Namecheap: Russia Service Termination • Hacker News Board

Re: Namecheap: Russia Service Termination

#711

Post by ip26 » Tue, Mar 01, 2022, 4:34 AM UTC

lwneal wrote: post #311

I was surprised by this, until I realized that one of Namecheap's offices is in downtown Kharkiv. Today, the Russian military bombed Kharkiv with cluster munitions [1]. Civilians were killed, possibly including children [2]. Given the severity of the situation, I'm surprised that Namecheap has not opted for more drastic measures- for example, redirecting Russian web traffic. Simply transferring Russian businesses to…

They don't just have one office there; elsewhere in this thread, numbers indicate Namecheap is ~95% Ukrainian by headcount.

Re: Namecheap: Russia Service Termination

#712

Post by totony » Tue, Mar 01, 2022, 4:34 AM UTC

nthngtshr wrote: post #322

NamecheapCEO wrote: post #42

We haven't blocked the domains, we are asking people to move. There are plenty of other choices out there when it comes to infrastructure services so this isn't "deplatforming". I sympathize with people that are not pro regime but ultimately even those tax dollars they may generate go to the regime. We have people on the ground in Ukraine being bombarded now non stop. I cannot with good conscience continue to support…

> I cannot with good conscience continue to support the Russian regime in any way, shape or form. People that are getting angry need to point that at the cause, their own government I understand you have a lot of employees in Ukraine and you have to show support. Your heart is in the right place. I empathize and would try to do the same if I was in your shoes. But you didn't do a good job here, unfortunately. When gi…

>Your message does not make any excuses like that. You straight up equate being russian / living in russia / whatever it is with supporting the war. You fell victim to the same primitive xenophobic thinking you're claiming to condemn.

From parent:

>I sympathize with people that are not pro regime but ultimately even those tax dollars they may generate go to the regime.

Re: Namecheap: Russia Service Termination

#713

Post by lolwtfyouclown » Tue, Mar 01, 2022, 4:37 AM UTC

NamecheapCEO wrote: post #42

We haven't blocked the domains, we are asking people to move. There are plenty of other choices out there when it comes to infrastructure services so this isn't "deplatforming". I sympathize with people that are not pro regime but ultimately even those tax dollars they may generate go to the regime. We have people on the ground in Ukraine being bombarded now non stop. I cannot with good conscience continue to support…

No post body was provided.

Re: Namecheap: Russia Service Termination

#714

Post by thrwyoilarticle » Tue, Mar 01, 2022, 4:37 AM UTC

rmnc wrote: post #55

This is really wrong. I'm a Russian national, and I'm not supporting aggression towards Ukraine. In contrast, I've spent last two days in police after being detained due to the fact that I dared to express my condemnation in public protest. I am not my government, and apart from starting a one-man revolution with a pretty obvious result, I'm doing everything I can to raise awareness, condemn actions of Russian govern…

All of this also applies to the sanctions making the ruble and Russian stock market crumble. It's a piece of a larger whole.

Re: Namecheap: Russia Service Termination

#715

Post by newbie789 » Tue, Mar 01, 2022, 4:38 AM UTC

hereforphone wrote: post #133

If they're willing to terminate service for political reasons in this case, who's to say they won't do it in the future for other political reasons? Here begins the slippery slope of Namecheap terminating service to those it deems "wrong". Been a happy, confident Namecheap user for a long time. Now I'm not so confident.

No post body was provided.

Re: Namecheap: Russia Service Termination

#716

Post by ilrwbwrkhv » Tue, Mar 01, 2022, 4:39 AM UTC

butwhywhyoh wrote: post #332

NamecheapCEO wrote: post #42

We haven't blocked the domains, we are asking people to move. There are plenty of other choices out there when it comes to infrastructure services so this isn't "deplatforming". I sympathize with people that are not pro regime but ultimately even those tax dollars they may generate go to the regime. We have people on the ground in Ukraine being bombarded now non stop. I cannot with good conscience continue to support…

I don't support the Russian invasion, I'm not Russian, and all the other caveats that put me on the "right" side of this. All that to say I am cancelling my Namecheap account and in the future will actively recommend alternatives to your services. Not only is what you're doing completely ineffective, it is likely doing more harm than good to decent people.

Absolutely. This sort of virtue signalling should be frowned upon. I have over a 100 domains in namecheap which is a drop in a bucket I'm sure for them but I'll be moving them to porkbun.

Re: Namecheap: Russia Service Termination

#717

Post by wetpaws » Tue, Mar 01, 2022, 4:39 AM UTC

I hate when corporations do hypocrite virtue signaling pretending to fight for just cause. Dudes, Putin and government are not using your service, real people are. You are racist and nationalist scum pretending to be just.

Re: Namecheap: Russia Service Termination

#718

Post by TedShiller » Tue, Mar 01, 2022, 4:39 AM UTC

NamecheapCEO wrote: post #42

We haven't blocked the domains, we are asking people to move. There are plenty of other choices out there when it comes to infrastructure services so this isn't "deplatforming". I sympathize with people that are not pro regime but ultimately even those tax dollars they may generate go to the regime. We have people on the ground in Ukraine being bombarded now non stop. I cannot with good conscience continue to support…

This is wrong. While I support all of the sanctions against Russia on a national level, individual companies should not be able to make such decisions based simply on politics.

I agree with you politically in this case. But that's just a pure coincidence. Next time, we might be on opposite sides of politics. When I select a registrar, I don't want to have to take into account the arbitrary politics of the management, because they won't always agree with me. Even inside your company, the next CEO, or the previous CEO, or your co-workers, will always not agree with your political views.

Besides, you can see that your approach often harms the wrong people. One guy in the comments below is a Russian who has been working to oppose Putin's regime for years, and now you're actually hurting his work in Russia. You responded by allowing exceptions to your policy. Are you ready to review tens of thousands of applications for exceptions on a case by case basis?

This is a dangerous precedent and you should be better than this.

Re: Namecheap: Russia Service Termination

#719

Post by thrwyoilarticle » Tue, Mar 01, 2022, 4:39 AM UTC

hurflmurfl wrote: post #10

Great, now amid looking for ways to get my family out I also have to find another registrar who will not do the same thing and transfer my domains so that my cloud and email are still working. Any politically neutral registrars that HN crowd can recommend?

If a politically neutral registrar is one without employees in a location that has been threatened with 'never-before-seen consequences' - I'm stumped.

Re: Namecheap: Russia Service Termination

#720

Post by realcertify » Tue, Mar 01, 2022, 4:41 AM UTC

There used to be a time when the US and Europe were dream countries, millions of people always considered them to be the safe havens duly protected by the best laws. This made those countries prosper, as anyone who had high earnings from third world countries would immediately invest them into first world ones, the best minds would come and work there. Now everything changes quick. Russians, even anti-Putun ones figure that nobody needs them in the West, and the protections by law no longer exist. Next is the rest of the world.