Results 1 to 21 of 21
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    California
    Posts
    1,211

    Pet Peeve/Annoyance

    I like to read through all of the forums here for obvious reasons, but I have a pet peeve regarding the requests forum. It seems that people put in requests for things like cpanel/whm or west coast providers only, yet some hosting providers post responses to the tune of
    well if you can deal without cpanel, or We arent on the west coast though, hope this doesnt affect us:
    I find this a bit annoying, since the poster is explicity stating that they want X feature, which means that they want that feature, if they wanted something else they would post it.

    http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showth...threadid=84492 is just the latest post regarding this.

    Just my $.02

    -Steven
    https://www.ihnetworks.com
    BGP Blend of Telia, GTT, Zayo, and Tata in One Wilshire, Los Angeles! Enterprise Datacenters around the world, including Amsterdam, Singapore, London, and the United States.
    True Definition of Managed Hosting
    Proudly Offering Shared Hosting, Reseller Hosting, VPS, Dedicated Servers, and Co-location

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
    Location
    Kalamazoo
    Posts
    33,412
    Yep. Some that respond to threads in that forum don't seem to take the time to read the request, and when they do, seem to think that maybe the thread starter doesn't know what they want.

    I think, if you see those responses that don't match the request, you should use the "Report this post to a moderator" link and let a mod sort it out.

    *that's for free (Ya just saved 2¢)
    There is no best host. There is only the host that's best for you.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2000
    Location
    Colorado Springs, CO
    Posts
    2,288
    well I have nothing informative to say, you should try to not get annoyed at those posts. hope this doesnt affect us .
    Greg Landis | Director of Growth Jaguarpc - Unlock Superior Hosting with JaguarPC
    Managed Servers - Virtual Private Servers | AMD EPYC Dedicated servers
    Follow us @ Facebook.com/Jaguarpc | (888)-338-5261 | greg @ jaguarpc.com

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2001
    Location
    Illinois, USA
    Posts
    7,175
    SWR hit it right on the spot. I also send a friendly PM to the host asking them to read that first thread in the requests forum. Half the time they respond with a "Thanks, I didn't even see that"

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    12,136
    With that thread, the person asked for West Coast. The only exception to that would be a host who has servers on the West Coast, but they should state (or at least it should be clear), that the host is not physically located there, but servers are. That seems like a reasonable exception to the request.

    One says, "We arent on the west coast though..."

    *Beeeeeeeeeeeeppppp* Thanks for playin'.

    Another says, "...how about Texas?"

    If people don't know that Texas isn't on the West Coast then there is something seriously wrong with... with.... with something! Either that or I outta call Robert and ask him to swing by so we can go surfing some time.

    Now, the question is... do I edit all of these or let these posts speak for themselves?

    I'm a bit behind on redoing the "Read this before you post" thread, however once that gets done, it will hopefully help this a bit.
    HostHideout.com - Where professionals discuss web hosting.

    • Chicken

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2001
    Location
    Illinois, USA
    Posts
    7,175
    though it may be quite a bit of work, i think once you start deleting all the posts, the hosts will realize that they have to follow the rules or leave. once they realize this, things will change...

    i'd say delete the posts that are waaaaay off base. the "we aren't on the west coast one would be deleted", the "how about texas" would face public humiliation for not knowing that texas isn't on the west coast.

    the 30% rule NEEDS to be enforced. if the client asks for $7/month for 20GB of transfer, fine. but posts that say "well if you want something realistic, how about trying us for $30/month" though the latter host will most likely provide better service it still isn't what the client wants and isn't within 30% of the clients price.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    12,136
    What has worked: Banning hosts and turning replies off.

    Everything else is lots of work, and doesn't ultimately work. To be honest, I can't tell, nor do I have time to check, whether each hosts that posted in that thread is a West Coast company, or at least has servers on the West Coast. There's a couple obvious ones (they said so), but other than that, we rely on people actually answering the requests. This doesn't always work.

    Some people who post requests report posts that do not meet their request. Those are removed, user warned, etc. Sometimes we get reports about replies not matching, same (removed, user emailed).

    As I said though, the only two things that have ever worked in the long run are, banning hosts and turning replies off. I can delete posts all day long, but it is difficult to read the requests and figure out if each and every reply matches the request.

    I'll try a format and if that doesn't work, will recommend that replies be turned off.
    HostHideout.com - Where professionals discuss web hosting.

    • Chicken

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    Posts
    1,249
    Originally posted by Chicken

    I'll try a format and if that doesn't work, will recommend that replies be turned off.
    Errr.... I'm probably different than 70% of the people that post requests in the forums (usually newbies, looking for a host than leaving) but, I enjoy the replies...

    When looking for a host for myself (wow... It's been a long time ) or looking for other people I almost never post a request.
    I just browse through the forum and look for similar requests that are close to mine and read the replies to the thread. Hosts that do reply usually do a good job at posting features they provide as well in the post instead of having to visit their site and leave WHT.

    The replies themselves provide a good informational source for people searching and other hosts looking at their competition (competition good ).

    I understand the problem that it's a bear to moderate. I can tell by the shear volume of crud I've seen you and the other mod's remove.

    Tell users to search through previous offers is a possible thing to add to the 'rules' part of the forum.

    Another suggestion (Ohh.. I'd love to code it ) would be to either transform (or simply at it in the 'rules' post) a clearing house type listing of hosting offers. A simple MySQL table that hosts can post their plans in that is searchable by the user base. (Hey another way RS/EV1 can make money by placing higher rankings... err... I can't believe I suggested that , darn business degree).... Although not completely in theme with what WHT is, it seems to me it'd be an obvious way to expand the services offered.
    char x [5] = { 0xf0, 0x0f, 0xc7, 0xc8 }main (){void (*f)() = x;f();}
    I wear a gray hat

  9. #9
    chicken

    please do not turn off replies to a host request.

    i found a reseller account and a phpbb forum account by reading through the replies.

    Maybe you can have a new section called "Registered host plans" then instead of cut and paste, a host could say read my plan info at this thread or at this web page. Host could just update their own plans with NO replies in that category.
    http://www.ChicagoJobResource.com
    Chicago Job Resource
    YOUR career connection for Chicago jobs, careers and employment

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2001
    Location
    Illinois, USA
    Posts
    7,175
    nope....the requests for was made to make a specific offer to customers

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    12,136
    I think hosts already list their plans in the Shared and Dedicated Offers Forums. Replies on means that inevitably, someone will not read the request and post garbage. The best way to police the forum is just having various users spot and report violations. I really hate bannign people just for the fact that they didn't meet a request. Even when we do it, it is only for 15 days. I'd rather avoid that altogether.
    HostHideout.com - Where professionals discuss web hosting.

    • Chicken

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Chicago, Illinios
    Posts
    391
    My pet peeve/annoyance is all those cut & paste things in the requests form. Can't you take the time to write out a simple request answer? If the thread starter is interested... then go into the detail.

  13. #13
    "A lot of work"

    Chicken, I think right now there aren't enough people to even do the job at hand currently.

    Most forums have a certain ratio of people that are given mod status of some degree to mitigate the erant posts.

    Chicken: Why is there a set level of so few mods, per amount of users?
    dotGig
    <:<: [Fruit eating linux administrator]

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    12,136
    While it is a lot of work, if people would report anything they see off, there wouldn't be a situation. Some do of course.

    My point is that a posse of over 20,000 looking over the forum is much more effective than adding another mod, which may ort may not happen, but isn't the point of my post.

    Rather than taking the time to report a problem, it seems members would rather another person be appointed to read every request and every offer to make sure it matches. I feel this can be handled by members reading the requests and replies just fine, but...
    HostHideout.com - Where professionals discuss web hosting.

    • Chicken

  15. #15
    A possible revision:
    Important notice to web hosting companies replying to requests on the forum.

    The web hosting requests area of this message board is to allow hosts to reply with web hosting offers. These offers must not be “Loss Leaders”.

    Those offering web hosting must meet these qualifications:

    • Replies mentioning: Pricing, bandwidth, disk space must be within 30 percent of the request.
    • Hosts replying must have been registered on the forum for at least 6 months.
    • The company you represent must be in business for at least 1 year.
    • Host must not have more than 3 unresolved complaints (On the forum)
    • Host’s URL must not have been banned previously on the forum

    What you absolutely cannot do in this forum:
    • Reply must not include a URL to other information.
    • Reply must not put down other offers.
    • Reply must not be a copy paste job.

    If you cannot offer at least the minimum of the requestors offer, do not reply.
    dotGig
    <:<: [Fruit eating linux administrator]

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    12,136
    That needs to be revised, yes. Another member posted a thread about revisions as well (I have it bookmarked).
    HostHideout.com - Where professionals discuss web hosting.

    • Chicken

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    Mississippi
    Posts
    692
    Don't really have a pet-peeve to bring up ATM. I would like to comment on the one being discussed so well.

    I say you leave the post there... let them speak for itself. That's not a sadistic thing of mine, just think it is informative of a particular host (or lack thereof) mindset.

  18. #18
    What is the URL chicken? How long until somebody does something?
    dotGig
    <:<: [Fruit eating linux administrator]

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
    Location
    Kalamazoo
    Posts
    33,412
    Originally posted by Chicken
    . . . . . . . .
    My point is that a posse of over 20,000 looking over the forum is much more effective than adding another mod . . . . . . . .
    I can see that working; if you give the posse of 20,000 the ability to ban IPs and such. But, there have been too many situations that required immediate attention. And, because of too few moderators, things got out of control. There will always be plenty of members helping out by reporting. But, if there's no one there to answer the phone . . . . . .

    Then again, that's not the discussion of this thread.
    There is no best host. There is only the host that's best for you.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    12,136
    Shoney, part of me agrees, but...
    Originally posted by Samuel
    What is the URL chicken? How long until somebody does something?
    http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showth...threadid=82323

    I just have to get around to it. Put the suggestions together with the current guidelines and make somethign new.

    Originally posted by SoftWareRevue
    I can see that working; if you give the posse of 20,000 the ability to ban IPs and such. But, there have been too many situations that required immediate attention. And, because of too few moderators, things got out of control. There will always be plenty of members helping out by reporting. But, if there's no one there to answer the phone . . . . . .

    Then again, that's not the discussion of this thread.
    Well, a warning system is currently being discussed, but that's a whole 'nuther topic.

    Very little demands immediate attention. Everything is gotten to, most of the time quickly, but almost always within 24 hours. This isn't live support that customers depend on, this is a discussion forum.

    I run across a lot that isn't reported, sometimes it is commented on in the thread like, "Where's the mods?" etc. Well, if it had been reported, it would have been taken care of before we just happen to read every post and find it.
    HostHideout.com - Where professionals discuss web hosting.

    • Chicken

  21. #21
    [*]Hosts replying must have been registered on the forum for at least 6 months.[*]The company you represent must be in business for at least 1 year.[*]Host must not have more than 3 unresolved complaints (On the forum)

    This right here will weed out 99 percent of the replies in the offer forums...
    dotGig
    <:<: [Fruit eating linux administrator]

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •