RPGDX > Forums > Off Topic > No ad free webhosting -- ethical?

tcaudilllg · Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 8:08 am Post subject: No ad free webhosting -- ethical?

There is a new webhost in town called myownfreehost. It offers a whopping 200gb bandwidth and 5.5gb of space for free to individuals. It is making money by selling this space to resellers, many of whom are advertising it as "ad free". (and these "plans" are, apparently, ad free).

What is going on? My first suspicion is that this is an up-and-coming monopoly in the web host market. One very interesting characteristic of free accounts obtained from these "cobranding" suppliers: the user name is always a number. You are given this number when you sign up, and cannot specify a user name of your choice. You can change your password, but not the number.

The hosting is essentially unlimited: you get PHP with full .htaccess privileges, safe mode off (very important for anyone who's ever actually tried to run a CMS on PHP), and most file names accepted.

Also, there have been a few new web hosts offering slightly less generous plans (anywhere from 1gb to 20 in terms of space, and from 10 to 100gb in terms of bandwidth) who to have a habit of asking their clients which file types to allow. .htaccess is unavailable and PHP runs in safe mode. I tried to install a wiki last night to one of these services, and was unable to install half of it because it used extensions as part of the names of its files (it was PMWiki). I tried to run another wiki (the earnestwhile LionWiki, which is no more than a single 35k file) and safe mode crippled it. Altogether the controlled extensions regime seems rather amateurish to me, and I wonder why a webhost who was that clueless would actually get into the biz. I wouldn't think much of it if I hadn't just stumbled on another site with similar offerings, and noticed the exact same behavior, and I'm wondering, "what is going on?".

Hajo · Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 8:37 am Post subject:

Geocities is going down, and others try to catch the homeless website owners? But I have no clue ...

tcaudilllg · Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 12:20 am Post subject:

I've been thinking about it, and it seems like these websites are scamming themselves. Without ads, there is no way to generate revenue, so those servers are digging themselves a hole.

What I bet happens is that they build up a subscriber base and then go forced ads. Several of them have apparently already done this, and forced ads are in the ToS.

Still, what would someone need such webspace for? 5.5 gigs? And 200Gb bandwidth?

I'm planning several social experiments, one being the RPG and another being a dating site probably. I'm thinking I'm going to get a $1 dollar hosting plan, which several sites are experimenting with.

I've heard that you can be charged for getting bandwidth over your limit. My ambition for these projects is to eventually serve thousands of people a day, so bandwidth is a concern for me.

Nodtveidt · Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 1:46 am Post subject:

myownfreehost has actually been around for awhile and has changed hands a few times now, it seems. And from what I see, their support is pretty lame and their service relies on spamming. Sign up with them and you'll be bombarded with advertising, and have your email address sold to thousands of other companies to bombard you further. Avoid them like the bubonic plague.
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Hajo · Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 9:33 pm Post subject:

tcaudilllg · Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 10:19 pm Post subject:

I ended up settling with 1dollar-webhosting.com. Their $1-a-month plan is great, and if I need to I can upgrade to their unlimited $3 plan without a hassle. The $4/$5 dollar plans are an overcharge in the age of terrabyte HDDs.

I don't think "no ads" is a sustainable business model without some other form of compensation for the service. I can see a foundation of some sort making it work by relying on donations, but otherwise, no chance.

Mattias Gustavsson · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 8:39 am Post subject:

I use bluehost.com for hosting. Unlimited storage&transfer and full php for $7 a month. I'm real happy with it so far (had it for year and a half now) - it is very rarely down, seems quite fast and generally works well - and they have excellent support by people who actually seem to want to help you with your problem.

as for the question of this thread... Why would "no ad free webhosting" not be ethical?
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