Hello WHT Moderators,

I have emailed moderators about this, but got no response, so ill give the forums a shot.

I think you should have a specific discussion category somewhere where people who own sites that offer free hosting (such as geocities, freeservers) talk and discuss relevant issues to that industry.

I am an owner of such a site, and I can tell you there is a great need for such a forum and I have looked hard to find one, but couldn’t find anything relative. If you are worried about additional moderation, I would be more than happy to assist as I have developed some experience in this particular field

Please let me know your thoughts, and anyone who has an opinion on this matter, lets hear it.

There is nothing in this world that's free, its always bannered or in some other form compensated. That is not bad, although due to the huge amount of free serviced and usually the bad mouthing that takes place as soon as someones site gets down (with replies like "Hey its free, you did not pay for anything, so down whine about backups/uptime/your-files/etc") my guess is it is going to be a flame forum. Isn't it already possible to offer these services in the shared hosting forum?

I am not sure if what you are talking about is relevant. This forum will be about running a free hosting business.

Im not going to get into the philosophical argument if its really free or not because as you said, its not literary for free, its usually in exchange for personal info or advertisements. Regardless, it’s still called "free hosting" as a standard name and I think everyone agrees about that regardless if they think if its free or not, which has nothing to do with the topic of post.

This forum will not be a support forum for users using the free hosts just like the dedicated or web hosting forum are not support forums for users of these services.

These forums will discuss how to obtain customers, how to make money, how to fight abuse, upgrade options, review software that help you run a free hosting site .....etc. All from the business point of view the Free Hosting model, which if you have been in both businesses, know that that they are quite different.

The free hosting business is a world of its own with its own set of rules. It will be very beneficial for the thousands of owners of such sites/businesses to find a forum that they can meet with other site owners and discuss relevant issues which are quite different than the regular hosting business.

I hope this finds some listening ears at WHT ! :idea:

I think you should have a specific discussion category somewhere where people who own sites that offer free hosting (such as geocities, freeservers) talk and discuss relevant issues to that industry.


If that is your suggestion, wouldn't the Web Hosting Forum (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=1) be ok? You could also discuss in Running a Hosting Biz as offering free hosting is still a hosting business.

I don't think there are enough owners of such services to discuss such services on these forums.

Otherwise there's always: http://www.freewebspace.net/forums/

Thanks for the link.

I looked at the site, looked promising on the surface, but most of these discussions are from end users requesting services and complaining/praising about companies.

What im looking for is a forum for the owners of free hosts, kind of like what we have here as
'Running a Hosting Biz" but more like "Running a free hosting biz"

As I have mentioned earlier, I think the two models free/paid dont mix well as they have different revenue models, different customer expecations, and different long term strategies.

So I think it just would be more beneficial to have a seperate forum for such a different business model.

As I have mentioned earlier, I think the two models free/paid dont mix well as they have different revenue models, different customer expecations, and different long term strategies.

You're right they do have totally different models, but there's nothing that says you can't discuss running a free hosting business in the "Running a Web Hosting Biz" forums, and there's nothing that says you are limited to paid hosting discussions in that same forum either.

If we create a new forum, I can guarantee you it will be filled with members who are looking for free hosting, or it will sit dormant.

Well, if we name it and administer it correctly, then we can avoid these kind of problems.

The other forums have been very helpful to my business and brought a lot of new insights and helpful advice from other members, but there is still something missing, the mentality is quite different. I feel sometimes that there is kind of rivalry between the two that leads to not having the best ideas being heard or the best advice to be given out.

I actually asked Peo (owner of freewebspace) to consider adding forums of this nature. He didn't think there were enough people to warrant this there, and I'm pretty sure there aren't enough here. Ask Peo again, see what he says. If users ask for it, maybe he'll toss a forum up. Honestly though, there just aren't that many around. FWSP's close all the time or turn paid, so some of the other suggestions seem reasonable as well.

Thanks for your reply, I hope Peo considers it.

there should be a freehost section:)

Quite right! I agree we need a free hosting forum!.

Originally posted by Alex[nl]
There is nothing in this world that's free, its always bannered or in some other form compensated.

If they do not charge a setup fee, do not charge for webspace or force you to have a domain name then it is free.

If there are banners it is still free.
If they generate money through advertising on 404 errors it is still free.

However it is 'compensated' it is still free.

Originally posted by Jesse_613
there should be a freehost section:) It's been mentioned before. But, maybe it needs mentioning again.

The freehost section is located at WHT Free Host Section (http://freewebspace.net/forums/).

thats a different board.....

I disagree with a free hosting section. IMO, web hosting should not be free. People pour hours into the comopany for what? Nothing. I do not wanna promote giving away a 'gold web hosting account' for free.

Your funny, this has nothing to do with agreeing or disagreeing about it.

If you feel like your free hosting companies are competing with your business, then you are doing something terribly wrong. Free hosting companies usually offer folders or sub-domains as the address for individuals and 'very' small businesses, none of which will be paying for hosting in the first place.

Any news on the free hosting forum?

IS it a go, or not?

Originally posted by Sven
Any news on the free hosting forum?

IS it a go, or not?

No, not at this time.