

Tell HN: I have to share this with you, reocities found its business model: - jacquesm

Reocities, the reborn version of geocities gets a lot of support messages from people that would like their content removed. Almost all of them are legit and of course I comply when they ask.<p>A business model for reocities has so far eluded me, but I think this user has just given me the answer to that:<p>"When my first husband and I were divorcing ten years ago, I edited our
Geocities page with some very personal and very angry text. I then
changed the password  and put false information for the account's
secret questions in order to prevent my ex from "fixing" the page. I
promptly forgot the new password, and also lost access to the email
address associated with the account, and therefore the page remained
for ten years despite my best efforts at getting Yahoo to remove it.<p>I was overjoyed when GeoCities was taken down, and absolutely
horrified when I discovered that you have put my page back up. I have
a new life, a new name, a new husband, and <i>I would give anything</i> to
have that horrible period of my life erased from the web forever."<p>Sometimes you're looking in all the wrong places.
======
seven
Hehehe, this is evil. And now, you even know her new name! Even better
business is possible now. :)

(I assume that you are joking.)

~~~
jacquesm
Of course I'm joking, I'm not that much of a cruel and heartless bastard (evil
laughter...).

Blackmail is naturally out of the question, but with now over 11K unique
visitors and growing steadily sooner or later I'll have to face this issue.

Reocities was literally a labour of love, it cost a pile of money and it looks
like it will never bring that back, but if I were to run in to a way to make
it break even I would probably take it.

Some of the support mail I get is hilarious though, I think 10% or so is from
people that have meanwhile grown up and seriously regret what they put online
and ask me to take it down, but none of them used the magic phrase that
triggered my dark side.

~~~
seven
I just clicked you username, way too much karma to be evil.

But at first you got me. :)

------
mahmud
Reocities can become Yelp for 90s web design: "We will publish your first
Frontpage site, unless you pay us".

~~~
jacquesm
Yes, a large part of the requests to remove content come from people that have
become designers, and that are 'less than proud' of their first steps on the
web.

------
rmc
Heheh. As others have said this is not an ethical business model, and is
nothing more than blackmail.

