In July of 2018, George Kirikos, an advocate for the rights of domain name registrants and domain investors (and self-described “long-time critic of ICANN”), posted a poll on Twitter asking people if he should start a blog. Nearly 150 people voted, with more than 2/3 choosing the “definitely” option:
I’m considering finally launching a blog to provide my insights into the world of domain names and #ICANN in long form (more than 280 characters!). If I launched such a blog, would you read it? #uncensored #unvarnished #FreeSpeech
— George Kirikos (@GeorgeKirikos) July 14, 2018
I was just informed that George moved forward and launched a blog on the aptly named FreeSpeech.com domain name. In his first article, George explains what FreeSpeech.com will offer:
“I have launched this new blog today at FreeSpeech.com, in order to better educate the public about domain names, internet governance, ICANN, free speech, and other topics.”
George’s second blog post warns readers that “ICANN Threatens to Restrict Participation Rights of critic George Kirikos.”
As George wrote, he has been a regular contributor on ICANN working groups for many years. His Twitter account is a wealth of information, but obviously Twitter limits the amount of information that can be shared at one time. By launching and operating FreeSpeech.com, George will be able to reach a wider audience to share his thoughts and insights. If George’s participation at ICANN is restricted, George will be able to use FreeSpeech.com as his pulpit.
I hope FreeSpeech.com is added to the blog list at Domaining.com. George’s advocacy has helped domain registrants, and I think it is important for domain investors to understand George’s take on how issues being discussed at ICANN could impact our rights.
Amazing that a “Free Speech” blog has no comment area or did I miss it?
I’m still figuring out WordPress, and may enable comments at some point. When I last tried to launch a WordPress site many years ago, it got hacked before it even launched, so it’s mainly a security issue. Plus, with GDPR and all that, I don’t want to have to worry about that.
Folks can always join the conversation via Twitter, etc. (i.e. I’ll post all the blog posts via my Twitter account).
George, thanks for doing this. You might want to consider bypassing dealing with WP’s own commenting mechanism and potential spam issues and dealing with things like Akismet. Instead, you might like using Disqus with it. One advantage of that is a lot of people are already going to have Disqus accounts and be very comfortable with and like using it. Additionally, since there can still even be the possibility of Disqus itself pulling the plug on free speech commenting (which I believe it has done in recent months), I’m fairly certain they have an option for all comments to be backed up or mirrored on your own server beyond their control, and I would think there are also probably some tools for migrating them to another medium if it ever came to that.
Just one thought but there may be much better options out there too. Disqus is very easy and appealing to use, however, at least for commenters.
PS I’ve used it as a commenter for years myself, and have sometimes considered using it as a publisher too. It’s probably doubtful they would ever pull the plug on any site like yours vs. real hot potato stuff.
Oh and by the way, how’s everyone liking that “transition” from US oversight I warned so much against now? 😉
Oh and by the way, how’s everyone liking that transition from US oversight I warned so much against now? 🙂
I guess it does but a bit obscure.
lmk if interest in:
freespeach.net
freespeech.org
What a monster of a domain name! I hope people will appreciate it. Good luck!
Good luck George (another Canadian)!
I first entered the world of domain names in 2001. I’m almost certain that even prior to discovering DNF I had already come across the online activity, advocacy and commentary of George Kirikos and liked it from the start. I’m so glad that he is publishing on this great and excellent domain name now, and am also able to confirm that this domain is good and useful for matters pertaining to free speech and so much more. 😉
George blogging it is a true gift for the domain industry.
Welcome aboard:
https://www.domaining.com/feed/freespeech/
PS: And yes, what a nice domain!
Being I’m from Virginia Beach, I like FreeBeech better…either that or NudeBeech. Seriously George, Good Luck!
is it legal to curse at people?
my tesla ran over couple of pot holes at Walmart parking lot and i cursed out 2 Walmart managers today and told them I will donate $200 to fix the pot holes cause they kept saying they are waiting for city approval…and it’s been over a month…
Anyways, is it legal to curse at people…
isn’t that free speech?
Freedom and Free Speech are great hallmarks of a civilized society.
But never forget:
Your Freedom ends where my nose begins.
Looking forward to it George, it is a great idea. (without comments I suspect it will struggle to get traction though-people gotta have their say).
I talked to George via phone earlier today for some additional context about the latest developments around ICANN GNSO governance. It is not a good day when someone as intelligent, vigilant and thoughtful as George is barred from participating in what is intended to be a democratic and transparent process. I sincerely hope that Keith Drazek (Verisign) and team immediately reverse course on this decision soon with no notable decisions being taken in the interim. The alternative would be a dangerous precedent on the way to tyranny. For the sake of the sustained viability of the global domain name economy, let’s not go there.