and thought "Maybe I ought to find another hosting service." But then I forgot about it. So thanks for the reminder, Dawn.

I wish they would backtrack--they're cheap and have been pretty reliable, and I really don't want the hassle of changing.

"Good advertising should be polarizing"? That sounds like a pretty questionable view to me. It could only be true if you're pretty sure that the people on the negative pole are ones whom you are willing to hold in contempt publicly, in that you're saying you are happy to give up their good will in order to appeal to some other group.

Well, Mr. Parsons, if that's what you want, so be it.
Maclin Horton | Homepage | 02.05.06 - 4:45 pm | #

I couldn't use Yahoo because they aren't actually a registrar. They are a reseller. So I could sign up for their domain name management service for $2.99, but the name would remain with godaddy. Well, that wouldn't have solved the problem at all.

I decided to go with http://www.mydomain.com/ because I had used them for domain name management and forwarding services in the past and they were usually pretty good to work with. The annual fee is $8.50 per year per domain name.
Dennis | Homepage | 02.05.06 - 7:33 pm | #

GoBye-bye!
Maureen | Homepage | 02.05.06 - 9:40 pm | #

Society is just becoming more and more uptight. First the Janet thing at the Superbowl a few years ago throws everybody into a self righteous tizzy fit. It's just a damn commercial. And a Superbowl one at that. Which by in nature are usually racier or further out there. To attract as much attention with the large audience. And while Candice is being labelled a "porn star" and "whore" nothing is further from the truth. That wasn't the impression I got of the "character" in the commercials. As for the person herself she is a model and regular performer on WWE Raw. Though I imagine being on a professional wrestling program is enough for most people to condemn her anyways. Enjoy your night and flame on. :)
Phil | 02.05.06 - 9:52 pm | #

I don't want to get too off-topic, Phil—the model's background is not the issue. But since you wrote, "while Candice is being labelled a 'porn star' and 'whore' nothing is further from the truth," here's further info from an online bio of the model:

"She showed plenty more in a 2002 episode of the naughty, softcore porn show Hotel Erotica. In fact, 2002 was a generally revealing year for [Candice] Michelle, who also appeared in the June Playboy issue as a Cyber Girl of the Week."
Dawn Eden | Homepage | 02.05.06 - 10:09 pm | #

Vidiot, that's the strongest condemnation I've seen of GoDaddy's commercials

I figure you're kidding, but I'm referring to Bob Parson's blog post (since edited on his own site but cached elsewhere) in which he advocates torture.

I cannot in good conscience support anyone who believes in torture, and will never give GoDaddy a penny.
Vidiot | Homepage | 02.05.06 - 10:33 pm | #

Vidiot, if you can get ahold of a cached version of Parsons' post, please post a link so I can see what started it all. Thanks.
Dawn Eden | 02.05.06 - 10:43 pm | #

If you follow Dawn's lead and elect to get rid of your GoDaddy hosting service, make sure you send the company a note stating the reason for your switch. If the market is consumer driven, then the owner should be made aware of why consumers are ditching him.
Renee Poudrier | 02.05.06 - 11:09 pm | #

I found this, but I'm not sure if it's the earliest version -- I'm not very Google-cache savvy. I remember him being even more strident. (He then apparently edited it to this version, and this is apparently the current version.)
Vidiot | Homepage | 02.05.06 - 11:53 pm | #

Thanks for the info, Vidiot. In fairness to Parsons, I should add this link to his post recanting his original blog entry.

He writes: "I do not advocate the use of torture.
One individual even posted a comment in a liberal forum that the CEO of Go Daddy supports the use of torture. Nothing of course could be further from the truth. At least it was never my intent to ever advocate the use of torture."

It's up to the reader to determine whether he's being accurate in saying he doesn't advocate torture. Personally, I'm not comfortable with the tone of his original post. I'm only printing his response because there have been times when I've been flamed in other people's blogs and I'm showing him the same courtesy I'd like to be shown.
Dawn Eden | Homepage | 02.06.06 - 12:18 am | #

Ah, I hadn't seen that other post from Parsons. Thanks for finding that.

However, I am uncomfortable with the way Parsons edited his older post and let his more inflammatory statements disappear into the ether. It is of course his blog and he can do what he wishes, but it seems strange to rewrite what he originally said, toning down the rhetoric while making no reference to the fact that changes were made.

I also think he's being disingenuous by his backtracking -- I think that he is unquestionably advocating torture...but I also recognize that, as you note, it's up to an individual reader to draw their own conclusions as to what he said, measure them against their conscience, and act accordingly.
Vidiot | Homepage | 02.06.06 - 12:41 am | #

Moving 6 domains out for the second year of dumb and sickning commercials. APPRICIATE your post, I also posted.
-Joseph
Joseph | Homepage | 02.06.06 - 2:33 am | #

Thanks, Dawn! Even though I don't have a web site, I responded on his blog because watching that thing made me extremely uncomfortable and I found it highly offensive. Now I know who not to go to in the event I need a domain registrar. Excellent!

Signe
Signe | 02.06.06 - 11:19 am | #

Ick. I'm switching over four domains.

In reading Mr. Flynt's...um, Parsons'...blog, I encountered the old "get a sense of humor" response. Frankly, I'm very proud of my sense of humor. You know what's funny? That scene in Spinal Tap where Fran Dresher's trying in vain to explain to the band that their album cover ("Smell the Glove") is sexist.

Thing is, that was a joke in a movie. This is real life...and it's sad to see that GoDaddy has chosen the lowering of network broadcast standards as its cause celebre. Way to choose your battles, Bob.
saint kansas | Homepage | 02.06.06 - 11:49 am | #

It's truly frustrating that in order for my 5 year old to sit next to me and try to watch the game (or at least pretend to, just so he can be doing what dad is) that I have to have my finger on the remote to be sure I can screen the commercials.

By the middle of the first quarter, I began to simply switch over to another channel during all commercial breaks. Having to be so on guard certainly takes some of the enjoyment out of the game.

Call me a prude, and I'll proudly accept the title. A prude, as in prudent. As in knowing that it's not wise to expose my little ones (or myself) to a constant barrage of such images. Images that try to convince us that the human persons of the same sex as their mother are nothing but objects to be possessed by the eyes.
SteveG | Homepage | 02.06.06 - 12:47 pm | #

Yikes, my church's web site and domain registrar is GoDaddy. Pulling it down now.....
Larry Lovering | Homepage | 02.06.06 - 1:34 pm | #

Just heard on the news that one of the "big flops" of the night (according to Tivo replay stats) was GoDaddy ... "again."

And the Stones.

In other news, Animal Planet's "Kitten Half-Time Show" flat-out rocked.

P.S. Here's a handy list of registrars.
saint kansas | Homepage | 02.06.06 - 2:12 pm | #

I checked around the forums for my web host to see if they accepted domain transfer. They don't but the following site was suggested: registerfly.com. I will look more closely at the site later, but it looks like they have good prices on new domains and transfers.
Susan B. | Homepage | 02.06.06 - 2:50 pm | #

Oops...never mind about RegisterFly. I did some cursory Googling to find out what kind of reputation they have. It looks like they have a pretty bad one. So I will have to investigate some other alternatives.
Susan B. | Homepage | 02.06.06 - 3:18 pm | #

O! cruel irony! I just posted my two cents to Bob Parsons' blog and received the following message: SUCCESS: Thank you, your comment has been submitted for moderation.

Moderation? Sounds like CENSORSHIP to me! I guess I'll just keep submitting comments until one gets approved!

CENSORSHIP!!!
saint kansas | Homepage | 02.06.06 - 3:19 pm | #

As I noted above, I use Domainmonger.com, and have never had any problems.
Vidiot | Homepage | 02.06.06 - 5:26 pm | #

Finally, an issue on which I can agree with y'all wingnuts: our mutual dislike of the sanctimonious hypocrite Bob Parsons.

As far as I'm concerned, pulling all of my business from GoDaddy was one of the most satisfying managerial decisions I've ever made, even if it cost me a few pennies.
Adam | Homepage | 02.06.06 - 5:29 pm | #

BTW, Vidiot, what on earth are you doing *here*?
Adam | Homepage | 02.06.06 - 5:32 pm | #

I don't want to recommend a specific domain registrar (what works for me isn't necessarily good for others!); there are enough out there that folks can make their own choices, and Google provides all sorts of information.

BUT -

BEWARE! Some of them are now adding all sorts of 'fine print' to the terms and conditions, which you may find rather unsettling. Read everything carefully - I almost made the mistake of falling for some apparently bargain-priced deals until I saw that they wanted to collect data on e-mail content and IP addresses, post banner ads, etc. Cheapest usually isn't best!
Joey W | 02.06.06 - 5:47 pm | #

I didn't have the stomach to watch - but what is with the deleted "Confessions, Parts 1&2" storyboards with Ms. Candice confessing her sins (making the GoDaddy commercial, etc.) to a priest? I guess if there is silver lining it is that a network actually turned down the anti-Catholic version of this soft core porn.
anne | 02.07.06 - 1:45 am | #

As a domainer, use www.namecheap.com, good prices and good service. No, I dont own it.
Joseph Crow | Homepage | 02.07.06 - 2:05 am | #

Dawn, here's something to consider that I haven't seen mentioned yet. When you switch registrars, you'll want to find one that offers private registration, so that your e-mail and snail-mail addresses aren't in the whois record, available for spammers or worse to harvest. Not all registers have private registration, but I believe Network Solutions does. domainsbyproxy is the best known private registration service, but it is part of GoDaddy. And a lot of the discount registrars out there are just resellers of registrations they've purchased from bigger operators. GoDaddy's reseller program is called WildWestDomains.
TeeEll | 02.07.06 - 9:54 am | #

Thanks for the info, TeeEll. I used to be with Network Solutions, but I remember their being expensive. I'll see if BlueHost or one of the others recommended above offers private registration.
Dawn Eden | Homepage | 02.07.06 - 12:09 pm | #

I use dotster.

As the father of a 13 year old girl, these kind of things drive me insane. I'm trying to teach my daughter to respect herself and these commercials tell her that she is only wanted for her body. "Yes, sweetie, if you want to get ahead in life just be ready to give the executive a BJ."
Tom | Homepage | 02.07.06 - 4:18 pm | #

I left a post there and commented on the incongruity of them complaining about censors and yet moderating their own board. I was surprised to see it made it - but it wasn't answered (I don't think; someone said they got spyware from his blog and that's a never-ending battle on this computer. I'd like to sue the owner of every site that puts it on the computers of unsuspecting visitors)

Regarding his patriotism, too late I thought about one of the sex stores around town, how it has the biggest American flag in town; I'm sure there's a 'freudism' there somewhere. But I didn't think of in time.

So you left him speechless? His claim that he and Candace are Christians leaves me speechless.

Thanks for asking for alternative hosts, I have four of them at godaddy that are finding new homes. If I have to pay more, so be it. No way am I going to help Bob Parsons finance that smut.

[Corrected as per commenter's wishes - Ed.]
JJ | 02.11.06 - 6:02 pm | #

And the spyware thing meant that I couldn't go back and check if he ever answered me cause I don't need any more spyware.
JJ | 02.11.06 - 6:05 pm | #

Great letter Dawn! If enough of us could make Bob Parsons speechless maybe that would do the trick. I, like you, witnessed the Super Bowl ads on their web site, as Super Bowl Sunday is my favorite day of the year to take a bike ride. Beyond their sexism, right wing politics and sheer pointlessness, the ads are just bad. Awful. They make me embarassed for my species. The sad thing is, is that I have no doubt that my above comments would make Parsons smile . . .
Salttram | 02.28.09 - 2:32 pm | #