NOTE: Headers have been removed / anonymized and quotes from previous messages have been deleted. The message text has not been touched in any way. The full e-mail messages can be requested from MOATMAI at HELLONEARTH dot COM. --- Date: Do, 30 Dec 1999 18:39:32 From: "Andrew W." (hostpro e-mail removed) To: (moatmai) Subject: RE: Task #42941 For hellonearth.com Gerald, I apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused you, however, we have taken care of the problem and this should not be happening again. There was a corrupt DNS file that has now been taken care of. Unfortunately, we cannot foresee everything that can and may happen to a computer and if you have used a computer yourself, then you will know that sometimes files do become corrupt. However, this is the first time that we have experienced a problem like this with DNS and we are currently working on a system to ensure that issues like this can be handled immediately so that we can have your site back up ASAP. Thank you for contacting HostPro Technical Support. Andrew W. My hours: M-F 7:00AM - 3:30 PM PST (tel and e-mail removed) --- (Phone Conversation on December 6, 2000, with Kevin M.: Mr. M. requests that I use e-mail instead of calling him, because he'd rather discuss this by e-mail. I comply.) --- Date: 12/6/00 10:17:27 PM W. Europe Standard Time From: (hostpro e-mail removed) (Kevin M.) To: (moatmai) Subject: hellonearth.com Dear Mr. Himmelein, It has come to our attention at HostPro, that you have negative comments about our service posted on your site hellonearth.com. I am writing to ask you to remove those comments from your site. If you choose not to remove that material I have been instructed to ask you to search for a new hosting company. Please let me know what you decide. Best Regards, (Kevin M.) Customer Service Representative HostPro.net (tel, fax and e-mail removed) --- Date: Wednesday, December 06, 2000 5:48 PM From: (moatmai) To: (hostpro e-mail removed) (Kevin M.) Subject: Re: hellonearth.com Dear Mr. M., from my point of view, I don't see any immediate reason to look for a hosting company -- I'm reasonably happy at HostPro. The offending comments were removed from www.hellonearth.com. The pages affected by the change are http://www.hellonearth.com/gigo/hostpro99.html and http://www.hellonearth.com/news.html All comments which -- from my point of view -- could be considered negative or offensive against HostPro were removed. An addendum was added to the page "hostpro99.html"; an explanation for the change was added to the aforementioned page and to the "news" page. Please let me know whether this change addresses your concerns and whether it resolves the issues you had with the content on my site. If not, please let me know exactly which comments you object to and we shall see how to address your concerns in order to reach a mutually acceptable solution. Sincerely, Gerald Himmelein --- Date: 12/7/00 3:14:35 AM W. Europe Standard Time From: (hostpro e-mail removed) (Kevin M.) To: (moatmai) Subject: RE: hellonearth.com Dear Mr. Himmelein, We have looked further into the matter and we would prefer it if you removed all of the content refering to HostPro. I have also been instructed to inform you that if you do not wish to remove the material we reserve the right not to host your website, as set forth in our terms and conditions. Please let me know your response to this issue. Best Regards, (Kevin M.) Customer Service Representative HostPro.net (tel, fax and e-mail removed) --- Date: Thursday, December 07, 2000 1:08 PM From: (moatmai) To: (hostpro e-mail removed) (Kevin M.) Subject: Re: hellonearth.com Dear Kevin, is it possible to speak (by phone, preferrably) or otherwise communicate directly with your supervisor, please? As stated before, I would like to find a mutually acceptable situation. At the present moment, I don't see a reason for moving my site to another host. It would also be nice to know whether you (or your supervisor) consider I have violated any of HostPro's terms of service by posting an experience I have had with you. Sincerely, Gerald Himmelein --- Date: 12/8/00 2:17:47 AM W. Europe Standard Time From: (hostpro e-mail removed) (Kevin M.) To: (moatmai) Subject: RE: hellonearth.com Dear Mr. Himmelein, I have spoken with my supervisor and we feel that it would be preferable if you removed the content from your site. You yourself said that you haven't had any serious problems since said incident, yet on the site there is no mention of that. We only ask that you remove the content referring to HostPro. Best Regards, (Kevin M.) Customer Service Representative HostPro.net (tel, fax and e-mail removed) --- Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2000 01:08:08 From: (moatmai) To: (hostpro e-mail removed) (Kevin M.) Subject: Re: hellonearth.com Dear Mr. M., could I please conduct the rest of this exchange directly with your supervisor (Laura, I believe). Please understand that this is not intended as a slight to you. When I contacted you by phone some days back, you repeatedly noted that you were not able to make any additional statements since only your supervisor could make decisions. Hence, I would like to either speak (by phone +49-511-6478143) or e-mail directly with your supervisor, since she seems to be the one qualified to make decisions in this matter. At this point, I fail to understand how a neutral description of past events, buried within a site with very little traffic, could considered to be objectionable. As per your request, I have removed the offending remarks you quoted to me on our phone conversation -- which was your original request. I even removed the e-mail of the support person who was rather rude back in December, 1999 -- even though you didn't ask for that. I went even beyond by changing a playful mention of "HostAmateurs" to "HostProfessionals" -- mainly because I considered the joke to be juvenile. I also have to correct your claim that I don't mention on the site that I haven't had problems with your services since then -- there IS explicit mention on the page (ever since you objected, on December 7, 2000) of this fact. Being a journalist by trade, I have applied journalistic criteria to my site. There are no words of slander on the pages you have criticized. There are a few pages of satire, but the satiric strokes are so broad that the intention can hardly be missed. From my point of view, there is no slander of HostPro, nor is there an unfair portrayal of your services contained on the pages on my web site. There were some words which could be considered a tad harsh (but which, as I tried to explain to you on our aforementioned phone call, were insulting MYSELF, not HostPro) which I removed per your request. I receive e-mail feedback from readers who are mostly into plush animals, the occasional nutcase and sometimes a bit of spam. Interest in the site is minimal; I get about two e-mails per month about my site. I could see you requesting the removal of a harsh critique, libelous content or something else of that nature. I could even understand that you'd object to my comments if I was generating a huge amount of traffic and server activity. I cannot understand how a narrative of my personal experience with HostPro on a very obscure site can be of importance. Given these circumstance, I would very much like to talk, e-mail or otherwise communicate directly with "Laura" or another supervisor who might indicate to me where my judgement errs and who is in a capacity of making decisions regarding this issue. --- Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 14:12:55 -0800 From: (hostpro e-mail removed) (Kevin M.) To: (moatmai) Subject: RE: hellonearth.com Dear Mr. Himmelein: Pursuant to Section VII(1) of the HostPro Terms and Conditions contract you agreed to when you became our customer, we may terminate your account at any time on 30 days' notice to you. We are electing to terminate your service. The termination will be effective 30 days from today, . As stated by Section VII(1), we will refund to you the unused and prorated portion of service, excluding any setup charges, with a total amount to be determined from the date of the cancellation/termination. If you wish to try to salvage your account, we are happy to discuss with you the issues that brought us to this point to see if they may be rectified to our satisfaction. Please call us if you wish to discuss. Thank you for your patronage of HostPro. Sincerely, (Kevin M.) Customer Service Representative HostPro.net (tel, fax and e-mail removed) --- Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2000 02:03:18 From: (moatmai) To: (hostpro e-mail removed) (Kevin M.) Subject: Re: hellonearth.com Dear Mr. M., I can't find the Terms and Conditions contract you cite. Please send me an URL where I can check the Terms and Conditions. Given the fact that I am not violating any usage policies (I just checked the HostPro site), I can't find a reason why you are choosing to terminate my account. I would also like to know why you are asking me to call now. When I called you about a week ago, you specifically instructed me to use e-mail in all communications with Customer Service. You also seem to be denying me access to any other contact at Customer Service. Once again: I would like to communicate with another HostPro customer service representative, preferrably a supervisor, in this matter. Sincerely, Gerald Himmelein --- Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2000 06:42:53 -0800 From: (hostpro e-mail removed) (Kevin M.) To: (moatmai) Subject: RE: hellonearth.com Dear Gerald, After your last message my supervisor instructed me to send you our message stating that we have opted not to host your site. I initially asked you to remove the page I had specified or search for new hosting. You don't wish to remove the materials. Therefore we do not wish to host your site. It will be disconnected on Jan.12, 2001. At no time have I ever denied you access to anyone else in Customer Service. I am merely the representative who handles cases like this. You are free to contact anyone in customer service at any time. However, I must add that we have made up our mind in regards to this matter. Best Regards, (Kevin M.) Customer Service Representative HostPro.net (tel, fax and e-mail removed) --- Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2000 22:00:15 From: (moatmai) To: (hostpro e-mail removed) (Kevin M.) Subject: Re: hellonearth.com Dear Kevin, your initial request, which I complied to within twenty-four hours, was the following: "It has come to our attention at HostPro, that you have negative comments about our service posted on your site hellonearth.com. I am writing to ask you to remove those comments from your site." You told me to remove the negative comments. You even quoted the most objectionable part on our phone conversation. I immediately removed the offending remark, and I rephrased some of the page. In a nutshell: I complied with your original request, which was to remove the negative comments. I left the description of past events, which do not constitute a negative comment, but a description. I also added a paragraph describing my following experiences with HostPro, which you chose to ignore (you even claimed that there was no redeeming description of my subsequent HostPro experiences at a point when these comments had been on the site for several days). Subsequently, you decided that the whole page had to go, with no explanation for the sudden shift away from your original requirement. I was willing to compromise even further and told you this in no uncertain terms, but I shied away from having to censor the whole page away. Instead, you (or your supervisor, of which I hereby respectfully request a full name) decided to stop discussions and simply terminate my account, even though I did not (and do not) violate any of your terms of service. Please: - Tell me what part of the page is still considered a negative comment by you and/or your supervisor. - Kindly inform me of your supervisor's name and, if possible, how to contact her (by e-mail). - Let me know whether your decision to terminate my account still stands regardless of the arguments brought forth above. Sincerely, Gerald Himmelein