Why Has Largest US ISP COMCAST Totally Blacked-Out ML-Implode?
Initially we assumed this was a transient error and just played the waiting game, as these sort of things usually work themselves out in the internet world. However, after a few days, it was still “radio silence” for COMCAST customers who also happened to be our readers. Complaints continued to pour into our inbox. We began advising people to now actually call COMCAST and complain, since perhaps the ISP was not aware of the situation.
Fantastically, in response, COMCAST technical support staff is actually telling people that the problem is with them (the customers)!
This is despite the fact that if the same people use workarounds — different DNS servers and/or software like OpenDNS –they can access ML-Implode and our other sites just fine. So the problem is provably with COMCAST’s centrally-managed DNS list.
It’s worth noting that COMCAST has over 20% of the internet service provider market share in the US, so one in five people in the US are being blocked from ML-Implode & friends!
Now that many of its own customers have made COMCAST aware of this, and a week has passed, we are forced to consider that “foul play” may be involved.
Many readers will recall that back in June, Wells Fargo, in an unprovoked action, closed the bank account of ML-Implode and, outrageously, all other accounts associated with ML founder Aaron Krowne (including another corp with a separate TaxID, and a nonprofit 501(c)3 — clear tortious interference… if any attorneys out there would like to take this on as a pro bono case…)
Wells Fargo went ahead with this action (a mere one day after Krowne learned it was looming) despite being made aware that there was no justification (i.e. problem with the account(s)). In other words, the decision had apparently been made from the top, and the “account review” letters sent out to ML-Implode were just a smokescreen/fraud.
We wrote about that publicly, which even provoked a canned response from a Wells Fargo PR lackey.
So now we have to wonder: did Wells Fargo pull strings with COMCAST to “punish” ML-Implode by blacking us out to the major US broadband provider? Or — even more disturbing — are Wells and COMCAST both mere instruments of a concerted action being directed from even higher levels — i.e. a harassment and subversion campaign by the government itself (and/or the masters of the all-powerful “banking cabal” — who make the US federal government jump when they say “jump”)?
Since COMCAST is by far the largest ISP, if “someone” wanted to send a signal to our plucky truth-to-power-speaking site by making it “disappear” as viewed from a single internet service provider, COMCAST would be the one to pick to send the clearest message — horse-head-like.
Of prime relevance, such web site/domain name “blackout-like” actions have been one of the government’s single-minded, demented obsessions very recently, as they have pursued a virtual rapid-fire series of legislative attempts to gain the ability to “turn off” internet domain names (and thus the web sites hosted on them) with as little checks on such a power as possible. Usually “copyright piracy” is the bogeyman providing the justification. First there was COICA, which died in the Senate, then SOPA and PIPA, which yielded to public and some industry outcry; and then the ACTA trade agreement (more or less bypasses the whole “Congressional” hassle) which was actually signed (but not yet ratified) in late 2011 and encompasses many of the same censorship risks as SOPA and PIPA.
But even more disconcerting to students of history and those who take close not on how tyranny expands its tentacles is that governments will often seek to pass such laws merely to provide a cover of legality for what they are already doing.
One has to wonder.
Further to my comment of 9 August 2016, unlike the old Bank Rate system with its high interest rates, Quantitative…
Comment by mike brodle on 15 August 2012:
I have told my brother Jerome Brodle and he will be droping your service soon.Get honest!!!
Comment by Melissa Mendoza on 16 August 2012:
Good Morning,
I came across this blog post on Google+. I’d like to investigate the trouble Comcast customers have been having with our Security Assurance team. Please email me at the address below with contact information for someone that manages the site that we can speak to. Please include a link to this blog post.
I’m sorry for the trouble here. We will check into this and see it is resolved.
Kind Regards,
Melissa Mendoza
Digital Media Specialist
National Customer Operations
melissa_mendoza@comcast.com
@ComcastMelissa
+Melissa Mendoza
Comment by admin on 16 August 2012:
[also via email]
Hi Melissa,
I appreciate your sudden interest in millions’ of Americans inability to reach ML-Implode and other IEHI and IEHI-hosted sites (including http://www.restreportmatters.com, which helps people avoid foreclosure), but it is frankly a little belated. Since August 5th I have made sure that Comcast customers unable to reach the site knew they should report their problems to you. The responses generally were of the variety of blaming the customers themselves, if not outright denial that anything was wrong. Frankly, it was atrocious.
Then, Monday of this week, after more than a week of waiting, I sent a report directly to Comcast’s DNS team (through the web form provided) and reported the problem in my “official” capacity, and offered to work with the team.
I also sent a second message with the full copy of this blog post as a fair warning as to what would be said if Comcast did not take action or reply. I then gave 48 hours (24 hours longer than I stated) and the response from Comcast did not change. In fact they continued sh*tting on their own customers who continued reaching out for assistance.
No response was forthcoming. Now that may not be specific neglect, it just may be the usual “web form to nowhere” syndrome that mega-corporations like Comcast typically practice. But I had no alternative, as I am not a Comcast customer and have no direct complaint avenue.
Anyways, simultaneously, I was working with our hosting team at RightHaven.com and they found nothing wrong with the DNS records. Of course this is no surprise since the records have not changed since August 5th, and ONLY Comcast seems to be having a problem.
I’ll also note that as part of background research RightHaven found that Comcast recently could not resolve all .gov domains to its customers, which is in my opinion the height of incompetence.
So, I don’t know what you want from me. The problem is clearly Comcast’s. You may not like my “snarky” response, but I suggest to Comcast that you do fix the problem post-haste before this incident further reflects poorly on your sub-par (in my past experience as a customer) ISP.
regards,
Aaron Krowne
Comment by LT on 18 August 2012:
I’m a Comcast customer. I haven’t been able to log on any of your websites for 3 weeks. . I’m using Verizon 3g cell phone with no problems & a lot faster.
Comment by reader on 20 August 2012:
the reason you aren’t hearing from comcast customers is simple. they can’t access your site!
I am also a comcast customer. I could not access the site. THe only way I could tell the site was working was b/c I use google reader to subscribe to your rss feed which kept updating.
this is a dns issue. whatever comcast’s default dns sever is does not have ml-implode.com on it. I was able to get around it by changing to google’s public dns server. For whatever reason comcast is not resolving the DNS record.
Comment by Christina on 20 August 2012:
Thanks to Aaron responding to my email, I’m finally able to view the site again at work. I used Open DNS, and got right on. I checked on my Verizon cell phone, and have no issues viewing the site there, but I’ve been blocked for the last two weeks on my work computer, which uses Comcast.
Sent an email to Comcast to let them know that we’ve decided NOT to switch our home internet from Verizon to Comcast. I don’t take kindly to internet censorship.
Comment by Eyeball on 21 August 2012:
gee, that is funny, I have Comcast as an ISP, and have no issues accessing ANY of the sites listed….
Must be computer issues, or stupidity at the user level
Comment by admin on 21 August 2012:
Eyeball:
Before you we had only heard from ONE other Comcast customer whom we asked to check their connection that they had access.
Also, reports are just now trickling in that we are “live” again so you may have simply been at the early edge of that change.
Comment by rzombeck on 22 August 2012:
Uhm Eyeball. Seriously? It’s stupid users? What are you suggesting? They can’t click on a link? Maybe can’t type a URL? An idiotic comment like that isn’t something I’d expect from someone frequenting this site.
Comment by admin on 22 August 2012:
rzombeck: LOL, yeah — probably a Comcast astroturfer 😉
Comment by admin on 22 August 2012:
FYI, to all, as of today, I am hearing from most people that access is back on. Thanks for the two and a half week turnaround time and treating us all like jerks, Comcast.
Comment by Trestle Rider on 23 August 2012:
I could not reach ML implode for two weeks, I thought something happened to Martin, but nothing odd on his facebook page.
Now I have had access restored for two days, and only this article provided the first explanation.
Strange, never saw sites drop before except in China.
Pingback by Below the Fold: Credit Card Robo-Signers, Bogus Debt and Comcast Blocks a … | Online Credit Review on 23 August 2012:
[…] can read the entire post here. If you’re a Comcast customer, we’ve posted it over at Home Preservation Network here, […]
Pingback by Below the Fold: Credit Card Robo-Signers, Bogus Debt and Comcast Blocks a … | on 24 August 2012:
[…] can read the entire post here. If you’re a Comcast customer, we’ve posted it over at Home Preservation Network here, […]
Comment by Alan on 30 August 2012:
Shortly after this article came out mlimplode was once again available with comcast.
Comment by admin on 1 September 2012:
Funny how that works, isn’t it Alan?
Comment by norma pastor on 18 November 2012:
This website has basically imploded !!! It was a forum/information center for ESBHATERS. I hope this web could be revived, we need the latest on ESB vs OTS, etc. Mr Pauletty and Deering comments plus onthers has been welcommed by ESBHATERS like me.
norma
Comment by Communistcast User on 7 February 2013:
Melissa Mendoza at Comcast is worthless! I know! She is simply a PR person online for damage control and actually does nothing to help.