Email exchange with Hosting Matters

2007-08-11T06:11:00.000-07:00

Some are skeptical if what I say about being kicked out of my previous hosting account in Hosting Matters, as a result of Mehdi Khalaji's threat of a taking them and me and my domain registrar to court, is actually true.

So even though I guess it might cause some problems later on, I have published the entire email exchange I had with my hosting company over Mehdi Khalaji's threat. Please take a look and share it with others.

03 August 2007 22:42
From: Accounts and Billing - Hosting Matters, Inc.
Reply-To: "Accounts and Billing - Hosting Matters, Inc."
To: Hossein Derakhshan

After discussions with our attorney regarding the complaint filed by Mehdi
Khalaji, a review of the material in question, and a review of applicable US
and Canadian law as it relates to material of the sort posted to your site
and listed in the complaint, we are requesting that you remove the
references to this person as noted below from your site. As you are no doubt
aware, we do not issue such requests lightly - in fact, we would hope that
such requests would never, under any circumstance, be necessary at all. In
this case, however, given the differences in US and Canadian law regarding
posting of material that is alleged to be defamatory in nature, and
specifically regarding the material and commentary you have posted, we have
found that the material and commentary fall into a grey area regarding the
allegations made by the complainant. The most prudent course of action,
whether the allegations of defamation are valid or not in this instance, is
to remove the material from the site. Obviously, we have no desire to stifle
anyone's rights to voice their opinions, nor are we particuarly interested
in the political or social views they may express so long as those
expressions do not violate any statute or our acceptable use policy. That
desire must be balanced, however, by the review of content that we are
required to undertake when a complaint is generated about that content and
any action we find we must take as required or advised.

We have advised the complainant, through their representative, that the
material will be removed no later than 12:01 AM Eastern US time, August 5,
2007. If we find the material remains on the site at that time, we will
either remove the material ourselves or deactivate the site pending the
removal of said material, at our discretion. We would prefer to take neither
of these actions, so please ensure that the material is in fact removed. We
would also caution you regarding any public statements you may feel
compelled to make regarding the removal of said material, specifically as it
regards our communications to you requesting its removal or our actions in
this matter. We would also caution you regarding any public statements you
feel compelled to make regarding the individual in question.

Material to be removed:

Archived item: http://i.h0der.com/archives/2007/03/070329_015899.shtml
Linked/archived item: http://i.hoder.com/linkdooni/2005_10.html
Other content where personal commentary is offered on the individual in
question

If you have any questions regarding this notice, please contact support.

Regards,

Annette
Hosting Matters, Inc.
http://www.hostingmatters.com

==

04 August 2007 00:26
From: Accounts and Billing - Hosting Matters, Inc.
Reply-To: "Accounts and Billing - Hosting Matters, Inc."
To: ho-----@-----.com

Pursuant to our previous notice, please understand that we are requesting
that you pull down all reference to Mr. Khalaji in any language in which it
is posted. Additionally, you are advised that if this is not accomplished
by the time set forth in our previous letter, our attorney has advised that
we remove your entire site (in all languages) since we are not able to
translate any foreign languages. As noted before, we would prefer not to
have to take such drastic action, so please ensure that any and all
references are removed.

Regards,

Annette
Hosting Matters, Inc.
http://www.hostingmatters.com

==

04 August 2007 11:31
From: Hossein Derakhshan
To: "Accounts and Billing - Hosting Matters, Inc."

From the material you've asked to be removed, I should let you know that
http://i.h0der.com/archives/2007/03/070329_015899.shtml
and
http://i.hoder.com/linkdooni/2005_10.html
are not hosted on your server. That two were the main basis of the complain.

I won't remove ALL other references to him, unless I receive
complains. It would be a clear violation of my right for free speech
to remove them just because you can't read them.

==

09 August 2007 21:23
From: Accounts and Billing - Hosting Matters, Inc.
Reply-To: "Accounts and Billing - Hosting Matters, Inc."
To: Hossein Derakhshan
Cc: Hossein Derakhshan

Please remove the latest post you have made referencing Mehdi Khalaji. This
person continues to insist that everything and anything you post about him
is defamatory. While we do not agree with the assessment as it relates to
the latest post you have made, we do not have the time, interest, or
resources to invest in continually dealing with his complaints and to review
your site. Please remove that post and refrain from mentioning this person
in any form on the site you host within this network. The post needs to be
removed immediately and the entire site rebuilt so that no references remain
in any archives or category listings. In addition, any other references you
have to this individual are to be removed. Whether you archive them or not
is entirely up to you. Such postings cannot, however, remain within this
network.

Regards,

Annette
Hosting Matters, Inc.
http://www.hostingmatters.com

==

09 August 2007 21:34
From: Accounts and Billing - Hosting Matters, Inc.
Reply-To: "Accounts and Billing - Hosting Matters, Inc."
To: Hossein Derakhshan
Cc: Hossein Derakhshan

Also, as an addendum to the below: this content must be removed no later
than midnight tonight. If the content is not removed and the site rebuilt to
ensure no references remain in any archive or category, the site will be
suspended. We do not take this action lightly, as we have previously noted.
However, we also will not allow ourselves to be dragged into whatever battle
is going on between the two of you, as all of this is taking away time and
energy that should be spent addressing the needs of all clients and
maintaining the service here.

==

09 August 2007 21:46
From: Hossein Derakhshan
To: "Accounts and Billing - Hosting Matters, Inc."

I need to consult my lawyer and he comes back tomorrow from hollidays.
I request the deadline to be extended another 24 hours until tomorrow (10 Aug) at mid-night (EST.)

==

09 August 2007 21:53
From: Annette
Reply-To: billing@hostmatters.com
To: Hossein Derakhshan

The deadline remains tonight. What issues you take up with your attorney as far as potentially pursuing action against this person for any cause, such as (for example) barratry and/or harassment, is not relevant to the content posted here and which must be removed. We will not engage ourselves in the issues that the two of you have between you. If for some reason you take action against this person and are successful in that action, we will reconsider the ban on posting of anything related to him within this network - however, at this point, due to the time, energy, and monies we have already spent on this issue, we are not inclined to reverse that prohibition at this time. We do not involve ourselves in personal battles between two parties, nor will we permit our resources to be utilized in such battles to the detriment of other clients within this network.
Regards,

Annette
Hosting Matters, Inc.
http://www.hostingmatters.com

==

09 August 2007 22:01
From: Hossein Derakhshan
To: billing@hostmatters.com

No, I'm considering to sue YOU for violating my free speech, just
because of someone's hollow threats.

==

09 August 2007 22:15
From: Annette
Reply-To: billing@hostmatters.com
To: Hossein Derakhshan

I have spent a week of time, money, and energy now trying to figure out a way to keep the content up, arguing with my own attorney who suggested just terminating your account, to get these people to go away, and this is what we get. You take zero responsibility for anything you've done, and it's all our fault because you - a nonlawyer, unversed in defamation and libel law - have deemed this legal situation "hollow" without spending a dime and certainly without covering any of the costs we have incurred trying to defend that very "free speech" you reference. I see. In addition, for your edification, WE are under no obligation to allow you to post anything of any sort. Free speech applies to governmental interference with speech, not to private companies.

Go right ahead and consult with any attorney you like, and they'll explain the facts of life to you. In the meantime, since you seem to think we should be spending many thousands of dollars to defend your ability to say whatever you like - including content that very likely would be found to be defamatory, under the laws of both Canada and the US - and since you seem to think we should spend an inordinate amount of resources to do this to the detriment of every other client within this network, it is clear that we are not the host for you. We expect that you will have all of your material moved to another host no later than Saturday at 10 PM Eastern US time.
Regards,

Annette
Hosting Matters, Inc.
http://www.hostingmatters.com

==

09 August 2007 23:49
From: Hossein Derakhshan
To: billing@hostmatters.com

Have you removed anything from my database already?!?!

==

10 August 2007 00:00
From: Annette
Reply-To: billing@hostmatters.com
To: Hossein Derakhshan

We clearly informed you previously that you were to remove all references to this person from the site or we would remove it for you. That is precisely what we did, as you failed to remove references to him from your site. The other option was to suspend the site. Believing you to be a reasonable person, we did not take that action. Given your conduct now, after everything we have done for you over time, we should have simply suspended the site instead.

I will also guarantee you of this: unlike this person with whom you have this running battles whose threats you deem "hollow", we will make no threats should we find you engaging in any libel or slander of our service and/or actions. We will simply appropriately engage legal proceedings. At that point, everything that has been done for you to this point, including the provisioning of a server at what amounts to about $10 per month, will be made public record, along with the issues you created here and the expenses we incurred as a result of your behavior. I doubt that these items will reflect well for you in such a case, since the factual nature of any claims we make will be quite clear.

This is the last response you will receive from us unless it involves some technical issue you are having moving your sites elsewhere. On Saturday at 10 PM Eastern, the sites owned by you will be terminated from this network. No backups will be retained, so you are to ensure that whatever content you need is content that you retrieve.
Regards,

Annette
Hosting Matters, Inc.
http://www.hostingmatters.com

==

10 August 2007 00:21
From: Hossein Derakhshan
To: billing@hostmatters.com
I think you for all you help and service you have given me in the past
few years. But you are just giving in to some warmongers here.

This guy is working for the Israeli-lobby's think-tank where Richard
Perle and Paul Wolfowitz serve on its board. If saying this is libel
then I think there is something wrong with you.

You are kicking me out just because you are bullied. I understand
this, but I also learnt what does free speech mean in the United
States.

==

10 August 2007 00:35
From: Annette
Reply-To: billing@hostmatters.com
To: Hossein Derakhshan

You have clearly failed to grasp the nature of their complaint and the specified content and just as clearly failed to understand why you are being informed to seek hosting elsewhere - it is certainly not because we are being "bullied" in any way, nor are we supporting "warmongers". Rather, your failure to abide by the terms of our acceptable use policy regarding defamatory or libelous material, plus your absurd conduct in this matter, have resulted in your removal from this service. You have also not learned anything about free speech in the US, since, once again, we are NOT a governmental agency and not required to allow you to say anything at all within this network if we choose not to.

If we find a single one of these types of claims, or any other that we deem factually incorrect, in any public arena or disseminated to any third party, our attorney will be directed to immediately draw up papers for service. As there is no possible way for you to show that any of your petulant comments have any shred of fact in them, there is no doubt whatsoever that we would prevail in such a case. We would also seek the full extent of damages available to us, including punitive damages.

Ticket closed. We will not continue to address this issue with you, since you fail to even remotely understand the nature and consequences of your actions, or take any responsibility for them.

All techs: do not respond to any ticket of any sort like this from this user. Tickets of this nature are to be closed without response. Technical issues only. Saturday, 10 PM Eastern is the deadline.
Regards,

Annette
Hosting Matters, Inc.
http://www.hostingmatters.com

==

10 August 2007 00:39
From: Hossein Derakhshan
To: billing@hostmatters.com

My posts were not defamatory and this is precisely their lawyers said.
If they were defamatory, instead of their lawyer threatening you,
you'd have received a note from a court.

You are going to pay a price for this. I'm telling you. It would
damage your image.

==

10 August 2007 01:16
From: Annette
Reply-To: billing@hostmatters.com
To: Hossein Derakhshan

If we receive another nonsensical reply like this, your account will be terminated immediately, with no further notice. If we see any nonsensical claims by you regarding our service or actions, your account will be terminated immediately, and without notice, as well as the appropriate legal options taken. I am not kidding about any of this, and I'm not going to debate this any further with you since you are not a lawyer and have no grasp of what you're talking about - not to mention the slack we've cut for you over time, over and over again, with no thanks whatsoever from you. Get your content moved elsewhere by the deadline. Your failure to do so will be your responsibility and your failure alone.
Regards,

Annette
Hosting Matters, Inc.
http://www.hostingmatters.com

==

10 August 2007 01:19
From: Hossein Derakhshan
To: billing@hostmatters.com

I am moving my stuff already. And i want the rest of my money back, by the way.

==

10 August 2007 01:30

From: Annette
Reply-To: billing@hostmatters.com
To: Hossein Derakhshan

We are not in the habit of keeping monies for service that is unused. However, you have no refunds due, and in fact you owe funds to us, as you have failed to pay the open invoice from MAY for hoder.info - another site we should clearly have suspended, given your behavior, this time for nonpayment, but left up as a courtesy. The remaining 14 days on the contract for hoder.com will be applied to that invoice. The remainder of that invoice, from June 1 to this Saturday when the site is terminated, is being written off, since clearly you do not intend to pay the invoice, considering the length of time it has been open. It will simply be added to our list of nonpayers as well as retained in the file we have started related to you and your account in the event it is necessary for anyone to have that information.
Regards,

Annette
Hosting Matters, Inc.
http://www.hostingmatters.com

==

10 August 2007 01:37
From: Hossein Derakhshan
To: billing@hostmatters.com

Come on! Don't remind about your courtesy! I have seen my website has
been suspended several times after the payment was overdue. Clearly
this has been a technical problem. Please stop playing like the
responsible client-centered hosting company, now that you have kicked
me out like this!

You are going to get a lot of heat form bloggers for doing this to me.
Wait and see.

Especially because of going to my database and remove anything you
wanted! Well, that's really new to me! Even in North Koreas, i guess,
they don't do that.

==

10 August 2007 01:42
From: Annette
Reply-To: billing@hostmatters.com
To: Hossein Derakhshan

Accounts terminated.
Regards,

Annette
Hosting Matters, Inc.
http://www.hostingmatters.com

2007-08-10T13:41:00.000-07:00

Last night Hosting Matters abruptly terminated both my accounts on their server, because I noticed they had removed ANY English post where Mehdi Khalaji was mentioned. Not only from my web directories, but also from my blogging software database. Then they threatened me not to reveal anything about what they had done or they would sue me!

Fortunately, I had backed up all my data on both servers. But I'm still frustrated and puzzled at why were they so scared?

I'm considering taking legal action against Hosting Matters for its unethical conduct that has and is going to cost me a lot of time and money and energy.

Anyway, I'm now using a new hosting account I have recently bought. But I have to migrate dozens of domain names, software and plugins, blogs and databases to the new server and this takes a lot of time and energy -- and also technical expertise which I don't have when it comes to Virtual Private Servers.

So in the past 24 hours I've just managed to setup my email address and my main domain names and a tiny part of my archive, especially for my Persian blog.

I'm writing these lines using manual HTML coding and I guess I would have to do this until I finish the migration process, most likely in the next few days.

Let's see what Mehdi Khalaji, the Washington Institute's fellow, is going to do next to silence someone who thinks he is helping the enemies of Iran and humanity.

Here is the backgroud of the story, in case you don't understand what is happening here: Part one, part two

Hoder Documents

Email exchange with Hosting Matters