Boycotting GoDaddy

When I created my website in 2005 I purchased the domain name directly from my web host, ICDSoft. There it stayed until 2007 when it was stolen by some idiot and transferred to an account with GoDaddy. After a week or so of battling (and a ton of support from your good selves), I managed to get my stolen domain transferred to a GoDaddy account of my own that their staff asked me to create. There it stayed (along with domains purchased after the event for sites such as Logo Design Love and Identity Designed) until yesterday, when I watched a “vacation video” (shown below) that GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons uploaded to his blog.


Update:
The original video has since been removed from YouTube after Bob Parsons filed a copyright claim. The following news report shows a little of what was featured. (Watch on YouTube.)

Elephants are highly intelligent creatures, and I don’t want to give my money to a man who glorifies their hunting and shooting, before standing triumphantly over his kill (not to mention having AC/DC’s Hells Bells as the soundtrack, as well as the payment that was no doubt given to Robert Mugabe‘s regime). As such, all of my domains have been transferred to Namecheap.

Read The truth about killing ‘problem’ elephants.

elephant mother and calfPhoto via Thinkstock.

Appreciation to those of you who offered domain registrar recommendations via Twitter and Facebook.


Update:
In another vacation video hunting a leopard (since removed from YouTube), The African Safari Company is credited. Here are the Zimbabwe trophy fees that are charged for each species of kill.

Elsewhere:
Shooting an elephant — why GoDaddy’s CEO was wrong, on TIME
Don’t Go With GoDaddy and Its Elephant-Killing CEO, on PETA
GoDaddy CEO kills elephant, videotapes act, on MSNBC


Comments

92 responses to “Boycotting GoDaddy”

  1. Behind you 100%

    The first thing I did yesterday when I saw this was to start the transfer process in moving my domains from GoDaddy. Parsons should not only be ashamed for what he did, but he should feel utterly foolish for using such an absurd excuse.

    Terrible…

  2. I viewed this video yesterday and am still in shock that Bob Parsons would not only create this video, but then proceed to post and share it with the public, as if he was doing some heroic deed. His failed attempt to mask it as “helping the farmers” is practically insulting. It almost reaches a level of parody with the aftermath being scored by AC/DC and depicting villagers fitted with GoDaddy hats, but sadly, it is all very real.

    Animal Rights aside, this may go down as one of the worst “Plublicty Stunt” ever.

  3. Approved, just wrote about leaving GoDaddy as well.

  4. Wow, what a thought, David. I wish every human being on this earth should think like you. Find me in the first row supporting you and your love towards animals 🙂

  5. Agyei Archer Avatar
    Agyei Archer

    What a tosser this guy is.
    Thanks for putting the word out there. I applaud you for putting conviction over convenience.

  6. It was a very unclever move from Bob Parsons to upload this video to his blog, what was he thinking? it was obvious he was going to be criticized. Sometimes even bad publicity is good publicity but this is too much, I don’t get it.

  7. MIguel Avatar
    MIguel

    No doubt this man is stupid.

    At this point I would like to have a domain at Godaddy to do the same as you. Give him where it hurts, his pocket.

    I follow you long time ago and I’m proud with your attitude.

  8. I honestly considered switching all my GoDaddy domains a year ago, based on how sexist and generally sophomoric their advertising is.

    This pushed me over the edge.

    I have no problem with an individual hunting for food, but shooting game for sport, trophy or ego boost is simply reprehensible to me.

  9. Is it easy to transfer domains to a new provider?

  10. @Mike Yes, it’s quite easy. Just contact your new provider, they’ll tell you what to do.

  11. Jeff Deibel Avatar
    Jeff Deibel

    David, I must commend you for your convictions and taking your business elsewhere. One thing I’d like to suggest, take down the link to the video.

    Here’s my reasoning:
    First, it’s easy to find with one search.

    More importantly, the video of GoDaddy’s CEO killing an elephant garnered 492,070 views on GoDaddy’s Video.ME site. I wonder how many of these growing number of viewers had their first experience with the Video.ME site. I can only attest to my own experience, but it was the first time I had ever heard of the service. Considering GoDaddy’s sophomoric advertising strategies, I wouldn’t put it past them to orchestrate an “any press is good press, even bad press” campaign to get out the word for Video.ME. I wasn’t aware of the service before the elephant, but now I am post elephant and I know the service works.

    Social media is a hype machine, and I don’t think we stop to think about whether or not we are unintentionally marketing a new product from the same company we’re boycotting.

    Sadly, people won’t be talking about the elephant in a month, but I’m sure Video.ME will gain exposure and a (hopefully small) percentage of the viewers as new subscribers.

    Your thoughts?

  12. I have all my domains registered at GoDaddy.com and I’ve always been very happy with their service, products, and prices. And technical support has always been very friendly and helpful to me.

    Although parts of the video may have been in poor taste (AC/DC? Well, at least it wasn’t “Welcome to the Jungle”), I don’t feel like Bob Parsons did anything seriously wrong here but I guess that depends on what side of the Animal Rights argument you are on. My values consistently shift as I get older but today I am an omnivore so it would be pretty hypocritical of me, who eats pre-murdered animals daily, to condemn a man for shooting a single elephant for, what seems anyway, a good cause (or at least not entirely bad) and the entire body of the elephant no doubt went to use.

    I have travelled to Zambia, Botswana, and Zimbobwe and have seen first hand the dire conditions that people are in there. I’ve eaten with them and tasted “nshima” a corn-based meal almost completely devoid of any nutrition whatsoever. This poor food substitute is the primary staple in their diet. It is totally believable to me that this may have become a life-or-death situation that these folks were in and while there may have been other ways of getting the elephants to move on, this is for sure effective. Those elephants will not be back because one thing that has been proven by the the elephant sanctuaries in Africa is that elephants will always migrate away from danger and towards safety and I’ve seen this in Botswana when on a nature safari I got to see over 500 elephants in one day.

    I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just giving my long-winded explanation to why I will be keeping all of my domains with GoDaddy.com.

  13. Hamish Avatar
    Hamish

    Thanks for bringing this to my and everyone else’s attention. I have never used GoDaddy anyway, but will now be even more sure to tell everyone I meet not to.

    I was fortunate enough to go on Safari in Kenya several years ago and see these magnificent animals in the wild. I also visited the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust set up to protect elephants (www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org), and the idea of people, particularly so-called ‘civilised’ people, hunting these animals makes my blood boil.

    I was told at the time that it is mainly Americans and Saudis who still want to hunt the ‘big five’. If I ever meet one of these people, I may shoot them myself.

  14. Dimitar Avatar
    Dimitar

    Madness.

  15. That’s sad. You did the right thing mate.

  16. Sergey Avatar
    Sergey

    You guys do know it’s April Fools?

  17. Thanks for posting this. I hadn’t heard about this story and now that I have it sealed the deal for why I’ll never use GD’s services again. I’ve been migrating away from them for a number of reasons already but only when it was convenient. Now, I’m encouraging all of my clients to allow me to migrate their services away from GoDaddy free of charge. I can’t support this company any longer and hope they will feel the same way.

  18. dennis Avatar
    dennis

    did you see how hungry those people were? That elephant served its purpose. Its a freakin animal people. Do you also boycott zoos when a tiger or lion does the same thing? S

  19. Dennis-
    There might be some merit to killing an animal to feed a community, but the problem I have with it is how he attempts to glorify it and turn it into a GoDaddy promotional video. The first half of the video I’m “okay” with. I could see something similar on the Discovery channel or National Geographic. It’s when the AC/DC starts blasting that it starts to get out of line.

    And you don’t see those tigers wearing Frosted Flakes t-shits after they kill their prey do you?

  20. Hamish Avatar
    Hamish

    I don’t want to get involved in a debate here – plenty of other sites have done that. All I will do is direct those who think this was justified to this site, where someone a lot more qualified than I can put it into context: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/04/01/zimbabwe-conservationist-responds-to-godaddy-ceos-elephant-hunt/

    And I will finish by saying that no matter what argument you use to justify killing an elephant, no matter what the circumstance, there is no justification for putting AC/DC music to it, glorifying it and just being a general arrogant bloodthirsty jackass.

  21. I’m wishing I hadn’t clicked the checkbox to update me when a reply has been made. I’m getting entirely too many emails today, lol.

    Is there any way to change this option after the fact?

  22. And the worst of all is that he believes he’s a hero.

  23. Hamish, thank you for that link. I’ve added it to the post. Definitely worth reading for those on Parsons’ side.

    Travis, there should be a link at the foot of every email you’ve received that allows you to manage your subscription (unsubscribe). If you can’t find it, do let me know. Did you read Hamish’s link? Interested to know your take.

    Jeff, I think the video content will do a lot more harm to GoDaddy than any underlying marketing campaign.

    Mike, it’s fairly easy (although time-consuming) to transfer your domains from GoDaddy to another registrar. There are plenty of sites offering instructions if you search on Google (which I did a couple of times in order to help speed things up). If you want my assistance feel free to ask.

  24. @Sergey,
    I agree. C’mon folks, this has to be an April Fool’s joke, albeit in very bad taste.

  25. I’ve never used GoDaddy and never will. I’ve always thought that Parsons is a ego-maniacal scumbag and this just helps to drive the point home. Sad to say that I think there may be some truth to what Jeff said. Parsons sure likes to stir it up. He has with this, and he frequently gains from it. I appreciate your part, David, in seeing that, at least here, the momentum opposes that.

  26. @David, thanks. And sure, I’ll respond to Hamish’s take.

    @Hamish. My take on your comments is that you’re either against Bob Parsons actions or his motivation.

    If you are against his actions; Unless you are a vegetarian, your attitude would contradict your own actions. By anyone’s standards, this elephant has lived a better life than any of the cows or chickens you or I have ever eaten. If you are a vegetarian, well, I commend you then. I think I may get there too one day but for now I am an omnivore and am about to sit down to a meal of sausages in less than 30 minutes. I will not be boycotting the man that murdered the pig to make them. But even if you are a vegetarian, this doesn’t mean that you stand for the rights of animals to be over the rights of humans.

    If you are against Parsons motivation then I get it (while not necessarily agreeing with it). The idea of Bob Parsons, a rich, privileged, white American, who probably paid money for the “thrill” of shooting an elephant does come off a bit “Mr. Burn-ish” but in addition to saving the farmer’s crops and giving nutritious protein to those people, he also would have paid the government in that country to shoot that elephant. That’s because this is a common program in African countries. Foreigners can have the “thrill” of shooting a “rogue” elephant (i.e. Not a mother but a bull who has left, or more likely kicked out of, his herd) for quite a high fee but all of the elephant has to go to locals.

    Other than Bob Parsons getting the opportunity to feel like he’s Theodore Rosevelt, this doesn’t bother me. At most, Bob might come off as a bit of a douche but his company has always been great to me and GoDaddy’s technical support is super friendly, helpful, and extremely, extremely patient, which for me was a big issue when I started getting into web design (which admittedly, I still have a ton to learn).

  27. Oh man. The same thing happened to me a few years ago. I tried 5-6 times to renew my domain with another host, who kept insisting that I wasn’t a customer (even as I read the renewal notice they sent me on the phone). After it eventually (unwillingly) expired, some shady people started using it for spam. Fast forward two years and it’s on GoDaddy’s banned list for abuse. I contact them about getting it back and they tell me I need proof of my trademark. I know that I don’t, but they are so terrible I gave up trying to fight them. (Stack this on top of their awful bait-and-switch tactics and painful UI.)

  28. I own domains. All were originated through godaddy. Have not had any big problems with the service. However…
    As a human being type creature, I am anguished by the killing of this other creature. The pain inflicted upon the animal kingdom by us humans is not new. When Mr. Bob Parsons clearly identified himself as being part of that infliction, I am forced to separate myself. I will not continue business with Mr. Bob Parsons and godaddy.
    Mr. Bob Parsons will get no more money for bullets from this customer of 9 years.

  29. I have always enjoyed using GoDaddy (all of my 70+) domains hosted there. Main reason I stick around is I am used to the site, and I love the support that I get.

    This here I think is fucked up though. There are other ways to get an elephant off the land other than killing it, and the fact that Bob is actually taking part in the kill is against any action I’d ever take. Bob has plenty of money and connections, he could have easily arranged something more humane.

    I can’t say this will stop me from using GoDaddy, but I won’t forget this. It isn’t the fault of the employees for his actions, so they shouldn’t have to be punished for it, indirectly or directly.

  30. I respect people who value ethics. Good stuff David and thanks for bringing this to our attention.

  31. good move David, Godaddy is not a good hosting provider anyway. I always heard bad reviews about them and wonder why WordPress would recommend them.

  32. Hey David

    Excellent arguments and a very compelling reason to switch registrars. I was just curious, but could you perhaps suggest or aggregate some of the other suggestions for registrars that you received through Facebook and Twitter?

  33. This another reason to not do business with GoKillElephants. They’re notorious for crappy customer service, beyond ignorant technical support, and its elephant killing CEO. Be forewarned, GoDaddy makes it fairly difficult to transfer domain names. Be sure to unlock the domain and then cancel the Private Registration for each of your domain names. Then you’ll easily be able to escape the beast.

  34. I live in South Africa at present. I’m sick to my stomach with ‘rich tourists’ paying for the ‘pleasure’ of killing our wildlife. Problem or not. There are no problem wild animals, only problem people, with a desire to kill.

    Thank you, for making a stand by taking your business elsewhere, as a show of dissatisfaction with GoDaddy.

    I do not use any of their products/services either, and now, I know, that I will *never*.

  35. The only response you all will ever get from Bab Parsons regarding this matter would be – ‘PENDING SETUP’

  36. I’m surprised anyone could have stayed registered with GoDaddy for more than 10 minutes. When I had one there a few years ago it was almost impossible to find what you’re after due to the terribly overcrowded design with about a million links on each page.

    I haven’t been to the website for years but it was an absolute shambles with regards to design. I wonder why so many designers could stand it for so long.

    Also; my stance on the elephants? Very bad. Good for you David for moving and highlighting this.

  37. Chris, Namecheap was another register that came up regularly, although this might’ve been because of the “bye bye GoDaddy” promotion it was running, where it would donate a percentage of newly transferred domain income to saving elephants.

    Valentino, I felt a form of gratitude toward GoDaddy the company helped to restore my domain name. That’s why my domains where held there. Thanks for your comment.

    You’re welcome, Travis. It was Hamish’s link I was asking for your thoughts on, where it’s stated:

    “The government deliberately inflates the number of elephants so they can allot a certain number to be killed. Last year they said 500 elephants could be killed. They say there are 100,000 elephants. From what I have found, the figure is more like between 30,000 and 35,000. They lie about the number so they can allow hunters to kill them. They use the income generated to pay the wages to the park staffers and to keep the parks running because they have no money. The villagers don’t see a penny.

    “The problem in Zimbabwe is the guardians of the wildlife are the perpetrators. We’re the only country in Africa that shoots game to pay wages to national park guardians and ration meat to their staff. It’s sick. You wouldn’t tolerate it. Zimbabwe is the only country where some of the park guardians are politically connected and don’t care about the animals. They’re the ones benefiting economically from their killing, even though they are the ones who are supposed to protect them.”

    According to the Red Cross, the situation in Zimbabwe is ‘critical’ with 2.17 million — one in four of the population — requiring urgent food aid. The problem is not elephants. The problem is Robert Mugabe, and Bob Parsons’ actions are funding Mugabe’s regime.

  38. Dunno whom to feel sorry for. The elephants, the farmers or Bob.

  39. Another macho man with a gun. What are the alternatives to GoDaddy?

  40. Thanks for bringing this to my awareness, David. Keep fighting the good fight. I back you on the boycott for this, and other reasons.

    I fired [ you will get the pun later] a client a few years back for boasting and ‘glorifying’ these types of thrill kills — he also went on to send me the trophy pics. These wild game hunters justify the barbaric behaviour by saying that they help raise and bring to the wild, more animals than they harm. However, that does not take away from the brutal, cowardly, act.

    While I agree there is a level of contradiction in us who eat meat, you must agree too that making public, the inhumane act of killing a defenseless elephant, was not necessary. It’s obvious it would warrant a public backlash. I am still hoping there will be a good ending.

    One day in the future, generations will look back at our time and see that we had to privilege to live harmoniously with these and many other majestic creatures and wonder how we condoned such things.

  41. Bob makes out like he was doing them a big favor. If he really wanted to help the people in Zimbabwe he would help start something sustainable like COMACO has done in Zambia. They’ve figured out the best way to save Elephants and other wildlife while helping people learn skills to earn money and feed themselves – check out http://www.itswild.org and this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjFfRAtZ83c – pass this on to help focus attention towards an organization that deserves it rather than giving Bob more of the attention he craves.

  42. I would never use GoDaddy in the first place because their customer service sucks, but to boycott because the owner shot an animal that was destroying a farmers only source of income and sustenance is absurd! Everyone is downplaying the importance of that “small” destroyed crop. That farmer is most likely almost starving, and any amount of his field destroyed could devastate his family. Secondly did you see how crazy the people were going over getting some meat for their families.

    I think that Mr. GoDaddy is an idiot for putting that video up. But it’s very easy to sit back in our comfy chairs and our easy lives and look down on killing an animal without looking at the positives that it has brought to that area. If you were practically starving you’d be happy some moron American had killed a huge animal that you could eat!

  43. David,

    Certainly you are to be comended for putting action to your convictions. That being said, I actually applaud Parsons for the video. In drawing attention to the elephants he has drawn attention to the needs of human beings, in this case their need for food. How is it that that need is being overlooked in all of this? Because an animal was killed? Who do we boycott when we sit down at a popular resturaunt and enjoy a tender steak? Who do we boycott when we indulge in a sushi boat? I think there is some hypocrisy on the part of some, not necessarily you, as they vocalize outrage over this video. They focus on its graphic nature and miss the opportunity to impact the lives of these people by seeking ways to improve their plight.

  44. I just went to view this video again, and it appears that in attempt to do some damage control, they have edited the video a bit. Updates include:
    – No longer titled as “My Vacation Video”
    – No AC/DC playing during butchering.
    – Less pictures of Parsons with elephant carcass
    – Less emphasis on GoDaddy Hats worn by villagers.

    For those wanting the full effect of the original directors cut, you can find it on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcX-2sgw070

  45. I’m not using GoDaddy with my website. That’s a good thing I never used GoDaddy since I’ve heard negative feedbacks from them. But with this video killing or hunting those elephants, that really sucks…

  46. Luke Kennedy Avatar
    Luke Kennedy

    David,

    To clarify does ICD Soft use Go Daddy as their domain registrar service?

    I am a very happy customer of ICD Soft, would be disappointed to hear that?

  47. Good on you! I hope anyone of your thousands of followers reading this who also might have a link with GoDaddy cuts them immediately. Hope he feels wounded.

  48. All of the money he spent on his trip plus all of the money he will lose in customers, especially all of the designers he’s seemed to have lost from your article alone who recommend their clients to Go Daddy as well, would have been more than enough to plants tons of crops elsewhere and provide more than enough food. Some of the money spent and lost could have gone to re-homing the elephants. With all of the money he will lose in the long run with lifetime customers turning elsewhere and taking their referrals with them, he could have moved the elephant, built a fence, AND planted more crops.

    Not only that, but he recorded it. Those who are doing a truly good deed, like he seems to think he is doing, don’t ask for recognition or glory. ACDC and a YouTube video don’t scream modesty. This was for personal reasons and there were so many other options. He says himself that the villagers have done everything else they could and have nothing. Well, instead of flying your ignorant self out to Africa and shooting an elephant (who himself does not have a large hunting rifle to make things fair) to post on a little macho man YouTube video, HELP THEM! If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. If you teach him to fish, he will eat forever. You killed an elephant, so they will eat until the next one comes. Then you have to kill that one too. Then again and again. This sound familiar…I think I read it in an article about endangered and extinct animals.

    Death is always the only solution, right Mr. Parsons?

  49. ..following suit..incredible how ignorant and cruel some can be..domains will be switched.

  50. I think that this video does a pretty good job of summing things up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QM4XqWGwUg

  51. For those who are particularly concerned about the elephants’ damage to the villagers’ crops, I think the key point to understand (which I don’t think has been brought up yet) is that killing one “problem” elephant does not actually solve the villagers’ problems.

    Research has shown that killing “problem” elephants is just a band-aid and doesn’t solve anything; another animal just steps in to fill the gap. Elephants are very complicated social creatures; witnessing the killing of their family members causes psychological problems, and a lack of mature male elephants causes young males to go into musth much earlier than normal and throws their hormones out of whack — and all of this causes troubling and seemingly random aggressive and sometimes violent behavior. It’s important to understand how the local people feel, but it’s equally important to understand what will actually solve the problem for the local people rather than following their gut reaction to kill out of anger.

  52. I have absolutely no intention of watching the video. I’m not a vegetarian nor am I particularly against people hunting animals for the game aspect of it. We’ve done it for hundreds of years and we probably will do it for hundreds of years to come. What I am against, however, is parading it around and putting it in others faces. GoDaddy are exactly the kind of company to do such a thing.

    I’ve been looking for the opportunity to move all of my domains away from them for a long time, so this is perfect.

  53. Having grown up in Tanzania (east Africa) and been on numerous safaris in the national parks I was disgusted by the sight of someone posting hunting videos on the internet. That said, THERE IS a serious elephant problem in some African countries. Since the ivory ban the numbers have increased and they have severe impact on the villagers crops.

    There is a case to be made for culling elephant populations because of the impact they have on humans, especially those who are living way below the poverty line.

    That said, Parsons comes across as a tacky individual who was there to collect trophies and promote his multi million dollar company at the expense of impoverished people of Africa and the defenseless herds of elephants.

  54. David, as a gal I’ve long thought that Bob Parsons is not the type of person I want my money to go to. You have different reasons, sure – good for you for standing up and walking away.

  55. @David: Do you have recommendations of the best domain registrars to move to? I have been dissatisfied with many of them…

    @Travis: I think you’re very right to point out the hypocrisy among those who eat meat but then get upset when they see a guy like Bob Parsons killing an elephant; it’s one of those selective-reasoning issues in which people allow themselves to become emotional when seeing something so graphic, while protecting themselves from having to know about the horrible conditions factory farm animals live and die in.

    I would also agree with you that the biggest problem with the whole video is the obscene glorification of this killing as well as the bizarre paternalism involved with the ‘right white tourist’ coming to a poor country and somehow acting like he’s helping the people there; not to mention the utter unprofessional attitude of Mr. Parsons in the situation.

    That said, I would disagree with the sentiment that animal-rights folks “stand for the rights of animals to be over the rights of humans”. This is something I hear quite often, but in fact it is completely possible to hold animal and human rights both as important. Further, most vegetarians and vegans (including myself) that I know hold the beliefs that they do because of human rights, environmental & hunger issues– given the fact that modern meat production is incredibly inefficient and contributes to food shortages in poor parts of the world– in addition to or even instead of the simple animal-rights reasoning.

  56. David,

    Fully support your decision. I saw your Facebook & Twitter post about moving away from GoDaddy. I would like to move away from it as well and am wondering what option you have decided to go with.

  57. What a disgusting display. Fortunately my domains are elsewhere now otherwise I would be transferring them.

    This so called problem could have been resolved by a bit of fencing. Maybe create a wildlife preserve where tourists could come to look at these amazing creatures in a safe environment. That would help generate a bit of revenue as well.

    I came across this site offering domain transfers for anyone else looking to boycott g0daddy.

    http://community.namecheap.com/blog/2011/03/30/elephants/

  58. Nathan, Timothy, my only experience with registrars prior to Friday’s move to Heart Internet is of ICDSoft and GoDaddy, so I can’t be much help unfortunately.

    Update: I’ve since switched to Namecheap for domains. Liking it.

  59. Luke Kennedy Avatar
    Luke Kennedy

    @David

    So does ICDSOFT use Go Daddy as their registrar by default?

  60. I believe ICDSoft is a reseller, and as such I managed my domain through ICDSoft’s website, but I don’t know what service is used. I’m going to ask.

  61. Luke Kennedy Avatar
    Luke Kennedy

    Yes, I’m asking too.

    I am also with ICDSOFT and will be registering one more domain with them this week.

    They are a reseller, just not sure who with.

    footnote: ICDSOFT are absolutely brilliant.

  62. Luke Kennedy Avatar
    Luke Kennedy

    David,

    They use http://www.enom.com/

    Another reason to go with ICDSoft for hosting 🙂

  63. Thanks, Luke. ICDSoft have provided me with an excellent service, too.

  64. @Claire,

    Unfortunately preserves don’t solve the problem, either. Corruption in the park service is a big issue in Tanzania (and in many other countries as well), so preserves often don’t do any “preserving” at all.

    And fencing may introduce other problems for elephants; at Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa, fencing resulted in a marked increase in mortality for adult male elephants, 70+% of which was due to infighting. There is also the question of what fencing would do for the villagers’ perceptions of these animals; marking the elephants as yet another natural resource set aside for rich, white tourists could increase resentment.

    Unfortunately, nature—including us—is very complicated. Killing and separation are simple, easy answers that usually don’t yield the results we are hoping for. We have to think hard to find ways that we can coexist with limited resources, and to understand how nature benefits our own survival.

    David, I apologize for turning your design blog into a conservation discussion. Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention; between this, the less than stellar customer service I’ve received in the past, and the uselessness of GoDaddy’s IMAP services, I need no more pushing to move my business elsewhere.

    (I am a graphic designer with a B.S. in arts & communication and an M.S. in conservation biology; hence my immense interest in this topic.)

  65. Thanks David for sharing this with us, I won’t choose godaddy in future to ensure no support of any sort goes from me to godaddy directly or indirectly. Elephants are worshiped in India and any creature deserves a good life without harming others but few men care about that.

    One thing I want to ask you, what hosting option do you feel is better because you may know better about them.

  66. Vivian, no need to apologise. You’ll have a more knowledgeable opinion than many (myself included) so it’s a pleasure to have you add to the chat. I also appreciate you linking to a couple of my blogs on your “about” page. Thanks very much.

    Narendra, I don’t have much experience with domain registrars, but Namecheap has been doing a good job for me this past while. For hosting (I’m unsure what recommendation you need) I use both ICDSoft and Fused Network. Crucial is another excellent web host. I hope that’s of some use.

  67. Hi David,
    Do you (or your readership) know if FXDomains is owned by GoDaddy? All my domains are with them, but their website and hosting preferences pages seem to have the exact same design as GoDaddy’s. If anyone could advise, it may be time for a change for me as well.

    Good post.

  68. @adamaf FXDomains’ phone number shows this in a search: http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-480-624-2500

  69. I just posted an article to spread the word and will be joining the boycott. I’m also offering two coupon codes for HostGator to anyone looking for new hosting (“goodbyegodaddy” for 25% off or “savetheelephants” for $9.94 off).
    http://courtneyrosecs.com/?p=1280

  70. Hi David,

    This is terrible, you’re right to name and shame Mr Parsons for his actions/excuses. You’d think that in this day and age that people would think about how something like this might affect their business, despite the fact he clearly doesn’t care about hunting big game for sport or the fact that he’s supporting a very corrupt regime.

    May I ask how you found out about this? I don’t tend to try and dig for dirt on the companies I choose to do business with. I guess I tend to think that they’re all kosher; I mean why wouldn’t they be? Do you think it’s something we should all be doing, and how might we go about discovering something like this without it being in the mainstream UK news?

    (PS. I don’t support PETA at all, they seem a bit shady. There’s two sides to any coin, but that’s a whole different story http://petakillsanimals.com/)

    Matt

  71. I would have to agree with Vivian.

    I definitely do not want to get into any debate here but, I just want to say that Mr. Parson’s was wrong in posting this video and in the presentation of it. Killing the elephant was not the answer, there are other alternatives. These countries allowing hunting of these animals, especially when their numbers are dwindling, are wrong. The problem in Zimbabwe is the government for allowing it. Thanks Mr. Mugabe.

  72. Jon Clark Avatar
    Jon Clark

    In response to some of the earlier posts in this thread, Aaron Sorkin (the screenwriter of “The Social Network” and “The West Wing”), makes a pretty good case for why it’s ok to eat meat and wear leather shoes whilst opposing the killing of animals for sport in this article for the Huffington Post (please note, contains some strong language):

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-sorkin/sarah-palin-killing-animals_b_793600.html

  73. I’m behind you 110%. The killing of the elephant should be at the very least considered criminal.

  74. Shalee Avatar
    Shalee

    There are no excuses for that sad man shooting an elephant. With that much money in your pocket I would assume he could get his jollies on in some other manner. Not a cool thing to do. If you want to show your distaste for this man, cancel your GoDaddy account…lets hit him in his pockets!
    On facebook:
    “Boycott GoDaddy and their Elephant Slaughtering CEO”

  75. I’ve already been staying away from GoDaddy for other reasons – primarily what I’ve found to be poor services and distasteful marketing. While I didn’t find this story of their CEO’s recent actions altogether surprising, I do find it to be entirely reprehensible. Not that I needed another reason to boycott GoDaddy, but if I did, this would surely do the trick. Thank you for sharing this story and adding your voice to it.

  76. Looks like he’s ‘done a Ratner’

  77. Wow…I’m just completely speechless.
    My domain and hosting plan are both from GoDaddy.com and I just cannot believe how ignorant Bob Parsons is. I can’t believe that he would post the video online!!! I love animals and nature…and I’m just too disappointed in GoDaddy that I will start looking for other domain & hosting plan providers….

    I know a few websites who offer good hosting plans/service but I’m not sure about domains. Any recommendations for U.S.-based domain provider(s)?

  78. Jessica, in regards to domain names, Hands-on Web Hosting is both reasonable and dependable – http://www.handsonwebhosting.com/

  79. Catherine, thank you for the info!

  80. You are more than welcome Jessica. I’ve known Conor for years (he’ll take great care of you 🙂

  81. Wow, I am shocked at how many people use Go Daddy! I know they are cheap and sexy, but I thought those attributes appealed to a different audience. I am a little surprised that people are surprised by Parson’s actions, yet simultaneously thrilled that people are making new business decisions based on their personal convictions. Well done.

  82. The video is no longer there but I am sickened by this. There can be no excuse for people taking pleasure in killing such magnificent animals in this way. We thankfully have never used Go-Daddy and will never knowingly use a company associated with this disgusting individual.

  83. Thanks for the tip-off, Fraser. I’ve replaced the original video with a news report that shows snippets.

    Thanks to Catherine, also, for offering a recommendation to Jessica.

  84. I’ve always loathed GoDaddy anyway…never had any of the great experiences others seem to have had. What nonsense.

  85. I have posted this to Facebook and forwarded to my client list. Thanks for sharing. Never liked Go Daddy because of their sexist ads either – but now I know for sure I can’t ever recommend or use them.

  86. David, I completely agree with you. Bob Parsons is a nasty piece of work who should feel the full effects of his disgusting actions. It’s a real shame that we have to share the planet with such a vile and putrid human being.

    I contacted the brilliant Hostgator who host some of my domain names and asked them to transfer my GoDaddy domains and they are happily doing so and giving $1 to any charity I wish too. Here’s their response to my email:

    “I’ll be happy to donate a $1 for each domain you bring our way to any charity you wish. We donate $100,000’s every year to many different charities such as one laptop per child, redcross, cancer research, tsunami victims, etc. One of my life goals for years now has been to start a charity and donate 10% of everything I / hostgator makes to building wells and helping people in Africa.”

    It would be brilliant if there was a way of somehow finding out which large corporations use GoDaddy as their service provider and writing to them asking them to change to another provider. Anyone know how we could do that?

    Well done everyone whose decided to act against GoDaddy, you have my unfaltering applause and respect.

  87. Thanks for sharing this David, I think it was right to name and shame Bob (as many others agree). Killing for culling is one thing, as is killing for food – but killing for sport is just not right. The fact that he made a video of it just shows what sort of character he is.

    @Jeff Deibel – Not sure I would agree to some of your reasonings, I doubt they would have released it for publicity on the basis ‘any press is good press’ – just think it was one guys idea of what he thought was fun.

  88. Guys, the issue is NOT that he killed an animal. It’s the way he glorified the kill, etc. The video smacks of bad taste.

    So those of you who applause Parsons for killing the animal need to stop trying to justify it, because the actual kill is not the real issue. Playing down the glorification and the music by banging on about how the elephant fed the villagers is just as unacceptable as glorifying the kill.

    I left GoDaddy long ago because of their unethical business tactics. Sound familiar? Why am I not really surprised the CEO pulled this video stunt?

  89. This man has always been a bit of a joke, he seems to base himself on Benny Hill or the guy that runs the Daily Star and Channel 5. The Go Daddy site is awful its cheap and down market (and I’m not even very PC myself). Domain names are cheap but web hosting is dire, and whenever you buy a service off the site you are bombarded with Ad’s until you finally check out.

    The elephant killing is grim on so many levels, 1) that he shot the elephant in the first place, 2) that acted the big man after shooting it, 3) the Go Daddy hats need I say more.

    But the biggest error this fool made was going to a country ruled by a tyrannical madman like Robert Mugabe, Does this man not read the news Mugabe is no better than Pol Pot.

  90. Hi David

    When Apple and various other companies are found to be exploiting people with their dodgy labour practices and policies to the use of child labour and slave labour even to the point that Apple had to add this page http://www.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/ to it’s website; I don’t see people boycotting them. But when someone want to shoot an elephant people (not just you) are up in arms?

    Don’t take this as a personal attack. I just fail to understand how elephants supercede fellow human-beings…Just my 2 cents…

    Personally, I don’t like GoDaddy for this http://yoast.com/godaddy-link-building/ especially after this http://support.godaddy.com/help/article/6579/search-engine-optimization-seo-donts

    Niall

  91. Hello Niall, I have strong feelings about a number of issues. This is just one of them. Thanks for sharing those links.

  92. Ignorant, self publicising man!

    I’m surprised godaddy are still going, especially with all the tech issues they have!

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