View Poll Results: Should WHT allow "lifetime" hosting plans?

Voters
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  • Yes. WHT should allow members to sell lifetime hosting plans.

    15 12.71%
  • No. WHT should not allow members to sell lifetime hosting plans.

    103 87.29%
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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
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    Never pay for hosting again!

    That's what's sold.

    The question is, should WHT allow it?

    Is it possible to provide hosting forever for one price? When I purchase a "liftetime hosting plan," is if for my life time, the host's, the dc, my dog? I'm not sure I understand the host's business plan.

    Maybe it's possible. I don't know. That's what this thread's for.

    Okay.

    Ready?

    Discuss.
    There is no best host. There is only the host that's best for you.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
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    1,874
    No doubt those companies won't be able to live up to their claims. We'll get lots of angry customers complaining about being scammed on here which will mean a lot of advertising impressions served which means a lot of money for iNet which means... I'll stop before I put my foot in my mouth...

    I think it's a no-brainer

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
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    1,909
    My discussion - it would be pure nuts! Is that enough characters for this post. If not - have a few more. Oops. Lets do just one more. 1


  4. #4
    What happens is the hosting companies that claims its for life will never able to, sure they will get loads of customers but they would be slowly working themselves into debt because say they have a low month of customers or maybe year, they cant afford to pay for the hardware anymore, therefore your site gets terminated and your stuck with nothing.

    A lot of people that want a site would go for a lifetime but people that are or have been in the hosting business will know its not worth it, there will probably also be something in the terms and conditions saying that "lifetime" means that it is lasting you for so many years.

    If you really want to try an lifetime hosting company get a really cheap package and see if they are there the next year.

    Cheap is never the best.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    5,178
    Nope, don't allow members to do this. Falls under the same type of scam as unlimited in my mind. Every dialup ISP that did this in the late 90's went belly-up within 2 years. I'm sure all these web hosts will do the same, and this will just become a forgotten fad in time.
    If you have to operate your company behind the scenes or under a fake name, maybe it's time to leave the industry and start something fresh.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    193
    A "lifetime" plan could be as fraudulent as any other plan posted on WHT. Who are they to say that this sort of place must be fraudulent (well, apart from owning the board.....) Surely any ad posted here is potentially fraudulent?

    There are reputable companies that offer lifetime plans in many fields. This isn't always a problem. (Apart from when a certain UK cell phone network decided they would try to terminate mine ) - (Yes...tried)

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
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    "lifetime" anything is just as fraudulent as "unlimited" bandwidth. There flat out is no such thing.


    Example:
    I remember quite some back, numerous individuals and companies attempted to offer "lifetime" internet access (dialup). Most (if not all) of these companies have gone out of business by this point.

    Did the customer get their money's worth? That all depends. However, there certainly was no "lifetime" internet access there, and this was simply yet another marketing scheme, fraudulent though it was.
    Tom Whiting, WHMCS Guru extraordinaire
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  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
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    The idea behind this system is quite simple: if you sell lifetime hosting to 1000 people, 2 years later more than 99% of the websites are inactive. You can delete them and no one will even care.

    Even with life time hosting, customers still need to pay for their domain names every year. People without a serious projet, won't renew their domain so the host could safely terminate the hosting.

    The business plan is based on the fact that only beginners webmasters beleive on a lifetime hosting and such webmasters couldn't build successfull websites anyway. They pay for a lifetime hosting than give up 6 months later.
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  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
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    Buffalo, NY
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    Quote Originally Posted by edelweisshosting
    The idea behind this system is quite simple: if you sell lifetime hosting to 1000 people, 2 years later more than 99% of the websites are inactive. You can delete them and no one will even care.
    What gives you that idea? If people pay for "lifetime hosting," it's definitely not ethical to remove their account just because you think or it is inactive.

    Quote Originally Posted by edelweisshosting
    Even with life time hosting, customers still need to pay for their domain names every year. People without a serious projet, won't renew their domain so the host could safely terminate the hosting.

    The business plan is based on the fact that only beginners webmasters beleive on a lifetime hosting and such webmasters couldn't build successfull websites anyway. They pay for a lifetime hosting than give up 6 months later.
    Once again, these two statements are based on assumptions.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
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    As for lifetime, it should be stated for the life of the company, not your own. So if the company crash and burns, so does your account.

    I remember ASO (A Small Orange) doing something like that, but they didn't advertise it here I think. They were trying to get up some $$ to invest in their own servers and move away from the Planet. But it was offered for a limited time only.
    73's, Kim
    Everything happens for a reason I make up.

  11. #11
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    Jun 2002
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    I don't see the problem of offering limited number of lifetime hosting. Some hosts are on the level that they can even provide free services if they want to.
    Fluid Hosting, LLC - Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure: Cloud Shared and Reseller, Cloud VPS, and Cloud Hybrid Server

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    Wollongong, Australia
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    I am going to into heavy intellectual debate here:

    No no no no no no no no no no no no no NO!

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    New York City
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    Hi,

    Lifetime no, but there are already some hosts doing FREE 1 YEAR trial and similar tactics which I would say is fine, but when it comes to LIFETIME Hosting that just isn't realistic at all unless it is some sort of FREE HOSTING/ PAID HOSTING Hybrid where they let you host forever but after few years you get ADS on your site suddenly?

    Cheers
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  14. #14
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    Apr 2003
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    I've always had the solid belief that if there's even a SMALL doubt you cannot provide something, then you shouldn't offer it / use it as an advertising trick.

    Whether you should allow it or not.....well that's opening a can of worms.

    What about all the hosts that oversell, and do not provide the bandwidth / space that was bought?
    Olly | INX-Gaming
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  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by SoftWareRevue
    "liftetime hosting plan," is if for my life time, the host's, the dc, my dog? I'm not sure I understand the host's business plan.
    interesting point ... if the web host is legally registered then i think there is no problem with such offers ... such offers are available for many other offline products

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Sep 2000
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    Quote Originally Posted by SoftWareRevue
    The question is, should WHT allow it?
    If it's not illegal then what you're asking is a moral question and my understanding is that WHT does not involve themselves within that area, when it comes to Selling something that is not illegal.

    According to one Mod, it's up to the individual to determine these type things for themselves. Many would say and myself included, that Lifetime Hosting packages are not viable but that can also apply to selling 'unlimited' Hosting Services of various kinds, which anyone can Advertise here.
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  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Website Rob
    ... my understanding is that WHT does not involve themselves within that area....
    We do not allow unlimited space or bandwidth offers as well.
    There is no best host. There is only the host that's best for you.

  18. #18
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    Mar 2000
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    San Antonio, Texas
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    Nope...another good marketing ploy is how I look at it.
    HostCaters.com - Quality Web Hosting - Under A Gig! - Since 1999

  19. #19
    Join Date
    May 2001
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    Smile

    Quote Originally Posted by SoftWareRevue
    That's what's sold.

    The question is, should WHT allow it?

    Is it possible to provide hosting forever for one price? When I purchase a "liftetime hosting plan," is if for my life time, the host's, the dc, my dog? I'm not sure I understand the host's business plan.

    Maybe it's possible. I don't know. That's what this thread's for.

    Okay.

    Ready?

    Discuss.

    Enforce this "No Lifetime Hosting" policy then because it sounds soooooooo unrealistic to you.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
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    1,874
    Quote Originally Posted by YUPAPA
    Enforce this "No Lifetime Hosting" policy then because it sounds soooooooo unrealistic to you.
    Yupapa!

    How long has it been since I last saw you on here!

  21. #21
    I believe that there are too many "variables" for a life time hosting plan to work, so my vote is "no". Also, imagine the problems there would be when a "life time" host declares bankrupcy.


    Alex

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
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    Scotland
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    Quote Originally Posted by SoftWareRevue
    The question is, should WHT allow it?

    Is it possible to provide hosting forever for one price? When I purchase a "liftetime hosting plan," is if for my life time, the host's, the dc, my dog? I'm not sure I understand the host's business plan.

    Maybe it's possible. I don't know. That's what this thread's for.
    Is it possible? Of course it is. Just as it is possible that a company would pay you to host with them. Unlikely, but very possible.

    I can go out and buy a knife with a lifetime warranty, a drill bit with a lifetime warranty, a graphic card with a lifetime warranty, RAM with a lifetime warranty and many many more things, yet the people of WHT have decided that it's a scam?

    It's not about getting hosting until you die, it's about paying less overall for the service that you are going to continue to use. If it costs 2x the annual amount to get a lifetime plan, is it really worth paying annually/monthly for the next 5-10 years? If you pay double the annual amount and the host disappears in 3 years, did you really lose anything?

    Note that I have no problem with reputable companies offering this as a one-time special because they have the means to back it up, I do however have a problem with companies that offer this as a standard hosting plan, a startup offer or hosts that only offer these types of plans.

    To me though, if you are going to act as the police of hosting deciding what is a scam and what is not, I'd certainly hope that the offers of huge plans for a few dollars are also going to be banned. They are no less of a scam than lifetime hosting.


    Quote Originally Posted by SoftWareRevue
    We do not allow unlimited space or bandwidth offers as well.
    Nobody here can prove that lifetime hosting is not possible, yet it's not hard to prove unlimited disk/bandwidth is impossible.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
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    466
    Unlimited plans are not fraudulent and there are still companies that offer unlimited bandwidth etc. It`s mean and ****ed up in a way but...not illegal.

  24. #24
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    Jan 2006
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    Wollongong, Australia
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    186
    I'll tell you what.

    I will start offering 'Lifetime Plans'. Starts at $2.5 million USD for 10 megabytes of Space, 5 e-mail accounts, 1GB Bandwidth, 1 FTP account.

    Sound like a killer?

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by SoftWareRevue
    Is it possible to provide hosting forever for one price?
    Lifetime is not forever. A limited number of lifetime hosting is not a unlimited number of forever hosting. Thus, I don't see any problem doing it. Nowhere does it say anything about unlimited bandwidth, unlimited storage, forever hosting, etc.

    Besides, nobody objects free hosting ...
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