Liberty Names of America

Liberty Names of America

is yet another great example of Jerks trying to get a lot of money for nothing.

My wife has a website for her horse business called TopPriorityTrakehners.com. (Trakehner is a breed of horse.) We have this domain registered with 1&1 for $7/year.

Today, I got a letter in the mail from Liberty Names of America saying that my domain was coming up for renewal, and by filling out this form and paying $29/year, I could renew my domain name with Liberty Names of America! what a great deal! I can also get the .org and .net variants of my domain for the same unbelievable price of $29/year!

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

What jerk thought this up? Emailing people and telling them to renew for ridiculous amounts of money. The worst part is that they make the letter look like just a friendly reminder to renew your domain... when actually they are trying to get you to transfer your domain to Liberty Names of America and pay four times the price of 1and1.

And of course they have to have the patriotic name "Liberty Names of America" because they are trying to fulfill the American dream by taking everyone else's money. It just makes me sick: all of the low-life jerks who try to come up with these schemes to trick people into giving them lots of money for literally nothing in exchange.

"Everybody's trying to get filthy rich off of someone else's money." -Big and Rich (Filthy Rich)

I hope this page comes up in Google for "Liberty Names of America" and no one every pays them a dime.
-Ashton Sanders

Network Solutions Rant v2.3

Network Solutions continues to amaze me. I have a client who bought some very good domain names early in the domain rush, and she purchased them at Network Solutions for $35/year (as opposed to $9/year at godaddy.com or $6/year at 1and1.com).

Can Network Solutions Get Worse?

I wanted to forward one of her domains to 301 redirect to another domain, and after a couple clicks I found that it costs $20/year to forward a domain... and if you didn't know... that is normally provided for free.

But Network Solutions Can't get worse than that... Can they?

Yes they can. If you buy a domain at Godaddy, you get 100 email accounts free (or something ridiculous like that). If you want to get email with your Network Solutions domain, it costs $1.34/month for each email account... If you actually ended up using 100 email accounts with Network Solutions, they would charge you $134/month! That's $1608/year for what you normally get for free at any other registrar...

-If you use network solutions, you obviously haven't opened your eyes.
-Ashton Sanders

(P.S. If you are someone who actually likes Network Solutions, please shoot me a message with why that is. If you don't exist, I wouldn't be surprised.)

Funny Email Conversation

Today, I had a very funny email conversation that I felt obliged to share with you. The conversation was with a man named steve who was transferring four domains to me.

If you are not familiar with the process of transferring domains, I will elaborate. It really is a very simple process:

1. You ask your current registrar to unlock the domain, and to send you the authorization codes.
2. When you go to your new registrar and try to transfer the domain, it asks for your authorization codes. You type in the Authorization code, and the transfer begins.
3. Most Domain registrars require one final step, and that is a confirmation email. Your new registrar sends the admin contact for the domain an email saying: "Are you sure you want to transfer this domain?"

So to put it simply:

1. Get Authorization Code
2. Use Authorization Code and begin transfer.
3. Answer Confirmation Email saying that you would like to transfer your domain.

I've already transferred a number of domains from Steve last month, and about a week ago, he emailed me saying that I still had 8 domains to transfer.

I emailed him and asked for the authentication codes, and he sent them. Then I started the domain transfer, and my registrar emailed him the confirmation emails.

I emailed him after a couple of days and said:

Thank you for these authentication codes. I requested the transfer for these four. Did you receive the Four Confirmation email yet?

Apparently that was too complicated and he responded with:

I sent you what I got. Which 4 are you talking about?

... Was my email that complicated? Maybe it was, so I tried to make it as simple as possible:

Hi Steve,

Yes, you sent me the four authentication codes. Thank you for that.

I requested the four domains to be transferred. When I do that, it sends an email to the admin contact (you) to confirm the transfer. The email should be titled: "Transfer of *DOMAIN*.com" or whatever the name of the domain is. Have you received any emails that start with 'Transfer' in the last 2 weeks or so?

Thanks for your help,
Ashton Sanders

This is what I got back:

Okay, here you go... I hope these are the ones. I already sent them Friday at 8/31/2007 1:02 PM. Did you not get that email?

Steve
Attached: Four Domain Authentication Codes

Wow! It would make it much easier if you would read my emails. When I write something in an email, I write it so you can read it and have a better understanding of what I need. To make it as simple as possible, I contacted my domain registrar and had them send the confirmation email again. I withheld my aggravation as best I could, and emailed him back saying:

Hi Steve,

I just had my domain registrar send the confirmation email again.

The only domain we actually need is:
*DOMAIN*.org

You should be getting that email soon,
Thanks,
Ashton Sanders

I guess that was too complicated... as he never responded.

-HaHaHaHa!
-Ashton Sanders

The Problem with Web Developers

This post has been dwelling within me for the past couple days.

I've been trying to find a responsible ASP.net programmer for a three-week project. Unfortunately we have a problem with one of those words: responsible. How do I know they are responsible? How do I know they won't put me off for another project, even though I'm paying them top dollar to do this project right now?

Ask for references... Great, this guy made 50 websites in the last 10 years, and three of them are happy. I guess that means he's responsible.

It's a very tough situation, especially since it is very hard to switch horses mid-stream when you get into the complicated and extensive programming projects.

I think I've heard so many bad guys say this in movies... and I'll go ahead and repeat it.

-"If you want it done right, you got to do it yourself."
-Ashton Sanders

Network Solutions Does It Again...

You may have read my previous rants on Network Solutions. If you haven't, I'll give you a quick run-down.

Network solutions, charges you a lot of money for normally inexpensive services. I'm not talking just a couple more buck; I'm talking six times what I'm paying. I pay $6/year for domain, Network Solutions charges $35/year.

If that doesn't make you hate them, this might:

I got a client who had a domain registered there, and it was about to expire. Instead of paying $35/year, I recommended transferring their domain to a good domain registrar and pay $6-9/year. So I called in to transfer it.

I started the first transfer, and the email was sent to the wrong email address. (My fault.)

So I fixed the WhoIs information, and started the domain transfer request again. Nothing happened... (Network Solutions' fault)

I called in again. Unfortunately, the domain had expired by this time, and they said I'd have to register for a year to unlock the domain. Well I didn't want to pay $35 because they didn't send an email that they should have. Finally after calling three or four times, I got someone who knew what they were doing and unlocked my domain.

I got the approval email, and I approved the transfer. Yeay! Now I only need to wait 7 days to get it to domain transfered. I was about to leave for a couple weeks, but that shouldn't matter. The transfer has already begun, and the domain will be transfered.

Oh wait... my mistake... I forgot how BAD Network Solutions was.

I get back from my trip to find the domain hasn't transfered yet... I call them up to find:

"I'm sorry, but this domain has been transfered to one of our partner companies, and I don't have access to it."

"So basically instead of transferring my domain to a different host, you transfered it to a domain scalper that's going to charge me $1000 to get my domain back..."

Thank You Network Solutions! Keep up your horrible customer service, and America will catch on (slowly, but they will).

-Ashton Sanders

Network Solutions - Ridiculous Web host

Who is a ridiculous web host you ask? Well I'm sure there are lots of answers to that, but here is one good one: Network Solutions.

I'm only going to cover the topic of Domain Registration:

Godaddy: $8.99 /year
1and1.com: $5.99 /year

Network Solutions: $34.99/year

What!! Are you serious?!?! It's not like you can have high-quality Domain Registration. You either own the domain or you don't... Thats it, and they are charging three to six times the price for the exact thing. It's not like being a big name registrar makes you better at registering domains.

Oh but you do get a deal with network solutions if you buy for multiple years. you can get down to $9.99 if you buy 100 years!.

That just makes me sick! I can't believe they get away with that. It's just another example of how easy it is to rip people off on the internet.

-Ashton Sanders

Service Review - Century Tel #3

Century Tel does it again! Yes, if you have ever had Century Tel for an Internet Provider, or have read either one of these posts: Century Tel #1 or Century Tel #2, than you know how low quality Century Tel really is.

At the end of my last Service Review about Century Tel, I finally got disconnected from them, and got Bresnan (for twice the speed and half the price). Unfortunately, I have moved to a ranch in the country, and the ONLY high-speed Internet connection avaiable is... you guessed it... Century Tel. I put off calling them for as long as possible... but the time came, and I had to reconnect to them.

The First Call

I dialed their number as I was desperately searching the internet for another provider. A representative answered the phone with their "My goal is to provide you excellent customer service for your communication needs..." or something like that. I gave them my address for my new house and asked what kind of high-speed internet I could get out there. She said I could get 6MB/sec. Hey, that's not to bad, considering I live in Polson, Montana. (Although I get currently get 8MB/sec with Bresnan.)

Right then I found Quest, who seems to have a sweet deal on DSL Internet, so I tell the Century Tel rep that I'll call them back if I can't find a better deal. Unfortunately I do have to call them back because quest doesn't give service to my area.

The Second Call

I call Century Tel back. This time the rep says I can only get 3Mb/sec.... "WHAT?!?! I just called in and they said I could get 6Mb/sec!"

The Century Tel rep said, "Really? On this address? You had them check this address?... Hmm... let me check... Oh yea look here you can get 6Mb/sec."

Are you serious? Then why did you tell me I could only get 3Mb/sec? I can't see your screen, it's your job to be a representative of Century Tel. But hey, it could be worse... at least I was lucky enough that time. If she was dumb enough to miss that one, maybe I could get an even faster connection... "Can I get the 10Mb/sec?"

"Yes, you can."

I had two reactions to this last statement: 1) AAAAHH!!!! Why won't you just tell me what I have available?! It's not my job to quiz you on all of the different options I have, It's yours! 2) Sweet! 10Mb/sec. I finally have a justification to using Century Tel over all of the other companies who don't suck.

Century Tel Does It Again (Third Call)

I get a call from Century Tel two days later saying that everything has been set up and I can now use my Internet. So I move into my new house, and try to set up the Internet, and surprise, surprise, the Internet doesn't work. I call into their help center, after doing a system and modem reboot. I get a guy who has be reboot my modem a couple more times before telling me that I should just wait a couple more days and then try it again...

Thank you for that suggestion, but I do websites. I only work on the Internet. I can't just wait a couple more days. You said it would be up today, and then called me to tell me that it was all set up, and now you tell me to just wait.

The Fourth Call

I try fiddling with my set up to get it to work for a couple hours to no avail, so I call Century Tel again to see if I could get an intelligent rep. As luck would have it, I get a lady who immediately fixes my problem with a quick username/password. Thank you! I love when bad service gets lucky. My Internet works, and I have 5Mb/sec! It's too good to be true...... literally...

The Fifth Call

This morning dawns on three computers without internet. I check all of the connections, the power, all of the lights are on. I reboot everything and make sure the username/password is in place. I didn't change anything from last night, so why is it broken? I have to call them again.

I get another guy who has no idea what's happening. He has me do the same things over and over, and nothing is working. After a half hour, it finally starts working but I've got 4Mb/sec and it's getting slower.

Whatever. At least I have Internet, and I can get to work.

Century Tel at it's Finest

At about 3:00 in the afternoon, a Century Tel truck pulls up, and a guy fiddles with my wires. He tells me that they dropped me down to 1.5Mb/second because the 6Mb/sec was acting up, and giving them problems... And sure enough, here I am stuck with 1.5Mb/sec.

Summary:

There really is nothing quite like being promised one thing and given another, and on top of that, having customer service reps who have no idea how to read. Century Tel promised me 10Mb/sec and here I am four days, and five phone calls later, with 1.5Mb/second.

I better get a discount on my ridiculously priced service, or yet another Service Review about Century Tel will be coming along soon.

-"Oh, the Importance of Quality Customer Service."

-Ashton Sanders

Internet Scams

Why do people have to be jerks? Why do people feel it is okay to rip of their neighbors? Why do people have to be so stupid?

Those are some philosophic questions that won't necessarily be answered in this blog post... but I might get around to it. =)

About a week ago, I started working with a new client. (Lets say her name was Jan.) We got together, and talked about pricing and domain names, etc. We found and bought a domain name, but my client decided that it would be best to wait 1 week before we actually would start putting together her website design.

(NOTE: There was nothing on her website. Nothing, Zilch, Nada, ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY NOTHING!)

Before the week is up, Jan calls to tell me that she received an offer from "Google" to place her site on the top of the search engines for a cheap monthly fee. She had agreed and "Google" faxed her a contract to sign and send back. Luckily for her, she called me. Here is what the contract said:

Terms & Conditions

Guarantees
Your site will be found as promised (on the first page for: real estate agent polson, properties for sale polson, real estate for sale polson, home for sale polson, mls listings polson) within 3-5 business days upon account verification. In the event that you are not found on the first page, we will correct the placement within 2 business days and provide a pro-rated credit to compensate you for the time your site was not found as promised. *Company Name* reserves the right to modify search terms at any time to enhance overall campaign performances.

Credit Card / Checking Authorization
I understand that this contract is for a minimum period of 12 months and that *Company Name* is authorized to debit my credit card or checking account monthly during the term for the price of $119.00. After 12 months, the authorization will continue on a month by month basis, unless the customer noted above sends a cancellation by fax to *Company Name* International at 1-866-***-****.

Cancellation Policy
All fees paid prior to cancellation are non-refundable.

If you wish to discuss your account with a *Company Name* Representative, peease contact *Company Name* at 1-866-***-****. the event of default of this contract (10 days past due), I will be responsible for the full amount of this agreement.

Wow! They can get my site so good that it will appear on the first page? No... It's called Google Adwords, and the price per click for those keywords are like 5 cents! And NOBODY searches those keywords.

If you type in "real estate agent polson" (the first keyword they mentioned) into the Overture Keyword Selector Tool it will tell you that it "doesn't have any suggestions for those keywords." In other words, so few people search that term, it doesn't have statistics on it.

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

You pay $120 bucks a month to hire a company to start a Google Adwords campaign at 5 cents a click on keywords that nobody searches...

There is only one word for businesses like that: Assholes.

You are not providing any sort of service; you're just pretending to provide a service. You are a teenage prick who thinks that taking advantage of ignorant people is an honest means of making a living...

-Grow Up
-Ashton Sanders