If It Wasn't Bad Enough, Using GoDaddy Just Got Way Worse
That's right. GoDaddy, the classic Domain Registrar of the old days, has fallen from grace. In fact, it's been years since they've been considered the best option. The community has said for years that GoDaddy was trash, but I hadn't a major reason to complain. I didn't need much from them- only that they renew my Fifthdread.com domain name, provide me with basic DNS functionality- that's it. I don't need web hosting, or email, or any other extra feature they wanted to sell me. I just needed the domain name and DNS functionality.
They somehow found a way to mess that up. I was a happy customer for well over 10 years until this past week, when they stopped providing access to their DNS API- an API that I used in order for DDNS to work for Fifthdread.com and my subdomains.
Yes, you heard me correctly. GoDaddy gave us all the collective middle finger and now denies us access to their API unless you pay for a premium feature or subscription- I couldn't be bothered to look it up. Any price is too much for such a trivial feature that had been free for years. Paying even another cent was beyond what I was willing to do.
So what did I do? I transferred my domain to my NameCheap account. For a few years now, I've been interested in switching away from the community hated GoDaddy. But I was comfortable. I was happy enough to keep Fifthdread.com with them, but I went ahead and purchased new domains through NameCheap. They also have a convenient DNS API which I also employ.
When I learned that GoDaddy had betrayed me, I immediately and without remourse initiated a domain transfer, moving Fifthdread.com to NameCheap. It was euphoric- finally I was purging GoDaddy from my life, telling them exactly how I feel in the best way possible... by denying them my business.
The domain transfer was easy enough, but it took a little research on how to do it exactly. Companies like to employ dark patterns to hide and misguide users to prevent them from leaving them. GoDaddy was no different. I had to remove the "domain lock", then they make it so you need to approve the transfer, which is hidden. They give you an email which tells you how to cancel the transfer, but doesn't tell you how to approve it. Go figure.
So after I removed the domain lock, used the passcode, and approved the transfer, it was completed by the next morning. Amazing! Of course, it meant that I had to reconfigure DNS with NameCheap- no big deal. I already had a NameCheap DDNS Docker Container setup. I just had to make one for Fifthdread.com and my subdomains. Easy enough.
Moral of the story? The "enshittification" of products can always be relied on. Don't ever get comfortable, because these companies will always alter the deal. They'll squeeze every cent from you that they can get away with.
