Hosting for a controversial blog?

  • I’m looking for a WordPress-friendly host for my political blog, and have a rather strange situation I’d like to ask about first.

    I was covering case involving a fathers-rights guy who was in court to get custody of his daughter. The man had been on the Geraldo Rivera show and sought out a lot of media attention. I reported on the case, but included all the information in the public record, including the other side’s story and the fact that there were pending criminal allegations against the man. He didn’t like that, apparently.

    What happened next was very strange: he (in Georgia) called my host company (in Minnesota) and demanded my personal information so he could “serve?? me with court papers. Of course this was an empty threat, but it turns out this man has a history of telephone harassment, stalking, and empty legal threats. Anyway, my host properly told the man that of course if they actually received a subpoena they would turn over my information. Since there was no chance of the guy really being able to get a subpoena, he began harassing my host company by telephone, trying to get the personal information of the staffers there, making vague personal threats – all to force them to take down my blog. After two days of this, my host finally just insisted that I remove any posts on my blog that referred to the man.

    From a personal standpoint I understand my host’s reaction, but the net effect is that I cannot follow and report on this case. My coverage was valuable and garnered significant positive attention for my little blog. And since the case is ongoing, I would like very much to continue reporting on it.

    So, I’m looking for a new host, one who has some sort of policy in place for dealing with the kind of silly harassment.

    Any suggestions?

Viewing 14 replies - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)

  • Firstly, I’d say your host needs more of a back-bone. If every host gave into some crackpot calling in to have some tantrum, than there would be no internet!

    Perhaps linking to and posting things on this subject on something like blogger might be an option. I’d like to hope that the whacko wouldn’t even be able to get past the receptionist at google and even if he did, I’m sure “the lawyers” would step on him rather quickly.

    But don’t go with any other option – just find a new host. If this company which YOU pay to host your website, who YOU pay to excercise your freedom of expression* can’t deal with some publicity seeking media whore, than you really have to ask yourself, why are YOU paying them? Notice the theme with YOU are paying them, not him, YOU!

    I’m sure you can find a host who has some resolve not to flip-flop! Don’t take poor treatment from your webhost, they have NO reason whatsoever to ask you to remove it – if it was pornographic or hate speech or anything illegal, fine, but it’s not! If this host of yours had a brain, they’d not ask you to do anything about it, they’d call your law enforcement agencies and have crackpot charged.

    Stand your ground, we’re behind you!
    Michael.

    *Just so no one accuses me of being on some pro-America rights crusade, I am Canadian ??

    I agree with niziol… Go with a big boy, Blogger/Google. They have well-paid lawyers and are not easily intimidated.

    Interesting. I happen to know of the person you’re talking about. And knowing that, found your current blog (content removed, google cache still available), consequently able to locate your current hosting co.

    I am in Minnesota, and will call them Monday to lodge a complaint on your behalf (free speech issues). It wont matter, but still.

    Thread Starter drvs

    (@drvs)

    Thanks for the support!

    Hmmm….I have a WordPress blog with my own domain name and theme, design, etc. I looked at Blogger and don’t see any information about hosting something like that. I’m not interested in a “Blogger” style blog. I just want to transfer my existing website to a new host — but still WordPress, everything the same.

    Honestly, if you cant seem to locate a host in US that has any nuts — look outside the US.

    For starters, theyre apt to be less intimidated, and second, it makes him have to pay heavy long distance fees to call.

    Maybe GoDaddy? I have no experience with them as a hosting solution – so I can’t say if they’re any good – but the president of GoDaddy is a staunch advocate of free speech & domain privacy, and has stirred up controversy on his own blog numerous times. (bobparsons.com)

    I can say that I’ve never had any problems with any service of GoDaddy’s I have used.

    Just the first thought that popped into my head reading your tale.

    I would personally recommmend bluehost.com after having been hosted with them about 8 months now I’m very happy.

    Please don’t harass me if you go with them and decide you are disappointed. ??

    While, I wholeheartedly agree to the cause of “free speech” and do back the poster’s right to public opinion I find it out of place here.

    On pretence of looking for reliable host we were presented with a really “controversial” case.

    Several similar posts have been closed for reasons expressing opiniated issues on whatever subjects that may induce arguments which should take place in personal blogs.

    The poster should complain at the court, not at a support forum.

    I would give Pair a shout in a case like this. I see them recommended all the time by serious webmasters. I haven’t used them, but I understand they are very established. See what they have to say before moving though (or any host that you want to try).

    I would report back here with whatever hosting company you end up using and that supports you against this attack. Some of us bloggers and webmasters like to support those companies in return ;).

    I agree completely with Kassad, that these forums should not be used for political/religious/social etc commentary and opinions, but for things related directly to WordPress. This idea of freedom of speech/the press/opinion, whatever you’d like to call it, is not only directly related to WordPress, it goes to the very heart of how and why WordPress exists.

    WordPress and blogs exist for express purposes, of presenting our opinions, views, thoughts, basically nearly anything we wish to express. The simple solution to this is either to say ‘no’ to the host when they ask to take down content that may be “controversial?? yet completely legal in the country where the author and host reside or simply find a new host.

    It is important that these types of issues, issues that are completely and unequivocally linked to WordPress, in fact linked to its very existence, be discussed. Do you think that if WordPress, as an example, was created by people and based in a country like China, that if the Government would even allow WordPress to continue, that it would not be subject to the same or even harsher rules of censorship that corporations like Google and Microsoft are also subject to? If WordPress would be forced to turn over details of people who use its forums, download the software and even the details of who developed what to the Government upon “request??, how many would still be willing to use and further the development and evolution of this software?

    I know that scenarios like those which exist in China or North Korea or any other society under suppressive regimes are probably very unlikely in North America, Europe or Australia, but this proverbial ‘slippery slope’ does exist and the community ought to take notice of issues like this and stand behind the values and the objectives of what WordPress encompasses, both the technical aspects and the more abstract things which have allowed WordPress to grow and take root in so many places across the world.

    Being complacent on issues is all fine and well, but let us not be hypocritical or blind, anyone who uses WordPress or posts on these forums has to embrace the fact that every person has opinions and that we should all have a right to express those without fear of persecution or censorship. Standing idly by while censorship is taking place, not offering (at the very least) our moral support to those who are censored illegally make us just as guilty as the censor himself/herself.

    Censorship of legal content is not free speech or expression and without that, there would be no WordPress. I can’t think of any issue more worthy of our support and more proper for discussion.

    Michael.

    He just asked for host advice. The very nature of wordpress is that ideas are easily and quickly expressed. To ask which hosts will allow that without yanking your service at the first bump isn’t out of line. He’s not discussing the content here, merely asking for advice on the hosting component. WordPress provides links to hosts, and even has partnerships with many. It would ridiculous to say you can’t discuss who might be a reliable host for your wordpress blog, no matter what the criteria. For me, WordPress is about empowerment to publish. Well, you need a host for that!

    A little tolerence would go a long way here.

    Thread Starter drvs

    (@drvs)

    Kassad, you’re misunderstanding me. I posted my question here because I’m specifically looking for a WordPress-friendly host. I’ve been looking at hosting solutions for a week, but without consulting the blogger community, it’s hard to know if a given host is really a WordPress-friendly place and a blog-friendly place.

    The reason I briefly outlined the controversy was so that people here would understand that I’m not a sex site, a hate speech site, or anything like that. I mean, if I were reading this forum and someone posted that their host had insisted they remove material, I would automatically think, “geez, what was the guy posting?” I would assume it was something illegal or nasty or libelous. Hence, I wanted to explain clearly that my posts were not of that nature. The problem was that my little host company was intimidated by a nutty guy.

    I’m certainly not asking anyone to weigh in on the controversy. I just want some recommendations for good solid hosts, preferably large ones, who are friendly to WordPress and blogging.

    Thread Starter drvs

    (@drvs)

    For example: some people say DreamHost is great. But there’s another thread that says stay away! Lots of people say Blue Host is great. But on one thread, I saw some stuff about Blue Host that curled my toes.

    I want a reliable host who understands WordPress, has a large and friendly staff, good tech support, and policies in place for weird stuff like what happened to me. The ideal would be one who already hosts political and news blogs and so is accustomed to people occasionally not being happy with how a story is reported.

    I use A Small Orange and I’m very happy with them.
    WordPress suggests Yahoo (I think) for hosting so you may want to check them out also.

Viewing 14 replies - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
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