Calling ALL Webbies in U.K., Austria, India, Switzerland, Germany. This is one of those times when you can get in on a great deal. One.com is making a hard push to rise to heavy-weight status in the web hosting arena by offering free web hosting, including a custom .com or country domain.
For anyone sitting on the sidelines waiting to jump in - I say, Go for it now.
They haven’t said how long the promo is good, but whoever gets in the door, is in.
Who is One.com? They’ve been around for almost a year and a half. They look very well funded and spent a nice chunk of change to buy the One.com domain from a company called Blue Circle Hosting back in mid-2006.
I asked around the web hosting community and no one’s heard anything negative about their of service or reliability.
No guarantee that they’re perfect, but at least the price is right to test them out.
The only thing I highly recommend is making sure you have the ability to control your domain name. Should anything not go your way, you’ll at least be able to hang on to your domain and take your hosting business to another provider.

Please send me some feedback if you sign up and I’ll post it all - good and bad so others can judge for themselves.

Finding a good virtual Web hosting company can done by asking current and former customers about their experience. I know this may seem like a big pain in the ass, and maybe impractical, but think about how critical your web presence is to your operation. If you’re site goes offline due to a web hosts tech issue, you’ll very likely spend hours on the phone and on your email trying to get back up. Many online tools are available that can assist you to find an extremely reliable hosting service. With the myriad of choice available, it is necessary for the consumer to discriminate. Since shared Web hosting is conceived as only a low-end, low-margin commodity by the industry itself, it is necessary for the consumer to be very wary. There are literally thousands of hosts that offer shared and virtual Web hosting services. While many provide extremely good service, others provide service that is less than desirable. In order to find suitable Web hosts, consumers must conduct due diligence.
I’ll be back soon to make some recommendations based on my own research.

Let me apologize for not writing even once during more
than a month. I not only was too busy with solving countless
problems involving my sites, and domain names and whatnot,
but I had also some personal issues involving family matters.

However I was able to “save” some of the domain names that were
registered with RegisterFly. What I mean is, I was able to transfer
the domain names to GoDaddy before ICANN took away the status
from RegisterFly.

The domain names that were transferred to GoDaddy were all
with a PR and a site to go with it. As for all the others - these
were not worth it to transfer and pay for them, so they might
as well be lost, or whatever will happen will not concern me
very much. I was definitely not going to re-new the obsolete
domain names.

My question to you is - have you done anything like this before
- checking how much a domain name has produced within it’s
lifetime, be it money, or a site with a good Page Rank, and some
traffic to go with it? Did it pay several times it’s fee worth?

This might not be important if you only have 5 or 10 domain names.
When we start talking hundreds of domain names this could become
a not so easily solved problem. Please share your views and what you
did with the domain names of yours at RegisterFly.

As for my dedicated server hosting. Thumbs up for Marco
as this is the guy who is managing and tweaking the server I have
with FDCServers. The guy is providing a great service, and is very
helpful and friendly, and I recommending him highly. So, if you are
in need of a dedicated server with the best support - check his
page above and let me know if you are unable to contact him.

In a few days I’ll be back with more ramblings, and for now will wish
you a nice and happy 2nd Easter day

Maybe you have heard about the domain name registrar
RegisterFly. Maybe you have domains with them already.
We have and we have plenty. It is most disheartening what
has been in the news about them lately, and this video
can make you see what you could expect with them…

Video Link

I’ll be back with some news about my own servers, and hosting
adventures shortly. In the mean time enjoy your weekend!

Tatiana

Hello again and forgive my long silence please. As you will read here
the reasons for it, you’ll understand the gravity of the situation.
There were several problems and I will write about all these
either today, or in several posts spread over the following days.

To start with - 2 of the reseller hosting accounts that I had with
EartHoster.com and with SoftDreams.net disappeared in thin air.
Just like it happened with Hostecs.com - it happened with these
two. With them many, many, many of my sites were off line as
you can imagine.

And you are probably wondering why would I need reseller hosting
accounts, while having dedicated servers? Well, the reason is that
these accounts were used for my WP blogs. I have plenty of these,
and I needed to spare on the resources on the dedicated servers.

We contacted the provider of the hosting of EartHoster and asked
what was going on, and where are our sites? We were told that the
EartHoster hasn’t paid for their account and our sites will be deleted
from their server if we do not purchase account from them directly.

The company that I am talking about is Biggest-Hosting.com.
We thought - this will be great as this way we will not have all the
extra work involved in setting up every blog on a new hosting. Well,
read further as nothing went the way we wanted it, or hoped for.

We checked their prices and one of their packages was with almost
the same price as it was with EartHoster. We went ahead and paid
and received our login details. We just than realized that we have
purchased simply a big hosting account with the possibility to place
many web sites on, but it was not a reseller account and it was also
without WHM panel.

After contacting them we were told to buy ourselves a reseller hosting
but we didn’t want to do that as their prices were almost 3 times more
that they were with EartHoster. We already had lost 2 annual payments
as you can understand from above, for both accounts that disappeared
on us. So we wrote back and asked for refund as this was not what we
were looking for. They also had money back guarantee, or so we thought.

We received reply that it will be processed on Monday as this department
only works on week days - Monday - Friday. And ok, no problem with that.
However Monday came and went, and there was no reply, nor refund.

The following is our email exchange - that was very upsetting for us.

Hi,

Here is our policy:

Refunds are only issued to new tryers of the server. It does not mean new
trials of the service so please do not confuse that. Once you use our
service, either with us or with any of our resellers, we do not offer
money back. Adding to that you were told that the plans on this link are
not reseller plans:

http://biggest-hosting.com/hosting-plans.html

Reseller plans are located on this link:

http://biggest-hosting.com/reseller_intro.html

You can see a realistic pricing as reseller plans do not cost $60 or less
per year if you want to have a normal service.

Best Regards,
Biggest-Hosting.com
………………….

> Just to refresh your memory I am pasting our email exchange
> and how I was solicited to purchase hosting from you, which
> I obviously did, tried to make it work, and when I saw that
> there was no way to make it work I requested a refund -
> money back, whatever you wish to call it. The hosting that I bought
> from you was in the price range that I paid with Earthoster.
> When I saw that it didn’t work, you told me that this is not a reseller
> account and to buy a reseller one. Unfortunately your prices
> are way to high and we chose to call it quit, and leave.
>
> I was told to wait until Monday and when I requested it again
> on Monday (yesterday) I received your email bellow??
> So, as you can see, I really do not plan to give you my cash
> as a present, and am requesting refund ASAP.
>
> Your answer here:
>
> “>> Your account does not qualify for the refund as you are not the first
> time
>>> tryer of the server. Refunds and money back guarantee is only offered
>>> to
>>> brand new members who had no connection with the service. You were a
>>> hosted on our server before therefore you are no longer considered a
>>> new
>>> member of the service.”
>
> is definitely not correct, and I will fight it until I see my money back.
> Not only, I am telling you that I will make this entire story known
> online, and how you threat your customers, and try to cheat also.
> If you do not issue the refund I’ll send this story to my credit card
> within a few hours from now.
>
> Reply and refund my money ASAP please
>
> Thank you
> ……………………
>
>
> “……………
> Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 16:47:03 -0500
> Subject: Fw: Biggest-Hosting:Contact Us.
> To: …………………
> From: “………………
>
> Hi,
>
> In order to help I need to know from whom did you purchase that reseller
> account?
>
> Best Regards,
> Biggest-Hosting.com
> ………………….
>
> Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 18:58:57 -0500
> Subject: Re: Fw: Biggest-Hosting:Contact Us.
> To: ………………………
> From: “……………..
>
> Sites are saved in the back up server for the next 48 hours. So you
> have to order a plan within that range for us to still have your files.
>
> Best Regards,
> Biggest-Hosting.com
> ………………..
>
> Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 17:33:34 -0500
> Subject: Re: Fw: Biggest-Hosting:Contact Us.
> To: ………………………
> From:………………
>
> Earthhooster has cancelled with us, therefore all his accounts are in
> the process of getting deleted. If you like to have your sites back
> online please sign up for any of our reseller plans. We will also move
> your sites to a faster server.
>
> Best Regards,
> Biggest-Hosting.com
> ………………..
>
> Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 18:14:23 -0500
> Subject: Re: Fw: Biggest-Hosting:Contact Us.
> To: …………………..
> From: “…………………..
>
> He already canceled and his billing date has expired. As you see your
> sites are already offline.
>
>
>
> Best Regards,
> Biggest-Hosting.com
> ……………….
>
>
>
> Date: Sat, 3 Feb 2007 10:24:41 -0500
> Subject: Re: Fw: Biggest-Hosting:Contact Us.
> To: ………
> From: “support@……..
>
> Hi,
>
> In order to have more than one domain hosted you need to click addon
> domain icon in the cpanel. Then paste that other addon domain and
> point
> it to a different folder where that other domain’s files are hosted
> in.
> That way each addon domain wil have its own different location and one
> hosting account will support multiple domains.
>
> Yes, your password can be rest for all those account that were hosted
> under your reseller so you can download them and upload them to your
> regular hosting account. But you will have to change folders so each
> site is in a different folder to have multple domains in one account.
>
> Best Regards,
> Biggest-Hosting.com
> …………
>
>
>
> From: “………………..
> To: > Sent: Tuesday, February 06, 2007 7:40 AM
> Subject: Re: Re: Fw: Biggest-Hosting:Contact Us. MONEY BACK GUARANTEE REQUESTED ASAP!
>
>
>> Well mister,
>>
>> I definitely hope that you are making a joke.
>> I had never heard of you people nor of your web site
>> until you started soliciting me to buy your hosting
>> or, otherwise you will delete my sites from the server.
>>
>> For your info - I was hosted with EartHoster and never
>> with you. Never any dealings with you, so I can never be
>> an existing client of yours! And you are trying to steal my money!
>>
>> You are trying to turn things your way, and keep my money
>> but it will not work as this is CHEATING!
>> It is stated on your site that I have money back guarantee
>> and I want to leave, and with my money
>>
>> As I purchased an account that I thought was a reseller
>> account and it was not. I tried to make it work and could
>> not use add on feature you have. End of story. I am gone
>> and I demand my money back.
>>
>> I will otherwise make this story known online, write
>> about it on forums and on my web hosting blog, and
>> will call my credit card to have my money refunded.
>>
>> Answer and refund my money ASAP please
>>
>> Thank you
>>
>> …………
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> —– Original Message —–
>> From: >> To: >> Sent: Tuesday, February 06, 2007 5:01 AM
>> Subject: Re: Re: Fw: Biggest-Hosting:Contact Us.
>>
>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> Your account does not qualify for the refund as you are not the first
>>> time
>>> tryer of the server. Refunds and money back guarantee is only offered
>>> to
>>> brand new members who had no connection with the service. You were a
>>> hosted on our server before therefore you are no longer considered a
>>> new
>>> member of the service.
>>>
>>> Best Regards,
>>> Biggest-Hosting.com
>>> ……….

As you can see here above I have deleted names and email addresses
to prevent spamming. As for the rest - the entire email exchange is there.

It was very upsetting for us to find out that we were considered existing
customers of theirs, while this is incorrect. We might have used their
servers, but without our knowledge and indirectly, as it was purchased
from another hosting company and not from them.

Their way of handling is totally unacceptable and we have requested
refund via our credit card, as paypal does not provide this option for
anything that is not a physical item.

Don’t you think that such ways of conducting business are unacceptable?
I would be ashamed if I did this to customers of mine, believe me as I
really feel this way. Such business practices are becoming very common
in the hosting business online. Because of it - ASK your question before
you push the payment button. Be aware and really ask ALL of them before.

What is the difference between cheating and stealing on the streets and
cheating and stealing while conducting business online?

After reading the above - you might tell me.

More news to follow shortly.

Today I read an article on ITNews at TechRepublic that left me
with a bad taste… Imagine what would you do if something
similar happened to you: Your registrar pulls your site after a complaint

The other side of the coin is though that there are some
registrars that give most extensive guarantees against
unnecessary domain name suspension. You can READ THE
SURVEY HERE

There are definitely great things in the service provided by
GoDaddy.com. For example their change of NS is the best
of all the registrars that I have ever used. Within minutes
it propagates, while with others you could wait easily a day
or even two to three.

But I also do agree with the stand point of Gandi.com -
that they’d rather spend time in what they do best and
are specialized at, instead of being and acting as Net
Police. “Who watches the watcher? The global community
of course!” And: “Our role is not to police the Internet.
For that there are anti-spam forums, special blacklists,
and concerned citizens, all of which I commend for their
vigilance and dedication, and contribution.

Way to go Gandi.com! Very nice to know you are there
if someone needs a registrar that cares for it’s customers
the way you do.

Have a great weekend and talk to you next week

Tatiana

The saga described yesterday ended happily today and
everything was solved. For one reason or another the
DC while assigning the IP’s, that I already had has taken
some of these and assigned others to me.

Here follows the message that I received from the friendly
customer service at managemybox:

That is all the proper IP\’s for your server, not sure how it happened but when they did the upgrade they reassigned some of your other IP\’s and assigned new ones, which I only just got all of today. I\’ve added and configured them on your server so as long as you use the IP\’s listed above you should have no more problems.

After receiving the message I was able to set up my
sites under the newly assigned IP addresses and the
sites that were down for like 18 hours were online
and functioning properly within minutes.

This time all ended well, and even though this change
of servers should have happened without problems -
one can never foresee how things will end up, especially
if so many people and centers like the DC are involved.

In the coming days I’ll be sharing more web hosting and
marketing news with you. Stay well and have a great
weekend!

Tatiana

Last time I told you about the choice that I made to
change the server instead of upgrading the one I had.

What I couldn’t have known beforehand was the fact
that some serious issues might arise with the IP addresses
that I had on the server before the change.

Even though I was assured that everything will be done
with ease, and smoothly, and it seemed to go well, after
all - it didn’t. Several of the IP addresses suddenly
went dead on my sites, and the sites with them.

My horror was enormous when while checking the sites and
I didn’t see a few coming up, and dead links were there
instead of my sites. Such disasters shouldn’t be happening
on a dedicated server, unless your server is crashing due
to an enormous flood of traffic, or some hard ware issue.

One of these sites is MP3 Players on Closeout
and the blog that goes with it Discuss MP 3

Two other sites of mine were down and their IP’s gone.
When I contacted the support of managemybox servers
they replied within 15 minutes, compliments for the good
timing. But I am still waiting to see my sites and their IP
addresses fixed, several hours afterwards now.

I really hope all will be fine and well, and the sites will be
online soon, and all troubles will be solved.
Who knows though. This time I will not be cheering so
soon, or so easily, and will have to think more than twice
before taking a big step forward, as it might become a
step backwards instead.

So, I will keep this article updated when I get news from
managemybox servers support department.

Wishing you a great and easygoing Friday!

Tatiana

Yes, it has been confirmed by the Wikipedia Admin, and I just
read it on the Digita Point forum.
And here is the exact post there:

It was decided to switch on the nofollow attribute for all external links in the English Wikipedia. This has been an option for a while, and it was done now because of an influx of spam and talk of an SEO competition targeting Wikipedia. Whether it will stay this way for a while or indeed permanently, no one is really sure. If some links have not changed, I believe this is due to WP’s caching system, and they will be nofollow soon.

In any case, adding links to Wikipedia to promote websites is strongly discouraged. They will most likely be removed, and if continued you can be blocked from editing.

Hope this helps to clarify.

the wub - Wikipedia admin

In terms of SEO the NOFOLLOW will be bad news for many sites,
but the links that remain on Wikipedia will still bring traffic. And
what is better according to you? Higher PR ranking, or traffic?

The opinions vary wildly and if I had to choose I’d like both of
course. Getting the traffic only is still all right - if your link
remains in there for the long run.

Talk to you soon