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[Steel]

Is this even legal? For a service provider company to seize the domain name of one of their clients?

Hidden in the terms of use.

 

[SJurgenson]

Hidden in the terms of use.

Yup.

Network Solutions (under their "web.com" brand) have the following Terms of Service.

It says you must follow their Acceptable Use Policy or face service and account termination.

Their Acceptable Use Policy probits:

(xiii) utilize the Services in any manner deemed, in Company’s sole discretion, to be violent or encouraging violence;
(xiv) utilize the Services in a manner deemed, in Company’s sole discretion, to display bigotry, racism, discrimination, or hatred in any manner whatsoever;

It's almost as if actions in cyberspace now have consequences like in the real world.

... Anyone know who 4chan's web provider is? Maybe we can keep the streak going...

 

[night814]

The more this happens the better, I'm all for free internet but this shit needs to be controlled. If people are gathering for violence using these sites they should be violating the ToS of any provider, and should be destroyed.

I want more of this.

 

[Fox Mulder]

.

 

[Squire]

Given the way Derek Black was talking about his father's devotion to the site and "the cause" on the NYT Daily podcast last week, this will crush him.

Good.

 

[Valhelm]

Eat shit and die, Nazi scum.

web.com can also get fucked for allowing the worst people on the internet to exist, organize, and terrorize others for as long as they did. Not platform should be extended to those who call for genocide.

 

[Nafai1123]

This sounds like the right way to do it. Don't even give them the chance to move to a different domain provider. Seize that shit and tell them to fuck off.

 

[Trouble]

lol get fucked you nitwits

 

[LewieP]

I don't think this is bad news, but it will push this kind of extreme fascist ideology further underground, and you're more likely to see radicalisation in those kind of spaces.

 

[Messofanego]

It took someone dying for all these companies to suddenly realize there's bo place for white supremacy

That's sadly what it has to come down to for change to happen.

 

[Derwind]

Mayweather won handidly, stormfront shut down...

Today was a good day.

 

[Ozigizo]

What kind of cold is cured by white supremacy?

 

[commedieu]

What kind of cold is cured by white supremacy?

Black lung

 

[Messofanego]

I don't think this is bad news, but it will push this kind of extreme fascist ideology further underground, and you're more likely to see radicalisation in those kind of spaces.

That already happened. There are plenty of radicalised angry white men. Giving them safe spaces where they are never called out to spew out their bigotry didn't stop their call to action. Free speech and being in contact with like-minded people enabled this. They've stopped using language and have resorted to violence. They want a war. VICE documentary showed that. They are now a terrorist organisation and should be dealt with as such.

 

[kikiribu]

Make a jail for these disgusting parasites and toss them in like the trash. Nothing of value will be lost.

 

[Monocle]

The article in the OP does not seem to understand how websites worked. This is not unusual for news sites.

Let me make it simple:
- You buy a domain name, which is how users know to translate neogaf.com to a particular server on the internet. GoDaddy, Network Solutions, NameCheap, Google Domains are four of the most common examples of companies called registrars, which sell domain names. ICANN, listed in the OP, is like a standards organization that helps those companies coordinate and sets rules for the sale of domain names. If you lose your domain name, you will need to buy another domain if you can get one.

- Typically if you're at all large or privacy oriented, you have a CDN or reverse proxy. This is something that sits between users and your actual server for the purposes of protecting your from DDOS, anonymizing your location, etc. CloudFlare is the most common example of this. If you lose this, nothing happens in principle, although it'll make it easier for people to bombard your server, hack you, or identify your host.

- The actual data for your site is located on your web server or servers which you have with a web host. Sometimes the host has one physical server hosting multiple sites (shared hosting), sometimes it's one physical server with multiple VMs ("Virtual Private Server"), sometimes it's one or more dedicated servers you're renting from the host, sometimes it's servers you physically own and store in a host's data center ("colocation"). If you lose this, you have no more website, and depending on what the host does, you might lose your live data. There are many of these hosts.


Losing your domain cannot "control if you delete your site". The site is on the web host. Some registrars also provide web hosting, and if Stormfront did that, then their data might be held hostage as a result of suspension of the domain. But it is much more likely that the site and data itself is fine, they merely do not have a current domain name for you to access it. To actually take the site down, you would need to seize the domain, ensure they can't register any others (even with foreign registrars, like with .ru domains), CloudFlare or their reverse proxy would have to abandon them, AND you'd either need to DDOS the site or have its host revoke hosting (and not establish new hosting). Even then, there are options for them to continue.

Daily Stormer was afflicted by, I believe, all three levels; CloudFlare dropped them, their domain got suspended and even the Russians wouldn't give them one, and I believe they lost at least one host. StormFront so far appears to only be affected by the domain suspension.

Of course, losing your domain name is still annoying, the same way getting a new phone number is annoying. But they will presumably just email all of their users using user contact emails and tell them the new domain that way.

Informative post, thanks.

 

[joe2187]

When do they get rid of R/TheDonald?

 

[McLovin]

I can't believe something good came out of Trump being president. I mean we all knew racists were out there, but now they basically put a spot light on themselves. Who knows maybe some of them will get the reality check they need and see it for what it is. I wouldn't be surprised if many of them just thought it was normal because they were surrounded by it all the time. Good to see that people and companies aren't letting racist shit slide anymore.

 

[Fantastapotamus]

Such a shame
A minute of silence for all the Nazis please

 

[DonMigs85]

I saw some disgusting stuff from that site, like this lady who said she loudly sneered and rolled her eyes when she saw a mixed race couple and their child. They actually seem to enjoy instigating fights.

 

[Slayven]

I saw some disgusting stuff from that site, like this lady who said she loudly sneered and rolled her eyes when she saw a mixed race couple and their child. They actually seem to enjoy instigating fights.

It is amazing what hate can do. We use to read their entertainment reviews on a podcast. Who knew the Ang Lee Hulk movie was about the feminization of white men?

 

[slider]

I've only heard of Stormfront from here (and I'm thankful that I have cos it's good to know some of the vile shit that's out there). But it blows my mind that there's an Apple affiliated store in Wimbledon called Stormfront.

 

[CaviarMeths]

Nothing more to add to that. Fuck Nazis and all of their safe spaces.

Also, cold remedies are mostly wive's tales, but I stand by cayenne. I put it in all my food when I'm sick. It's got a bunch of health benefits even when you're not sick, but it is known to aid your immune system, relieve pain, etc. Good shit.

 

[Truant]

I remember there was a big thread on Stormfront about GAF because of a thread I made in the Off Topic forum here. They were so mad, it was great. On mobile now, so I'll have to dig it up later.

 

[Steeped in a Sea of Games]

Holy shit, Stormfront has been around for so long, never thought this would happen. Good riddance (for now).

 

[ClosingADoor]

I don't think this is bad news, but it will push this kind of extreme fascist ideology further underground, and you're more likely to see radicalisation in those kind of spaces.

It's already there. Removing these sites (or in this case, webhosts refusing to host it) is a good thing, because it makes it harder for normal people to find and get dragged in. For example, a 16-year old with racist thoughts somewhere, might now find it harder to get together with like minded people and get even more brainwashed by those people on there.

 

[BocoDragon]

Wow... this is an old one. My junior high school (!!) instructed us to visit Stormfront in 1997 as an early exercise in educating us about the dangers of groups you can find online.

 

[Rell]

I saw some disgusting stuff from that site, like this lady who said she loudly sneered and rolled her eyes when she saw a mixed race couple and their child. They actually seem to enjoy instigating fights.

That's the white supremacist community. Just a bunch of reactionary bullshit, no legitimacy to their thought process. Nothing but another pathetic attempt to feel superior to one person or another for any reason.

Wow... this is an old one. My junior high school (!!) instructed us to visit Stormfront in 1997 as an early exercise in educating us about the dangers of groups you can find online.

weird....I actually had the same type of assignment in middle school. I remember referencing the band Skrewdriver in a report on the subject. Which definitely opened up a whole new world to me because it seems like Skrewdriver is more famous for being mocked by 80s hardcore bands than by their own (marginal) merit as musicians.

 

[Lightning_Roller]

Hah, go fuck yourselves you racist pricks!!

 

[_Ryo_]

Good.
May it never find life again

 

[Ac30]

Wow... this is an old one. My junior high school (!!) instructed us to visit Stormfront in 1997 as an early exercise in educating us about the dangers of groups you can find online.

interesting, I had the same assignment when I was in middle school in 2006. I signed up for an account during the assignment and started posting about how colonialism fucked Africa but I'm pretty sure the mods there deleted all my posts during review lmao.

 

[Gordon Shumway]

What kind of cold is cured by white supremacy?

Black lung

 

[Imperfected]

Funny story, i was googling cold remedies, and a stormfront forum post came up.

Nazi cold remedies don't actually work, either.

 

[BlueTsunami]

A brave new world... for racists

When are these racists gonna get salty enough to send take down requests for World Star lmao

 

[Beartruck]

It is amazing what hate can do. We use to read their entertainment reviews on a podcast. Who knew the Ang Lee Hulk movie was about the feminization of white men?

When you have a racist hammer, everything you see looks like a liberal nail I guess?

 

[SaviourMK2]

No place to hide for terrorists.

 

[Brinbe]

Good

 

[Clefargle]

I don't think this is bad news, but it will push this kind of extreme fascist ideology further underground, and you're more likely to see radicalisation in those kind of spaces.

4chan has plenty of radicalized morons and it's open to anyone.

 

[Wamb0wneD]

A nazi killed a white woman.

First they came for black people, and I didn't say anything because I'm not black.

Then they came for the Jews and i didn't say anything because I'm not jewish.

Then they came for a regular white person and I was like OH SHIT!

 

[Darryl M R]

Slayven we all know you weren't looking up cold remedies. You were doing research for your next TED talk.

White supremacists are probably getting nervous knowing their safe spaces aren't that safe.

 

[Frozenprince]

It was always surreal and important for me to not just flip through their obvious racist shit when I would occasionally read through the place.

I would check just mundane topics about things, where they would make "casual conversation" to remind myself that darkness lurks everywhere and in everyone's heart. And that these people have the veneer of normalcy to lean on and hide behind to avoid discussing their bigotry and hate to the world.

It's always a good reminder to have.

 

[PhantomThief]

Hell yes

Only 10 years too late

 

[AlimNassor]

Good. Stormfront is being shut down because they purposely direct targeted harassment campaigns against people.

 

[Oppo]

A nazi killed a white woman.

Charlottesville was deffo the trigger

but nazis have been killing white folks in America for awhile now. right wing homegrown terrorism is like 75% of all terrorism there.

 

[forgeforsaken]

I sort of wonder if the timing of this is partially related to Harvey and that a lot of people might be googling stormfront this weekend.

 

[ShadowKingpin]

BUT MUH FREEZE PEACH

SJW GLOBALISTS CHEM TRAIL GAY FROG THOUGHT POLICE

HAIL TRUMP

Have you never had freeze peach?

Spoiler

It's delicious

 

[WedgeX]

Only took from 1776 to 2017 for the free hand of the market to start actively swatting racism down.

 

[LucidMomentum]

Unlimited L Works

Get fucked, perpetually you racists.

 

[Trevelyon]

/pol/ next please.

 

[CloudWolf]

Took them long enough.

Wow... this is an old one. My junior high school (!!) instructed us to visit Stormfront in 1997 as an early exercise in educating us about the dangers of groups you can find online.

I also once looked up Stormfront years ago out of morbid curiosity. I found a big thread dedicated to how amazing American History X is. I was just wondering how the hell you can misinterpret a film that badly.

I wonder what they thought of Green Room.