GoDaddy really lived up to its bad reputation and recently changed their API rules. The rules are simple: either you own 10 (or 50) domains, you pay $20/month, or you don’t get the API. I personally didn’t get any communication, and this broke my DDNS setup. I am clearly not the only one judging from what I found online. A company this big gating an API behind such a steep price… So I will repeat what many people said before me (being right): don’t. use. GoDaddy.

You are viewing a single thread.
View all comments
66 points

This is what NameCheap does too. It’s freaking stupid. Domain registrations should not be managed by corporations.

permalink
report
reply
14 points

I’m saying this for years, but a) it’s quite late (seems like a 1990s issue) and b) OpenNIC is a bit of a joke atm (but support it anyways)

ICANN never should’ve been a creature of US-NTIA, but of the UN. The US has no right to decide for the digital world how everyone communiticates. No one really should (apart from about stuff like CSAM).

permalink
report
parent
reply
36 points

NameCheap

WOW! I did not know that. I just checked and after a little search:

We have certain requirements for activation to prevent system abuse. In order to have API enabled, your account should meet one of the following requirements:

- have at least 20 domains under your account;
- have at least $50 on your account balance;
- have at least $50 spent within the last 2 years

$50 in last 2 years is not much, but for those who renew for many years, it is still stupid.

Ironically, Namecheap is what the people in https://github.com/navilg/godaddy-ddns/issues/32 migrated to!

I really wish that domain registration was done in a different way, but even in current scenario, gutting features for such a basic service to extract a few bucks and risking losing customers…?

permalink
report
parent
reply
9 points

These are ancient holdovers. Nowadays DNS hosting with API is a dime a dozen. You may have to pay for it occasionally but it’s not going to be even close to $20/mo.

permalink
report
parent
reply
12 points

$20/month for a service that anyway is low traffic (especially for hobbyists) is a completely insane price. Even more insane is that their cheapest subscription still doesn’t offer any API access. I agree anyway, but are these staying in business just because they have a consolidated market share? Do they have access to more TLDs? I don’t know, I am genuinely confused. I have absolutely no reason whatsoever to even think of using GoDaddy again.

permalink
report
parent
reply
6 points

That can’t be right. I only had two domains (one now) and I’ve been using the API just fine. And basically any purchase will clear those dollar amounts.

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

Doesn’t their API also require you to allow-list IPs, making it basically useless for dynamic DNS?

From https://www.namecheap.com/support/api/intro/ under “Whitelisting IP.”

permalink
report
parent
reply
8 points

I found it on their FAQ.

Yes, it is generally less restrictive, but… I have 4 domains, and now I have renewed all of them for the maximum amount. They will all expire after 2033. So unless I decide to add more domains (which is unlikely), I won’t spend a cent in the next ~9 years. I wonder if they really enforce it as it is written or they consider still the renewal an expense “split” over the duration.

Still, I really don’t understand. You can - and should - have proper rate limits on the API. You have API keys that uniquely identify the source, what is “the abuse” they are trying to prevent this way…?

permalink
report
parent
reply
7 points

Damn. I always though they were one of the good ones.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points
*

I still think they are but maybe my needs are simple. It was definitely better when I switched over (from godaddy*) during one of the migrations.

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points

They’ve been my go-to rec for like 6 years 😢

Their support is top tier, which is important when it’s important. But this complicates things. I’ll have to take a close look at the competition these days.

permalink
report
parent
reply

Selfhosted

!selfhosted@lemmy.world

Create post

A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don’t control.

Rules:

  1. Be civil: we’re here to support and learn from one another. Insults won’t be tolerated. Flame wars are frowned upon.

  2. No spam posting.

  3. Posts have to be centered around self-hosting. There are other communities for discussing hardware or home computing. If it’s not obvious why your post topic revolves around selfhosting, please include details to make it clear.

  4. Don’t duplicate the full text of your blog or github here. Just post the link for folks to click.

  5. Submission headline should match the article title (don’t cherry-pick information from the title to fit your agenda).

  6. No trolling.

Resources:

Any issues on the community? Report it using the report flag.

Questions? DM the mods!

Community stats

  • 3.7K

    Monthly active users

  • 2K

    Posts

  • 23K

    Comments