TiVo Pulls Web Page Promoting FOTF’s SuperDads Contest

Jim Burroway

June 10th, 2008

Apparently, TiVo has been getting a lot of grief over the TiVo/Focus On the Family SuperDads contest. That’s the contest where everyone is supposed to submit an essay explaining why their dad is a “SuperDad,” with winners throughout the month of June receiving free TiVo’s. The problem is that several LGBT folks have been submitting essays explaining why their dads are SuperDads, only to find their submissions disappear into the ether. This has prompted tons of complaints to TiVo, as well as an online petition at the Family Equality Council.

Partnering to promote a discriminatory contest in which LGBT contestants are silently disqualified can set the company afoul of several states’ anti-discrimination laws — nevermind the public relations fiasco this move has caused. It looks like TiVo’s fealing the heat though. The web page on TiVo’s web site promoting FOTF’s contest affiliation used to be here, but now it’s missing — even though the contest goes on through the end of the month. (The contest page is still up at Focus On the Family.) But TiVo’s silent removal of a web page won’t be enough to gloss over the outrage. That will take a public apology and a reassessment of TiVo’s partnering relationship with FOTF.

Meanwhile, here at BTB we’re holding a truly inclusive SuperDads contest. Tell us why your dad is a SuperDad. You can send photos, essays, letters, drawings, videos, podcasts, or whatever else conveys a sense of what your father has meant to you. Your only limitation is your imagination. Just send it to Superdad@boxturtlebulletin.com.

The best submission gets a free BTB T-shirt. I know it’s not much, but maybe next year we’ll be able to afford a TiVo.

[Hat tip: Good As You]

Update: Some people are reporting that the site is up, while others say its down. A mystery. Here are some questions we’d like you to answer in the comments:

1. Does TiVo’s page load for you?

2. Is this the first time you tried accessing the web page at TiVo?

3. Did you clear your browsers’ cache and/or deleted cookies? Do you get a different result if you do?

4. Please specify which browser, operating system, and internet provider is giving you your results.

G-A-Y

June 11th, 2008

A correction: The web page that was pulled was not promoting the contest itself, only the affiliation between Tivo and FOF in terms of the “Kidzone” service. I don’t think Tivo ever actively promoted the contest.

John

June 11th, 2008

FYI – At 8:28AM EST the TiVo webpage you linked is up. I guess they’re not sure what they want to do about this…

G-A-Y

June 11th, 2008

John, Joe: It’s not that it’s going up and down. It’s that for some people, te site loads, while for others, it does not. Not sure what’s going on.

I’ve tried it on three diff. computers and three different browsers, and the site will not load for me. Some of my readers report the same results, but others say the site loads for them without incident. Weird.

Jim Burroway

June 11th, 2008

Several people are reporting that the page is up. But when I try to load the page, I get a “page not found” error.

Have you tried clearing your browser’s cache before trying to load the page?

G-A-Y

June 11th, 2008

Yea, I did.

AlexM

June 11th, 2008

I followed your link, page there. I cleared my cache, hit reload, still there. It is possible to set up a web server to selectively block or allow access to certain pages depending on ip/location. I just got up, so let me wake up before I hunt down public web proxies to test my theory out.

werdna

June 11th, 2008

The linked page loads for me using both Firefox and Safari on my iMac. But it’s not a promo for the contest, it’s just an ad for TiVo that says “Welcome Focus on the Family” and touts the KidZone feature.

Jim Burroway

June 11th, 2008

Some people are reporting that the site is up, while others say its down. A mystery. Here are some questions we’d like you to answer in the comments:

1. Does TiVo’s page load for you?

2. Is this the first time you tried accessing the web page at TiVo?

3. Did you clear your browsers’ cache and/or deleted cookies? Do you get a different result if you do?

4. Please specify which browser, operating system, and internet provider is giving you your results.

AlexM

June 11th, 2008

As I said before, I’m still waking up. Yes, the page that comes up is all about Kidzone, and says that TiVo is working with FotF for Kidzone. I haven’t tested my ‘location’ theory yet. Let me finish my coffee.

G-A-Y

June 11th, 2008

Jim: I’ve written you about this, but I wanted to post it here as well:

It seems that we are being redirected on the basis of our IP address. I figured this out because when I try and load the Tivo/FOF site via my iPhone connected to our Wi-FI network, the site will not load. However, when I go off the network and connect to the collective Edge net (therefore no longer associated with our homebase IP), I can load the site just fine.

http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2008/06/is-tivo-being-s.html

AlexM

June 11th, 2008

You posted when I was typing, Jim. Windows, both Firefox and IE shows it, and Midconet in North Dakota.

GDad

June 11th, 2008

I can’t find anything on the TiVo web site about it at all. The site map and any links turn up nothing.

Firefox, WinXP, not sure of ISP.

AlexM

June 11th, 2008

Ok, while testing the few anonymous proxy servers that I could get to work, I found one that didn’t go through. But when I went back to surfing normally (not through proxy), I found that it didn’t work for me again (I had turned my cache off while testing). What it did for me was redirect from http://www.tivo.com/promo/kidzone/fotf.html to http://www.tivo.com/promo/kidzone/kzoffer.html.
Also, when it was still coming through normally, it got redirected that way when I checked through a FreeBSD (a type of Unix operating system) server I have access to, on a different ISP (QWest, also in ND).

I’m still scratching my head on this one.

Ephilei

June 17th, 2008

No wonder there’s a bias against gay dads: every gay dad is silenced.

Leave A Comment

All comments reflect the opinions of commenters only. They are not necessarily those of anyone associated with Box Turtle Bulletin. Comments are subject to our Comments Policy.

(Required)
(Required, never shared)

PLEASE NOTE: All comments are subject to our Comments Policy.

 

Latest Posts

The Things You Learn from the Internet

"The Intel On This Wasn't 100 Percent"

From Fake News To Real Bullets: This Is The New Normal

NC Gov McCrory Throws In The Towel

Colorado Store Manager Verbally Attacks "Faggot That Voted For Hillary" In Front of 4-Year-Old Son

Associated Press Updates "Alt-Right" Usage Guide

A Challenge for Blue Bubble Democrats

Baptist Churches in Dallas, Austin Expelled Over LGBT-Affirming Stance

Featured Reports

What Are Little Boys Made Of?

In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.

Slouching Towards Kampala: Uganda’s Deadly Embrace of Hate

When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.

Paul Cameron’s World

In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.

From the Inside: Focus on the Family’s “Love Won Out”

On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.

Prologue: Why I Went To “Love Won Out”
Part 1: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Part 2: Parents Struggle With “No Exceptions”
Part 3: A Whole New Dialect
Part 4: It Depends On How The Meaning of the Word "Change" Changes
Part 5: A Candid Explanation For "Change"

The Heterosexual Agenda: Exposing The Myths

At last, the truth can now be told.

Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!

And don‘t miss our companion report, How To Write An Anti-Gay Tract In Fifteen Easy Steps.

Testing The Premise: Are Gays A Threat To Our Children?

Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.

Straight From The Source: What the “Dutch Study” Really Says About Gay Couples

Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.

The FRC’s Briefs Are Showing

Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.

Daniel Fetty Doesn’t Count

Daniel FettyThe FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.