I'm just curious, but I've seen an ever increasing number of hosts switching from Unlimited Bandwdith to Unmetered Bandwidth, and then in their AUP it says, when you reach 5 GB (or whatever the amount is) then we charge.

Maybe I'm wrong, but isn't Unmetered and Unlimited pretty much the same thing? I mean, if your not monitoring it how do you know how much they are using?

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Mike Astin
WebAuthorities
http://www.webauthorities.com
http://www.resellerinfo.com - A free reseller information site (coming soon!)

[This message has been edited by MikeA (edited 08-18-2000).]

Well, they say that it is unmetered *until* you reach your limit. I don't kow what to say about that. SO long as the site has the actual limits posted, and it isn't usd in the exact same way as unlimited (hidden deep within the site or TOS).

On another similar topic... how do you say that you offer (let's use POP boxes for example), POP boxes that the user can set up himself. This isn't coming ot right...

Ummm, basically, there are times when you don't monitor the amount of something (as a host), like POP boxes or mailing lists. I still would rather see hard limits set (like 200 POP accounts), instead of the word unmetered, etc...

What they really mean in these cases is, that it is unmetered UNLESS it becomes a problem. This could be taken the same way though. What if your user decides to offer hotmail II ??? You have to set limits, because there are limits (plain and simple).

Uhhhhhh, I should stop now. Not sure I even got *any* points across, blah.

There is a significant difference between unlimited and unmetered. We all know unlimited is a lie. Unmetered allows them the flexibility to be generous with bandwidth without setting hard, defined limits. I can think of several reasons why they might do this.

For one, it acknowledges the relationship between bandwidth and cpu usage. A site with mostly static HTML pages, which is not taxing to the cpu and other resources, could be alloted more bandwidth than a site with dynamically generated pages and notorious resource hogs (like UBB).

Unmetered, as I interpret its use, means as much as you may use, within reason, up to a flexible limit that depends on your content and usage.

It is very different from unlimited.

I still don't like the terms unmetered or unlimited.

I have had a discussion with a webhost trying to get listed on my site - but wants to list his company as having unlimited bandwidth.

I do not list packages that claim to have unlimited bandwidth, as I don't want to mislead the users of my site into thinking that its true.

Anyway - after a few emails, he ended up saying that users get kicked off when they reach x ammount of CPU processes.

He thought that if there was a site on his servers using 500GB of static HTML transfered a month without getting past that ammount of processes, then it would be of no extra cost to the client (on a $19.95 a month account).

This just shows how misleading it is - there is always limits with these companies, so don't go with a host that claims to offer unmetered or unlimited bandwidth.

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Unmetered is an imprecise term. It avoids the real question - what is the limit? Further, it gives the host a leeway to interpret the term in the way it likes, should a dispute arise.

It is a term that customers and honest hosts should avoid.

[This message has been edited by Chestnut (edited 08-19-2000).]

Michael_Bray,

You don't like "Unlimited or unmetered" then how come you have adversitments that shows "unlimited" button somewhere? That's misleading I do not like.

I do not follow Unlimited or Unmetered, period.

Originally posted by Chestnut:
Unmetered is an imprecise term. It avoids the real question - what is the limit? Further, it gives the host a leeway to interpret the term in the way it likes, should a dispute arises.

It is a term that customers and honest hosts should avoid.

I disagree. Read what I said above about the relationship of bandwidth and cpu usage. Yes it is imprecise, and there is a very good reason why it is.

How can you define a limit that can be very different for each user because of their content and programs?

I wouldn't rule out a host that claims unmetered bandwidth (and some other resources) solely on that basis. I think it is an attempt by some seemingly reputable hosts to describe, in as short a term as possible, a reasonably generous amount of resources. Otherwise, they could just claim unlimited and reel in the new fish who might believe it.

However, if it is just a ruse by some companies who have learned to avoid "unlimited" because an increasing number of prospective customers have learned to avoid it, then that is a different story. Such companies will usually have other tell tale signs than the use of the word unmetered.

The way Duster explained it, I really don't like the term. In fact his views (not bad mind you, just *his*) make me sway completely against using the terms "unlimited" or "unmetered" for any reason.

If you'd like to describe a generous amount of features, I'd suggest a hard limit with an *If you need more, just ask!

That way, you can be liberal and set another 100 POP accounts as needed, etc. If there is a problem, it can be discussed at that time.

"Support, can I get 100 additional POP accounts?"

"Bob, you already have 1,000 POP accounts. Are you trying to start up HOTMAIL II ?"

"Is that ok?"

You get the idea.

Chicken,

That's funny of you. If I had 1,000 POPs, I would run HotMailSucks.com

Kidding ...

And yet, I don't see a website itself use 1000 POPs even. I know Hotmail does but I mean personal site?

Any one did, post it here ...

People seem to get some ideas in their heads sometimes. I remember reading a post that someone asked, "Does anyone know where Geocities is hosted?" They wanted to start up the same thing.

I figure Geocities must be hosted on one of those $9.95/mo unlimited space/bandwidth hosts. Surely they are smart enough to see a great deal like that and not pay thousands of $$$'s :)

..."UNMETERED" is just another word for being sneaky, it's in the grey area of words nothing more or less. If you take it word by word "unmetered" means unmetered and if you reach 5GB or 10GB it is still "unmetered" and the service should be provided as announced. I'd stay away ANY provider who put the word "unmetered" on their website then in small print "til you reach 5GB" or "a fee will be charged once you reach 5GB". A marketing trick that more and more seem to take after.

I agree with Chestnut saying:
### Unmetered is an imprecise term. It avoids the real question - what is the limit? Further, it gives the host a leeway to interpret the term in the way it likes, should a dispute arises.###

It is exactly what it is.

If it is unmetered, then how do they know how much you are using? And if they do know the stats, then they ARE METERING it.

Unmetered means to "not keep track of"...and if you read the sites that say "unmetered", they still have a hard number in the TOS, so Dusty is wrong in saying that they do that so they don't need to set hard numbers....show me a site that says "unmetered" and has no defined limit in their TOS?!


And if they had no defined limit, in their terms, thats even worse! That means you are leaving them with the sole discretion, they can screw you anythime they wish.

I can see Duster's point of view, but I agree with Chicken. Take away the "Unmetered" and say "If you want more, ask". To me Unmetered is a way to get around the unlimited issue.

Duster, I agree that it's a good policy, but I think that if a site lists a limit, then it's not unmetered. According to the dictionary metered means to measure, therefore unmetered would mean not measured. Well if it's not measured, it's unlimited, right?

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Mike Astin
WebAuthorities
http://www.webauthorities.com
http://www.resellerinfo.com - A free reseller information site (coming soon!)

I wasn't defending the use of the term, just pointing out that it should be taken in context with other factors on the site.

It's really easy to judge by the use of a single word, but who here has never made a mistake or said the wrong thing without knowing why? I've seen many people here use the word "spam" inappropriately. Does that mean you can't trust anything they say?

Yes, it is better to have defined limits. It gives people something to focus on. I use terms like "as much as you're likely to need", "within reason", "as much as you want, within reason" and "just ask if you need more".

Keep in mind that we have seen hosts (that participate here) change their terminology to more accurately reflect their offerings. Their attitude and service is the same as when they said "unlimited", so what's changed other than their terminology?

There is no ambiguity in the meaning of "unlimited" and most of us are rather unforgiving of any company that uses the term. It is clearly, and unquestionably, misprepresentation. Not so with unmetered.

Some of yu are not allowing for the possiblity of a company offering good service that hasn't learned to be more specific in describing that service. Too many people look for short, often one word, terms. Unmetered is certainly shorter than "as much as you want within reason. Just ask if you need more" or describing the relationship between bandwidth and cpu usage on the service plans page.

Remember, many hosting companies, including many here, are just a handful of people. If they don't have, or take, the time to grab a dictionary and make sure they use the right term, and that is the only thing wrong with their site and service, should that alone disqualify them?

Is there anybody here who hasn't used a wrong word in the last year? How many of you use a dictionary regularly if you're not sure of the meaning of a word? Even reputable dictionaries (I use Webster's Unabridged) don't accurately describe some things*. How many of you make the effort to look in other reference texts to be sure?

The intent of a hosting company to describe their services, along with their track record, are important. If they are less than perfect (and which ones aren't) and are not attempting to deceive, then I think some leeway should be in order and it should be taken in context.

*example: many dictionaries do not accurately describe the difference between a midget and a dwarf, although it is simple to do.