I don't fucking believe the Email I just got from Godaddy... It's fucking ridiculous!!!
The story so far...
I sell a product through Clickbank.com (using clickbank as my processor). I have an affiliate that has used SPAM to promote my site. I do not allow SPAM, in fact, I fucking hate SPAM!
Anyway, Godaddy have received a SPAM complaint. They Emailed me telling me I was in breach of their TOS.
So I've taken positive steps to stop the spamming and contacted Clickbank to shut down the offending affiliates account. I have told Godaddy this...
Here's the Email I just received:
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Dear Mr. **********,
Thank you for your prompt response.
As the registrant of ********.com you are ultimately responsible for
your domain name. Any email mail advertisement that is driving traffic
to, or generating revenue for, your website or domain name is your
responsibility. If your clients violate our anti spam policy they place
your domain name in jeopardy.
I have supplied an example address from a complaint in order to allow
you to investigate the situation and show proof of opt-in to your
mailings. If you can provide such proof, via server logs showing Date,
Time, and IP address of when the subscription took place, or a copy of
their opt-in confirmation email, we can probably chalk this up as a
situation where the person has forgotten they opted-in.
The example address is: *******@compuserve.com, a copy of the
offending email message has been included at the end of this message to
assist you in your investigation.
I recommend that you contact your affiliate and obtain the requested
opt-in proof. If you do not have this information, or cannot obtain it,
you are in violation of your registration agreement and Go Daddy's
anti-spam policy.
For more information on our Anti-Spam policy, follow this link:
https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/no_spam.asp.
Please keep in mind that it is not our intention to cause anyone's
business to suffer and we do appreciate your response and cooperation.
Because of your willingness to resolve this issue thus far, your
services have not been interrupted, however this situation remains
unresolved.
While we do consider you ultimately responsible for the use of your
domain name, we understand you cannot guarantee that each and every
client you provide services to will act responsibly. Because of this Go
Daddy offers a solution that may be a better fit for your particular
situation. We refer to this solution as our "Abuse Enforcement Program".
If you intend to provide services to your clients that involve the use,
or marketing of, your domain name, you must require your clients to
abide by Go Daddy's anti spam policy. These services include, but are
not limited to, the following:
- Affiliate Advertising Programs (aka "clickthru" programs)
- Website Hosting/Email Services (free or paid)
- Multi-Level Marketing Programs
- Independent Contractor Programs
- Web Services Providers (email, hosting, web design)
If you agree to the terms of the "Abuse Enforcement Program" outlined
below, Go Daddy will accept, in good faith, your commitment as proof of
your desire to correct this problem and enforce our anti-spam policy.
"Abuse Enforcement Program" terms are as follows:
1. Authorize GoDaddy.com to charge a $100 non-refundable administration
fee* to the credit card on file for your account. This fee is used to
cover the costs of responding to or "cleaning up" the outstanding spam
complaints Go Daddy has received against your domain name so far.
2. Terminate the services you are providing to the organization
circulating the mailing that has generated the complaints we have
received.
3. Reply to this message with a statement that you will terminate the
services of any future client that violates Go Daddy's No Spam policy.
4. Provide both a primary contact and secondary contact email address.
In the future, Go Daddy will send a "warning notice" to these contact
addresses if we receive additional spam complaints. If you respond to
these "warning notices" within 5 days no action will be taken against
you. This will allow you handle the problem on your end preventing any
interruption of service to your clients that are not at fault. Go Daddy
itself has a similar agreement with our upstream provider AT&T.
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If this solution is not agreeable to you, or you are unable to comply
with these terms, you can transfer your domain name to another
registrar. We require that you pay a $29 administration fee be fore
allowing you to proceed with your transfer. Again this fee used to
offset the costs of "cleaning up" the outstanding spam complaints
against your domain name.
You will need to provide the following in your reply:
1. A statement that you will initiate the transfer of your domain name
to a new registrar within the next 24 hours.
2. Authorization for GoDaddy.com to charge a $29 administration fee* to
the credit card on file for your account.
blah blah blah...
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WTF?!? Now don't get me wrong, $100 is nothing. But being held to ransom like this is fucking ridiculous... I have loads of domains with Godaddy, I'm a long term customer. I don't expect to be treated like this.
What would you do? Pay the $100? Pay the $29? I'm a man of principles and I think even if I lose a few K, I'd rather do that than pay up. Or maybe I'm being stubborn and stupid? Am I over reacting?
I know whatever happens, first thing tomorrow I'm transferring all of my others out of Godaddy and I'll never recommend the cheap bastards again.
Your thoughts?