GoDaddy.com, one of the most popular domain name registrars, has come out in support of SOPA – The Stop Online Piracy Act.
Adam Savage, of Mythbusters fame, eloquently summed up SOPA in his Popular Mechanics column:
“[SOPA] would allow for the wholesale elimination of entire websites, domain names, and chunks of the DNS (the underlying structure of the whole Internet), based on nothing more than the “good faith” assertion by a single party that the website is infringing on a copyright of the complainant. The accused doesn’t even have to be aware that the complaint has been made. ”
SitePoint urges everyone to VOTE WITH THEIR DOLLARS and transfer your domain names away from GoDaddy, to another registrar such as NameCheap (try SOPAsucks as a promo code) or eNom.
Here’s how to Transfer Your Domain From Godaddy:
1. Make sure your domain name is at least 90 days old
2. Cancel your “Domains By Proxy” registration, if applicable by logging into DomainsByProxy.com.
3. Unlock your domain name (login, go to Domain Manager, Select All Domains, click Locking icon, uncheck Lock domains, click OK).
4. Ensure you are not using GoDaddy’s NameServer (ns.domaincontrol.com) for your domain(s).If you are, switch these to the name servers provided by your hosting company.
5. If an AUTH code is required by your new registrar, go to “Tools” -> Exportable Lists, click on Add New Export, Select All My Domains as the list type, check the Authorization codes box, generate the exportable list.
6. Follow the instructions by your new registrar for transferring in domain names
7. Go back to GoDaddy and check “Pending Transfers” (this might take a few hours to show up), check all the domains and click ACCEPT.
Goodbye Godaddy! Good riddance!
Matt MickiewiczMatt is the co-founder of SitePoint, 99designs and Flippa. He lives in Vancouver, Canada.
