Years ago a long time domainer expressed to me that I was a fool, he had no idea why I was a moderator at Namepros, especially working for free. I said well it’s good to give back and help other people in the industry, though it can be a pain in the butt from time to time. He told me he would never even post on Namepros as it was not worth his time, so moderating was a foreign concept.
I remember a long time moderator Mark, who was on Namepros from the beginning, he mentioned how he could no longer keep names in his signature because people would intentionally click bomb his adsense on some of his developed websites. The goal was to get his account closed as they were pissed about some moderating decisions he made.
Move ahead to the present day and Eric Lyon posted that he is stepping down from his current position and transitioning to another role at Namepros. What’s disturbing is that Eric has had threats on his life and people showing up at his door.
I would like to thank Eric for his contributions to Namepros over the years.
I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone for all their contributions to NamePros over the years. It’s been a rollercoaster ride with a lot of ups and downs, and I’ve really enjoyed it. If it wasn’t for all of you, NamePros wouldn’t be what it is today.
Since 2009, it has been a wonderful experience assisting all of you and shaking some of your hands in person at events/conferences/meetups. I hope to continue doing that as I travel around the United States with my family on the adventure of a lifetime.
However, in August 2017, my family experienced a tragedy of losing our house, cars, and worldly belongings to the Hurricane Harvey floods. Since then, my time has been more limited/restricted, and I haven’t been able to dedicate as much time to NamePros as I used to. Fortunately, due to the great moderation team that we have in place, things have kept operating smoothly and most members haven’t noticed how much less I’ve been working. We have a great team of moderators who have stepped up over the past few months and kept this ship full-steam ahead and growing.
In addition to my time availability, I have received death threats from scammers we’ve caught over the years, and I’ve had people show up unannounced at my residence (even as late as 11 PM) recently. This may not have been as big of a concern when I was single; however, I have a wife and toddler now that do not need to be subjected to this type of safety hazard.
The majority of people that I’ve met online are professional, kind, and respectful. Unfortunately, it only takes a few crazy people (it only takes one, really) that get set off or caught trying to scam someone, and they could seek (and have sought) to harm me or my family.
It’s sad and unfortunate that I have to be concerned for my family’s safety based on previous experiences with troublemakers threatening, stalking, coming to my residence, using my family in their unfounded slanderous attacks, etc., but now that we are going to be traveling more in a motorhome, security is an even bigger concern for my family’s safety, especially since we are all in a smaller, confined area without as much protection (no concrete walls to safeguard us).
While I take it day by day in keeping my family safe and building/adapting to a new lifestyle for us, I feel that I should move from community administration to another department with a more flexible time schedule. This will allow my family and me to focus more on getting everything situated that we need to on our new life journey.
A change in atmosphere and departments will be good for me, and I’ll be officially transferring from “Community Admin” to “Member Services” on March 23, 2018, to better reflect my current role and time spent working on NamePros. Fortunately, members won’t notice much of a difference thanks to our incredible team, and I’ll still be here to help you and answer questions. I love NamePros, and I am not leaving you; I am just moving to another department that fits better with my hectic schedule, new lifestyle adjustments, and safety concerns.
With the above said, NamePros has decided to eliminate the single-person admin roll. For admin-specific matters, please use the Contact NamePros Management section, and for all other matters, our member services and moderator team (me included) will look forward to assisting you.
Thanks for understanding,
Eric Lyon
WOW!!! what the fuck, such a pathetic industry. gl Eric.
Eric is a true professional and a domain and internet industry ASSET! I am sure he will do great in his new role and help to make NamePros even better! Best of luck my friend!
All the best Eric, screw Namepros go build out your own site.
There are some real dangerous losers in life. Stay safe Eric
Thats horrible. So many great people in domaining and all it takes is 1 or 2 nutjobs to put such a damper on an entire community.
Some sick fck showing up to your house at 11pm because of whatever reason is scary shit. Do what is best for your family Eric, and get your FOID card.
Youve been an incredible help over there at NP and in domaining in general and you do deserve to make a living in this industry. Hopefully, wherever you end up, you and your family will be happier.
PS
I will leave this post with a warm fuzxy…
I still think one of the most shining moments of good in domainers is when everyone in our domaining community came together to help you and your family out after the hurricane. That was very cool.
So sad to hear this…Hoping that Eric and family soon feel safe and have peace of mind. Blessings to them.
Wow. Yes, do make sure you have some guns. You can forgo that when you’re single if you want, but not now. A minimum of at least one powerful shotgun and one or two handguns, preferably both one revolver and one semi-automatic. And this is just a recommended minimum. If you haven’t been into guns yet there are great useful videos about these matters, though now that YouTube just banned a lot of them I’m not sure where one would go yet.
What John said, the NRA would never steer us wrong, right?
Put a sock in it, Robert. Nothing to do with that, or them.
Sorry John, can’t seem to find my socks but I actually think having lots of guns around a small child is a brilliant idea. Keep up the great advice.
Yes Robert, it is a brilliant idea. Not only that, but also the best responsible and sensible idea when done responsibly and when one has a family to protect. One may even wish to say the only responsible and sensible idea in this day and age, notwithstanding any personal aversion to guns or “charmed” and fortunate trouble-free life by divine providence while being gun-free. And although I have not always been fond of everything Eric posts about our common field of interest, I think I can be “forgiven” for thinking he is most likely the kind of sensible and responsible guy that can and would go about this in the sensible and responsible way that apparently most already do.
We agree on Eric, he’s an intelligent guy and glad he’s in our industry. However, statistics show that guns in the home are FAR more likely to result in an accidental shooting or suicide than be used in a home defense against an intruder. You can load up for the zombie apocalypse or potential takeover by a facist regime but don’t fool yourself into thinking society is better off for it.
Assuming such statistics are “accurate” on the surface, they may be flawed or inaccurately reflect the reality of the matter.
Whenever I have heard reports of such accidents, I don’t recall a single time when it did not include keeping guns at home in an irresponsible and non-sensible manner. I’m sure the opposite does happen too, but I’m not familiar with such occurrences.
We know that there is no such thing as no risk in life, and some risks are worth taking or far outweigh other risks. I’m sure that if you do not engage in driving and possessing automobiles, you are far less likely to be killed or injured or do so to others in car accidents, for instance.
If you have been fortunate to live life in a bubble and avoid such things, it is likely to affect your perspective on the matter.
In the case of Eric Lyons here, he has already had incidents. I would suggest that most certainly changes the equation completely.
Risks, accidents and tragedies notwithstanding, our particular society is better off when responsible, well intended and law abiding citizens are allowed to be armed in order to defend themselves and their loved ones, and on occasion others as well. It is the unfortunate realism of living in this real world. Things may work differently in other societies with respect to guns, but it is not realistic for our society because of all the facts and history of the matter. Some reforms regarding laws and regulation may be in order, but people need their Second Amendment right to exercise according to their own discretion.
I wish all gun advocates were as reasonable and eloquent as you John, the debates would be far more productive. While you and many others are most certainly careful and safe with guns and a lot less likely to experience a tragic outcome, the numbers don’t bear this out at a macro level. Gun deaths in the US are amoung the highest in the developed world. Wide and mostly uncontrolled access to firearms is the main cause of this. The vast majority of Americans are in favor of reasonable gun control and fortunately we may be seeing the pendulum shift their way. It will be a long road. This should not affect seemingly reasonable people like yourself though, which is the way it should be.
P.S. And in case anyone is not aware, this general topic is what Vito also meant by “get your FOID card” above.
Yes John, the U.S. Constitution is beautifully written..
Are we agreeing, Aaron, or is this more like Robert there? I don’t know you well enough to be sure but I know that I’ve liked a lot of your online posting work before.
John – Comments are not always clear, my bad….We are in absolute agreement. Thank you for defending the Constitution.
That would explain all the amendments.
With Amendment 16 being the worst.
I am with you there, I keep them ready.
(y)
I have had 3 stallking incidents over the years and the last left my grill propane tank gas going also cutting my christmas lights. When you coded 2K sites over time you kind of meet a lot of people.
I’m jealous of your new found freedom, Eric. Enjoy it and don’t look back 🙂
That really sucks.
I’ve been threatened with bodily harm twice over twenty years, once over a domain a guy lost in a GoDaddy auction that was only $22. It got really nasty. Another time at a Huddle House restaurant when a friend and I had a great conversation with a guy and a girl at another table and when he asked me what I did I told him i bought and sold domains he came over to my table and got a few inches from my face and told me what he thought of domainers. I guess he had had a previous bad experience. He was in an expensive-looking cardigan sweater so I told him I’d take all his money away from him if he touched me. He left huffing and puffing.
In Texas, if you put the NRA decal in front of your door and a non Trespassing sign, you can legally do what you have to do ( you know what I mean) ..to protect your family and your property.
The NRA will send the best lawyers to protect you.
Nobody should be threatened for this “BullS” BS domain hobby industry.
Good luck and stay safe
Get your own forum and get all the money for yourself.
non Trespassing –No Trespassing SIgn
Sorry to hear, Eric. You certainly didn’t need more trouble but you know what they say, “When it rains, it pours.” Hopefully the idiots will just stop bothering you now and the sun will come out. Enjoy your travels!
I’m sorry to what you and your family have endured, but pray for your continued protection and blessings upon your family. Also, best of wishes with new role. I know you’ll greatly succeed. 🙂
I also hope all the best for Eric Lyon. He went out of his way to help me with a small problem once. I always wonder: who are the freaks (not clinically sick) that threatens, even politicians, they dislike? And a seemingly decent guy like Eric Lyon is beyond me.
Sincerely, Rolf Sonne Rasmussen
Wow more gun crap, so sad for the mindset that seems to thrive on this option. Good luck Eric!
Well that’s one point of view, and a good place to post this video I just came back to add.
Four years old, but this is a good sensible video on guns for home defense: https : // www . youtube .com/watch?v=xfpMEin8D4c
Whatever you do, do *not* just have a semi-automatic pistol at home. They can jam. Similar concern with pump action shotguns. Best to have at least one revolver along with anything else.
🙂
The never ending issue of the internet
?
This post was not about pro or anti gun views
Stay on topic
Posts will be deleted if they continue
Eric is a great guy, really cares about the community and clearly dedicates a ton of time. All the best to him and his family, sorry to hear he has had to deal with that stuff.
Best of luck moving forward Eric and family!
Sadly, this makes NamePros.com sound like an awful place to hang around. I don’t even remember DigitalPoint.com being that bad, and it wasn’t good. For something like what has been mentioned to happen even just one time is bad enough, but for uncomfortable incidents to happen multiple times, serious enough to worry you about the general welfare and safety of yourself and your family; not good. That is a shame. Best wished to Eric in whatever he does.
The domain name industry is infested with backstabbing crooks, from ICANN to virtually every registrar and all stops in between.
Forums are cesspools where domainers selling to domainers rear malignant deformities of spirit and initiative.
The ‘first to the trough’, circa 1995-1999 .com, one-word generic name registrants rule the business, lock, stock, and barrel.
So much so, that any hope of anyone involved in trying to gain a foothold in the industry that refuses to not participate as a mooch in the ‘aftermarket’, buying fuck.com from ‘first to the trough’ and selling it for more, is doomed.
The ‘first to the trough’ have all but set this as a redundancy to ensure the perpetuation of control.
Domainers selling to domainers? Sorry, not interested in forums.
All the best to you and your family, Eric!
Eric and I had our disagreements over the years, but I learned to cherish those times. It was a love hate relationship. I sincerely respect him for always remaining fair, honest, and trustworthy.
He played a significant role in making namePros the best domain name forum on the internet. The future mods have some big shoes to fill.
Eric and family: best of luck in your future endeavors.
Best of everything to you Eric. I could go on all day about the spineless keyboard slime that send death threats. I’ve found that a shiny .357 Mag goes a long way towards peace of mind.
I’m very sorry to hear about this trouble that Eric has encountered while working as a mod on NP. Eric is a total pro and I am sure everyone is glad he is staying at NP.
Into Year 20 or so of the Internet and we’re getting wiser. The halcyon utopia we hoped for…has issues.
With hindsight, the idea that a mod on a public forum like NP would be easily identifiable seems crazy and naive, and definitely a health and safety issue for NP.
Why is this surprising? A thug buys a few domains and having sold 1, becomes an instant self proclaimed domainer. The point I am trying to make is, the so called domain industry is no industry as in being regulated in its veracity of who is and who isn’t a domainer? Any one can sell. Anyone can be a broker. Anyone. Every other industry for the most part is regulated, licensed, has basic industry standards. But domaining? Yes, some dude reads an article on domaining and gets started in the next minute and brings with him all the baggage of their personality in the mix.