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Comments
@Kenshin - That's true but I was curious more or less if some community members would actually jump on this idea. I mean you could look at this in another way: you know all those threads about people asking the usual questions like "where can I get a cheap monthly WHMCS license", "a cheap server" and cheap "SolusVM", and lets not forget the famous "what other advice can the experienced providers here give me"? Well, a project like this would offer some first hand experience to all of those people who want to try and become providers.
The idea is too troublesome for anyone to want to jump in. Not to mention there's the potential for the cost to go beyond $7 if even a single person pulls out. They rather let providers take the risk for it.
Anyway, I think we do have a number of reputable providers available for users to choose from, I don't think your concerns are too much of an issue for the community. Custom request threads are good for providers too, at least LET is not like WHT where the provider's can't respond to requests. Win-win-win situation if you ask me, for the requester, the provider as well as the community.
For the licence/server questions that have been floating around, I think they are fair and all since everyone wants to save money and learn more, but the main hurdle is whether these potential providers have a solid business plan ahead of them. I don't mind saving a buck or two on WHMCS/SolusVM licenses because after all it's the same product, so the info would help even an existing provider, but to some users they'll be thinking that if the provider can't even afford to spend the full cost of WHMCS/SolusVM, how can they be doing business. No harm in asking when you can't find the answer, but sometimes these people don't even bother doing research and treat LET as a helpdesk, that's when people get pissed.
If you are lucky, sometimes you get deals that are almost at cost.
@Kenshin - Everything that you just said makes perfect sense. As far as licenses are concerned I for instance bought WHMCS. At one point I even owned HostBill but after doing some work with it I tossed it and got my money back. It was barely worth the $200 I paid for it, now they want $400 for the branded version, lol. Anyway, this discussion could go into any direction. 42 people is allot. However on a much smaller scale, like 3 to 4 people, it would actually be doable. I mean 3 people should be able to get a low end dedicated server and pay for it together and maybe share their experience with us on a regular basis. Of course, there are a number of reputable providers around here, you being one of them :-)
@jcaleb - $7 1GB KVM costs a pretty penny to provide, trust me
- but I'd rather be friends with you :P
The versaweb thread actually was something like this, but it didn't take off either. BlueVM and a couple of other hosts offer/considered to offer quarter servers I believe and the pricing is reasonable. Again the fact as a user, if someone in the market is already offering it and the price is right, there's no point trying to do it yourself, unless you're a provider in the first place.
Free 4GB VPS to the first person who replies.
@Jacob pm vps info (:
@Kenshin - Well at least I've tried :P - The truth is that the market is saturated with all kinds of hosting offers. If I go over to LowEndBox.com I see tons of offers, and then there is WHT and other forums and places where everyone wants to sell something. It is what it is. At least I'll be able to point someone here in the future when they propose something similar
@Taylor you sneak... Pm me your account dets.
This thread makes me lose faith in humanity. You talk about a community server and almost immediately abusive whackjobs show up. Something like this would have to be by invitation only. If the person you invite gets kicked, you get a strike. Three strikes and you you get kicked. Ditto for non-payment perhaps.
@Jacob PM sent. Thanks for the free vps I guess
Even if I would start this with some people of my family I do not want to go through the hassle. Three different countries, eight different cities. It would take years to get at least the location of the server. Not talking about specs, os, connections.
The limit would be about 3-5 people knowing each other. Any other option would be a "elected leader" playing yet another host game.
I totally agree with you. Customers who threaten to file chargebacks, threaten BBB complaints, and threaten to post negative WHT reviews, against their providers the second something goes wrong (or when they demand an immediate refund and are told by the CS rep that they will have to wait until the next day for management approval) are the absolute worst!
Here's a perfect example of someone who couldn't install CentOS on their rented dedicated server, and instead of showing gratitude to their provider, blamed their provider for their own incompetence, and threatened to file a chargeback against their provider:
ungrateful customer:
1) I can call Chase and dispute the charge.
2) I can post all the information that I have so far to Web Hosting Talk
3) I can write the Better Business Bureau
I can do all this in under one hour
ungrateful customer again:
full transcript here on this February 2012 thread: http://www.hostloc.com/thread-106434-1-1.html
If the resources are oversold, then what is the point of this?
Why not just go with an established provider, like BuyVM.....
@agoldenberg just tried this last week.
http://www.lowendtalk.com/discussion/8476/donation-based-vps-organization
yup and believe me. 1) Nobody wants to pay for it. 2) everyone here will poop all over it. and 3) You will get nothing but spammers.
1) You closed down in less than a week. No-one had a chance to evaluate your service and think about contributing. 2) False; several people supported you. 3) Don't call me a spammer.
Give me 1GB KVM 40GB disk for 1.5$ and lets be friends forever?
It's not just this post, but I admire your style :-)
Why not? @marcm said he has sense of humour
@sleddog 1)I'm not calling you a spammer. You are one of the few. 2) I shut down in a week because the people here are ungrateful and NOBODY paid but me. 3) Nobody supported me. They supported a free VPS because they are cheap as hell.
I have read over this thread and have just one question, and this is to the ones who run anything to do with servers or hosting, or heck anything as a business. How often do people actually do what they say they will? How often do people talk big then walk off when the pressure is on?
I run a business and notice it myself as have others even here that I have had a similar discussion with. I actually want to find out if there is any one here who deals with anything that involves collecting money for anything, how often do you see people true to their word?
On a related note, providers here, is anyone willing to post about how often someone is a long term customer? I know there will always be some that are loyal to the bone but if you put your collective customers in a room for say a party, would you expect many to stay after the initial introduction? Think about how many would stay if you started collecting money for beer.
In some ways this reminds me of trying to find people in an office building to chip in some for a pizza. You will find a lot of people who say "yeah sure, lets do it!" but then you get into cost and then break down of how many people want something different and very few are willing to accept the plain. Then what if someone wants 3 slices but people paid to be able to have two?
If you look at the principle of the ordeal, not just in perspective of a server, but in terms of what people as individuals need, how many will hang around, how many stay true to their word?
I will not go into a big deal over why it will not work, I actually put some thoughts together and even some questions that relate to the matter at hand.
Exactly my thought. Some people didn't pick nicest words in their doubt rearding this idea however more or less they are right. Whoever only a bit know human nature know that this thing will not work. Not the way it was introduced.
You sound like a petulant little child.
"I started a free VPS and advertised it to a community of strangers. People were supposed to carry me on the shoulders, shouting my praises! But instead, people I didn't know came and used the service for free! I said the services would be at my cost but now I'm made no one paid! After two days I stamped me feet and took my ball home and now I won't play with you. And by the way, some people who did pay for service on my commercial service DARED to demand a REFUND when I closed shop on them. It was only a small amount and I should have just been allowed to keep it! What a bunch of ungrateful people! I should be King of them all!"
Your original offer:
Here's the idea of what EastCoastVPS.org is:
We are an organization that supplies free VPS services to verifiable users who really have a use for them.
Now the VPSes will be upgradeable at cost.
If you'd like more RAM, HDD Space, Bandwidth, etc we will do what we can to supply it at the lowest possible price possible.
This will be a not for profit organization, and should there be any kind of extra cash that comes out of any particular server, it will be reinvested into more infrastructure for more VPS users.
This is not fly by night. If the donations don't cover costs, then the difference will come out of my pocket. Either way, the servers will stay up.
+1
@BronzeByte I agree that @jcaleb has a cool style of posting comments.
@jcaleb - I can do you one better: I can give you the first month for free to try it out and then $7/mo. Send me a private message if you want to try the service out.
@Spirit - Maybe if the financial component could be taken out of the equation. That would mean of course that someone would have to sponsor a dedicated server. At the end of the day, more than anything this is about people how to work together. It's about collaboration. A project like this would of course have to be administered by some of the well known members of this community in my opinion. Otherwise your comment is accurate, so I'm with @jcaleb on this one: +1
But I was thinking of recurring
How about I pay $7 for the first month, and $1 recurring
God... the consequences of my half assed late-night comments still affect people to this day.
History has shown that communal living either degenerates into chaos and collapse or into a system of strict governance with its own legal system. The lack of the later tells me this is going to fall apart fast whenever the first mismatch of individual responsibilities and commitments crops up. And it doesn't matter whether it's 3 or 42 people - the above still holds.