Blacklisting customers?

[Phoenix]

Time to start a few new threads. I've seen a number of posts from a new person who came out of nowhere, both here an on an ISP mailing list I belong to, touting the need for what is clearly a blacklist for webhosting customers.

A number of people are supporting it on both places, and he's apparently got a working model of it up and running on his company's web site.

This is so illegal. Blacklisting people, especially as some of those people could turn out to be others in our industry, is something that falls under antitrust statutes.

A similar setup was developed by the big guys in the ISP world to keep track of smaller ISP's who buy transit from them: The National Telecommunication Data Exchange ntde.com.

It had to be set up as a non-profit foundation, their database is managed by third-party Equifax to prevent collusion-not the companies involved, and it took the approval of the Department of Justice to approve it.

What are you folks' thoughts regarding this? Is it something that should be developed-by going through the proper channels as the ISP's did?

[thecomputerguy]

Well my thoughts are at the moment, I will host ANYONE that pays and follows guidelines, being able to turn a client down, I wish...

No in all respects you can not do that, what if the person was black, we would have a online rodney king. But I do think people should be aware the real reasons people are leaving or being kicked by their host.

I am getting people from a host that is only taking yearly subscriptions, but the clients thinks he is getting out of the biz, now that to me is wrong, but i know the clients and I need the clients...That puts me into a moral delimia..

Maybe the posting makes people look down on me, or not, but this is the truth.

[Phoenix]

I am getting people from a host that is only taking yearly subscriptions, but the clients thinks he is getting out of the biz, now that to me is wrong, but i know the clients and I need the clients...That puts me into a moral delimia..

So, Host A is only accepting customers who will agree to an annual committment, which keeps his churn down, and he refers those who are looking for month-to-month service to you, by telling them he's getting out of the business.

This, my friend, is what is called a 'little white lie'. Instead of telling the month to month folks that he doesn't want to do business with their kind, he apologizes, says he's getting out of the business and gives them a referral to you. You get the account, they get a host, everybody happy.

Except you, who is left with a burden of guilt. I think maybe you should go to the Hosting Confessional, confess your sins and see if Father Tommy will assign you penance and absolution.

For you see, if you tell the customers the truth, you'll have to tell them that Host A considered their business undesirable. No one likes to hear that and they may be angry enough to take their business elsewhere.

The true guilt lies upon the shoulders of Host A, not yours. He should be telling people that he requires an annual contract for hosting, period, and offer a referral to you, if they require month to month hosting.

However, he's taken the low road and is fibbing a bit instead. It's easier sometimes. Sort of like agreeing with your best friend that his new girlfriend is wonderful, when you really think she's possessed by Satan. I did not smirk when he finally broke up with her, but I did buy the beer that night.

Or a dotcom company whose stock options are worthless, their IPOs cancelled, whose CxO's have all jumped ship, and is on the third round of layoffs, but who gives a big rahrah speech full of more meaningless buzzwords than a Dilbert cartoon.

They aren't really about to open the kimono on a new profitability paradigm. They are going to start charging for a service they used to give away free in a desparate attempt to keep from closing their doors forever.

Now, go confess and collect your penance.