GoDaddy.com Loves Cops and Hates Little Bunnies

It’s seems fitting that GoDaddy would be the subject of my first Skewism post. However, I must admit that most of my domains are registered with them (but won’t be once it’s renewal time). So without further adieu, I present you with proof that GoDaddy defines the word “hypocrite”.

So what did GoDaddy do? Earlier today they pulled the plug on a controversial Web site by the name of RateMyCop.com. Similar in style to sites like RateMyProfessors.com, RateMyCop allows users to literally rate cops they have personally dealt with.

Unfortunately, the site came under heavy fire from police officers everywhere demanding that the site be taken down. However, as far as we know, RateMyCop breaks no laws and is protected by the First Amendment.

Without warning, GoDaddy removed the site from their servers, leaving only an “OOPS” message in its place.

GoDaddy’s official response? The site used too many resources… but according to Gino Sesto, owner of RateMyCop, the site only saw 400,000 views at it’s peak (in a 24 hour period). As someone who has used GoDaddy in the past for hosting, I can say that even their shared accounts should be able to handle that. At one point I had a site receiving the same amount of traffic and GoDaddy didn’t pull the plug. Which leads me to believe one thing…

GoDaddy caved to the people requesting the site be removed.

It’s really ashame that GoDaddy couldn’t just come out and admit why it was taken down, instead of hiding behind the “too many resources” excuse that shady hosts everywhere love.

It got me thinking… I remembered a similar situation a few years ago when a site by the name of SaveToby.com popped up and people everywhere demanded that the site be taken down. GoDaddy founder Bob Parsons not only allowed the site to stay online, he blogged about it and bought merchandise from the site.

“The proprietor purchased his domain name with us, and as you might suspect also purchased privacy through DomainsByProxy.com. This is where it gets sticky. I’ve been contacted by a number of people requesting that I take the website down. With the exception of a website that was racist in nature (which we immediately took down when we learned about it), we at GoDaddy.com, have received more complaints about SaveToby.com than for any other website we’ve hosted. However, there is absolutely nothing illegal about the website and there is nothing in its contents that violates our terms of service agreement. Welcome to my world.” - Bob Parsons

When the site’s about a cute bunny that just might be someone’s dinner, it’s okay, because it doesn’t break the site’s terms of service. But when the site’s about ranking a few cops… quick! Think of an excuse to get these cops off our backs! Nice move GoDaddy.

Need more proof that hosting companies out there are just caving to angry cops everywhere?

Within hours of the site going down, Sesto says he made a deal with RackSpace to host the site, paying them $2,000 for the first two months of service. However, within a few hours of making the deal, RackSpace’s lawyers contacted Sesto to tell him the deal was off.

“We believe that the website to be found at www.ratemycop.com as described to our sales representative could create a risk to the health and safety of law enforcement officers.” - RackSpace counsel Beth Sherfy.

…well at least the folks behind RackSpace don’t hide their ignorance. So congratulations GoDaddy and RackSpace, you’ve managed to make history as the first two companies to officially be listed on Skewism.com! Thanks for making our first day an easy one.