Host experiences and testimonials thread

[Pyromaniac]

TheForumHost.com

I used TheForumHost.com and from day one they were slow, unresponsive to email and never notified me when doing major maintenance.

Today my sites were deleted without warning and I was denied the opportunity to get the latest copies of my MySQL databases even though they have them and they belong to me. The sites are paid for through the end of the month, I should have my MySQL databases.

They removed me from their forums and deleted "some" of my messages that criticized thier service. They still have denied me my property (my databases) and this will require legal action on my part.

I would not recommend them to anyone.

[tgillespie]

I would have to agree with Pyromaniac. Not even being a customer I would have to say this company already rubbed me the wrong way. I've heard 3 reviews, all complaints. Anyways, in my opinion, stray away from TheForumHost.

[Joe Page]

In the defence of tgillespie, I remember reading an incriminating thread at WHT about this host....

[Steve Machol]

Now that both 'sides' have had their say, any futher posts like this will be removed and not tolerated. Frankly I'm sick of hosts using our forums to obliquely and overtly attack each other. This doesn't speak well for anyone.

[pistol-pete]

i must give alwayswebhosting three thumbs up ronnie is great guy and had me set up same day before him I was with a site called pdwebs i was looking for host who offer complete package include my vbb on webhosting talk and found pdweb post after talking on live chat with them we agreed to $400 for year of hosting with 100gib of site hits a copy of vbb 10 hacks of my choice and any two themes from any vbb maker i payed him with paypal and then was told I will start your order soon two days go by with no answer from them email after my email then after two days they contacted me and said the delay was vbb fault as they are lazy and have the holiday weekend off for army guys holiday and it would be ready tuesday thursday come and still no answer so i contact paypal they give me back my money and still no email from these pdweb people if you know someone using pdweb tell them how they try to steal 400 dollar from me i am sorry english is poor

[Ozark]

Let some malicious host delete your sites for switching sometime, then tell me how you feel.

I lost over $300 and most of my db to FeaturePrice.com. I'm not going to dwell on it with every post.

My message is simple... please direct folks to proven, high quality host.

I am very thankful that I discovered a new host. My web hosting problems are over.

<edit>added the word please</edit>

[Steve Machol]

Once again I have had to remove posts because of personal insults and bickering. Unfortunately if this continues we may have to resort to stronger measures. I sincerely hope this won't be necessary.

[TalkMilitary]

This type of thread can be a good thing to reference for those looking for hosting.
IMHO, if you have something good to share, let folks know. Always nice to hear people are happy with their host.

Something bad to say... say it, be concise and factual. But no need to keep repeating yourself time and time again. If you feel so strongly about how you where treated, make a web site. No need to ruin a good resource for all.

The most important things in choosing a host (IMHO).
1. Make sure they are a legal business, and not some "pocket money between classes" type outfit. Are they old enough to legally run a business?
2. Pre-sales- do your research... lots of places to ask questions about a prospective host. Use them. Also, pre-sales e-mail... how fast does the host respond? Ask lots of questions.
3. Do they have a phone number? Nothing worse than the servers being down...so their e-mail is not working. The ability to pick up the phone and talk to Support is a good thing.
4. Try out their response to support type questions. Do they answer in a reasonable amount of time? Do they answer your questions in a manner you understand? Are they polite and courteous?
5. Are they priced to go out of business? Many hosts offer the world for $2.50 a month. How much do you expect for that amount? If you rely on your service being available, you may have to pay more... though a high price is not a guarantee of service either.
6. Be aware of the host's policies. Be a smart shopper, and ask for clarification if you are not sure. Too many people overlook the terms, until it comes time to want their money back. Knowing ahead of time what you are getting in to will be a great help should you need to move to another host.
7. See #1 How much do you value your site?
8. Do they do back-ups? Do they charge for a restore? If they cancel you for some reason, how can you retrieve your data?
9. Do they limit your mysql connections? Nice to know when running a vB forum based site. Are they running fairly recent versions on php/mysql?
10. What are the server loads? Ask for load averages at various times of the day..... most importantly, during the time period of highest activity on your forum.
11. If there is a problem (resource use, bandwidth overages, etc...) What do they do? Suspend your site? Charge you at the end of the month for whatever you use? Or do they work with you towards a resolution?
12. Can you upgrade your account if needed? How do they handle that?

Those are just a few thoughts off the top of my head. Be a smart shopper. Regardless of what host you go with, choose wisely. Do your homework. If you are lucky, you will have a long relationship with your host. If you are unlucky, or did not look into the host in question, you may get a surprise or two.

There are good web hosts and bad web hosts out there. Reading words in a forum is not always the best way to decide on a host. Open a line of communication with the prospective host, see what you think. Look in to the above points. Be an educated consumer.

Hopefully this helps one or two of you. Of course, if you have any questions (even if not considering us for hosting) feel free to ask.
Glenn

[Jake Bunce]

Thread moderated. Debating posts split off into the "comments" thread that is linked to in the first post.

[Pyromaniac]

I lost over $300 and most of my db to FeaturePrice.com. I'm not going to dwell on it with every post.

My message is simple... please direct folks to proven, high quality host.

I am very thankful that I discovered F5Hosting.com. My web hosting problems are over.

<edit>added the word please</edit>

I don't think I am dwelling on it. But he DID switch names to avoid the bad reputation he earned. IMHO, as long as he runs from the mess he created, I feel I need to warn other people to avoid Inlandhosting.net and any web sites affiliated with Richard Anderson.

I've been directing people to www.pdwebs.com. I wish I had found them before TheForumHost.com/Inlandhosting.net. It would have saved me a lot of headaches. The guys at PDWEBS.NET are really nice, answer email and even use AIM so I can talk to them real time. I have been referring people to them because they've done me well so far.

But yes, I did learn a valuable lesson. Backup your data regularly and a renegade host will have no impact on your web site.

[Pyromaniac]

This type of thread can be a good thing to reference for those looking for hosting.
IMHO, if you have something good to share, let folks know. Always nice to hear people are happy with their host.

Something bad to say... say it, be concise and factual. But no need to keep repeating yourself time and time again. If you feel so strongly about how you where treated, make a web site. No need to ruin a good resource for all.

The most important things in choosing a host (IMHO).
1. Make sure they are a legal business, and not some "pocket money between classes" type outfit. Are they old enough to legally run a business?
2. Pre-sales- do your research... lots of places to ask questions about a prospective host. Use them. Also, pre-sales e-mail... how fast does the host respond? Ask lots of questions.
3. Do they have a phone number? Nothing worse than the servers being down...so their e-mail is not working. The ability to pick up the phone and talk to Support is a good thing.
4. Try out their response to support type questions. Do they answer in a reasonable amount of time? Do they answer your questions in a manner you understand? Are they polite and courteous?
5. Are they priced to go out of business? Many hosts offer the world for $2.50 a month. How much do you expect for that amount? If you rely on your service being available, you may have to pay more... though a high price is not a guarantee of service either.
6. Be aware of the host's policies. Be a smart shopper, and ask for clarification if you are not sure. Too many people overlook the terms, until it comes time to want their money back. Knowing ahead of time what you are getting in to will be a great help should you need to move to another host.
7. See #1 How much do you value your site?
8. Do they do back-ups? Do they charge for a restore? If they cancel you for some reason, how can you retrieve your data?
9. Do they limit your mysql connections? Nice to know when running a vB forum based site. Are they running fairly recent versions on php/mysql?
10. What are the server loads? Ask for load averages at various times of the day..... most importantly, during the time period of highest activity on your forum.
11. If there is a problem (resource use, bandwidth overages, etc...) What do they do? Suspend your site? Charge you at the end of the month for whatever you use? Or do they work with you towards a resolution?
12. Can you upgrade your account if needed? How do they handle that?

Those are just a few thoughts off the top of my head. Be a smart shopper. Regardless of what host you go with, choose wisely. Do your homework. If you are lucky, you will have a long relationship with your host. If you are unlucky, or did not look into the host in question, you may get a surprise or two.

There are good web hosts and bad web hosts out there. Reading words in a forum is not always the best way to decide on a host. Open a line of communication with the prospective host, see what you think. Look in to the above points. Be an educated consumer.

Hopefully this helps one or two of you. Of course, if you have any questions (even if not considering us for hosting) feel free to ask.
Glenn

I went throught this with TheForumHost.com and even though I dotted all my "I's and T's", I still got burned. I asked almost every question you had here. I was really careful. When they were courting my business, TheForumHost.com/Inlandhost.net was VERY helpful. They answered all my questions, assured me I would have nightly/daily backups and bent over backwards to help me.

The second they had my cash, they totally ignored me. Took a week to set my sites up correctly and would never answer email. No matter how much research I did, I never thought I could run into a host that was THAT lousy with their service and would flip out when I informed them I was canceling their service at the end of the month.

The GOOD part of this story is my users came back strong and I found an inexpensive host that DOES answer email and is genuinely trying to treat me like a valued customer. That's all I wanted when I was searching for a web host. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Michelle69]

F5Hosting

URL - F5Hosting.com

Currently using: Platinum Package

My Boards

Pros:

• Exceptional, personal service
• Very fast server
• VERY quick support response
• Friendly support forum community
• Extremely knowledgeable Vbulletin support
• Great prices, lots of features
• Awesome control panel
• Really nice guys

Cons:

• When I think of one, I'll let you know.

Michelle

Just an update -- 1 year later, still with F5 Hosting, have added 2 more sites since. 3 semi-dedicated sites.. and still receiving the same awesome service & support. Two of my sites run VBulletin, one running Ver 3 Beta 6 (fully hacked!), with no problems. These guys know their stuff.

[Marc Smith]

Just an update -- 1 year later, still with F5 Hosting, have added 2 more sites since. 3 semi-dedicated sites.. and still receiving the same awesome service & support. Two of my sites run VBulletin, one running Ver 3 Beta 6 (fully hacked!), with no problems. These guys know their stuff.

How many concurrent users will the package you have handle (based on a cookie timeout of 15 minutes - the default) and how much bandwidth a month do your sites see individually?

[Viper4]

venturesonline.com

Pro's:

Fast, very detailed when sending email with instructions, quick to get your site up.


Cons:

Maybe Price, but for the service and speed its solid.
None other so far

Very solid host!

[Michelle69]

How many concurrent users will the package you have handle (based on a cookie timeout of 15 minutes - the default) and how much bandwidth a month do your sites see individually?

Not sure about concurrent users, but I've never had a problem... and I'm running VB on two. The larger site is on a semi-dedicated, it's burning about 8GB a month.. the smaller one about 1/3rd that.