Comment by exizt88
5 years ago
I don't understand how "collateral damage" is relevant. Aren't people supposed to minimize collateral damage? Namecheap didn't HAVE to do this. The chose to do this in a very particular way, which hurt its customers, especially those opposing Putin's regime and currently fleeing the country.
I don't want to start flame war, and I really feel bad for your situation for for situation of many other people who opposed Putin regime who got majorly f(&d today (my head was spinning last few days as I saw russian economy falling through the bottom while city where I born is shelled), but... actions (or not actions) of Russian population over past 20 years created today's situation (don't tell me that you don't know the common opinion in russia that Ukrainians not really nation and do not deserve their own state). You are unfortunately collateral damage of your own actions, not of those of EU. EU and rest of the world trying to do damage control.
I really do sorry for your situation, I really hope that namecheap will work out with you. I do hope that EU and other countries will extend humanitarian visas to people that try to escape russia now before iron curtain will fall down. Yet, at this moment, it is what it is.
This is what sanctions are. Blocking bank accounts also hurts the people trying to flee, but it's one of the standard sanctions. It seems that everyone is hoping that making the Russian people's lives more difficult will make them stop supporting Putin and he will end the attack because of that. Why a dictator would care at all whether citizens support him or not is unlear to me, so I can't imagine any of this is going to be particularly effective.
I think there's a solid chance that they can twist it in a way that bolsters support for Putin.
He's long said something like "when the West hates me, that's when I'm on the right path." (My paraphrase from memory)
So the population is perhaps primed for another conclusion.
> Putin’s public approval is soaring during the Russia-Ukraine crisis, but it’s unlikely to last
> Approximately 69% of Russians now approve of Putin, compared to the 61% who approved of him in August 2021
https://theconversation.com/putins-public-approval-is-soarin...
How is that any relevant? It's still nearly double Biden's "public approval" and yet...
Historically I can't find any significant example of sanctions that helped topple a dictator from outside (Iran, Cuba, Syria, ...)
It might very well be inflicting lots of suffering on the populations, for no result.
What would be the better alternative? It seems direct military action by NATO/else is far removed from the table. Should the rest of the world remain silent and allow this to continue without any repercussions?
I am genuinely asking, as I have not been presented with any preferable alternatives.
Sanctions did a lot to end apartheid - granted, not a single dictator
I'd be open to making exceptions in cases that are anti-regime.
So after five plus years of being a client, a private company will be deciding whether I'm worthy of their service or not based on whether I got my teeth kicked in during the protest actions for the past few days?
Should I e-mail some photos of my bruises left by police batons on my ribs? Or maybe I should kneel?
This is humiliating, and you know it. You're just making more problems and creating more danger for absolutely innocent people, just in spite.
This is the essence of cancel culture, now on a national level.
> This is the essence of cancel culture, now on a national level.
We need to lose that term. It's not cancel culture to decide who you do and don't want to associate with, or do business with. That's freedom. The people being rejected only think their own freedom matters. Unless they are a protected class, that simply isn't true.
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Sadly its either these actions or tanks. And if the west would send tanks to Ukraine it'd be WW3. Its the lesser evil now sadly.
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I cannot shake the weird feeling that in the united states almost everything is left to the free market, even sanctions.
It's a shitty enough situation that some of those things would seem to be necessary in order to persuade your service provider to keep service up. Automatically billing your credit card for a few years doesn't really say as much.
It's not even spite. Spite at least has some emotion in it. This is lazy virtue signaling of the kind that sounds impressive when you've been bought enough drinks to forego further explanation of who this is actually helping.
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How do you reconcile your actions with your claims of protecting free speech and the First Amendment? (https://www.namecheap.com/blog/internet-freedom-the-state-of...)
Where do you get off reneging contracts and fleecing people of their money based solely on longitude and latitude and TLD?
Independent of my feelings on this - how is doing exactly what the contract states reneging?
> Namecheap expressly reserves the right to deny, cancel, terminate, suspend, lock, or modify access to (or control of) any account or any Services (including the right to cancel or transfer any domain name registration) for any reason (as determined by Namecheap in its sole and absolute discretion), including but not limited to the following: <SNIP MORE OF THE SAME>
from - https://www.namecheap.com/legal/universal/universal-tos/
Those terms of service documents that no one reads are part of, if not all the of the contract. Most service providers have the same (effectively anyway) clause in them. They also have clauses that allow them to modify their terms of service any way they want.
Unless someone has a different, specifically negotiated contract with the company that states otherwise - this is not a violation rightly or wrongly. This is why a lot of B2B involves contract negotiation that takes a long time, those businesses can't tolerate the instability of a contract that can be terminated or changed on a whim.
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The first amendment makes speech protected from state action. The government of the United States of America is bound by law to not suppress the political speech of its citizens. I don't think it is relevant to international boycotts, in letter or in spirit.
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> Where do you get off reneging contracts and fleecing people of their money based solely on longitude and latitude and TLD?
They’re terminating their contract, not reneging.
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I don't think it's possible for a private company to implement a process that can provide "anti-regime exceptions" though. Would you request evidence of anti-regime activity?
(Edited for clarity)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_foreign_agent_law
The best|worst situation here would be if NamecheapCEO would think this is how it should be. I would laugh my ass off on this hypocrisy.
Why not just migrate the domains at that point and be done with it?
I understand the arguments about individuals and how it could be a burden with all that's going on, but a private company? What's the argument?
I find what Russian government doing completely disgusting and savage. I'm totally against this war. Any war for that matter.
I have many domains at Namecheap and I will not be able to afford transfer them out due to financial situation.
Is there any way I can still keep domains at Namecheap? Which cases are anti-regime?
Please consider: you might loose some domains. Ukrainians are losing their lives.
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> Is there any way I can still keep domains at Namecheap?
Use a Russian registrar. Or leave Russia. This sucks. War sucks. But I don’t see how anyone can continue doing business in Russia while maintaining a clean conscience.
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A lot of sites (with domains in non-RU tld) that coordinate, help, inform people about what's really going on are under great pressure from Putin's regime. Sites are getting blocked, people are getting fined and jailed.
Now you are joining this effort on behalf of Putin. Good job, товарищ! Please report to Russian embassy to get your 30 silver pieces.
That sounds very "you're either against us or with us".
The middle ground is an infinitesimal wide line between Russia and Ukraine called 'the border', and more accurately the line is right now around Russia, Belarus and Chechnya soon to follow. If you are on the other side of that line then you will suffer economically, but not nearly as much as when you are inside Ukraine where you could very well lose your life.
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If you're an economic actor in Russia & aren't actively aiming to end the current regime, you are the target. It's not a coincidence. Invoking Orwellian analogies stops making sense when it's a war.
Yes, this happens very quickly in war time.
No, it sounds like a superpower attacked a sovereign country for no other reason than conquest, and we all do what we can to fight back.
you have to think twice and careful before getting involved in political ideas hitting people like me even not Russian. If you want a war with me, I'm ready, it's exactly what you did, you are provoking ordinary people againt you.
The only way to make change is to inconvenience people.