Kersplat

By: Mr. Wilson on December 4, 2005
Ugh. Lincolnite is back, after an unplanned -- and very, very unwelcome -- 16 hour outage. The site was suspended by my host ostensibly because some sort of "formmail" script or other CGI mail script had been compromised. That's complete crap, for two reasons: 1) I don't run those kinds of scripts; and 2) a check of the server logs proves that no such scripts were ever accessed, least of all at the time the site went down. The site was being spammed at the time it went down, but the "attack" was in the form of repeated access by a single rogue spambot. I've blocked that bot for now, but we'll see how long that lasts. Spammers may be jackasses, but they aren't stupid. I've been reasonably happy with my host for over a year now, so this is very disconcerting. Not only did they shut down my site, they gave me a baloney excuse for it being shut down, and the support staff's responses to my requests for information had a distinct "cut and paste" feel to them. Even when I got them to put the site back online all I had to say was "I deleted the scripts you requested" -- a lie, since no such scripts existed in the first place -- and their response was, in short "We're glad we could help!" Uhh, whatever. I can't be too angry, since I'm not exactly paying big bucks to have this site hosted. If I really want Lincolnite to be a robust site, I really need to move to a better host. I already have one in mind, but boy, I sure don't want to go through all the hassle of moving. Talk about a pain! Anyway, my apologies for the unplanned outage. Let's hope it doesn't happen again.

Comments

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beerorkid
December 6, 2005 at 12:43AM

Ouch.  downtime sux

If you do not mind the asking, which host currently, and possibly?

I use dreamhost and have been floored by what they offer.  I have had 3 hours of downtime (when the blackout hit los angeles) and my SQL has gotten a little slow (shared hosting) on 3 occasions (max two hours). i have 2 fully hosted, and 12 parked domains, 5 gig of space, etc…  for $10 a month.

The coolest part is that when i have a problem I can go and tell them exactly what is being affected with a cool troubleshooting interface, and it gets solved quickly.

me 2 cents.

Mr. Wilson
December 6, 2005 at 5:19PM

I’d rather not identify my current host right now. I think commenting on them while I’m frustrated wouldn’t be productive 😊 I want to see if/how this all gets worked out first.

I’ve considered Dreamhost. My problem with them is that they aren’t all that different from my current host. Although Dreamhost might be doing well right now, my current host was doing just fine until recently, too. I think if I want Lincolnite to go places, I need to go with a solution that’s more personal and adaptable to my unique needs.

The host at the top of my list right now specializes in hosting sites run by the content management system I use. The costs are higher, but I think the long-term sustainability of my relationship with them would also be higher. I know a little bit about the guy who runs the company, and he’s a sharp dude. I trust him with my site, and that’s important to me.

I’ll keep everybody posted.

Joshua Wiltshire
December 6, 2005 at 11:16PM

My own recommendation is Site5 for a couple of reasons.  I’ve been with them for a few months with not a spot of downtime, and something that you were concerned about:  They move you for you.  All your files, MySQL databasii, and assorted other goods all get moved over night.  Definitely made things nice for me, as I hate having to do all that myself.

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