Ask HN: For those who dislike GoDaddy... | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: For those who dislike GoDaddy...

6 pointsSteveism8 comments

Like many other folks, I detest GoDaddy for numerous reasons. I'm not here to argue wether or not their actions merit such disdain. We are all entitled to our opinion and if you are a GoDaddy fan, by all means feel free to ignore this post. This is not intended to be a GoDaddy bashing thread.

On to my question. For those who, like me, have abandoned GoDaddy for greener pastures, do you feel a bit disgusted when you find a particular site uses them as their registrar and/or certificate authority? I realize this is spiteful and even perhaps a bit silly. However, I personally feel that GoDaddy and their track record is so utterly untenable that I can't help but to feel this way. Of course for some companies moving registrars and certificate authorities isn't so easy or even impossible. But for indie developers and startups I feel it's a bit of an embarrassment. It just comes off as tone deaf to what has happened on the web over the past few years. Do you feel the same distaste as I do?

I used them and although I do not agree with the things they have done as a company, it is extremely difficult to move all my domains, since I have been using them for years.

So, don't judge. I don't agree with them but at the same time I can't justify spending the amount of time and money it would take to move 40+ domains.

Yes, but by no means strongly.

Even before more recent actions like their stance with SOPA, I always found their commercials distasteful so I never used their service. I judge websites a little bit and people who mention GoDaddy as a place to buy a new name from, but probably less than I would judge someone for throwing out an aluminum can vs recycling it. It is a venial sin.

This will put me in your potential dislike bucket but while I dislike GoDaddy and can't recommend them either, I wouldn't judge others for it. Many may not even be aware of the distasteful things they've done or don't mind their upsells, etc... It's pretty poor to judge sites and people base on the service they use.

I'm quite sure any people who continue to use them probably haven't been made aware of or taken the time to consider their missteps. And if someone wants to continue doing business with GoDaddy that's their prerogative. I must disagree with you though in regards to it being poor to judge a site based on the services they use. Who you support with monetary contribution says everything about you and your values. Especially when there are other options in the marketplace. That's the reality of running a modern business whether you like it or not. If you align your brand with a controversial figure then you must be prepared for the backlash. It's not always fair but it's how the world works.

That feeling when you check your cc balance, and you notice that godaddy took 5$ for some service you never wanted in the first place...

Yes, because my... "due dilligence" learned years ago of their business practices and, to my mind, questionable behavior.

OTOH, I've read that for more than just "register a domain" service, at times their feature set and prices have been hard to beat. OTOOH, that from people who know what they are doing and simply work around the crap.

I still have at least one domain with Godaddy. I can't afford to move it. Other domains happened to get moved earlier this year, kind of by happenstance, not due to me taking a stand on the issue (though my impression is the individual who handled the move feels somewhat strongly on the issue). I have trouble getting my ire up over it, even with the elephant incident and whatever else I have heard. I imagine you wouldn't appreciate my reasons for that. And I am not really a hacker, just someone with a few websites. So perhaps you don't really care what I do.

Which is to say I kind of dislike Godaddy, and I expect to eventually move away from them, but, for a number of reasons, it isn't worth it to me to make a big stand on the issue or judge others for using them.

Yes, I agree 100%. The elephant slaughter was enough to move all my domains and recommend all my clients do the same.

I also refuse to support a website that registers GoDaddy, although I will do project work (cuz, hey, I need the money). They just won't get technical support from me and they are told upfront about that.

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