You Can Disagree, But Be Respectful

I read a thread on a domain forum this evening that really pissed me off. Two people were highly critical of my friend Ron Jackson, and they were downright rude in their criticism. I think that people have the right to be critical of others (and I encourage it sometimes), but the rudeness that was shown was unprofessional and undeserved. Ron was one of the first (if not the first) domain journalists in the business, and he continues to publish news and articles that help the domain industry reach new audiences.

Ron spends hours upon hours each week writing articles, compiling reports, and interviewing industry professionals. Ron and his wife Diana attend nearly every domain conference, and one or both of them seem to attend every single panel and event, writing notes and taking photographs. All of this is used to produce the most respected, and the most widely quoted domain publication.

Whether you agree with what Ron says or with what any of the industry professionals profiled in DNJournal say, Ron is deserving of all of our respect and appreciation for his hard work. I don’t know how much Ron is compensated for his work via advertising sales, but I guarantee it doesn’t come close to compensating him for the time it takes to produce his publication.

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

14 COMMENTS

  1. Domains have changed my life’s goals and I expect to be full time within 5 years and enjoying a good life…DNJ was one of the first sites I found about domains and was/is HUGE in my success to this point.

    NO site in domainland compares to Rons…any doink that ripps on Ron is clueless.

    In general Ron or no Ron respect is one thing there’s a shortage of on forums.

  2. Not only that but he is not just another blogger writing about domains as a hobby, Ron’s a professional journalist and many of his profiles could stand their own against any cover story similar in INC, Entrepreneur, Fortune and more. In fact, most of the pubs quote HIM as their source.

  3. Yes, I will agree DNJournal is an awesome publication and it still surprises me it is available without a subscription (a la WSJ). In either case I wouldn’t be too worried about a few overly critical domainers. In any large group of individuals there will always be those that overstep the boundaries of what others would consider to be acceptable behaviour. Constructive criticism can actually be productive if delivered properly but often those who criticize never balance their criticism with praise for one’s contributions.

  4. Hi Elliot,

    Not sure which forum you are talking about but in my opinion the 80/20 rule applies to all forums domain related or any other subject.

    The 80/20 rule regarding domain forums is that 80% of the people in them are fools and have nothing constructive or usefull to say EVER and the other 20% contribute with useful INFORMED posts.

    I am interviewing Ron next month for my OzDomainer Podcast as I think he has a HUGE amount of knowledge and wisdom on the subject of domain names and will have a great deal to share with the listeners.

    His blog is one of the few that I read cover to cover when he does a post and his sites http://www.dnjournal.com & http://www.namenewbie.com are the first two sites I always recommend people to read if they are new to domains or domaining.

    He has more knowledge about doamins on the tip of his pinky than most of the people in the forums.

    Wannabes, that all they are!!

    Regards

    Ed
    OzDomainer.com

  5. Probably a couple 17 year old newbie know-it-all bloggers, that have never been to a conference or even met Ron.

    I feel he’s one of the most credible people in this industry. ‘Thanks for your contributions and work Ron.’

  6. Whilst I haven’t seen the specific criticisms you referred to, there
    was a time recently when Ron Jackson’s association with BIDO
    attracted negative comments, which subsequently proved to be
    timely advice.

    Having said that, Ron Jackson has rendered an astonishingly high
    value contribution to this area, for which we are all indebted.
    Following the Leonard Britt comment, I agree that a modest
    subscription would not be out of place to compensate Ron for his hard
    work.

  7. Ron is a credit to the industry. Without him it would not be what it is. Think about how sales prices affect your pricing of domains.. then add in all the informative and useful write ups he provides. Ron is great!

    I also do not know which specific forum this was on, but it was most likely those who feel they can stereotype youngsters as fools who come up with such nonsense.

  8. Even though Ron has pisst me off a few times, snapping a dot US domain on the drop before me. 

    Ron Jackson is the Global voice of journalism within the Domain industry. There are so many domainers from foreign countries with hardly any or no English knowledge at all which use unsophisticated online translating websites just to get a hinch of what Ron is releasing at DNJournal.com.

    He not only has a perfect knowledge of the industry. I am certain if it where not for Ron Jackson, many domainers would still be in the dark of what is happening. Businesses have come together and domainers have opened there doors to others.

    This is the only industry I see giving each other advice and seeing competition also in a positive way.

    Ron is one of the leaders, if not THE leader bringing domainers to far more success than some might think.

    He has all my respect.

  9. Most of the forums this days are full with teens…and over 50% of all members / visitors to the domain forums are from the Asian continent… China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia — people with no money to invest but who are very good at starting up scenes. It is more of a hobby than a business venture. They are not there to learn or to share anything.

    Forum reps.. Forum link spamming…. etc.

    It’s the new “social coolness” thing that has been gaining momentum past few years.

    So obvious… Full of lots of non sense and noise. That is why most of the old schoolers and real professionals of the industry are missing in action — it’s pointless.

    Best,
    Mike

    http://www.wannadevelop.com

  10. > …. but who are very good at starting up scenes ….
    > It’s the new “social coolness” thing that has been gaining
    > momentum past few years.

    Nothing new about it Mike.
    Even back in the old 300 ‘baud’ dialup modem BBS days, the norm
    was for airhead prepubescents with the spelling skills of an amoeba
    to regularly wreck forums. All negativity, nothing positive.
    Contrarians without a clue.

  11. “I feel he’s one of the most credible people in this industry. ‘Thanks for your contributions and work Ron.’”

    Totally agree!!!

    I read the dnjournal.com every bits of it, line by line and I sure learn alot.

    Thanks Mr.Ron Jackson.

  12. Most people really do not understand how hard that guy works. I think Ron tries very hard to be fair, centered, and objective. He goes out of his way to shine a light on others’ accomplishments. Think about all the quality pieces he has done on people within the industry. He shares inspiration through his writing. What have the critics done?

    Most of them can be dismantled in a matter of minutes with a few back and forth posts. But just not worth it.

  13. To Elliot (and all of the commentators), thank you for your support and kind words – that is much appreciated. There’s an old saying (as well as pretty good Eric Clapton album), “There’s one in every crowd.” Unfortunately, in many of the forums there are usually more than one 🙂

    I know that any of you who write your own blogs or post in forums run into this kind of thing from time to time too – there are always going to be a few for whom simple courtesy is a foreign concept.

    In the end, those people hurt themselves more than anyone else. Obnoxious behavior does not make a good impression on anyone and in the end it can only hurt your reputation and your business.

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