I was thinking about making a section of my hosting site called "What you should know before you buy web hosting" and I wanted to include some of the rumors that lure the "newbies" in suchas unlimited bandwidth/diskspace... Can you guys think of any other common lies?

hmmm, maybe the following will help a bit...

1) Unlimited/Unrealistic Bandwidth

2) Unlimited/Unrealistic Disk Space - How big is that hard drive? Hmm and how much backup storage space do you have? And how many accounts are to share this space? Wow... kind of doesn't make sense when you add 1 + 1 + 1

3) Backup -- I'm _SHOCKED_ at how many hosts advertise it but do _NOT_ actually have it operational - Those that don't will really wish they had re-thought #2 above because backup _WILL_ increase the cost of all this "cheap disk space" we keep hearing about.

4) Uptime Guarantees -- They are often not what the Site Owner expects them to be

5) 24/7/365 Support - Not to knock the hard work/effort most hosts put into this but if the host is owned/operated by a single person then 24/7/365 support is not going to be there... if it is, the Site Owner will need to worry about the lifespan of their host due to illness.

6) Restricted Files -- File types that are not permitted and/or number-of-file restrictions both of which can prevent the Site Owner from using all that is advertised.

7) Legalities -- There are _MANY_ "hosts" operating without so much as a $10 business license.

8) Dependencies -- This is something I do not see discussed often by those searching for a host but I have dealt with, and spoken with others who have had to deal with this issue quite a bit. Who else is the host dependant on to stay in business? Are these dependencies stable? Many hosts that were collocated in the various Verio NOCs got rude awakenings when the NOCs closed down and moves had to happen. Luckily Verio had solutions for them however what if they didn't? What happens when the host is collocated with a local ISP that goes out of business in the midst of the .COM Terrors? Along the same lines, what happens if the Teenage Host Owner's grades are dropping in school and their mom steps in and says "no computer work this year until you bring your grades back up" or it's time for college etc. This example by no means is to discount the many hardworking teens but rather to explain that it would be wise to know the host's intentions and ability to still be around next year. The same would hold true for someone doing "hosting on the side" in addition to their full time job. In general -- What position is the host in? What are their goals? And what are the chances of those goals being met vs being halted due to other "more important issues" than their hosting service.

9) Security -- There are too many "Point and click become a host instantly" deals out there these days. Grab a dedicated server and read "Apache For Dummies" - Bingo you're a host. This obviously leads to unskilled "sysAdmins" in charge of your data's safety... Does the host actually have someone on board QUALIFIED to operate a server?

10) [insert what is important to you, as a human that requires service, and to your web site here] Never forget that your host isn't only there for your web site, but you as well. Make sure the host realizes this fact to.

You'll find some of the above in a bit more detail at http://www.HostHelp.com

"Deb"

Thats really deeeeeep

Good Work,

;)

ROFL! -- Thanks ;)

Wonderfully put... I just learned a lot in one post =)

Nice List! LOL especially number 5! lol

GREAT JOB!

Alright, thanx Deb :).

The amount of #9's on here scares me. I admire thier iniative but.... geez. If you have to ask how hard it is to run a *nix server, you shouldn't be running a business on one.

What about CEO, Owners, Operators, Techs, Sales Agents, etc. being under the ages of 18...16 for that matter....:D


Jim

Is there a problem with such people of that age group having such jobs? I think not, considering I happen to be in one of those fields. Care to elaborate by what you mean?

Originally posted by jimb
What about CEO, Owners, Operators, Techs, Sales Agents, etc. being under the ages of 18...16 for that matter....:D


Jim

I am not trying to stir up a hornets nest but from a general point of view I will give my opinion on jimb's comment.

From a legal stand point one cannot be the owner of a company until the age of 18 (at least in the state where I live), this being the case the parent is the sole responsible person for such business venture. Many times in this case the parent is more than likely oblivious to the potential risks involved at running such business until it is too late.

Second of all, most people of this age (in this day and age, and please notice the MOST) tend to lean towards the get rich quick idea, and may not truely know what is involved in running such a business. In this instance, the person may lose interest in a very short time and stick any customers they may have obtained during that period. Also keep in mind that if this person is still in school, running such a business will affect and take away time that should be put into school work. Hosting is a 24 hr job, anyone that tells you different is either in it for the short hall or is lying..

With the above being said, I am not against anyone in these age brackets from trying to start a business in hosting, however I think you should really sit down and think about it first. This will not be a hobby where you can change your mind at the blink of an eye. Customers rely on good service and support, and unless you are willing to give 100% of your time to such a business I would recommend waiting. You will miss out on alot of personal things such as dates, dances, just having fun, etc.

I think it is actually great that people of these age groups are interested in such a business and have the knowledge to back such a venture up, I just wanted to point out the sacrifices that have to be made in order to do so and be successful.

I wont comment on the age issue here, because aside from the accountability, and maturity, age is irrelevant.

I do totally agree with the comments about knowledge. I don't know how many times I look at this forum or any of the forums that I regular, and wonder how some of these people are getting by withsome of the questions that they ask. Like someone else here stated, if you have to ask how hard it is to manage *nix, or how to install an OS, you should not be in this business.

This market has been completely saturated with resellers who get handed some disk space, bandwidth, and a control panel, and have no clue what they are doing. Sure, any monkey can type a name and some numbers into a pretty little interface, but what exactly are they offering their customers that they cant get themselves?

Sorry, I may have gotten a little off topic here, but this seemed like a good time to vent.
-Dan

This will not be a hobby where you can change your mind at the blink of an eye. I'll have to disagree here :D

That's part of the beauty and the problem with the Internet in general. It is all too common for web sites, people, and businesses to be here today and gone tomorrow.

Right or wrong that's exactly what happens and because it's "just the Internet" people tend to think it's OK.

This problem in and of itself is contributing to the bad reputation the hosting industry is struggling with.

HumanA snags up a nice deal from www.ControlPanelHost.getRich and pays their monthly fee. During the first few months HumanA signs on 20 new customers or more and everything is GREAT for everyone. Then HumanA looses interest, or money, or finds a better way to "Get Rich" so they simply stop paying the monthly fee on the server and *poof* WHT gets more posts for the day because the Site Owners come running over here to post the typical "Are They Down or Out-of-Biz?" threads ...

Because the above can and does happen this leaves the burden on the Site Owner to find a host that is less likely to end up in that position --- It should NOT be that way... but it is the way it is and that's truly sad. Note that I do realize the same holds true for brick and mortar companies... but I think many would agree the severity of the problem is greater online right now...

Originally posted by DigitalXWeb
You will miss out on alot of personal things such as dates, dances, just having fun, etc.
I'm a geek and I do this stuff for fun all the time :). Might as well do it for others and get paid ehh?

1. I'm homeschooled therefore have all day to sit at my desk with outlook express checking each minute for new e-mail as I work on the other side of my desk.

2. I'm a geek, therefore am affraid of girls and have no need for dates :).

3. The school discriminates against homeschool people and won't let me into the dance, so no need for them :P.

4. This is what I do for fun, so I got the fun part covered :).

BTW: I'm 16 and it's legal for me to own the business, everything is in my name. I live in Washington state.

Originally posted by Silent-Chaos
Is there a problem with such people of that age group having such jobs? I think not, considering I happen to be in one of those fields. Care to elaborate by what you mean?



Personally, I think so. I honestly don't think you or anyone else your age has the "life experience" necessary to properly run a business. I was 19 years old when I got my first job working in a corporation. I would imagine most other were at a similar age. Working at a corporation opened my eyes to a lot of things I never considered or understood before.

When I was your age I thought that same way you do. I thought I could do anything and I could do it better. Now that I've grown up a little I've realized how wrong I was. Maybe you will too, maybe not.

1. I'm homeschooled therefore have all day to sit at my desk with outlook express checking each minute for new e-mail as I work on the other side of my desk. ... and I'm a "homeschooling mom" ... I wonder if this is why my eldest son has slowed down on the amount of work he has completed this year. (received high-speed 24/7 Internet Connection on his PC at Christmas) - :D

Credit where credit is due -- I'd have to agree that my kids would have quite a bit more time on their hands than a child that goes to school everyday but I hope they don't choose to spend all of it online and I guarantee I'll pull the plug if it takes away from their studies. I'm just mean like that

(Dear Son -- If you're watching this -- take it seriously :D )

LOL oh yeah, I guess I should do some school work *UUUUUUUURG* :(

Originally posted by jstout


Personally, I think so. I honestly don't think you or anyone else your age has the "life experience" necessary to properly run a business. I was 19 years old when I got my first job working in a corporation. I would imagine most other were at a similar age. Working at a corporation opened my eyes to a lot of things I never considered or understood before.

When I was your age I thought that same way you do. I thought I could do anything and I could do it better. Now that I've grown up a little I've realized how wrong I was. Maybe you will too, maybe not.

My fault. I wasnt inferring that I do run a hosting buisness, Im just a admin for a few and do contract work. Owning a buisness @ a young age (18 and uder) IS a bit overdoing it Id say. Due to the legal standpoints that customers would have dealing with a minor whose running a buisness Im sure has to be a pain (you'd have to go after his parents, no?) What I was implying was more so on the techs, operations, sales, etc; I know people who are under 18 and are well, well more knowledgeable then others who have been in this field for several years. Prime example... familiar with XMB forums? The lead developer is 18... now tell me you wouldnt mind having someone such as him on your team. (When he started on those forums he was 17 I believe)

Bottom line: Owning a buisness at 18 and under is something I could agree with is frowned upon. However, I believe peers in my age group in positions such as operations, techs, etc; is excellent, for everyone. Someone has to keep you guys young :)

Originally posted by Silent-Chaos
What I was implying was more so on the techs, operations, sales, etc; I know people who are under 18 and are well, well more knowledgeable then others who have been in this field for several years. Prime example... familiar with XMB forums? The lead developer is 18... now tell me you wouldnt mind having someone such as him on your team. (When he started on those forums he was 17 I believe)


I'll agree with you to an extent.

I've met a lot of talented programmers who were younger. The things they could do were amazing and I'm scared to imagine where they will be in 10 years. I've also met a lot of smart techs who knew the most incredibly intricate details of computer hardware. They could put together the nicest system in the world and they knew the most mundane details. I've never met a great young system administrator. Talented? Definately. But I've never met someone who could understand the needs of a business without working in one first. You learn SO many things you just don't come across when your working on your home systems.

I'm not much older than you. I face the same "discrimination" all the time. The fact of the matter is that as I get older, I'm starting to understand why. You can be the smartest tech in the world but if you don't have some business skills and some personal skills, you will fail miserably.

Originally posted by jstout
Working at a corporation opened my eyes to a lot of things I never considered or understood before.

After a few years working freelance, I was hired by a mid-size company as VP for a technical branch of the company. I had a handful of people working for me. I was 20.
I did this for two years, I've always considered myself brilliant when it comes to somes areas, such as computers, and quite lame with everything else. It was computer-related, so it did seem to me, back then, that I was gonna be 'VP-of-the-year'.

Well, not quite; managing other people was horrible (I've managed other teams since then and I did much better), managing a budget was totally spooky. Why did they hire me? Well, I wasn't asking for a big salary and I sort of 'hijacked' the job by telling them they couldn't find anybody better for this job.

It was more than 12 years ago.
I would be happy to be offered the same job today, because I *think* that I would be able to make it work. Not that it didn't work, but our results were just average. And I was almost falling apart because of a pressure I wouldn't have felt so sharply, would I have had more experience to rely on.
Since then, I've constantly learnt. Learnt what? Not just computer-related stuff, but how to manage a team, how to stay in budget, etc. Experience is the keyword.

I wouldn't offer this job to a younger self, it wouldn't be a good match. Neither for us nor for him.

Sorry for the long old-fart-style message ;)

I agree about needing experience to manage a team, etc; Been down that road (although not managing a 'buisness', actually I was just a clan leader) and man I sucked at it lol. Luckily, whats at stake when you run a game clan? Games... big w00t. Whats at stake when your running a buisness that people are paying for? hehe.... more then i care to wager at my young age of 17. I also do various contract work, so Ive never really had much to manage other then my code and the servers, so I must say that I would be lost managing a team when it comes to buisness. But... there are those *select* (and I cant place enough emphasis on select) few whiz kids who just have a buisness sense and are good at what they do (talking running hosting biz here). Cant take it away from them... hmmm... well, now that I think about it... i dont know any bright -18 year olds who run a good hosting biz. However... I will stick to my original post, with young techs are quite possibly good as the older techs you have, if not better in some areas. Expierence will give you a broader picture, yes... but the knowledge has to be there to get the expierence.

I didnt mean a big war to erupt on my comment, lol....if one erupted....


Anyway, the post is rumors, and 16 year olds running hosting companies really can't be held to much legality. This topic has been discussed before.


Jim

We actually cover two rumors on our web site.

1. Unlimited or crazy amounts of disk space.
2. Instant or one hour set up.

Instant set up, in my opinion, is just so that you can start billing the customer before the 12-24 hours it takes to register a new domain name and have it propagate, or the 1-xxxx hours it takes to transfer a domain name and have it propagate.

Well as long as it doesn't take a month or what ever the billing period is, I don't see whats wrong with billing them right then.

I use 2CheckOut.com and that bills them right then, but I don't setup their account untill I get the e-mail... Many others so the same, I don't see how that's billing them any extra unless it takes me a month to setup their account..

Instant set up, in my opinion, is just so that you can start billing the customer before the 12-24 hours it takes to register a new domain name and have it propagate, or the 1-xxxx hours it takes to transfer a domain name and have it propagate. Hmmm, we usually just eat the first day anyway and begin billing "tomorrow".

If the account is setup before the first half of the day has ended we begin billing "today", however if it is setup after, then we begin billing "tomorrow".

The problem I have with "1 hour or less setups" is the increased security and fraud risks.

I prefer all of the orders to be viewed by a human and viewed "deeper" if anything doesn't look right as well as random callback confirmations etc. This of course prevents the "instant setup" but it has saved many painful hours dealing with the bogus accounts and it has certainly prevented quite a few of the script kiddies from getting started..

Now if we could only stop the rest of them... :angry:

Originally posted by XDude
Well as long as it doesn't take a month or what ever the billing period is, I don't see whats wrong with billing them right then.

I use 2CheckOut.com and that bills them right then, but I don't setup their account untill I get the e-mail... Many others so the same, I don't see how that's billing them any extra unless it takes me a month to setup their account..

The problem is, that no one can get to their site yet. So you are billing them for something that they can't use and you aren't actually providing yet.

IMHO.