Deniz AkลŸimลŸekApr 25
oshy
Do NOT use GoDaddy, don't even visit the site. (I recommend Porkbun, personally)
Apr 24 at 8:38pmWeb
Show threadFlakyApr 24

@ocean

+1 for Porkbun, as a first-time buyer. I have had no issues with them and they've been communicative on major updates (which is why I bought more years on my domain to get that price locked in.)

Show threadG๐ŸฆกMonkeyApr 24
@ocean The worst thing is that this is old news, GoDaddy has been known to do that shit for years
Show threadBaa ๐Ÿ‘Apr 24
@ocean Gonna make are script that replicates considering buying domains constantly to auto buy millions of domains bankrupting GoDaddy in minutes
Show threadBrie ()Apr 24
@Baa @ocean they definitely don't do this every time, there is some sort of criteria for it

that one is pretty easy to verify yourself, just look up a random domain name on godaddy and it probably won't get registered

there are also limits on how much GoDaddy (or anyone else) can do this:

There is a 5 day grace period after a new domain name is registered where a registrar (e.g., GoDaddy) can get a refund on it. That's probably what they're doing here: if you wait 5 days the domain will probably be available again.

They can only get a refund for 10% of the total domains they register, so they can't do this constantly. From what I've heard, before this 10% policy was added, this type of registering domains that people were looking for was even more common.

Random fact that mildly amused me: the 10% limit is from the AGP Policy (from ICANN)
Show threadPxl PhileApr 25
@brie @ocean @Baa still worth the action IMHO. Let them wires glow for nothing until they are annoyed
Show threadNavi   (not at GPN/XXc3/etc.)Apr 25
@brie @ocean @Baa AGP policy, huh? 
Show threadLuminnApr 24
@ocean I think that looking through domain name availability with the command line is a safer way of checking, right?
Show threadEmelia ๐Ÿ‘ธ๐ŸปApr 24
@ocean @Viss alternatively: bankrupt godaddy by tricking them into registering millions of useless domains
Show threadVissApr 24
@thisismissem @ocean i love this denial of service scenario :D
Show threadnothackingApr 24
@[email protected] As a general rule, registrars who's main businesses is domains are a bad choice, especially the ones that do promotions like ".com for 1$".

They are resellers, and must pay nearly the whole 10$/year to the registry (a different company), leading to very small margins. Any extra money to run ads or promotions must come from either:

1. charging you extra money
2. ... or screwing customers.

If you see an ad for your registrar, find another one ASAP.

Even if you don't get screwed, it's just a bad deal: I pay $10.50 for a .com domain (just pennies over registry cost), but godaddy will happy charge you $23. The similarly shitty namecheap charges $15.
Show threadLea de Groot TZ+10Apr 24
@ocean this has been a known risk for decades :( i only ever check domain name availability at the command line, and recommend the same to everyone
$ whois something.com
Show threadDeltaWyeApr 24
@ocean I cannot recommend hosts that are part of NewFold Digital - formerly Endurance International.
Show threadsb arms & legsApr 25
@ocean
Can attest to Porkbun - uncluttered ui, proper API access, decent prices, no BS (yet). Only downside is that it's based in nazi occupied america. Otherwise, they're probably one of the best out there.
Show threadChuffยฒApr 25

@ocean

Porkbun seconded

Show threadEpsiApr 25
@ocean been hearing about this for years

I use namecheap but I really should swap to porkbun
Show thread๐ŸŒด Seph ๐Ÿ’ญ ๐Ÿ‘พApr 25
@ocean Porkbun for the win
Show threadDamage Control BlogApr 25
@ocean Porkbun is nice!
Show threadNoaApr 25
@ocean https://porkbun.com/transfer has guides on how to move over from the big players.
porkbun.com | Domain Transfer

We have some of the lowest prices for domain transfers. We're also awesome and you'll love having your domain names with us.

porkbun.com
Show threadAnne OminousApr 25

@vex

thanks for this!

Show threadAnna Spanner ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿซ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ๐ŸงชApr 25
@vex YESS! Thank you for sharing this - been looking to get away from Squarespace but lack of know how and time was stopping me. Thanks!!
Show threadDinaApr 25
@ocean +1 for Porkbun. Been using them for years. Love them.
Show threadFace ThumbApr 25
@ocean Pro tip: Make a query on godaddy for 20 digit random domains that you have no intention of buying to make them spend needlessly (Although it probably only costs them a dollar or two a year for each domain, but it could add up).
Show threadBaloo UrizaApr 25

@ocean But also, who the fuck is searching domains on a registrar website in 2026 instead of just using whois on the command line?

Like, this was a known problem with GoDaddy in 2006...

I get that the Reddit community is completely not self-aware, but usually there's a self-consciousness to "forgetting shit that's happened within reddit's lifetime" that isn't on display here.

Show threadCairo BragaApr 25
@BalooUriza @ocean known to whom? I'm just learning about it now. you know we are 8 billion humans on this planet, right?
Show threadMรฏkรช ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿฆฏ ๐Ÿ’š ๐Ÿ‘‘๐Ÿ‰๐Ÿ—ก๏ธ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€โšง๏ธApr 25
@BalooUriza @ocean XKCD 1053: If "everyone" knows something by the time they're 30, there are 10,000 people hearing it today for the first time
Show threadLor ๐Ÿ’ฌApr 25
@ocean they have been doing this for years!
Show threadLog ๐ŸชตApr 25
@ocean I can +1 the recommends for Porkbun.
Show threadEli the BeardedApr 25

@ocean

If they are doing that, seems like a good attack vector would be everyone search for a domain they don't want, and make Godaddy shell out for it.

I just looked for and hit the heart button on several variations of "dougbizcuts" in dot-com and dot-dog

Show threadDavid G. SmithApr 25
.@ocean Agreed: GoDaddy is trash. THE worst. I migrated to Hover.com years ago, and I canโ€™t say enough good things about them. No B.S. None. I believe theyโ€™re Canadian. Right, @hover ?
Show threadMรฏkรช ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿฆฏ ๐Ÿ’š ๐Ÿ‘‘๐Ÿ‰๐Ÿ—ก๏ธ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€โšง๏ธApr 25
@ocean My girlfriend also recommends Porkbun
Show threadhallunke23 ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆApr 25
Same issue with EuroDNS. EuroDNS offers whois and domain availability search. One of those functions *sometimes* registered a domain that I wanted to have. Result of this was that I could still โ€œregisterโ€ it through EuroDNS for the โ€œregularโ€ price but that price was way too expensive so I tried a different registrar. And that registrar then reported the domain as taken. I was able to reproduce the problem with 2-3 other domains that ended up being snachted by EuroDNS.
@ocean
Show threadhallunke23 ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆApr 25

Whois for the snatched domains in question is showing random data that makes no sense.

EuroDNS later sold โ€œmyโ€ domain name to GoDaddy which is now trying to sell it for four-figure. Nobody bought it yet.

@ocean

Show threaddiana ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€โšง๏ธ๐Ÿฆ‹๐ŸŒฑApr 25

@ocean

GoDaddy enshitified decades ago. They have the moral compass of a meat grinder.

Show threadkaiaApr 25
@ocean making a script that checks
godaddylicksass dot com
godaddyisbad dot com
godaddycanfckthemselves dot com
Show threadpanuApr 25

@ocean

whois.

Because sometimes the old tools work best.

One should note however that whois has been deprecated by ICANN since 2025-01-28 in favor of RDAP [1].

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHOIS

WHOIS - Wikipedia

Show threadsuzuneApr 25

@ocean Never! Never use any website to check domain availability. They will make a reservation for a long time. It is common, well known and it is nothing to complain about.

Use the command line utility whois on Unix/Linux systems. It's the easiest thing on earth.

Just type `whois example.com` and hit return.

Show threadNumber6 Apr 25

@ocean

I registered and signed up for a site for a family member as a birthday present. Fortunately I used a unique address. A decade later, I get the worst kind of fraudulent spam on that address. Either GoDaddy sold the address to criminals, or their disgruntled employees did.

Show threadMianderApr 25
@ocean You can check availability on ICANN.org ยฟwhy do anything else?
Show threadSnep Apr 25

@mian @ocean

> why do anything else

Getting a feeling for the price domain registrars offer a domain for is often also important for the choice of which domain to go with, as some seemingly not special sounding domains can come back as "special" or "desirable" or something and cost a good chunk more

Show threadBilly SmithApr 25

@ocean

Don't search for a Domain Name unless you are ready to buy it there and then.

While you are looking at it, a lock is put in place on the domain, but as soon as you cancel the transaction, that domain gets added to the public list of searched-for-domain-names that are still available.

There have been bots harvesting domain names from those lists since at least 1999.

I lost two interesting band-names due to this... :(

Show threadFonantApr 25
@ocean Can recommend @beasts in the UK for domain registration. They know what they're doing ๐Ÿ‘
Show threadhallunke23 ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆApr 25

This isn't the only instance of GoDaddy doing shit.

I used to be a GoDaddy customer and I had issues with CNAME records. When I tried to change those, GoDaddy sometimes performed my update. Sometimes not. Customer service wasn't helpful. This was the point when I moved my DNS elsewhere. And later, I also moved my domains.

@ocean

Show thread6Apr 26
@ocean wait what AGAIN??? they like literally got sued for that exact thing in the past, iirc
i see daddy still goes abusive route
Show threadBobApr 27
@ocean the solution is to spam random sites on godaddy
Show threadMy name is GordoMay 3

@ocean They've been doing this for years. Super shit registrar.

I also wholly recommend Porkbun. Over all, a great user experience. Upsells are minimal, and mostly during checkout where they belong, and unlike GoDaddy, you can easily set multiple forwarding emails because they're not constantly trying to sell you a 365 subscription.

I've got at least 20 domains with them spanning several years. I believe they were acquired at some point in that time, but it hasn't had any appreciable impact on my experience, except that they began offering .ca domains in the last couple years.

Show thread๊™ฎ ๐„ƒ๐„๐„‚๐„€๐„€๐„๐„ƒ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡งMay 3
@ocean yes, theyโ€™re stealing domains