Funko vs Itch Update

Liam at Gaming On Linux has some further news about Funko taking down itch.io with a spurious request. Here’s a summary.

  1. Some user created a fanpage for the upcoming Funko Fusion massive crossover game.
  2. Whatever was on it, it triggered some “brand protection” function on a service Funko uses.
  3. It send out complaints to both Itch’s host and DNS registrar.
  4. Itch founder Leaf disabled the account and removed the page and notified both entities. The host nodded and closed the matter; the DNS company, however, never replied.
  5. After a time, the registrar automatically disabled Itch’s domain name, making it impossible to load the site unless you knew its IP address, and who uses those anymore amirite?
  6. Itch, unable to get their registrar to respond to them, posted about the matter on social media, which turned up the heat enough that the problem got fixed pretty quickly after that.

Two weird things. First, Leaf’s mother got social media messages about the problem, for unknown reasons. And Funko posted an artfully-worded statement that claimed it was a mistake without actually apologizing.

The message that Leaf’s Mom sent to Leaf about the issue. She seems like a pretty cool lady. (Image from Gaming on Linux)

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