It's amazing that http://joe2006.com is still a just a note telling Lamont to have his buddies stop attacking the site. As a fulltime web developer, and one who has worked on campaigns, I can tell you it takes all of 10 minutes to fix this problem.

The Host:

1. Any decent web host promises over 99% uptime and warns a client when their site is going over their limit and needs to be moved.  Joe could've been on a decent dedicated server for 300-500/mo and not had these problems, but he went for the $15/mo option.  Still the web host would have notified the campaign.
2. Any decent host uses a backup system that means they can easily move a site to another server in a matter of minutes if there’s a problem.

Reality Check: Even a $5/mo web host won’t let their client be down for a whole day.  It would violate their hosting policy of guaranteed uptime, which they never do.

The Domain:

1. A domain is just an easier way of getting to the ip address, which is where the files that make up a site are actually hosted.  If the Lieberman site was having problems that couldn’t be resolved on a day as important as this they would have either forwarded the domain, or parked it on a new host and server.
2. Domain companies say changing the routing of a name (DNS entry) can take up to 24 hours to propogate across the web.  In reality it usually takes 10-30 mins.
3. I’m not sure exactly what they are using, but the Lieberman campaign ran a PHP site likely with a MySQL database.  Their host would likely make weekly or daily updates.  Many even now have by-the-minute updates of the files.  The campaign would certainly backup the database because it contains all their supporter data.  All of this can be uploaded to a new server within minutes.  Also, even when the front end of a site is down, Admins usually have backend access to the files and database.

Reality Check: A decent webmaster would say, “Screw this, we’ll point the domain to a local computer that we run as a server or get new hosting and point the domain name there.”  It would take an hour tops to be up and running.  Of course, a decent webmaster or management company (like me, for example) always backs up client sites and places the files on a completely separate host so there is a seamless transition if it ever comes to this.  Some very recent data would not be up on the new site, but all content would be and the site would be fully functioning.

The Campaign:

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Seriously, the best site ever!
http://subservientchicken.com/

Dance Chicken! Dance!

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http://pandora.com
Just when I was really sick of all the music I steal, something comes along to save the day. It reminds me of how the French must of felt after the invasion force landed at Normandy ("We surrender to them now?")

I keep waiting for the catch. Sweet tunes and a computer to tell me what I like, what could go wrong? Enjoy now--Rupert Murdoch will probably buy it next week.

http://pandora.com
I suggest Vanilla Ice....

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Website of the week: Mocking some other well known and equally insane "God Hates..." website, God Hates Shrimp reminds us of the real difference between the red and blue states.
God Hates Shrimp

Shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, mussels, all these are an abomination before the Lord, just as gays are an abomination. Why stop at protesting gay marriage? Bring all of God's law unto the heathens and the sodomites. We call upon all Christians to join the crusade against Long John Silver's and Red Lobster. Yea, even Popeye's shall be cleansed. The name of Bubba shall be anathema. We must stop the unbelievers from destroying the sanctity of our restaurants.

Leviticus 11:9-12 says:
9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.

Deuteronomy 14:9-10 says:
9 These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:

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USATODAY.com - Reports: Sex.com appeals, sells for $12M

Sex.com, long coveted as potentially one of the most lucrative sites on the Web because of its catchy name, has been sold for about $12 million in cash and stock, a source familiar with the deal told Reuters on Monday.

ReallyImportantPorn.com?  Any takers?

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