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And it ruined my wallet.........
I can do both
Thank you LET and @FAT32
Well better do all together
I wouldn't particularly say that what I'm about to describe was one of my lowest moments in life, but it was most definitely the worst experience I've ever had trying to host a website (which I thought was rather relevant to this forum).
TL,DR: If you thought Google and Microsoft are a reliable place to host a small hobby site for free, think again.
The full story:
Let's start from the beginning. Back in early 2019 I was really pretty inexperienced with web hosting and domains, in fact I didn't even have my own domain at that time. I decided that I would like to start a blog to give people some top tips on how to get the most out of technology, and at the time chose Google Blogger as I already had a Google account and it appeared to be easy and free to set up.
Well, at first it was. I got a free .blogspot.com subdomain and started writing posts. Everything seemed to be in order.
But sadly it seemed that this was not to be. In late 2020 I woke up one morning to see that someone had hacked into my Google/Blogger account and published a post containing LOADS of links (about 100, one per line). I quickly deleted the post and changed my password, relieved that at least this was not my primary Google account.
But it was sadly by-no-means over. Later that day every single post and comment on that whole blog just vanished without a trace. They weren't in the Bin, they had just evaporated into thin air. And as I have already mentioned I was not at all experienced at this point. So all I had was one backup, from over a year before this event...
Well, I assumed that Google must have believed I myself was trying to missuse the platform and so deleted my posts. But the weird thing was the blog still remained, it was just empty.
So I was not going to trust Google with my content again. I set out to find a better option.
That's when I saw that Azure were giving out $100 credit per year to students, so I signed up and provisioned a small Virtual Machine.
I installed everything required, and WordPress seemed to be working well. I even recovered some old posts one-by-one from old emails.
But just when I thought this was all over, that's when the problems started ooce more. It turned out that at least at that time the only VM you could get to fit in that budget seemed to be a "burstable" one. I thought nothing of it, thinking that at worst my bandwidth would just be throttled. But in fact after a few HTTP requests (about 1 page load) the whole VM (including SSH) became unresponsive for ≈5 minutes. This meant it was near-impossible to even browse the website.
So after a few months I did finally get around to doing something about this, and moved to a shared hosting provider (not one that advertises here). Again it all seemed to be going great until after a while my site started having random periods of downtime for approx 30 mins twice a day. I reached out to support and they explained it was something to do with bots, but it continued anyway for many weeks. My website was sort of working, but in my mind ≈96% uptime was not normal.
And now I have finally moved the website to a cheap netcup €1/month VPS which seems to be running smoothly. I'd have imagined that hosting my site with Google or Microsoft would have got me better results, but it seems I was wrong.
position liqidated in crypto, i take that risk without SL, if had more margin on that position, it could be a lot money by now ,i would never do it again LOL
It wasn't an issue,
To be or not to be for himself;
He fell asleep one evening;
He didn't wake up.
They took him away.
Washed, prayed for, buried.
If the creditors hear he's dead
Of course they'll forgive you.
As for his debt...
The deceased didn't have anything.
Its very kind of you to offer this back to the community.
I do believe there are people more deserving of this.
I once rescued a raven stuck in a fence on my way to school. That raven couldn't fly, he sat down on my arm and I carried him over to the schoolyard. Before entering school, I was asked to leave him outside instead of bringing him into the classroom. Later I found out some cruel classmates one class below me cut off his head. Gross people.
Is there anything I could have done?
Back in the mists of time, I worked at a web development company and because I'd been a sysadmin in a previous life, I was also the de-facto sysadmin for this company too. Fortunately, our needs were quite modest - we had a couple of external machines for public facing things, and inside the office we had a big fileserver and a smaller staging machine for hosting pre-production sites for demoing to customers, and a couple of other boxes for minor tasks. Because I was fulltime employed working on the development side, I just spent maybe an hour or two a week checking up on the linux systems, making sure everything was fine.
One Friday afternoon, about 3pm I discovered that someone had hacked into the staging machine, but they didn't seem to have done anything other than installing an IRC bouncer. I tidied up the machine as best I could, but as I couldn't see any obvious way they'd gained access, and we weren't currently sharing any demo sites for customers to approve, I shut the machine down so that I could investigate it more thoroughly on Monday to find out how they'd gained access. I checked with the boss and nobody was going to be working over the weekend, so even though it was firewalled off from the internet, and there was no evidence of any intrusion, I also powered off our fileserver in case there had been any kind of timebomb installed. So, when I left, all the servers in the building were safely powered off and the network patch leads disconnected for good measure.
That weekend, I was 150 miles away at a team sports tournament, the kind of thing I couldn't not show up to without letting down my 6 team members.
I went into work early on Monday, and found the boss there with her husband, and they'd decided to "fix" the servers themselves. They'd decided to re-install EVERY SINGLE FSCKING MACHINE, including two that hadn't been powered on for a couple of weeks, but because they were incompetent they failed to get a single one booting afterwards. That's right, armed with a RedHat installation CD and doing nothing other than a base install, they managed to screw it up. Not once, but 4 times on separate machines. For some unknown reason, they'd also unracked all the servers and they were strewn across the conference room floor like some kind of crime scene.
After having caused so much damage, the boss then berated me for "not volunteering to come into work over the weekend", even though when I left everything was in a safe state when nothing worse could have happened to it.
I had to start from scratch with all these machines, installing them again, reconfiguring them all and pulling all our data off backups - which took about 4 hours just to repopulate the fileserver from tape. During this time, of course, nobody could do any work, because they needed files from the network drive.
After about 5 hours working non-stop, and with the backups slowly restoring, I went for lunch with a few of my colleagues. They'd known for weeks that I was unhappy with the job anyway, as we all talked every lunch time about how we all wanted to leave, and I decided over lunch that day that I'd had enough. I came back from lunch, quickly typed up a resignation letter, printed it out, and handed it to my boss about 3pm, as soon as the last files had been restored from the backup tape. I was so pleased I'd finally had the motivation to quit, that I was literally shouting and whooping the entire 1 hour drive home that night.
My boss then acted like a dick. After I resigned, she wouldn't maintain eye contact for the month of my notice period and tried not to even speak to me. I wasn't allowed to join in the weekly team meetings - I was told it was because it was about confidential future work, but my colleagues told me it was exactly the same projects as before, and although they already knew I'd resigned, the boss told them that I wasn't allowed in the meetings because my work wasn't up to standard and she was planning to fire me. On the last day of my notice period, my boss still didn't even look up or reply to me when I went to her office to hand back the door key and say goodbye. But of course, to the customers, they still made out that I was still there because I was the lead developer for most of the projects. They never did remove my photo from the team members web page, despite me sending multiple requests by e-mail. I was sad for my colleague friends, but secretly quite pleased when the company went bust less than a year later.
I did kind of learn a great lesson that day - you can be in a terrible situation at work, but it's easy to just keep ignoring the problems, but when you quit it can be such a massive weight off your shoulders.
As it turned out though, I learned another important and opposite lesson from this situation. Back then, we were going through the dotcom crash and basically nobody was hiring. At first, I wasn't too worried, just filled with optimism, but after a month and then 2 months went by without any interviews at all, I started getting very despondent. All my previous jobs had been choosing an interesting sounding job from all the many listed on a website, applying, getting an interview within a week, and then being offered the job. To have nobody even responding to my applications really hit hard. I tried cold "calling" all the tech companies nearby - often turning up to their reception with a CV printed on fancy paper and a cover letter perfectly customised towards their business focus, but every single one was a dead lead. Finally, after 3 months, I got a bite. An invitation to an interview... And I was so excited, I messed up the interview big time, a really stupid answer to an easy tech question. It was obvious as the interview was wrapping up that it was going to be a no, even though I had the standard "we'll get back to you". I literally couldn't believe how badly I'd messed up. I went home, wrote a massive letter about how I realised as soon as I'd answered that I'd messed up, wrote what they wanted to hear and went into a lot of depth about all the alternatives. Dropped off the letter to the front desk a couple of hours after the interview finished, and somehow that worked. Got a call from the recruiter next morning saying that they'd liked the letter. The job, as it turned out, also sucked, but at least it was a job and I stayed there for about 4 years until the economy was back on track and jobs were easy to find again.
So, I guess I learned a whole load more valuable lessons in this process:
I've repeated that second point again, because it's something that's come up multiple times in my career. I've only once left a job that I still enjoyed, and that was (mistakenly) for a "better opportunity" at another company. But many times, I've stayed at a company 6 months or more after when I realised I didn't like being at the job. Usually, it was out of fear of losing the income, but every single time, once I quit the job I hated, it's been a massive burden lifted from me.
P.S. I don't want to be considered for the giveaway, because I'm more than comfortable financially nowadays - I just want this to be an encouragement to quit a job as soon as possible when you need to (but do it in a planned way), and to not give up on something you want, even if you think you messed it up.
I would not share my personal story here, as I am quite embarrased and insecure about it. But anyway, looking back now, I can see how much of my life has been shaped by feeling different. From secondary school all the way through university, I was the kid who just didn’t fit in. My mind worked differently, always racing ahead, thinking outside the box, coming up with ideas that made people either scratch their heads or roll their eyes. At first, I thought being unique was cool, something to celebrate. But pretty quickly, I realized that not everyone saw it that way.
In secondary school, people whispered about me behind my back, laughed at my jokes even though they weren’t meant to be funny, and excluded me from group activities. Teachers sometimes called me “too intense” or “overly ambitious,” like those were bad things. By the time I got to university, I hoped for a fresh start, a chance to leave all that behind. But instead, the same pattern followed me. Even professors seemed annoyed when I asked too many questions or offered unconventional solutions.
It wasn’t just the rejection that hurt - it was the loneliness. Feeling like no matter where I went or what I did, I’d never truly belong. That kind of isolation eats away at you. There were days when I felt completely invisible, like I didn’t exist to anyone. And then there were nights… nights when intrusive, suicidal thoughts crept into my mind.
Some nights, I’d lie awake staring at the ceiling, wondering why I should bother getting out of bed the next morning. Other times, I’d sit alone in my room, overwhelmed by this crushing sense of emptiness. It got so bad that I couldn’t ignore it anymore, I just want to end it all for good. I knew I needed help but asking for it felt impossible, there's only one way out: Suicide. How do you admit you’re struggling when you already feel like a burden?
Even in the darkest moments, though, there was always this tiny voice inside me telling me to hold on. Maybe it was stubbornness, maybe it was hope, I don’t know for sure. But somehow, I kept going. Over time, I realized that my worth wasn’t tied to how many people liked me, or rejected me. Just because others couldn’t accept me didn’t mean I was worthless. Days was still unbearable, but slowly, I began to see glimmers of light. Up to that point, I have survived many suicidal thoughts that have ramped up in my mind at varying degrees of intensity.
Computer science, my major in university. The logical structure of coding and problem solving fascinated me. In a world where I often felt misunderstood, computers made sense. Studying computer science gave me focus and purpose. Every bug I fixed not matter how insignificant it was, or every extraordinary periodical exams I solved, reminded me that I had value, even if others couldn’t see it. During my years, I discovered a passion for sysadmin, managing networks, troubleshooting issues, keeping systems at their best, uptime farming, or just purely messing around with Linux. It appealed to my methodical side and gave me a sense of accomplishment. Sysadmin work became a lifeline, proving to me that my unique way of thinking could solve irl problems. Now it is my only job, and I am happy about it. I felt like I belonged somewhere, not because I changed who I was, but because I found a field that valued what I brought to the table. And also by the time I graduated, I had a meaningful albeit small circle of friends, online, or real life, who admired me for exactly who I am.
Looking back, I realize how far I’ve come. Those years of rejection and loneliness shaped me in ways I never expected. They taught me resilience, self compassion, and the importance of surrounding myself with people who uplift rather than tear down. Sure, the scars are still there, but they remind me of how strong I am and how much I’ve overcome.
Today, I wear my eccentricity like a badge of honor (you guys can see my peculiarity through my comments here). It’s part of what makes me "me" , and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. To anyone reading this who feels like they don’t belong, please know you’re not alone. Sometimes, the very thing that makes you feel like an outsider can become your greatest strength.
Regards,./
I am going through LOW-END phase of my life !
Give me $50 to redeem some self esteem so that I can write a compelling story later.
I have not go out of home for last 3 days, because i dont have a cent in my pocket to spent. i am waiting for 16th so i can get payment and make it cash to survive the month. I think i am totally broken now but i can stay one more week at home. because i have to.
What will be the best way for us to make it easy for you?
Serious
i am getting money soon. asking for money directly without anything or contest is like begging to me. that will hurt my self respect because i do work as freelancer. either you can make me winner in this contest post or you can give me some task for small money. 20-30 usd will be enough for me to go out of home for a week.
Understand.
Or we could take a raincheck on any specific work you can help with?
And what would be best way to send you the funds? Or i can order on your behalf. Whatever works
Likewise…. Just let us know, bro. Investment in future work. 👊
i never expected that i will get help in such crucial time from a very unknown person. @plumberg just sent me 60$ which will be very very helpful to me right now. i am just speechless.
Once upon a time, there is 2x USD$50 giveaway from generous LET member - Dazzle,
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🎯 Winners will be chosen randomly. -- How ???
argh, have no idea for story-telling by now
Use voice typing in Google Docs if you find it harder to write. I'm sorry you wont be included in this giveaway if you're not writing something.
Wow, thank you! I believe there are still good people out there. Thank you for being one of them.
Learning linux, self hosting and such, so all my friends doesnt have to.
@bdspice I searched and found out that you're a web developer. My advice: add your link to your signature and stay active here, it will definitely work.
See my UpCloud signature? It has already generated affiliate payments without me even noticing. Wish Biloh never thought of making it a paid feature.
I dont know if this counts but I find it cathartic to talk about... I once paid @xoxo the mofo here 2 btc for multiple wildcard 5 year ssl certs. Long story short the certs were revoked! All attempts at contacting @xoxo failed. Later I found out that @xoxo the mofo had conned the certificate authority as well and they had cancelled his account or something. That was the day which put me off crypto! BTC was very cheap, this was I think a decade+ ago. Had I not been stung by this sorry excuse for a human being I wud have not started hating crypto, in my mind I kinda started associating crypto with illegal stuff. But I am hopeful that karma will eventually catch him in China and burn his sorry ass to ashes.
Whoopsss... that's terrible what you went through.
Plus with the price of btc, now it feels even worse.
I remember getting on thr BTC bandwagon early on and "mined" a few. But thanks to a power surge and no protection, the whole system fried out and I was left with an expensive paperweight...
Thats so tragic! Our experiences and luck shape us. 2 ppl take the same path and one gets lucky while the other unlucky, one gets successful and the other just spirals into hopelessness especially if you dont get the right partner. For years now I have been trying to save money to launch my own startup but I remember a time when someone offered me his money and I was too dumb to not follow up with it.
I also remember around 14-15 years ago I was teaching and I had access to like a lab with few hundred computers, I regret not having mined btc then
I cud have shared the proceeds. But back then everyone said btc is gonna hit rock bottom and so did I.... Not in my wildest imagination cud it have hit a $100k....
Then I remember my uncle asking me few years ago when btc had fallen from an all time high of $20k to $3k about its future, i told him its gonna hit rock bottom
We all know where it went from there....
Now if anything I want to work on my startup, go out, find capital (bury my ego) , no matter wt the cost. I wud prefer to fail than not try.
Go for it. No regrets. Embrace life.
Call it life. We learn from experience (hopefully).
I have started appreciating try fast, fail fast approach. Seems to work fine.
I like this, I am gonna stick to it "try fast, fail fast or hopefully succeed"
better to fail than having never tried....
I have held myself back many times out of fear (not of failing directly) but of responsibility.
What if shit hits the fan? How will my spouse and me survive? At one time there was an immigration related sword hanging down my neck limiting things I could pursue.
But at the same time we are not the same young able person in the 20s. So now catching up to that speed is exhausting...
Around 12 hours before the draw, anyone who thanked the post but hasn't written a story yet can submit it now. Otherwise, they won't be included in the draw.