I never really followed Aletia but I didn't think they were a bad company.. I'm not certain but I think I've heard some good comments about them in the past. But recently I've seen an incredible amount of really unhappy customers flooding here to post bad comments about them, whats going on? Growing pains or were they always like this?

I personally have never had any experiences with Aletia...

but I know for a fact that MANY hosts will have its ups and/or downs while they are in operation - its just one of those things :o

Originally posted by SmartPenguin
I never really followed Aletia but I didn't think they were a bad company.. I'm not certain but I think I've heard some good comments about them in the past. But recently I've seen an incredible amount of really unhappy customers flooding here to post bad comments about them, whats going on? Growing pains or were they always like this?

I have a site hosted by Aletia for 8 months.
They were excellent for the first 5 months.
Now they are my worst nightmare. My site has
been down for over 24 hours as I write this.

Beerblast

I was for about 5 months on Aletia and was very happy with them,until the last days when many downtime happened.
However I moved cause I had outgrown my plan and could not upgrade any higher.Overall my experience was good with them.
Too bad about the problems they're having now.

"Growing pains"
Getting tired of that term by hosting companies that offer bad service.

I guess this thing can happen to any hosting companies, because hosting companies also depends on the upstream backbone provider and the data center in which the server is located. If the server/router went down, it maybe different case. But if the network is down from the backbone, then most of the time it will be hard to 'move it to another data center' because of the DNS, etc.

I've heard many praises about Alletia in the past, and I am sure that they are working very hard to make sure that everything is back to normal. Just like any other good hosting company :)

We signed up with Aletia back in July/August of 2001, I was really happy with the customer support and uptime. Then, the months wore on and there was no one ever on ICQ or AOL to help with a problem. My sites were down for longer than 24 hours at a stretch over Christmas. I started looking for a new host then.

When you lose customer service, you lose customers. You could have 100% *wouldn't that be nice?* uptime but if you don't have the support for when, the customers who are paying for a service, need it then you will lose business.

There's a problem when you have no one to go through the tickets and help the customers. If you aren't going to offer a service, don't go into business. Who wants to pay for something done half-way? I sure don't!

They have recently lost people in the support dept. from what I have been reading, sorry to hear that, but geeeesh, get a replacement or 4? I have had tickets waiting for over 2 weeks to be even looked at! I shouldn't have to wait more than 36 hours to have a ticket resolved, from any host. That's from the time I put it in to the time that it's finished. Period. I pay money for the service, they should provide it.

Sara

Originally posted by rey


I've heard many praises about Alletia in the past, and I am sure that they are working very hard to make sure that everything is back to normal. Just like any other good hosting company :)

wrong. they aren't doing crap about it!!

Originally posted by Gadget Girl

They have recently lost people in the support dept. from what I have been reading, sorry to hear that, but geeeesh, get a replacement or 4? I have had tickets waiting for over 2 weeks to be even looked at! I shouldn't have to wait more than 36 hours to have a ticket resolved, from any host. That's from the time I put it in to the time that it's finished. Period. I pay money for the service, they should provide it.

Sara

geez, even 'their own' are trying to get away from them!! haha.

I've been with Aletia for over a year. I haven't had any troubles with my server for months. It was up for a period of 97 days a month ago (they had to restart it). Now it's been up for the month since then. The support is a little slow for me at least (one or two days for a low priority ticket). Others have had problems and faced an inexcussible lack of support. I just wanted to let you know that it's not that way for all of us.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a mod on their forums, but I recieve no benefit, no discount on hosting, no pay check, nothing.

Originally posted by Dogma
I've been with Aletia for over a year. I haven't had any troubles with my server for months. It was up for a period of 97 days a month ago (they had to restart it). Now it's been up for the month since then. The support is a little slow for me at least (one or two days for a low priority ticket). Others have had problems and faced an inexcussible lack of support. I just wanted to let you know that it's not that way for all of us.



true, not all servers have had the same problems. but MOST of them have been running very poorly for at least 4 months now.

My personal opinion is that Aletia wouldn't be a bad company and probably isn't for many clients. The issue seems to be that some servers are too crowded. A solution would be moving some of the larger clients to a different machine and balance the load - or upgrade the machine if possible. As a result of that, their staff seems to be busy with fixing server problems and cannot concentrate on support issues.

Originally posted by Kiwi
My personal opinion is that Aletia wouldn't be a bad company and probably isn't for many clients. The issue seems to be that some servers are too crowded. A solution would be moving some of the larger clients to a different machine and balance the load - or upgrade the machine if possible. As a result of that, their staff seems to be busy with fixing server problems and cannot concentrate on support issues.

over 4 months now.

I have just moved from here then realy happy of this ...


Aletia =

No support for URGENT ticket, like site down for over 2 days then no reply at all to ticket (they dont bother) some whait to reply to ticket since 2, 3 weeks..

Downtime and downtime, alway downtime... :-(

They now delete some post in theyr forum and ban users that complaint too mutch about the support then never reply in aletia forum by the way...


Then just to know a bit about DOGMA & CLIO they tell they are not whit aletia or not work for aletia, but they are FERVANT defenseur of ALETIA ... Why you guess ??? No one happy whit aletia...

Anyway just a pain...

Anyone dont go here unless you dont bother if your site come down, youll whit regrets it ... Aletia is lame...


-= HAPPY, NO MORE HOSTED ON ALETIA =-
:D

Kiwi said the key words in "The issue seems to be that some servers are too crowded. A solution would be moving some of the larger clients to a different machine and balance the load". That's the big problem over there, they stuff FAR too many people on most of their servers. They need to break down and buy some more servers and balance the loads more affectively and they won't have nearly as many problems as their currently having. Looking at some of the #'s on their servers system info pages is very scarry. When you see loads well into the red zone as well as other things over 90% in the red also, you're going to start having problems and slowdowns in performance.

I was with them last year for a VERY short period of time before dropping them, after I started seeing/having problems. I'm glad I left way back then, since things only have gotten worse since then it looks like...

Best of luck,

David

Genaldi Co.

Originally posted by Snakebite
true, not all servers have had the same problems. but MOST of them have been running very poorly for at least 4 months now.
Yes, most of them do. My server, Dolphin <http://dolphin.nocdns.com/> is one of their original servers. These servers (the original ones) work good, the newer ones are overloaded/not very good.
Originally posted by Kiwi
My personal opinion is that Aletia wouldn't be a bad company and probably isn't for many clients. The issue seems to be that some servers are too crowded. <snip> As a result of that, their staff seems to be busy with fixing server problems and cannot concentrate on support issues.
I agree 100%. One reason I think my server isn't overloaded is because (someone told me, I'm not exactly sure) that AletiaHosting.com is also hosted on that server. But from the loads I've seen on other servers, they really need relief.
Originally posted by tech
They now delete some post in theyr forum and ban users that complaint too mutch about the support then never reply in aletia forum by the way...
Aletia has banned people from their forums. They banned the people that are not hosted by Aletia nor are interested in being hosted by them. The banned people trolled and other stuff that I can't remember (I was on vacation when this happened). The threads they deleted where accidently deleted during a prunning of a troll's posts.

Come on, you can not honestly complain about threads being deleted when you look there at the threads not deleted. There are tons of threads about people leaving, having a bad time with support, etc. They aren't deleted, they are left there. Go to <http://www.aletiaforums.com/> and look for yourself!
Originally posted by tech
Then just to know a bit about DOGMA & CLIO they tell they are not whit aletia or not work for aletia, but they are FERVANT defenseur of ALETIA ... Why you guess ??? No one happy whit aletia...
It's true. I get no money, no benefits, no free hosting, no discounted hosting, nothing. Aletia has problems. Everyone hears about Aletia's problems. Clio and I post because all everyone hears is the negative side. I want to let people know that some people don't have problems with their hosting. I like that my website is up, I like that I can host 4 domains, I like the space and transfer that I have. My problem with Aletia right now is delayed support.

It's not a conspiricy. It's safe to take the tin foil off of your head.

People stand up for the US even though many think it sucks and has many problems...go yell at them!

I happen to like Aletia. I came to them after an incredibly horrible experience with Invite Internet. They migrated their servers and screwed me over BIG time. I was very vocal about their behavior (or non-behavior as the case happened to be) right here at WHT...and not-surprisingly, that thread was deleted. I'm pretty sure the idiots who run that place have influence here.

Anyway, after some searching and recommendations, I moved the Invite account to Aletia. They were fantastic. They were also had A LOT fewer customers at the time. I was so impressed, not only by the service, but also the prices, that I moved all my client accounts over to Aletia from various other hosts.

I didn't have a lick of trouble with them until December or so, when database connectivity went down the tube on one of the servers I was on (Scorpion). It was up and down, on a weekly basis and became pretty aggravating. When it was obvious that the problem was an overcrowded server, I sent Aletia a request to move my account to a new server. I told them that I was concerned about the overcrowding and asked to be moved at the earliest convenience. At the time, my account was running fine, and I knew they were busy. I did get a response within 4 hours, though. They told me that they got my request and that they would move my account. It was moved over the next day.

Since the move, my account hasn't has a single problem, in fact, the FTP rates I get on the new server are fantastic.

The only other bit of concern I have is with their payments. They have an outside payment handler (paysystems) and they havn't been able to get one of my accounts straightened out as far as accepting payments. That's Paysystems, though, not Aletia. I am a little concerned that Aletia is still using an outside merchant system to take payments rather than setting up their own merchant account. I understood at first being a small company and probably not entirely sufficient income to handle to costs, but I'm sure they could now.

I don't work for them...nor do I moderate their forums. I will say, though, that I've been with several hosts and Aletia, even with their current troubles, is by far the best host I've been with.

Originally posted by Dogma

Aletia has banned people from their forums. They banned the people that are not hosted by Aletia nor are interested in being hosted by them.

wrong. they banned myself and others who were still being hosted by them.

The banned people trolled and other stuff that I can't remember (I was on vacation when this happened).

giving honest (even if negative) opinions on their service isn't 'trolling'


The threads they deleted where accidently deleted during a prunning of a troll's posts.

not true. hundreds of posts made by several different people have been deleted.

Come on, you can not honestly complain about threads being deleted when you look there at the threads not deleted.

yes.

There are tons of threads about people leaving, having a bad time with support, etc. They aren't deleted, they are left there. Go to <http://www.aletiaforums.com/> and look for yourself!

sad. just goes to show they aren't doing a damn thing to remedy their situation.

It's true. I get no money, no benefits, no free hosting, no discounted hosting, nothing. Aletia has problems. Everyone hears about Aletia's problems. Clio and I post because all everyone hears is the negative side. I want to let people know that some people don't have problems with their hosting.

oh come on. i don't think people believe EVERYONE with aletia is negative about them.

I like that my website is up, I like that I can host 4 domains, I like the space and transfer that I have.

their packages look good on paper, but can they really deliver what is promised? no.

My problem with Aletia right now is delayed support.


one of their major flaws. they hardly ever answered trouble tickets. and you have to kick and sceam on their forum before one of their staff pops up and says 'email me your ticket # and i'll look at it.' well, what's the point in submitting a ticket in the first place???????????????????????? they also have a knack for not keepin their customers updated on the server status'.

It's not a conspiricy. It's safe to take the tin foil off of your head.

and how many people where on the grassy knowl?

People stand up for the US even though many think it sucks and has many problems...go yell at them!

we are.

Originally posted by Snakebite
Originally posted by Dogma

Aletia has banned people from their forums. They banned the people that are not hosted by Aletia nor are interested in being hosted by them.

wrong. they banned myself and others who were still being hosted by them.

<snip>

As I said, I was on vacation (and wasn't checking the forums) and I didn't know all of what was going on. Therefore, I should not have commented on that aspect. I can say, however, that some posts have been deleted accidently while prunning a troll's posts and that some trolls have been banned.
Originally posted by Snakebite
I like that my website is up, I like that I can host 4 domains, I like the space and transfer that I have.

their packages look good on paper, but can they really deliver what is promised? no.
Well, it works for me just like promised. Is that delivering? I think so....
Originally posted by Snakebite
My problem with Aletia right now is delayed support.


one of their major flaws. they hardly ever answered trouble tickets. and you have to kick and sceam on their forum before one of their staff pops up and says 'email me your ticket # and i'll look at it.' well, what's the point in submitting a ticket in the first place???????????????????????? they also have a knack for not keepin their customers updated on the server status'.

This is another very valid complaint with Aletia, one that needs to be remedied ASAP. (they do do some server update, not enough...but some).
Originally posted by Snakebite
People stand up for the US even though many think it sucks and has many problems...go yell at them!

we are.
Good! :D Me to actually.

Quick background and then I would really appreciate some feedback.

I've been with Aletia for about a year now. Loved it, praised it, recommended it to others.

In the past month the server I'm on "puma" has earned the name snail. Load averages have been outrageously high. In the 60's even.

All sites on this server are taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r to load, more times than not.

I'm actually on my second server with them. They moved my account when a different server went kaput. No problem.

There are some big issues that are currently being taken care of regarding "scorpion." I know that's a huge priority and really feel for the people whose sites have been down for several days at a time.

I did see posts in Aletia forums from puma clients in the past couple of days saying they requested support move them to a new server. And they did. When I asked the same thing, I was told I'd have to "wait a while."

I'm not the type to complain at all. I think a lot of clients on puma have been extremely patient. But Aletia hasn't even given a time range as to when this problem will even be looked at. I'm not looking for hard numbers. But how long's "a while?"

What it all boils down to is the slow load times everyone's experiencing is just plain unacceptable. Since my only experience is with one Web hosting company (Aletia), I would love to hear others' input on if this is typical. In other words, is it worth making the move to somewhere else - should I stay or should I go?

TGH

Originally posted by TGH
Quick background and then I would really appreciate some feedback.

I've been with Aletia for about a year now. Loved it, praised it, recommended it to others.

In the past month the server I'm on "puma" has earned the name snail. Load averages have been outrageously high. In the 60's even.

All sites on this server are taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r to load, more times than not.



one of my sites was on puma.

it should be noted that i was a very happy customer last year, i thought they were great. and then things started happening late last year/early this year. i waited....and waited......and waited.....and still nothing got better. in fact, over the past 4 months things only got worse. i never said a thing about aletia up until a couple weeks ago. talk about pent up rage and anger.

God. I have to register @ these forums to defend Aletia.

For the first about 9 months I was with Aletia, the support and hosting were amazing. Recently, the server I am on (puma.nocdns.com), has been having problems, but I am being moved on monday.

Know what's funny? The amount of people who have personal sites and are complaining about a few hours of downtime... it's like get over yourself.

TGH...

It all depends on WHO you think you'll want to move to. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I was with Invite. Their server migration obliterated the databases of MANY of their customers. They didn't answer e-mail, the phone, nothing...for weeks. As far as we knew, they had gone out of business. THey claimed to have updated their website, and they did for a day or two after the migration, and even that stopped. It took threatening, and a LOT of whining here before I finally got a very rude phone call from them accusing me of lying about them here on WHT. Well, I wasn't the only one having trouble, and I certainly wasn't lying. It didn't matter, though...because they couldn't see they were doing anything wrong. We were disputing over less than $20 for a billing issue, in addition to my DB never working. I even asked their Operations Manager if they really felt non-communication and unethical accusations were their idea of good bsiness, and if they were really willing to sacrifice a customer over less than $20. She said, "If you put it that way, yes."

Even an ongoing fight with them through the BBB was fruitless, they awknowledged no wrongdoing whatsoever and continued to say that I had been defaming them here for no reason. I was, and still do say bad things about them. This is why I think they have influence here, because that thread is now gone. I, along with several others regularly reported our daily dealings with them. They were horrible, and they still are. As far as I'm concerned, Invite Internet is run by the devil himself. :angry: :angry:

SO, after that...any host would seem like a relief.

I joined Aletia about the same time you did. They were a new start-up, and as you know, the service was spectacular. Unfortunately, the word about them spread *too* fast, and I think Aletia is having a great deal of trouble handling it all. Certainly, new and better equipment as well as a few hired techs would be a great help. But...who knows the real problem?

Aletia is one of 8 hosts that I have dealt with. All of them have had problems like this at one time or another. All of them have had a few things that bothered me, some more than others. Like I said, though, I think they are by far the best of all of them so far. I am not having problems, though, since I asked for my account to be moved OFF of Scorpion. I asked several months ago, though, when the overcrowding problems were just starting.

I, personally, would stick around a bit to see what happens. I am pretty critical of hosts, too...so that is saying a lot, especially after Invite. However, you're the one being affected right now, so I can't really say. If one of my client accounts was having trouble, I'd probably be more agitated, but none of their sites are having trouble either.

Originally posted by Stevos
God. I have to register @ these forums to defend Aletia.

For the first about 9 months I was with Aletia, the support and hosting were amazing. Recently, the server I am on (puma.nocdns.com), has been having problems, but I am being moved on monday.

Know what's funny? The amount of people who have personal sites and are complaining about a few hours of downtime... it's like get over yourself.

See, that's funny. I asked my account to be moved yesterday and I was told to "wait a while" by support.

My site is not a personal site. It's my business. If my site's offline, I'm losing money and, in turn, don't need a Web host. :)

I beg to differ on the few hours of downtime. Take today, the site was painfully slow. Even pages with the bare minimum HTML and hardly any graphics took forever to load. If I'm a visitor, I'm not sticking around to wait it out and, chances are, I'm not coming back either. This problem has been going on unresolved.

Take a look at Aletia forums and count the "puma's down" posts.

I've never complained about Aletia at all. I have business colleagues who've signed up because I recommended them so highly. And I really don't want to move the site. But for me, as with most paying customers, downtime isn't an option.

Things happen, sure. I don't blame Aletia for the problems they're experiencing. But customers shouldn't be left in the dark.

I'd like to say that I am still a satisfied (albeit nervous) Aletia customer. Not everyone I brought to Aletia has been so lucky, though I haven't lost anyone yet. Like Dogma, the sites I personally run are on older machines. I experience negligible downtime. Things are smooth.

I wouldn't recommend additional customers until things settle down ... mainly because I'm selfish and I don't want the "good" machines to become overcrowded like others ;) I think Aletia has some organizational issues to address, and I hope they'll be back on track soon enough. Overall, they've been good to me.

About Aletia,I only moved cause I has outgrown my plans.
About their forums,I don't think they deleted compalining threads,because I made a couple myself,but they never got deleted or closed,I don't know about the situation now though.
However,when I still was on Hostrocket,now that was bad,every single negative comment on their forums was simply deleted.
I never experienced this with Aletia.

But as I said,I don't know about the current situation.

Originally posted by Stevos
God. I have to register @ these forums to defend Aletia.

For the first about 9 months I was with Aletia, the support and hosting were amazing. Recently, the server I am on (puma.nocdns.com), has been having problems, but I am being moved on monday.

Know what's funny? The amount of people who have personal sites and are complaining about a few hours of downtime... it's like get over yourself.

Hey Stevos, once you are moved, come back and let us know how long it took. And you know what? If I pay for a service, I EXPECT it. Sure, some downtime is to be expected, computers are machines after all, but customer support is far from what I would call quick and supportive. As I have said before, if you are paying for a service, the least you can expect is to be treated like you are the only customer they have. Wouldn't that be nice? As far as you having to be moved, why is that? Did the puma server get too overloaded? I think that Aletia didn't expect to have growing pains and when they finally realized it it was too late. And look who suffered, the people paying for a service. Yeah, it's only $10 a month, but it's still my money and I can complain all I want when the service I pay for sucks.

Sara

Before I start, I must say that I haven't read this thread entirely. I just want to respond to some users here

Reasons why users were banned:
- Spreading rumors about Aletia (you fit here Snakebite)
- Aletia gives kick-backs.
- Moderators get free hosting
- Aletia's fleeing the country after 9/11
- Aleta, the company, does not exist

Users who spread those rumors were banned. Users who repeatedly asked to be banned were banned. Users who continuously violated the Aletia AUP were banned.

Oh yeah, I forgot to add: For those of you who think that I do get free hosting and kickbacks, look at my site. It's GONE. =/ Yet, I'm still patient with them.

Clio,

It is really necessary to bring this nonsense to these forums? :rolleyes:

Originally posted by SmartPenguin
I never really followed Aletia but I didn't think they were a bad company.. I'm not certain but I think I've heard some good comments about them in the past. But recently I've seen an incredible amount of really unhappy customers flooding here to post bad comments about them, whats going on? Growing pains or were they always like this?
This seems to be the thread topic. Why users were banned at their forums isn't exactly on topic and I'm sure that the reasons for this won't fully be posted. Let's just keep on track with Aletia, rather than discuss specific users and their forums. Okie dokie pokey?

It's interesting to discuss "What's the deal with Aletia", but I'm also interested how readers are going to evaluate new hosts. Price and services are one thing, but I'm surprized how little discussion there has been of management ability and experience.

I haven't written Aletia off completely. They certainly seem to understand the role of customer support as demonstrated in the early days. My question is whether they can recover and get their heads above water, and how that will change the structure of their business.

Nevertheless, it's becoming an increasinly important issue to me when evaluating potential new hosts.

How do others feel? What are you looking for?

Regards to all.

Tom

I heard their servers were getting sometime the end of last year....but their support and communication was still good.

Their prices were at that time......more or less growing pains....and not planning right for that.

I wish them the best....and hope they get on track again. :)

I agree Stace, it's so not part of the topic.

The topic is Aletia, not their forums.

Sara

I'm the third mod on their forum, and as an involved Aletia community member, I can honestly say that Aletia support SUCKED for a couple of months. It really did. First they blamed problems on ticket software, then faulty hardware, then this, then that. They were a mess. But they hired more help and things got better. I think users who sign up now won't even notice that Aletia ever struggled for a couple of months there. I like to compare the Aletia situation to HostRocket. For a couple of months, HostRocket was really awful. But, they hired more help, and now they're one of the best hosts out there. Aletia's taking the same route. I think in the long run they'll be fine and only get better.

I have had sites hosted on Hosturbo,(and we have all heard about how bad Hosturbo is I'm sure) and Aletia. If I had to choose between them I would go with Hosturbo before Aletia. The support is the same for both. (poor) Aletia's downtime has Hosturbo beat by far. And Hosturbo costs half the price of Aletia.
In reality I wouldn't go with either of them again, I am just doing a comparison.

Beerblast

Is it really necesarry to put people down like this because you don't happen to care for their posting? :rolleyes:

Please, let's try to keep on the topic here of discussing Aletia and their service for both those who are currently affected and those who are not. I don't mind if people mention their forums as long as it is part of the issue of service. The fact is that Aletia's forum are VERY valuable as far as service go. Many of their customers there help each other out. It is part of the package with Aletia, and a valuable one of you ask me. If I have a question or problem, I always go to the forums first. I usually always find my answer within a few minutes of searching the forums. Only when I have a serious issue do I go right to Aletia...

I'm thinking that part of the reason Aletia is bogged down is because they are hounded with questions by account holders who don't have clue one about about running a website. They all ask the same questions without bothering to check the basics. Of course, that's probably the same with every host.

Originally posted by zilenairam
I'm thinking that part of the reason Aletia is bogged down is because they are hounded with questions by account holders who don't have clue one about about running a website. They all ask the same questions without bothering to check the basics. Of course, that's probably the same with every host. [/B]

How sad is that? Blame Aletia's problems on their customers.
Surely other Web Hosts have newbie accounts, and their servers are not crashing because their support people are being asked a few questions.

Beerblast

I think you misinterpreted what I said. I said PART of the problem was because of "newbie" customers. Frankly, it isn't just the newbies who ask those questions.

I also said that this probably isn't any different than any other host. I was implying that Aletia is having trouble balancing the order of everyday business with major breakdowns. There lies the problem...

They have their problems, but frankly, I've seen improvment and they are handling things as best they can. That is saying a LOT coming from someone like me who is more critical of hosts than just about anybody out there. AM I nervous about things? Yeah a little bit...but I know what they are capable of, so I'm not worried about them yet.

zilenairam,

The fact that Aletia rarely (if ever) gives technical support through their forums means (in my book) the forums are not a part of their service. It's more like a "Clients helping Clients" forum than anything else. :rolleyes:

As for support tickets, I've only ever needed to send in two: the first because my site was suddenly loading way too slow and the last when I cancelled my account (just today).

Originally posted by zilenairam
I'm thinking that part of the reason Aletia is bogged down is because they are hounded with questions by account holders who don't have clue one about about running a website. They all ask the same questions without bothering to check the basics. Of course, that's probably the same with every host.

I agree, although having some clueless customers is no excuse for letting down a significant number of all customers for weeks or months on end.

I have/had a domain on the ill-fated scorpion and as I have changed ISPs since I signed up with Aletia and they never confirmed that they had updated their records with my new email address (I did inform them when it changed) I don't even know if I'll get the resent welcome message with my original password in it. (And until they send those out there's no point anyone trying to log in, yes? So how will I know when I can start trying again? When I can email support saying I need them to send my password to my actual email address?)

Without which I can't log in and reset everything. Which, you know, is a drag.

Sorry, that was off topic.

Anyhoo, here's my story:
I signed up September of last year and I was VERY happy until about now. Starting in January, they began having support ticket problems. I really didn't care too much since I was pretty much all set and I didn't have any issues or questions.

Then mySQL started going down because they overloaded their server. I was irritated for a while, but they removed some accounts and things started going back to normal.

Then this weekend, Scorpion just crapped out and died like a bug in the desert. From Friday to this morning (Sunday) the site was down.

I could care less for my main site which isn't up b/c of construction, but NONE of my subdomains worked until this afternoon. And the subdomains were important to me as my business sites were there.

In terms of ticket responses, I hear it's getting better. Again, I don't send too many tickets, so I wouldn't personally know. Yesterday morning, I sent in a ticket regarding the downtime and then I went shopping for the day. I came back in the evening and the ticket was answered. But I had also PMed Ron Kuris about it, so I may have been lucky.

Then this morning, the whole thing was gone. I asked Dana about it and she fixed it. And the time span was about an hour or two, I can't remember.

So basically, if you don't require help, you're golden. If you know what you're doing, you're golden. But if you rely on support, you're screwed over. They've chucked Scorpion and bought at least three new servers: chick, swan, and whale.

I think they realize that they've been overcrowding. Well, hopefully.

I left Hostrocket last year because of Growing Pains and I hear they're doing well now. Because of the hassle of moving and the growing pains trends, I'm just going to wait Aletia out. I use other hosts for my client sites, but I'm just going to wait her out.

Originally posted by clio
In terms of ticket responses, I hear it's getting better.

I agree, clio.

About 8 months ago, the server I was on kept going down and support moved my account very promptly. They basically posted a note in the forum saying whoever wanted to be moved should just ask.

Well, some things didn't get transferred correctly and I had all sorts of errors popping up in my pages. I sent an Email to support and within 15 minutes, the problems were fixed.

Now when Aletia integrated the new ticket system, I sent in a report about something or another. I never heard from them again. I just shrugged it off to it being a new ticket system.

Since the problems on puma, I know some clients have already asked to be moved to another machine and support's taken care of them. I made the same request. My ticket was answered in less than a day (although it used to be a few minutes, I'm still not complaining).

I wasn't particularly happy with the response for my ticket in which I was told I would just have to wait. But the response time has never been a problem for me. I know others who have said they have unresolved tickets for weeks at a time.

I've only sent in about 3 or 4 tickets in the year I've been there so maybe I've just been lucky.

Originally posted by clio
Before I start,

zzzz



Reasons why users were banned:
- Spreading rumors about Aletia (you fit here Snakebite)

i only repeated what i heard and saw.


- Aletia gives kick-backs.
- Moderators get free hosting

i don't recall anyone stating that for a fact.


- Aletia's fleeing the country after 9/11

two of their top employees did in fact leave the country after 9/11


- Aleta, the company, does not exist

unfortunately they do exist. they just chose to use a false physical address.

Users who spread those rumors were banned. Users who repeatedly asked to be banned were banned.

i never saw one person say 'hey please ban me.'

Users who continuously violated the Aletia AUP were banned.

the aup which was never stated clearly????? right.

Originally posted by clio

Then this weekend, Scorpion just crapped out and died like a bug in the desert. From Friday to this morning (Sunday) the site was down.

I could care less for my main site which isn't up b/c of construction, but NONE of my subdomains worked until this afternoon. And the subdomains were important to me as my business sites were there.



Clio, I really don't understand how not having your site accessible by anyone for a whole weekend doesn't bother you!

I understand that no host can guarantee 100% uptime, but there should never be a 48 hour period where your site is down.

Poor planning on the part of Aletia is what caused that. Maybe they will learn from this for the future.

Sara

I received snail mail today from the BBB of Nevada stating they had received my complaint re: Aletia and are investigating them right now.

Originally posted by Zorbs
I received snail mail today from the BBB of Nevada stating they had received my complaint re: Aletia and are investigating them right now.

Good! Let us know how you make out.

Beerblast

Originally posted by clio


Reasons why users were banned:
- Spreading rumors about Aletia (you fit here Snakebite)
- Aletia gives kick-backs.
- Moderators get free hosting
- Aletia's fleeing the country after 9/11
- Aleta, the company, does not exist

Users who spread those rumors were banned. Users who repeatedly asked to be banned were banned. Users who continuously violated the Aletia AUP were banned.

It's not a rumour. Simple research on the net failed to turn up any information about the exact location of Aletia, and it is a FACT that the mailing address does not exist. Unfortunately the company DOES exist. If you do a search using laura + singapore, you WILL find a thread where she talks about being in that country. I have the URL of the thread printed out in hard copy if anyone wants it.

It's also a FACT that my site was down for hours and hours before any sort of news was posted as to what was going on. It's another FACT that when I cancelled my account, I sent in a cancellation request on 3/29 and didn't get a reply until around 4/10.

Clio, I don't know and I don't care whether you get preferential treatment from the big cheeses at Aletia, but you ARE a moderator and you DO defend them to the point of being completely blind to truths about the company that others put before you.

I will continue with my mission to see that Aletia's operation cease and desists.

Originally posted by Gadget Girl


Clio, I really don't understand how not having your site accessible by anyone for a whole weekend doesn't bother you!

I understand that no host can guarantee 100% uptime, but there should never be a 48 hour period where your site is down.

Poor planning on the part of Aletia is what caused that. Maybe they will learn from this for the future.

Sara

It doesn't bother me necessarily because it's a personal site that's not even up yet, so it's no biggy. However, as I mentioned, my father's site being down does bother me. I'm looking for a host for him. it's a tiny site but it needs php/mysql so i'm looking for a nice package to host that.

i forgot who asked me, but i host my personal site there b/c of the features for $10. all my clients are elsewhere. ;) except for my father that is. =/ but he'll be getting moved soon.

Zorbs,
I'm sorry your site was down for hours. it happens. no host can guarantee you no downtime. the best you can do is get a dedicated server, if it's that important to you.

also, aletia does exist i believe. someone named nvphone tracked them down and posted the real address.

i'm not defending them, i'm just saying it happens. and i already posted my story.

To all Aletia customers: I havent been hosted by them, but i would GET OUT as fast as possible.

The situation at Aletia sounds EXACTLY like the situation at TacidHost (i was one of the unfortunate customers there).

If you dont know the TacidHost story, search this forum for Shang or Tacid and read....

Its scarily similar....Site starts off with good deals, crap support. Site support gets extremely good (this was the point of Tacid's life i joined). Support slowly gets bogged down, as do the servers. Unexplained downtime. Support is as good as non-existant.
TacidHost Forum also had several well meaning mods who genuinely wanted to help, but were blind to the truth. The forum became the only means of support, with customers helping each other.
A lucky few manage to get their accounts cancelled.
Soon, many others will try to cancel their accounts, but will recieve no reply.
Aletia, like Tacid before it, will shut down, taking thousands of customer dollars with it.

BE WARNED. Get out of there as soon as you can. Its not worth the risk when there are so many good web hosts out there!

Originally posted by clio
Zorbs,
I'm sorry your site was down for hours. it happens. no host can guarantee you no downtime. the best you can do is get a dedicated server, if it's that important to you.

also, aletia does exist i believe. someone named nvphone tracked them down and posted the real address.


I don't mind downtime as much as I mind being kept in the dark about what is going on and half-truths and incompetence. Yes, it's true no host can guarantee 100% uptime (honestly), but good customer service is something the trashiest garage hosting company could offer, if they put in the effort.

Why did someone even have to take the time to 'track them down'? Someone could have easily rectified the question of a brick-and-mortar location instead of accusing customers of slander and deleting posts. It's a total non-issue if there wasn't anything to hide.

Originally posted by clio


It doesn't bother me necessarily because it's a personal site that's not even up yet, so it's no biggy. However, as I mentioned, my father's site being down does bother me. I'm looking for a host for him. it's a tiny site but it needs php/mysql so i'm looking for a nice package to host that.

i forgot who asked me, but i host my personal site there b/c of the features for $10. all my clients are elsewhere. ;) except for my father that is. =/ but he'll be getting moved soon.

Clio, I think you missed my point. Which was no one should have a website down for that long, whether it's a personal or business site. Everyone obviously sees the situation differently as we are bringing experiences from other hosts and our own experiences to the replies. I just think that even if I don't have 100% up time, a span of 48 hours is too long. Period. This is my opinion along with a few others I have a feeling. And as far as the customer service goes, y'all know how I feel about that.

Sara

I have to say that if my site had no content at all like Clio's does,
I wouldn't have been to bothered about it being down either.
http://www.clio360.com/

Beerblast

Originally posted by tagalaxy.net
The situation at Aletia sounds EXACTLY like the situation at TacidHost (i was one of the unfortunate customers there).
Oh please. Seriously, that's dumb. This is not another TacidHost! You wanna know why? Because there are dedicated people who work at Aletia. If this was TacidHost, they wouldn't have just bought 3 new servers.

You say you've never been hosted by Aletia? Then don't comment on it. This forum is partialy for users to share their experiences, not for non-users to draw abstract parallels!
Originally posted by beerblast
I have to say that if my site had no content at all like Clio's does,
I wouldn't have been to bothered about it being down either.
http://www.clio360.com/
Wow, let's make comments about stuff we don't know about!

Have you ever heard of directories? You know...sometimes people have stuff on their servers other than a main accessible site. Also, Aletia offers multi-hosted domains.

Clio has content. It's just not directly linked from the index.html file.

I'm sorry for attacking, but can we please stay on topic like Chicken asked? Thanks!

Originally posted by Abby
I'd like to say that I am still a satisfied (albeit nervous) Aletia customer. Not everyone I brought to Aletia has been so lucky, though I haven't lost anyone yet. Like Dogma, the sites I personally run are on older machines. I experience negligible downtime. Things are smooth.

I wouldn't recommend additional customers until things settle down ... mainly because I'm selfish and I don't want the "good" machines to become overcrowded like others ;) I think Aletia has some organizational issues to address, and I hope they'll be back on track soon enough. Overall, they've been good to me.

I'm sitting about like you, but being on Scorpion, the downtime issue hasn't been fun. I've not recomended Aletia to others looking for hosting lately, for myself, they offer a great package, they were fine when I signed up (Sep, 2001)

I'll wait awhile, and hope it's just growing pains. I've worked at an ISP with all the problems that could crop up (accountant, not a tech), I can at least afford not to be one of any exodus that makes it that much harder to get back on track. They were really good, and I'll take the chance that they will get back to that. My site is my business, but so far hasn't been harmed by the downtime and slowdowns, but it's barely started so I can't afford higher hosting fees either.

Originally posted by beerblast
I have to say that if my site had no content at all like Clio's does,
I wouldn't have been to bothered about it being down either.
http://www.clio360.com/

Beerblast

I had that exact thought when I popped by her domain the other day. ;)

I think Beerblast, Zorbo the Geek, and Snakebite are ridiculous for harping on Clio. She's a teenager with the best intentions, and you're all acting like spoiled rotten infants. She's outclassing the three of you ten cool points to one. What is or isn't live on her site is moot. The point she tried to make was that save her father's site, she DOESN'T host anything critical at Aletia. That's a wise move.

Snakebite, with all due respect (I mean it -- I've always liked your site, your style, and I love Alice), you barked at the moon like this when Hostrocket was falling apart. In the interest of your blood pressure, you might want to seek more expensive hosting to avoid this aggravation again, or else you'll be exploding again in eight months.

Personally, I wish Aletia provided free hosting for its moderators, who have done more to ease tensions lately than they have. It bugs the hell out of me that they let good-hearted teenagers offer support that they should be providing. It seems tacky to let your supporters do your dirty work ... to me, anyway.

Yes, it does seem as if most sites at Aletia are for personal use, and issues like site stats, security, and upgrades are lax as a result. It doesn't thrill me, but If I couldn't live with it I would leave and pay more money elsewhere. I like receiving good services for my money, but my expectations are not unreasonable, either. It does suck that Aletia neglected so many customers of late. I would leave if I were you, too, and I'd be grumpy. I'm ready to bolt at the first sign of serious trouble myself. But I highly doubt that -- for $9.95 a month -- there's a vast Aletia conspiracy devoted to ridding us all of our money. There are more machines that run with few problems than there are bad servers. So kindly remember as you "continue with your mission to see that Aletia's operation cease and desists" that such a mission would mean that MY site ends up without a decent inexpensive host -- one that has been quite good to ME since May of 2001.

Originally posted by Abby
I think Beerblast, Zorbo the Geek, and Snakebite are ridiculous for harping on Clio. She's a teenager with the best intentions, and you're all acting like spoiled rotten infants.

teenager or not, she's made many (incorrect) assumptions which borderline on lies. i don't know her personally, i only see what she posts on the forums. and from what i can see.....she's lied about myself and others on a few occasions.


She's outclassing the three of you ten cool points to one.

wrong, she is able to act like a baby, just like the rest of us.


Snakebite, with all due respect (I mean it -- I've always liked your site, your style, and I love Alice), you barked at the moon like this when Hostrocket was falling apart.

and is there anything wrong with expression one's opnion? what about all of the good posts i made about hostrocket and aletia before they turned to crap? what about those????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????


In the interest of your blood pressure, you might want to seek more expensive hosting to avoid this aggravation again, or else you'll be exploding again in eight months.

oh i did that a few weeks ago. it is no longer a struggle for myself personally, but myself (along with many others) feel we should spread the truth about aletia.

Personally, I wish Aletia provided free hosting for its moderators, who have done more to ease tensions lately than they have. It bugs the hell out of me that they let good-hearted teenagers offer support that they should be providing. It seems tacky to let your supporters do your dirty work ... to me, anyway.

i agree. and despite what clio's says, i personally NEVER said forum moderators receive freebies of any kind. i brought up the issue, but i never said they did in fact receive kick-backs. that was just one of her lies.

But I highly doubt that -- for $9.95 a month -- there's a vast Aletia conspiracy devoted to ridding us all of our money.

wrong. $9.95 x a lot of customers= $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$


There are more machines that run with few problems than there are bad servers. So kindly remember as you "continue with your mission to see that Aletia's operation cease and desists" that such a mission would mean that MY site ends up without a decent inexpensive host -- one that has been quite good to ME since May of 2001.

i just don't understand how a couple servers are running great through all of this, and the several that are crappy (the majority of their servers), they seem to neglect and ignore.

Originally posted by Abby
I think Beerblast, Zorbo the Geek, and Snakebite are ridiculous for harping on Clio.

I'm ready to bolt at the first sign of serious trouble myself. But I highly doubt that -- for $9.95 a month -- there's a vast Aletia conspiracy devoted to ridding us all of our money. There are more machines that run with few problems than there are bad servers. So kindly remember as you "continue with your mission to see that Aletia's operation cease and desists" that such a mission would mean that MY site ends up without a decent inexpensive host -- one that has been quite good to ME since May of 2001.

DON'T YOU DARE call me Zorbo the Geek. Hey, I'm not the one resorting to labelling and name calling, am I...and I'm immature? As for her site, I was merely agreeing with Beer's observation that there seemed to be no content. How do you know I don't LIKE sites with no content?

..and I wasn't paying $9.95 a month. $19.95 US. That's almost $32 Canadian. For a person with a part-time job that pays about $200 a week, hosting eats up a chunk of my cash.

You don't think all this going on lately is a sign of serious trouble? May I please borrow your rose tinted glasses? There are plenty of other inexpensive hosts with FAR better reputations out there. I highly doubt that I will have much effect on business over there, but if you are left 'in the cold' without a host if Aletia folds overnight, CAVEAT EMPTOR!

<sarcasm>
but Aletia would NEVER fold overnight, because they are a fantastically reliable company!!
</sarcasm>

It is obvious that hosts come and go hourly. If my current host goes bottom up, I'm not going to cry on here and blame other people for putting them out of business. I'd just grit my teeth and go looking for another.

As for clio being cooler than me, I'll take that as a major compliment! I NEVER follow the crowd. I love it when people hate me.

If your doctor was sued for malpractice, would you blame the other patients?

Originally posted by Snakebite
i just don't understand how a couple servers are running great through all of this, and the several that are crappy (the majority of their servers), they seem to neglect and ignore.
It's weird, but it's true. I'm on Dolphin and I've had almost no downtime what so ever. It's very nice and doesn't have a high server load.

I don't understand it either though...

I mostly use Aletia for testing. That's why there's no content. Besides, it's personal stuff, I could care less. I'd rather spend the big $$ for DSL and stuff.

In terms of hosts, you're right. They come and go. That's why it's nice to stay ahead of the game. Unfortunately, we all make mistakes, good choices, and of course - bad choices. No one can see the future. Aletia can be awesome one day. And she can crap out the next day.

Gadget Girl, 48 hours isn't that bad for downtime. I've experienced 2 weeks of downtime at *****. I've also experienced about 1 week of downtime/DNS issues at Interland/Hostpro in a crazy mixup with 3 dedicated servers. I've been on hold with customer support for many hosts for many minutes, even an hour. I have not been in this hosting game for long as a customer, but I have a lot of experience with waiting. Patience has been built into me.

Yes, I am a teenager and I have other things to worry about - like college. But that's just a plus for me to take my mind off these things. But if you guys had a business site, I don't understand why you don't just move. It's not like you're stuck in contract or something.

btw, I've been moved to swan and I like my new home :D

Originally posted by Zorbs
I received snail mail today from the BBB of Nevada stating they had received my complaint re: Aletia and are investigating them right now.



Wrong place for that.......................The BBB looks into things by mail and some by phone. Go to the State of Nevada Home Page, they are a corporation in that State. Do your complaints with the State. Nevada takes it very serious and does not play!
I have to do some research, but I recall a loop hole in that county for corporations, that is no where else. I kind of recall it, but want to be sure. If I am right the BBB can not do a thing.
Since they are really down under and not in the USA, the most is that there Corp. will be pulled.
Then they just file in another State. Change their name or sell it for a $1.00 to a family member.
Bitch to the State and do not waste time with the BBB.

If your doctor was sued for malpractice, would you blame the other patients?

I would blame the patients if they were roughing up OTHER patients instead of suing the doctor. Hostile, smarmy posts reap what they sow, Zorbs.

It's not a crime to defend Aletia. Frankly, if MY site was down like Clio's, I wouldn't be very supportive. But I myself have had almost nothing but positive experiences.

Here's one:

* Last September, my credit card number was breached online, and my account was cancelled. My bank's credit card division was located in the World Trade Center. All of the paperwork/records were lost, so re-issuing a new card became a minor battle. I had no credit card for two months. While I offered to send a check for my personal site, Aletia told me not to worry about it and never threatened to shut me down or anything. That was awesome and rather ungreedy of them -- and trust me, it sucks to not have a credit card number for two months. Maybe Sontag (a local Philly boy) put Aletia up to it ... :D Whatever the reason, they were rather generous and I won't forget that.

Ironically, Snakebite, I had problems with Aletia last summer when I first signed up. Support was excellent but Dolphin kept crapping out for one reason or another. I think I even gave Dogma mild hell for singing songs of Aletia praise when there were problems. But things cleared up by late July, and I think I could count the hours of downtime on one hand since then (probably three fingers).

Starfish has also been very stable for me if not WebTV proof. It all really does depend on what machine you are on. That's not excusable, but it's the truth.

Speaking your mind about your negative experiences with Aletia is acceptable and useful for new customers considering them as a host. I don't think it's fair to put a malicious spin on things, though. And it's really not fair to make petty swipes at Clio or her site (and I think everyone will agree that Clio's a mean, lean Webdesigning machine when her stuff is up) since she's nothing more than a well-intentioned middle man.

By the way, my "mailing" address is not where I actually live either. It's not even in the same county or zip code. This area of PA is so riddled with tiny little towns that it's recommended to use the largest post office in the area to ensure seamless delivery. So if you ran a whois on my domain, you'd think me a crook, too.

If you would like the same address:
https://www.nevada-incorporations.com/indexframes.html

Have fun,got to go.

Originally posted by nvphone




Wrong place for that.......................The BBB looks into things by mail and some by phone. Go to the State of Nevada Home Page, they are a corporation in that State. Do your complaints with the State. Nevada takes it very serious and does not play!
I have to do some research, but I recall a loop hole in that county for corporations, that is no where else. I kind of recall it, but want to be sure. If I am right the BBB can not do a thing.
Since they are really down under and not in the USA, the most is that there Corp. will be pulled.
Then they just file in another State. Change their name or sell it for a $1.00 to a family member.
Bitch to the State and do not waste time with the BBB.

Here is that loophole:
Douglas County, does not require, or even issue Business Licenses.

Originally posted by Abby
I think Beerblast, Zorbo the Geek, and Snakebite are ridiculous for harping on Clio. She's a teenager with the best intentions, and you're all acting like spoiled rotten infants.

I have no comment because I know you are Clio's grandmother.
And you deserve respect because of your age.

Cheers,
Beerblast

Originally posted by beerblast


I have no comment because I know you are Clio's grandmother.
And you deserve respect because of your age.

Cheers,
Beerblast

i'm not one for stereotypes. i refuse to treat anyone differently based on their age, race, religion etc.

does age make a difference here? no.

Has Aletia worked out their problems yet.....they are always nice to me.....even though I never got the chance to host with them.


I ask because a friend asked me about them.....????

For me they seem to have, I was on a server that died, once I got moved there was a few glitches, but they answered questions and fixed the glitches promply. Some others are still complaining, but there's many who are reporting a turnaround.

I have avoided recommending them to people who would need a lot of handholding - no phone support. But hey for the price and features, I don't mind not having - and not having to pay for the extra cost of phone support.

Airfun, thanx I'll pass that on to my friend looking to host a personal site of his. :)


I liked what I saw before all their trouble started......but after reading through this thread and others I wasn't sure if they gone beyond those troubles as of yet.....for the most part.

To go off of what Airfun was saying, while i've been experiencing the same downtime, db problems, that many others have been using, I've generally had very good customer support. I filed a ticket this morning about a problem i was having w/my DB, and i recieved a reply in about 4 hrs, saying my problem had been fixed.

While they definately seem to have been experiencing growing pains these past few months, i do think they're working through them, which is always good news.

Ok thanx guys......thats good to hear......I'll inform my firend it will give him another choice..... :)

Actually I would suggest your friend go fread their forums. Things are worse than ever. Databases going down for over a week at a time with NOTHING being said in annoucements.

People signing up for an account and NOTHING being done about it.

Servers getting full, etc etc etc

I cancelled an annual account on Monday, gave all information on how to get my money back and they only response I got was "your account has been suspended"...nada else. I reopened the ticket asking for further information, I'm still waiting.

I'd stay away from Aletia and would not suggest it to anyone else. I do suggest that your friend go over and read the forums.

Trish

Originally posted by TrishM
Actually I would suggest your friend go fread their forums. Things are worse than ever. Databases going down for over a week at a time with NOTHING being said in annoucements.

People signing up for an account and NOTHING being done about it.

Servers getting full, etc etc etc

I cancelled an annual account on Monday, gave all information on how to get my money back and they only response I got was "your account has been suspended"...nada else. I reopened the ticket asking for further information, I'm still waiting.

I'd stay away from Aletia and would not suggest it to anyone else. I do suggest that your friend go over and read the forums.

Trish


cancel the reoccuring charges with paysystems.com and try to get a refund from them.

aletia has proven to be unrealiable in every way when trying to cancel accounts and get money back.

i cancelled the charges to my credit cards and sent them an email to close all three of my accounts with them. haven't heard back, and that was almost a month ago. oh well, not my problem anymore.

Originally posted by ALS
Has Aletia worked out their problems yet.....they are always nice to me.....even though I never got the chance to host with them.


I ask because a friend asked me about them.....????

tell your friend to run far away from aletia. they are ripping off their customers left and right.

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=47117

Ok thanx guys......the pros and cons he'll have to look at first.

Myself about a year ago....if I wanted to host somewhere I would gone to them.....or they would been on my list.

Its sad....they haven't got things back to where they were.

The wonderful world on the internet.......I do wish them luck in getting ahold of things again.