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Saturday, March 12. 2005

$50,000 for a man not to eat a rabbit.  The curious case of SaveToby.com.

The website is http://www.savetoby.com. Some people are upset by the very idea of the website. These people (the upset ones) make a good point, but they seem to be in the minority. The majority of people seem to find the website hilarious and think the proprietor of the website is a genius. No one I've talked with seems to be in the middle.

Welcome to my world.
Of course, and as fate would have it, the website is hosted by GoDaddy.com. The proprietor purchased his domain name with us, and as you might suspect also purchased privacy through DomainsByProxy.com. This is where it gets sticky. I've been contacted by a number of people requesting that I take the website down. With the exception of a website that was racist in nature (which we immediately took down when we learned about it), we at GoDaddy.com, have received more complaints about SaveToby.com than for any other website we've hosted. However, there is absolutely nothing illegal about the website and there is nothing in its contents that violates our terms of service agreement. Welcome to my world.

Toby and his owner.


Some people want the website taken down.
I first heard about SaveToby.com about 3 weeks ago. We were contacted by a number of people who, when they learned about the website, were horrified and wanted us to take it down. As we always do when we receive these types of complaints, we immediately took a close look at the website in question. We understood how the subject matter of the website was upsetting to certain people, but could find no violation of either the law or our terms of service agreement, so we left the site up. That was just the beginning.

$50,000 in donations and merchandise sales will save Toby.
If you haven't taken a look at http://www.SaveToby.com, or are hearing about this for the first time, here's the issue. A man claims to have found an injured, young rabbit under a porch one day, and then nursed it back to health. He then named the rabbit Toby. This individual swears that he will have Toby butchered and served for dinner on June 30, 2005, unless he is able to raise $50,000 in donations or merchandise sales. If he is able to raise the money, he then promises that Toby will forever live the life of a king (you can decide what that means). The story, photos of Toby (one of which shows Toby sitting in a cooking pot), possible recipes and answers to questions (some dealing with the legality of the website and the underlying idea) are all provided at http://www.SaveToby.com.

I now have a SaveToby.com mouse pad.
There is also a full range of Save Toby merchandise for sale. Many members of my staff (rightly or wrongly) have purchased Save Toby tee shirts and mouse pads. I now have a Save Toby mouse pad on my desk. So I can tell you that the site is "for real" (at least the merchandise sale part of it). Just for the record, other than providing hosting and domain name services, GoDaddy.com is not affiliated with SaveToby.com in any way.

Here's a "savetoby.com" tee shirt.


As of this writing, the proprietor of SaveToby.com has claimed to have raised more than $18,000.

Rabbit Haven persuaded PayPal to shut down SaveToby.com's account.
We've been contacted by a group called Rabbit Haven (http://www.rabbithaven.org), which is located in Gig Harbor, WA. Believe it or not this group really does exist, and the mission statement which appears on its website states: "We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing abandoned and mistreated rabbits, finding them permanent, loving adoptive homes, and educating the public on the care of these unique and wonderful beings." As you can imagine SaveToby.com has this group up in arms. In fact, its founder Sue Brennan contacted PayPal and has persuaded it to cancel SaveToby's PayPal account.

Toby is living the good life for now.
Although Ms. Brennan's organization seems to be dedicated to a noble cause, there are the inescapable facts that Toby is no longer abandoned or being mistreated in anyway. To that, add the fact that even though he (Toby) could possibly be butchered and cooked on June 30th, for the time being he is in a loving home.

SaveToby.com even caught the attention of the press.
The website has thus far received press coverage from two online articles. They can be found at http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=37435 , as well as at http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=427129. If you take the time to read these articles you will see that there are no end of animal rights activists and others that are upset about the website.

My position on SaveToby.com.
So what's my position on this website? First, as I pointed out earlier, there is nothing illegal about the website and it doesn't — in any way — violate any of our terms of service. I'll also point out that people in our country eat rabbits every day. What the site does is describe — both in text and pictures — a particular rabbit and makes an offer. The offer is that if the site's proprietor raises $50,000, this particular rabbit (named Toby) will not be butchered, cooked and eaten, the way millions of rabbits are each and every year.

Animal rights activists receive an unexpected benefit from the website.
I think that people who are animal rights activists get some benefit from the website. How's that you ask? The benefit is that the website provides evidence that the rabbits (and other animals I suppose) people eat, are living creatures with loveable and endearing traits. In some ways they have a personality and are quite capable of earning our affection. And when this is the case, as we do with our pets, we endear them with human-like qualities. This being the case, I think the creator of the website is brilliant. Some people worry about copycat sites popping up. Quite frankly, this doesn't trouble me. I think this type of thing only works once. I know I wouldn't give a copycat site a second look.

Toby sitting in a cooking pot.


If Toby checks out, merchandise sales stop.
It will be interesting to see what happens come June 30th. Will Toby be saved? Will he be served for dinner? Will he receive an extension? Only one thing is for certain, should Toby get cooked up, the sales of all SaveToby.com merchandise will come to a screeching halt. Ah, the power of economics.

The affect on me.
So how has this site affected me? Well I've caught some grief from animal rights activists about it. That's to be expected. I both understand and appreciate the points they make. Beyond that, I now own a SaveToby.com mouse pad (a gift from my staff). The site will have no impact on what I eat. I never really cared for rabbit. I'm a simple guy. I'd much rather have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Posted by Bob Parsons at 11:35 | Add Comment


 

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Why is SaveToBy not a swell idea? Well what it does it put a price on life. It is a kin to Blackmail. I wont kill ya if you fork over a million carats. How about a site to sell human livers and kidneys would that be ok as it is a blackmarket anyway. Marketing for the sake of marketing without conscius but greed at the expense of public decency to get attention. Keep the company you want to keep. Of course Bob is not upset with the site when a GoDaddy SuperBowl ad would have exposed a woman's private parts on national TV during prime time. The point this is a slippery slope and the first rock down the hill may not be the last. The Rabbit was used as a hostage for someones financial gain. Kind of like that movie with the kids locked up in the basement.....It lowers the standing of the internet and life not celebrates it. It was funny but also in Poor Taste IMO.
#1 Steven on May 16 2008, 07:41 Reply
But i thought morality couldnt be subjective its an absolute because its from God. Ethics on the other hand that changes and has nothing to do with morality since its created by man :)
#2 Krisztian on Oct 25 2007, 14:04 Reply

I bought savetoby.com with the money I made from RM2R http://www.yourworldvision.com

#3 ChrisC (http://www.yourworldvision.com) on Sep 1 2007, 10:40 Reply
I find it funny how much you people went nuts over this whole site.

So? If he wanted to eat it, why does that violate morals? We have always eaten animals for sustenance; this is not a NEW thing that just popped up within the last 50 years or so.

I love the defense posed by a person in rebuttal to the fact that we are "predators" that we do not have the teeth of a cat. Newsflash: we are omnivores. We have canines AS WELL AS molars used for vegetables. Why try to push vegetarian issues when we are biologically made to handle both types of food. We need the proteins in meats and vegetable proteins do not fully cover our dietary needs.

PETA, your efforts are honorable in some cases. In other cases, though, you try to take things too far. Case in point: the whole paint on fur coats thing that was going on. People do not always KNOW that certain companies are inhumane in their practices. So, why take it out on them as if they are the enemy?

I DO, however, like that you are wanting to change the practices by certain groups showing NO humane practices in what they do.

I am sure that not ALL PETA members are nutjobs, but, those that are need to seek some psychological help.
#4 Preston on Jul 19 2007, 22:24 Reply
These guys are marketing geniuses! They eve got NBC to do a news article on them. I noticed this website 5 YEARS AGO! Toby has yet to be eaten - in 5 YEARS! That's longer than the average life span of a house pet rabbit.

There are a number of websites out there that list urban legends - and savetoby.com is not the first website of this nature. Did anyone out there actually do any research to see how long this site had been around? Probably not.

While I find the though of animal cruelty hideous, this is obviously not what's going on here. It's about 2 guys who got a LOT of people interested in their website and got them to buy their merchandise. It's called capitalism, people.

Unfortunately there are people who will look at this and follow the example and actually harm the animal, and those people should be tortured in the same manner they torture animals, without exception.

Even more unfortunate, there are people in the world who will look at this and completely miss the point - it's a HOAX!

As far as making $$$ off the threat of torture - doesn't the US government do that everyday? Nobody shutting them down anytime soon.
#5 Jamie on Jun 22 2007, 13:08 Reply
What about one of man's closest animal relatives, the gorilla? They are strictly vegetarian and have forward-facing eyes. And you think you can rip flesh with your canines? I've never seen a steakhouse without knives and forks on the table. If you want to see a real predator/carnivore's teeth, take a good look the next time a housecat yawns. If you've got teeth like that, you're a freak.
#6 Michael on Feb 5 2007, 19:21 Reply
You have got to be some kind of idiot, you know, its his pet. He can do whatever he wants with it and if you do actually think its cruel, what if he decides to say Okay I wont eat it, if things get illeagle and whatnot. And he decides to eat it any way? Will it make you feel better? because you cant really change his mind. Its a genius idea im not saying donate, but he is getting money for it.
#7 Jazi on Oct 18 2006, 16:46 Reply
Well, I did not know that Toby was saved until I went to the site and found it had been purchased by bored.com
I wanted to purchase some of the merchandise. anyone have any ideas on where stuff might be sold now?????
#8 Jeanine on Sep 15 2006, 20:42 Reply
I really can't agree with Benny, save on one point. The site definitely is unusual. It is not however cruel in any way, just like Bob said, it raises awareness of the fact that the meat we eat every day has, at some point, been a cute, and possibly cuddly, animal. People who take offense at this are in my humble opinion missing the point, so to speak. But that has always been the case with inteligent and truly unique actions.

I personally think that sites like savetoby.com and oneredpaperclip.com are what makes the internet the greatest human invention to date.
#9 shinmai (http://ihanu.us) on Jun 22 2006, 03:59 Reply
I'm glad that you find this interesting. Just goes to show you how sick some people, including yourself are. When I registered with godaddy.com, I hadn't read this article. Since you seem to be just dandy with this situation, you can be assured that I will not reregister my domain with you next year. I WILL NOT support people who are just fine with this. You can also be assured that I will NOT register any further domains with your company. The website is cruel and unusual, and apparently ok with you. Atleast the animal activists care about people, pets, and everything else. All you and others can care about are people and money. Ever think of it that way?
#10 Benny on Jun 1 2006, 10:23 Reply
Save toby is the most halarious thing I have seen in years. This is what I call entrepenuership at its best. I can't stop laughing. I was this close to buying one of the books save toby is selling not to save the rabbit. but just for the great laugh this website has provided me. I find it appauling that all these groups always find something to attack others about. Jesus, we each chicken, cows, goats, deers...i could just go down the list, it's a rabbit people...LOL and until you can convince the human race to stop eating animals, for now toby is must say is a real MEAL TICKET. LOL
#11 Alicia Heyliger on Feb 18 2006, 15:50 Reply
I think the owner could'nt have loved him if he is going to eat Toby. Its a good way to make money though!(heart) I think i might cook my rabbit. Never would i eat my best friend, They may eat every thing but i still love them i have two Hoppy and Floppy
#12 gerogina on Sep 18 2005, 01:53 Reply
Here's a little lesson in physiology for all you vegetarian freaks. First let me start by asking you if you have a problem with animals eating other animals. You know, a lion eats a gazelle. Is there something wrong with that? Maybe we should appeal to the lions to eat vegatbles instead. Here's my point. There's 2 types of animals in this world predators and prey. Here are some of the distinguishing characteristics of each. Predators have forward facing eyes to focus on the prey they are chasing. Predators have canine teeth to rip flesh. Predators have small intestines which sole purpose is digesting red meat. Prey has side facing eyes to see prey coming, no canine teeth, no means of digesting red meat. Can you tree huggers figure out which category humans fall into? Wether God created us or we evolved we were meant to eat animals for sustinence. I only have a problem with one thing Bob said, he said something about them making the $50,000 and still not eating the bunny, now that would be fraud. I would find it more preferable for what someone else said to happen. They fall short of there goal by a dollar or so and mmm mmm good its hassenpffefer time.
#13 Alex on Jul 14 2005, 12:54 Reply
Have you seen it now? Now he is going to go back on that and eat the rabbit if no one buys his book.

Hell, maybe I should threaten to eat my cat.
#14 Kat (n/a) on Jul 5 2005, 15:28 Reply
I have no beef with the creator of SaveToby.com, although that is not my point here, just thought I'd add to the statistic. My real purpose for this comment is this:

Reuters: Pastor aims to send rabbits to feed North Koreans

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoug hNews&storyID=8927546&src=rss/oddlyEnoughNews

Paypal had no right to cut the site off. Far too arbitrary. Where do we draw the line?
#15 Robin on Jun 30 2005, 08:42 Reply
I thought the "savetoby.com" site was pretty funny. I also respect the fact that godaddy doesn't censor such things. Who is to ultimately judge what is moral or not - any such judgement is censorship. Obviously if the content violates laws, it should be immediately removed. What makes this any less moral than the countless web sites exploiting sexual content - it all depends on your beliefs and viewpoint. If you don't like it, don't support it and certainly do not spend money. Honestly, the fact that people sent money at all demonstrates how stupid people can really be - look at the scenario - who is really the smart one and who are the idiots?

As for Paypal disabling the account - what right do they have? Again, compare this to the countless sites exploiting sex or other controversial content - they use paypal as well. As long as the site falls within all legal guidelines, and all dollar transactions are legitimate and without fraud, then paypal has no right to discriminate.

For everyone who has a problem with this site - get a life...these are the same people that try to censor tv and other programs (also the same morons that think tv is a babysitter for their kids). Kid's don't learn morals and values from tv - they learn it from their parents. If you don't like what's on TV, control your kids and don't let them watch it (in other words, BE A PARENT).

My two cents...

#16 Kevin on Jun 22 2005, 13:47 Reply
I think that this save toby thing is a joke. I can understand animal activists getting upset though... I was a member of PETA. I love animals but sometimes I eat them. I guess my issue is with the lack of compassion towards animals. Somewhere between animal and dinner plate there needs to be some thought about how the critter gets there. I think this website is just teasing people.... similarly the way a little boy would steal a doll from his sister and threaten to cut its head off... then pull the head right off the doll... in this case the teasing is with a living creature... and thats where the problem is.
#17 Joseph (-) on Jun 14 2005, 10:43 Reply
Okay, now I will be the first in line to stand up and protect my rights as an american. This has nothing to do with freedom of speech or anything else. I've eaten rabbits, deer, cow, pigs and many more that have walked across my dinner plate.

It is wrong simply because this animal is a pet not a food source. He was in the right, up until the split second he gave this animal a name. That is the dividing line between pets and livestock.

Giving this rabbit a name took it up to pet status, therefore giving it humanlike 'qualities' and 'attributes'.

I certainly don't name my farm animals before eating them. This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of. I also can't believe how dumb some of these people are who write in on this site. Trying to say they think their constituitional amendments are being taken advantage of because someone wants to express their opinion. That is what makes america great. Everyone can disagree and no one is in the wrong because it is all opinions. Like they say opinions are like a**holes everyone has one and they all stink!

And yes I am against this simply for the reasons that I have previously stated. Get over it!


#18 Jeff on Jun 12 2005, 17:21 Reply
I may be a little late in expressing an opinion on the whole savetoby.com issue. I have been to the website and there are no new updates, pictures, etc so it may no longer be active. But it is wrong on so many levels and right on none. If the so called owner of Toby feels he is doing nothing wrong then why is he hiding? One should stand up for their beliefs. He should be out in the open about who he is, death threats or not. If he truely feels he is in the right. On the issue of wether it is legal to hold Toby up for ransom. It should be. There are many things that are legal that shouldn't be and plenty that are not legal that should be. In an effort to keep this short I won't get started on that.

I believe that his website should be pulled. One should not be rewarded for this type of behavior. If he wants to eat Toby get it over with. You don't eat your pets and you don't ask for money to stop you from eating your pet.

I don't care if it is considered normal to eat that type of animal. That is not a loving and caring home if the pet ends up on the dinner table. I would consider getting butchered and becoming the main course being mistreated.

The question is not should you eat rabbit. It is do you eat an animal that is suppose to be a pet and a member of your family?
#19 Celeste on Jun 12 2005, 17:04 Reply
i think that there should be a stop to this, and that this man should be put into an insane assylum! why would he do this
#20 Bernita K on May 4 2005, 09:31 Reply
Dear Mr. Parsons,

I am writing to tell you that I enjoy reading your articles pertaining to the Vietnam War. My father was a soldier in the war and, shortly after returning , was killed in a car accident .
Although I was too young to understand the realities of the situations at home and in Vietnam, I know that his demise was partially beacause of the war.

I have met many men who were soldiers in that war . Some addicts,some successful businessmen. I thank them and pray for all who served this great country and their families.
#21 MIKE GENTILE on May 2 2005, 20:36 Reply
Dear tom,

The KIA number was 58,141.

No reason to call anyone mindless or ditto heads. Accomplishes nothing. Without the insults you made a few good points.

Lighten up my friend. The war's been long over.

Bob
#22 bob parsons on May 2 2005, 09:57 Reply
I keep hearing about this 'spitting on the Vietnam Vets' experience and wonder if this isn't an urban legend. One that, yes, undoubtedly happenned to a few vets—but I keep hearing it phrased in the same way such that I think it is just being passed on. As a non-Vet, antiwar activist, I proudly went to jail on Veterans Day with a bunch of VVAW guys who tried to protest the war in a VD parade and who were DENIED that priviledge by an organizing committee veterans of earlier wars.

These guys were the REAL heroes—those that risked their lives for what they thought was a noble cause and who then risked arrest and other censure from the mindless war establishment and the dittoheads who couldn't be bothered to question whether it was right to kill 55,000 Americans and 2,000,000+ Asians because there was an American flag pin and a patriotic speech in it for them.
#23 tom m on May 2 2005, 07:28 Reply
Marie,
I empathize with you. My problems are not as severe as yours but it makes me angry that we live in a country that effectively denies you and I a free market in dental care. We have one choice: the overpriced dental license monopoly created by the State to protect us. (Thats almost funny) I read a story yesterday about a boy that died of a brain infection, from untreated dental problems. I am considering going to Mexico for dental work.

I know this won't solve your problem but there is a book "Where there is no dentist" by Murray Dickson. The author has put it in the public domain and you can distribute it. Its a training manual for people in 3rd world countries to provide dental care. Good luck I am as frustrated as you are. - Joe
#24 Joe Tittiger (www.tittiger.com) on Apr 30 2005, 00:14 Reply
Hi Bob,

I've read quite a few comments regarding savetoby and it is interesting to see how very differently people feel about this website. My initial reaction was to think that there must be a law against this sort of activity and if there wasn't, then it must be in some way immoral. There seems to be no such law and morality can vary a lot between individuals, but even so, it still doesn't seem right. Why? Assume that it is morally acceptable to kill an animal for the purpose of eating it (this in itself is debatable) - then killing and eating a rabbit is ok. The problem seems to be be when the rabbit is brought to the attention of the public and given an identity so that on some level, people relate to it. To a lot of people, killing something they relate to is unacceptable and to contemplate it is upsetting. The fact that savetoby exists, suggests that the authors are aware of this tendency. It seems morally wrong, to me, to intentionally cause someone to be unhappy and even more so if you somehow profit from their unhappiness. Is that enough reason to censor this website? Probably not in today's society - the morality here is too subjective.

Andrew.
#25 Andrew on Apr 29 2005, 10:00 Reply
Are You serious??? Do you think those rabbits in that project were skinned ALIVE? GET SERIOUS!!

CAN YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE THAT ANYONE HAS THE CAPABILITY DO SKIN A RABBIT ALIVE WITHOUT COMING OUT SERIOUSLY INJURED? (besides the fact that nancys post said nothing regarding the specificality of that)

HUMANLY IMPOSSIBLE!!!!

Actually, the screams are when their necks or backs are broken (prefered method) or in some cases if the knife wasnt sharp enough for the throat, oh yes and one more tidbit of info for ya JEFF......

I HAD TO DO THE SAME DAMN PROJECT IN HIGH SCHOOL FOR SCIENCE CLASS THE ONLY DIFFERANCE IS I HAD TO RECONSTRUCT THE SKELETON.....along with a FULL report on any findings, etc..etc..etc..Soooooo what, are you against PUBLIC schooling now as well?????

I PRAISE nancy's parenting as his/her child will know what to do if ever his family is hungry for whatever reasons. So he was brought into manhood young, GOOD!

THAT WAY HE KNOWS AND SEES THE KILLING, KNOWS WHAT IT DOES, AND KNOW THAT IT IS WRONG UNLESS FOR FOOD....HOW THE SADNESS FEELS TO HAVE SOMETHING JUST <poof> GONE.......I GAURANTEE HE WONT BE IN THE HEADLINES FOR RUNNING A MUCK BEING THE SCHOOL BULLY NOR FOR CREATING YET ANOTHER SCHOOL OR OTHER JUVINILLE RELATED MURDER SPREE......that I might add PUBLIC again!

BETTER YET BEATING UP HIS TEACHER, PRINCIPAL OR SCHOOL COUNSELOR.....Oh yes poor child.....NOW THERES a PERSON TO POINT A FINGER AT that girls MOTHER, not nancy. and shame on that mothers Lawyer for defending such acts as THOSE THAT YOUNG THAT VIOLENT NEED TO BE NIPPED NOW WHILE THEY CAN BE HELPED TO CHANGE, not later in the prison system....which is where she my dear is headed.


ttfn
mm
#26 marie on Apr 25 2005, 01:20 Reply
Nancy,

Did you skin them alive as a reply to you asserts and as your phrases seems to indicate?

Thanks for clarifying.
#27 anonymous on Apr 25 2005, 01:02 Reply
In reply to Steve on Apr 24 2005, 14:13
Right - What we should be talking about is paypal's actions - They want to have their cake and eat it, too. They want to act as bank and more - but without recourse or due process.
What if a hindu or vegan decided to write to paypal about a website like www.OmahaSteaks.com or www.allenbrothers.com and told them to freeze their account because they sell beef? Or why shouldn't someone write in and have them freeze godaddy's account because they sold the savetoby domain.
Should a private company be able to seize an account holder's money because someone disagrees with an account holder's lifestyle, morals or actions (unless convicted of a crime requiring seizing of their holdings). What if someone disagreed with armed forces service and wrote in to say Bob's account should be closed because he was in a war against their country. Where and why does paypal get to draw the line. Certainly, if questioned they would lie and point to some sub-sub-sub-section of their agreement, but the truth is that it is simply capricious and arbitrary application of rules.

These people are getting away with whatever they want because there is no competition and because they have friends/allies in high and powerful places. Bob, I don't have enough money or power to fight paypal, but you do. Please consider starting a competing service, we need something between paypal, e-gold, nochex and bidpay.
#28 anonymous on Apr 25 2005, 00:35 Reply
It looks like rabbithaven.com would like to see poor toby get eaten. They have blocked one of the money streams that could possibly save his life. Now if the money doesn't reach $50,000 the blood of toby will be on rabbithaven.com's hands.
#29 Steve on Apr 24 2005, 14:13 Reply
Dear Mary,

I've said it before and I'll say it again....we do not find the SaveToby.com website to be morally objectionable. Based on the people I've talked with and also the comments posted on the Blog, I believe about 80% (the vast majority) of people feel the same way.

The site owner is not taking the bunny to a park and threatening kids, so that approach doesn't work. As far as television is concerned...that's not a good guage either. Some of the channels won't run GoDaddy's commercials —- and they certainly are not morally objectionable.

Since you've raised the issue, let me tell you the kinds of things that we do find morally objectionable:

1. Sites that feature show disgusting sex acts (my gift to you is that I won't describe them).

2. Sites that deal in hate.

So you see the things we find morally objectionable are very extreme. The SaveToby.com website clearly does not fall into the above categories.

Appreciate your post,

Bob
#30 bob parsons on Apr 23 2005, 18:41 Reply
Right, because teaching kids how food works is sadistic - What is one if the big differences besides the media between pre WWII and now? Pre WWII the majority of people lived in rural settings and created their own food. Mothers and children birthed, raised and killed various kinds of small animals for meals. I think that seeing and understanding birth, life and death at a younger age actually makes people more sensitive to life not less. Look at the Western urban world, it is completely sanitized of birth and death of animals and people, maybe that is part of the problem. This is a completely new and unnatural situation, the only people so insolated from birth and death is the past were some of the very wealthly. As much as PETA and other might try to convince people otherwise - birth, life and death happen in a very raw and often cruel way in nature, seeing that first hand at any age seems to reconnect the fact that life is tenuous at best.
#31 Rob on Apr 23 2005, 17:31 Reply
I love animals. I eat them everyday. God created some animals to be pets, some to be in Zoo's, some to live free in the wild, and many for human consumption. Many animals track down, and murder other animals, but nobody is going after them. The SaveToby.com website I think is worthy of recognition and here's my case.

1. The website that was created, produced income for the registrar, Web host, Webmaster and is keeping people employed, most likely with benefits.
2. Contributes to the tax base of America, and pays for retiree benefits, medicare, and much more.
3. A lovely furry Rabbit was saved from inevitable death.
4. SaveToby.com is no different from let's say your local not-for-profit website like the SPCA or PETA, where they solicit your donations to keep other animals alive.
5. The website is legal and hopefully profitable.

In the end, it wouldn't surprise me if SaveToby.com acheives it's goal, and someone adopts the Rabbit only to have it escape from it's cage, to be run over by a tree hugger, he knows he just killed something, but's shrugs it off as a natural death.

And that is more disturbing!

P.S. I strongly urge everyone to write to the Attorney General in Washington, and file a formal complaint against RabbitHaven.org. and have their not-for-profit status investigated. PayPal made a unilateral and biased decision for suspending SaveToby.com's PayPal account. Simply because a few people didn't like it.

I don't like RabbitHaven.org, they should be shut down and earn my CRAPHEAD AWARD!.

#32 Chris K. on Apr 23 2005, 08:35 Reply
One of the most interesting aspects of this issue is the justification that Bob Parsons presents to defend his company's decision to provide hosting to this website and also to allow the domain name owner to register the domain name anonymously.

In essence Go Daddy's justifiction is that the website is breaking no law and secondly it does not breach their terms and conditions.

It seems quite clear that the website, the actions to date and the stated intentions of the website owner do constitute and illegal activity. So the website is not breaking any laws.

Go Daddy's terms and conditions as quoted in this forum are apparently as follows:

"Engage in morally objectionable activities, including but not limited to those which are child pornographic, defamatory, abusive, harassing, obscene, racist, or otherwise objectionable."

So is savetoby.com morally objectionable under the "otherwise objectionable" provision? When challenged on this point in this forum Bob Parson's response was:

" We do not consider SaveToby.com to be "otherwise objectionable." It's not illegal to eat or not eat a rabbit. It's also not illegal to be paid not to eat it. "

It does not follow that it is not morally objectionable simply because it is legal. There is a difference between legality and morality.

I appreciate the difficulty of, and the inherent risks of a webhosting company imposing their own standards of morality as a measure to determine what they will publish.

This raises the question of how to determine if a website is "morally objectionable"? Bob Parson's response implies that Go Daddy's interpretation is that if is not illegal then it is not "morally objectionable".

Wrong answer, Bob. Why have this clause at all then? All you need is a clause that covers illegal activity.

One method that a webhosting company could employ to determine "morally objectionable" is to apply the "Reasonable Person" test to a website. This test has some basis in law and in this case it could be applied as follows:

Would a "Reasonable Person" consider the savetoby.com website "morally objectionable"? Let's find out. This website has no warnings or restrictions to access, so it can be viewed by anyone including children. So Bob, Go Daddy is allowing children to see the content of this website.

If you were to take a little rabbit like Toby to a playground or a park, approach a group of children and tell the children that unless they handed over $50 you would kill the rabbit and eat it, would a "Reasonable Person" find this behavior "morally objectionable" ?

Of course they would !

Granted the impact of a personal approach like this would be far more emphatic, the web site is no less traumatic or objectionable.

If the owner of savetoby.com wanted to hire television advertising time to conduct this "business" would the advertising or the broadcasting regulatory authority allow it? I doubt it.

The television broadcasting industry is a we...
#33 Mary Cannes on Apr 22 2005, 23:07 Reply
I'm not pleased with the SaveToby site, but I have to say that the guy has a great marketing ploy. The fact is that tens of thousands of little bunnies are sold in the Spring each year in the US for Easter. (Another successful marketing ploy...) Then they're discarded, which usually means that they wind up being put to death in shelters.

People do the same thing with a plethora of animals each christmas. Open your eyes and you'll realize that millions of pets are being put to death in shelters each year. Yet our consumer society keeps contributing to this cycle by buying cute little baby pets from greedy breeders.

People continue to eat at KFC despite the fact that they continue to get their "stock" from an environment that is unbelievably cruel to the birds. (see my homepage link and click for videos!) People only get upset when something like this is thrust into their view.

I noticed popular primetime fictional TV shows will show the process of cutting into a corpse for autopsy, yet the evening news covering news about conflict over clubbing seals will edit out the actual act of bludgeoning the seals. But people don't want to be reminded of such things. People would rather ignore that kind of thing while they eat what is not killed right in front of their eyes.

I'm not an extremist vegetarian by any means. I avoid chicken (haven't had any in over a year) and have a steak perhaps once a month to replace depleted iron (I am female...) naturally. I eat the fish my husband catches out of the ocean. (We eat what we catch and only catch what WE need to eat!) I eat eggs, and have recently discovered "free range" eggs.

The truth is that our society is not set up to accommodate kindness to animals. Animal mills produce millions of animals specifically for slaughter so we can fill our fat bellies. Pet mills and greedy breeders continue to pump out pets for consumers to BUY that often end up cast aside later for another cute little pet. The demand for such things continues, so the people making money of you will continue to pump them out!

So getting pissed over a little bunny (who is considered a delicacy) seems a bit overactive. If you want to get made over cruelty to animals, get mad at the bunny mills and breeders who purposely pump them out for a religious holiday that has nothing to do with them. Get ticked at the pet stores who stock up on them before that holiday. Not some guy who has one bunny that he found under his porch who came up with yet another clever (and pretty darn successful) marketing ploy! HE is not the root of the problem, CONSUMERS are!!
#34 Lynne (http://www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com) on Apr 21 2005, 09:24 Reply
Hopefully this smart webmaster will get $49,999 in the donation and then stick to his word and EAT THE DELICIOUS RABBIT!!!

That way cute little Toby can be enjoyed for his delicious rabbit meat ..
PLUS
homeboy makes the maximum number if dollars!!

A win-win proposition!

P.S. Please don't start judging or you will be haunted by the ghosts of all those cute little chickens and cows YOU ATE UP!

all this has made me hungry ...
#35 Bruce on Apr 20 2005, 15:24 Reply
I think it's absolutely hilarious. The funniest thing I've seen on the net this year right next to that Ford UK commercial where the hood of the car flips up and kills a bird. Great stuff...
#36 Steve on Apr 19 2005, 16:00 Reply
That egghead may get his $50k, but he will always have to wake up realizing he is no better than all the other sick, twisted murderers, who made money at it. May God have mercy on his soul, he's gonna need it!
#37 WSmiddy on Apr 19 2005, 13:13 Reply
Nancy's post is another reason why I oppose homeschooling. That "science" project she assigned to her kids, was nothing more than an exercise in sadism. It was a complete waste of time, and devoid of any valuable scientific instruction. I'll bet that she teaches Creationism instead of Darwin's theory of evolution.

I also have to question Nancy's fitness as a parent. Risking a kid's emotional health, by having that child witness a rabbit screaming from being skinned alive, is unconscionable. If Nancy is for real, then I suggest that she pursue psychiatric treatment.
#38 Jeff Gordon on Apr 18 2005, 20:31 Reply
Does anyone know if they could save on their taxes by donating to a 501(c)3, nonprofit, grassroots charity?

If so, don't give it to Uncle Sam, they will waste it anyway!

Make a charitable donation to a non-government sponsored, 501(c)3 ..... ....
#39 Just Curious on Apr 18 2005, 20:03 Reply
A rather bizarre website is savetoby.com. I don't find it funny, not even mildly amusing, nor is it particularly clever. Many of those who defend the stunt, seem enraged to the point of a psychotic fit.
#40 Niles on Apr 18 2005, 16:58 Reply
Dear Venus,

The website still exists. It's just under a massive DOS attack that keeps you from seeing it.

We're presently working with the site owners to take steps that will deflect the attack. It will be back up soon.

None of this affects the websites hosted at Go Daddy.

Appreciate your post,

Bob
#41 bob parsons on Apr 18 2005, 11:25 Reply
REF SAVE TOBY
IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT THE WEB SITE NO LONGER EXIST. WE WERE ALL EXCITED TO FIND OUT TOBY'S OUTCOME. THE OWNER OF THE SITE HAD A GREAT IDEA UNFORTUNATELY IT WAS DONE IN A TACY MANNER. ITS ALSO UNFORTUNATE THAT NO ONE CAN TAKE A JOKE ANYMORE.
#42 VENUS SIMCOX (VENUSSIMCOX@YAHOO.COM) on Apr 18 2005, 09:39 Reply
I was remiss in my previous post in reference to Bob. As the grandson of an aircraft commander of a B-29 during World War II (Pacific theater), and the nephew of a U.S. infantryman in the European theater, I have the utmost of respect and gratitude for combat veterans such as Bob Parsons.

Regards,
Jeff
#43 Jeff Gordon on Apr 17 2005, 18:58 Reply
Look I realize that it's Animal Cruelty/Human Violence Awareness Week (April 17-23), but can't we talk about something else? Enough about politics, ethics, and morality!

How about sports, movies, or cars? Or the new pope? This other stuff is too heavy, and at times, vitriolic. Anyway, I'm satisfied with Bob. He's a good guy, even if you don't agree with some things. In fact, there is no one on Earth I agree with on everything. However, some of the posters are irrational or just plain rotten.

Regards,
Jeff
#44 Jeff Gordon on Apr 17 2005, 18:33 Reply
Ya'll want to know what I think? I think that this bunny should live. It's something that the whole wold is involved in, and now i think we should live to see him live. What will happen if they don't raise all the money that they need to?What are they going to do? Spend it on another bunny to make money off of? I'm confused and don't know what I think. I think that the bunny should live for as long as he can. Who started this whole 'savetoby' thing? It's not illegal to kill it or anything? So, I think that people should leave him alone.
#45 Kat (askjeeves.com) on Apr 17 2005, 16:36 Reply
So, let me get this right, IF this guy has a life threatening condition he is supposed to DONATE it???

Hmmmmmm, if I were to be doing this, its a choice between living to see my son turn 18,
OR

....donate the 10,000.00 I raised to a charity take the risk of dying before I get to see my son graduate not to mention leaving him without a mother???? WOW

BOTTOMLINE IS THIS......DO YOU WANT SOMEONE TELLING YOU WHAT YOU CAN AN CANNOT DO WITH THE MONEY YOU WORK YOUR HINEY OFF FOR EVERYDAY FOR?

SO WHAT IF SOME PEOPLE THOUGHT THEY COULD SPARE A FEW BUCKS TO THIS GUY, THE BUCKS THAT ARE THIERS THEY WORKED FOR ITS THIER RIGHT TO DO SO WITHOUT HAVING TO HEAR THEY ARE STUPID OR LAME OR QUESTIONED AT ALL FOR THAT MATTER.

Ha take a look at old GWB...and HOW much wev'e sacraficed for this war on terrorism, you have no idea of how much he has damaged our economy school programs welfare and social security, but yet keeps saying we're OK eveythings fine.

BUT no one questions him,,,,he too even as a president is equal, to everyother hard working well, working american out there,he does it why cant the donaters of america do it to?????? Oh, I forgot cuz he gets PAID to make his financial choices.

TTFN
marie
#46 marie on Apr 17 2005, 02:19 Reply
I don't know what you are trying to pull but, animals are like people you should send all the money you get for doing this & give it to a good charity
#47 Barbara on Apr 16 2005, 10:31 Reply
well, well....now hasn't this got everyone riled up or what? It's funny, my mother and I were just discussing how I could possibly raise money online......savetoby.com your a genius!

DON'T get me wrong people, Im not condoning the use of bunnies for cash bait, HOWEVER at the same time, this is America is it not? Its strange to me how all these people want their right, yet when someone excercises one of their rights, and offends a handful of people...LOOK OUT!

PLEASE....I'm sure the woman that had PayPal suspend his account does SOMETHING that offends the makers/owners of savetoby.com, a neighbor of his a friend on the other coast, etc,,,, and say she wanted to make a website to make a few dollars for whatever reasons and turns into overnight celeb? I bet she wouldnt appreciate having her account persuaded into closure! ID SUE PAYPAL FOR EVERY DIME THEY HAD IF NO POLICIES WERE BROKEN!!!

HASNT ANONE ASKED THEM WHAT THEY NEED THE MONEY FOR??? My lord what if they are brothers and grandma needs a new hip,wouldnt you feel like an ASS!!!!! What if they are in med school just think, they could save or NOT SAVE your family member.....wow....THEY ARE NOT BREAKING ANY LAWS,,,TOBY is well taken care of and Im SURE will benefit from the funds......

IVE SEEN HUMAN CHILDREN treated WORSE than this rabbit, ya, hows that one feel, your busy saving a food source while poor little johny 8 yrs old living in his unheated no blumbing or hot water vacant building with his intervienous using parents that beat him and starving , soiled clothes........UUUGGGHHHH!!!!!

there are better causes to be fighting here....PLEASE!

I had planned on asking anyone that could out in internet space to send ONE DOLLAR to assist me to get the oral surgury I so desperately need, I eat nothing but soft foods have toothaches almost on a daily basis, hot cold everything bothers them has for over 2 years now. numerous infections have set in and are threatining my life.

BUT I CANT GET A JOB LOOKING LIKE THIS AND NO JOB MEANS NO MEDICAL!!!! Im an educated professional person, just had soft enamal and bad genes....

The surgury is not covered by any public state health plan either. I was told if I could afford the 375.00 to be put under, then I could pay for the remaining 9,000.00 (+) and that was over a year ago. Im loooking at jaw bone scraping and reconstruction due to deteriation of my jaw bone.....I planned on having pics too.....you think the THOUGHT of that bunny being eaten turned your stomach, you should see what I have to live with in my mouth and can do NOTHING! Theres things in there a dentist has probobly NEVER SEEN!

In end, I hope that savetoby.com inspires people to do ask for help when they need it, yes I'll admit, they went about it a wierd way, but........IT WORKED and if its a GOOD or NEEDY cause, then MORE POWER to them!!

Thanks! Im off to brainstorm!!!

TTFN
MM
#48 marie on Apr 16 2005, 03:55 Reply
Bravo.... I wish I thought this up when my kids and I raised meat bunnies for a homeschool science project, skinning them and hearing them scream did upset my 5 year old boy but he enjoyed the fried rabbit to this day. Wonder if a photo of a chicken would work.
#49 Nancy (Sulphurcanyon.com) on Apr 15 2005, 14:16 Reply
Nice conspiracy theory Mr. Parsons but there is nothing else at work. It is a stone cold fact. What I said is true, I'm not lying, I'm not a liar. I'm also very offended by you calling me a liar without knowing the facts. But I guess that makes for a good defense for you - deny it and accuse me of lying. Very mature and professional. I have nothing to gain by this, I'm not suing you. As a matter of fact it's already taken up a few more minutes of my time than I intended to waste. I have numerous witnesses although they are probably all still employed there and would be reluctant to speak up in my defense for fear of their jobs. If what I say is true and your call center manager is misrepresenting your position to employees, he should be reprimanded. But I doubt that he is, so I'm sure that won't happen. The only thing at work here is I felt the need to point out the only person making more money off this than the owner of savetoby.com is you. It's free advertising and the fact you are going on the news, being quoted in newspapers, and putting links directly to the site in your blog shows that this is working well for you. Congratulations on your success.
#50 Craig on Apr 15 2005, 11:19 Reply
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Excerpt: Hot Points: “ A blog by Go Daddy founder and president Bob Parsons." How cruel or kind an animal is man? Could he be capable of eating a Bunny? The host says help to save him if you can, but would...
Weblog: The Phil Zone
Tracked: Apr 06, 09:45

Save Toby!
Excerpt: This guy knows how to make money. He started a website called SaveToby.com. Toby is a injured baby rabbit he found in his yard and has been raising. On June 30, 2005 he will be eating the rabbit if he...
Weblog: Mike's Information Technology Blog
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