Here is something I dont get about WHT.

I look thru the forums every day and find something odd. Why do hosts reply to threads asking about other hosts. More importantly why do hosts recommend other hosts?

Just makes no sense to me.

I watch a thread about my company. Starts off pretty good. Then I see another host outright tell the prospect to try someone else. What gives with this. I understand its the right of the poster. Just seems strange that a host would suggest to a person considering purchasing that "Hey you should try them, instead of them".

As a host I stay off the thread where prospects are asking about certain hosting companies. At most I would say is use the search function.

Look, this is in now way a bash. At all, quite the opposite.

Just more of a what gives.

Bill

i've wondered about that myself, but since i only post in the Lounge, i figured its none of my concern.

If the thread starter is asking for recommendations or comments, then it's open game. But, it should be done tactfully.

If it's in an advertising section and a hosting company is the thread starter then other companies should not jump in and badmouth the company that started the thread. That's just bad business unless they are pointing out a fraud or scam.

That's the way I see it :)

Theirs a number of people that visit their competitors threads and post in every single thread about them and 99% of the time negative. I don't know if the mods are allowing this or they can't see what is happening.

Those people know who they are and hence I will not mention any names.

I do sometimes comment on hosts. However, I try to avoid making any negative comments.

I have recommended a few hosts on occasion, only because I have had experience with them, or I've heard many good things.

Besides, it's also advertising, in that you're getting your name out via a signature.

hosts commenting on hosts

There will always be people that feel the need to make comments on anything. :)

With that being said, most Hosters will not openly bash another, unless they have good reason -- hopefully verifiable as well. IMHO, any Hoster promoting "unlimited" anything for services on a Server -- Support not included of course :) -- is open game and needs to be shot down. There is just too much of that type of false advertising going around.

I recently made a post about two other companies advertising "unlimited" and how wrong it was, but only because the thread starter themselves (who was looking for a better Hosting deal) mentioned it specifically. One of the mentioned Hosters also made a post, clarifying that, yes, although they did offer some "unlimited" features they made clear in their TOS that "unlimited" use of said features was not allowed -- if account usage involved more than 3% of System resources, was their exact wording. Which proved my point exactly.

So, sometimes Hosters bring it upon themselves. For the most part though, we Hosters like treat each other with some common courtesy and respect -- even if we feel the need to point out something negative about another Hoster.

I've commeted on other hosts that I've had experience with in the past. I don't think there is anything wrong with giving advice if you have it regardless of what you do.

Originally posted by MN-Robert
I don't know if the mods are allowing this or they can't see what is happening.
Report it :) We don't exactly get much time for browsing all the threads everyday :eek:

IMO if your posting in another hosts thread with your signature showing its unprofessional,that would be like Walmart posting on a forum and then Target coming along and saying something negative about there store when they have never shopped at one (meaning a host putting down another host but have never used them).

I dont understand why other hosts recommend other hosts but i guess thats the way people are, like sometimes when i go to AutoZone and want a part thats not in stock i guess there to lazy to order it for me or find it at another store so they recommend for me to go to PepBoys.

Hosts weren't always hosts and if they have used another host before, why should they be different than any other member who recommends a host they have used?

As anon-e-mouse said; if you notice someone doing this, please use that 'Report this post to a moderator' link.
. . . Participants may not use discussions to recommend, praise, or belittle other products or services, or any company; without justification for those opinions expressed. This includes companies recommending other companies. Any post not meeting moderator's criteria may be removed without notice. . . .

so reporting is the best thing to do :)

Yes indeedy :)

Some people just don't have a life and love to hound after their competitors.

For some web hosts though, they may be a reseller and would want to comment or give their thought about the host the original thread starter inquired about. <-- confusing or what? :P

Also take that into consideration.

Hehe :)

Advertising...

Plain and simple some people build their reputation and get their name well known by posting in every thread about every host. It keeps their name in the lime light. It is a subtle way of spamming. I believe this is also what MN_Robert is referring to.

I do feel there is a major difference from a host that makes the occasional comment/recommendation. As opposed to those that seem to appear in every single thread, asking about a host.

Originally posted by FW-Mike
I've commeted on other hosts that I've had experience with in the past. I don't think there is anything wrong with giving advice if you have it regardless of what you do.
Originally posted by anon-e-mouse
Hosts weren't always hosts and if they have used another host before, why should they be different than any other member who recommends a host they have used?
I don't think the thread starter is talking about legitimate discussion about hosting providers by hosts. If you've had experience with a provider being asked about, then of course it's fine to comment.
Originally posted by Two_A_T
If the thread starter is asking for recommendations or comments, then it's open game. But, it should be done tactfully.
It's not "open game". Someone looking for comments on a host shouldn't have to read through unneeded commentary and opinion by competitors with no experience with the provider. They have no business in that thread and as was said, it's simply unprofessional. There are a lot of hosts out there though, and this is an excellent way to narrow down the professionals from the others. If you read closely, you'll notice that many of the more respected and professional providers out there do not negatively comment about other providers. They're too busy keeping their customers satisfied :D

This doesn't mean you can't help people or post, even if they are asking about another provider, it just means you have to use a bit of uncommon sense in your reply.

That said, I checked the first page of the top forum and didn't really see anyone doing this, so it probably just sticks out when it happens because it's so annoying. People do it from time to time, some threads seem worse then others, but as I said, it's simply an indicator of who to avoid (IMHO).

At HHO, I remove this garbage, but I can tell you (from experience), it's not an easy job at a busy forum. After a thread gets to be a few pages, with garbage injected all over, it can take 15-30+ minutes to go through it all and dissect and remove the cancer. With the number of posts submitted and the 3,000 other things that need to be done, it's tough battle to fight. Many wounded.

Originally posted by Monte
Advertising...

Plain and simple some people build their reputation and get their name well known by posting in every thread about every host. It keeps their name in the lime light. It is a subtle way of spamming.
This is true. :o

So whats the consensus then on, if a host has legit experience with a competitor, and makes a positive comment on them(If the thread starter was asking for opinions)?

We comment on many hosts from time to time simply because we've used / use them

We have accounts at many, many web hosts around this forum (United Hosting, Fluid Hosting, RMS Host I think .... some others) for backup sites and what not.

The ones who deliberatly bash people for no reason need to be dealt with. But, as mentioned, moderators rarely get to browse around and just see what's going on ... best to report it.

Of course hosts can make comments about other hosts. This is also a community of hosts [not just folks getting hosted]. I remember Mattf posting that it started out as a forum for people and their experience with hosting. It then predominatley became a community of hosts and we interact with eachother and occassionally get some scratches and bruises along the way, Such is life. :)

There's not many industries where you can so easily interact with other business owners in your chosen field. It's a great opportunity, but can bring out the worst in our nature, at times.
Originally Posted By WebHostingTalk Forum Policy

. . . Participants may not use discussions to recommend, praise, or belittle other products or services, or any company; without justification for those opinions expressed. This includes companies recommending other companies. Any post not meeting moderator's criteria may be removed without notice. . . .
Note the "without justification for those opinions expressed" part. That is open for speculation and that's up to the mods to interpret if someone crosses the line or not. They will deal with the matter then. :)

I'm not sure what's speculative about it. You either have experience (thus justification to post about those experiences, whether positive or negative), or you don't (in which case you should refrain from spouting unjustified commentary and move on to something you actually know something about).

No one cares about legitimate postive commentary. If someone asks about a host that you've never heard of and you check out their site and it seems to be a good deal and you feel comfortable saying so, then there's no harm done. But if you feel otherwise, as a competior, it's best to keep that opinion to yourself.

Note that posting a kind comment about a host that someone asks about is different than posting kind comments about hosts that were not asked about (read: recommending other hosts), which is a violation of the forum guidelines, far as I can tell. In other words, "What's a good host for..." should only be answered by people with suggestions about hosts they've actually used.

Unfortunately, this is preaching to the choir. The uneducated and unprofessional don't understand that they're needlessly bashing others. They don't get it and probably never will.

I see this happening everyday. At the moment, I work for a hosting company as Sales/Tech Support. Since started working, I haven't commented on another company.. (People should follow in my footsteps lol)

I think it should be allowed up to an extent.

Chicken, "without justification for those opinions expressed", is open to interpretation and speculation just as to what is justified, in regards to a comment about another host.

Thanks for all the input.

Maybe I am just a polite person.

Bill

TotalChoice, If you can't stand the scrutiny from the community [which is the real reason you opened this thread, based on comments about your service in this thread (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=172630)], then don't use a sig file. Simple as that. :)

I opened this thread and posed a simple question.

I am proud of my company and invite any one to bash away. Im in the kitchen and it appears the oven is off Bob. This isnt really about me, its about threads in general.

That thread is a perfect example of hosts with zero knowledge of my operations, telling prospects to stay away.

You think thats fair unbiased posting?

Originally posted by TotalChoice
. . . That thread is a perfect example of hosts with zero knowledge of my operations, telling prospects to stay away.

You think thats fair unbiased posting?
Fair? Someone asked for opinions of hosts listed, and your firm was one of them in the list. Other members of the community responded with some opinions. This being how a forum generally works. :)

If you feel that someone overstepped the mark, then report that post to the mods and they will deal with it in the appropriate manner.

Yea ok Bob.

Originally posted by anon-e-mouse
Hosts weren't always hosts and if they have used another host before, why should they be different than any other member who recommends a host they have used?

I think thats about the best explaination you could get.

Originally posted by loadthis
I think thats about the best explaination you could get. There are hosts that use other hosts still. So, some are current customers that have someone else host their help desk or other site they want their customers to have access to should theirs be unavailable.

This will probably be taken the wrong way, but some postings in this thread have provided a very good example -- of the very question asked by this thread starter, TotalChoice. TotalChoice referenced another thread where their company was mentioned and that thread starter specifically mentioned,

"So my friends,if you used or using these service.
Please give me some advice.Thanks!

p.s. ISP and their Service i want purchase were signed below:"

As happens in many threads, it got off topic as responders seemed to focus on the low pricing of "all" Hosters mentioned in that thread. At no time was TotalChoice mentioned specifically, in a bad or negative way. All pricing comments were on the whole group of names mentioned in that thread. In general, most posts were comments to check out the potential Hosters a little more throughly.


And here in this thread, we do have a Hoster making a negative post on the thread starter (another Hoster) -- and using their physic powers to know why this thread was started, no less -- for just asking a simple question. The thread mentioned by this "physic" Hoster in no way had bad or negative comments about this thread starter, TotalChoice. These "physic" type Hosters are the ones that give all Hosters a bad name, here at WHT and everywhere actually, because they make groundless statements and usually in the negative!


Also, contrary to what was already posted on, "without justification for those opinions expressed" as being speculative or not, I would also say the wording could be better:

"without justification for those opinions expressed as based on either, experience with the mentioned provider and their service and/or business experience of operating/providing said service(s)"

Yes, I know it sounds very legalezish, but people running any site and stating Terms or Conditions must remember that ambiguity will only cause problems. This is not the first time, I have pointed out this problem, about improving the wording in the WebHostingTalk Forum Policy, but unfortunately, the wording still remains ambiguous in a lot of areas.

Originally posted by Website Rob
. . . . the wording still remains ambiguous in a lot of areas. And it needs to be in certain areas. It needs to be left up to moderators. Your proposed expansion of that particular rule is too restrictive. That would prevent someone from stating something like, "Don't go with them because they offer Unlimited Disk Space. And we know Unlimited Disk Space does not exist. So find yourself an honest host." (just one example)

Please re-read that last part of my, proposed expansion. BTW, it is after all, just a suggestion. :)