What do you guys think of unlimited web hosting?

[ViviTheMage]

We have been toying with the idea of just going unlimited web hosting (space and transfer) with madgenius.com ... and then just watch the top people if there are abuse issues, like every other host seems to be doing.

So what do you guys think of unlimited hosts? Do you stay away from them, or do you just not care?

 

[SunnyD]

I hate when people advertise Unlimited*.

If you're going to use the word, be prepared to be abused.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Yeah, and like all other hosts, we'd have a clause as to what is considered abuse.

 

[Krazy4Real]

unlimited transfer or unlimited storage?

 

[ViviTheMage]

both

 

[SandEagle]

unlimited means you can abuse it. wth man?

 

[Krazy4Real]

both

$4 a month? I'd sign up.

 

[ViviTheMage]

$4 a month? I'd sign up.

probably around that mark yeah.

$4-$5

 

[ViviTheMage]

unlimited means you can abuse it. wth man?

That is what people WILL do, hopefully they do not.

 

[SunnyD]

Yeah, and like all other hosts, we'd have a clause as to what is considered abuse.

No, I mean if you use the term "Unlimited" in any way, shape or form, then there's no such thing as "abuse of service" for consumption-based reasons. Don't be AT&T.

 

[Krazy4Real]

probably around that mark yeah.

$4-$5

How much data do you consider to be abuse?

 

[ViviTheMage]

No, I mean if you use the term "Unlimited" in any way, shape or form, then there's no such thing as "abuse of service". Don't be AT&T.

If you look at the other hosts, they all have that little 'abuse of service' clause.

All shared hosts have that sort of clause with cpu/memory, now they're just adding transfer/space....which we're thinking of moving to.

 

[clamum]

I don't see anything bad with it?

 

[ViviTheMage]

How much data do you consider to be abuse?

It would be totally dependent on what the data is....and what type of data they are transferring.

 

[lxskllr]

Why would a customer /not/ like fewer restrictions?

 

[Hugo Drax]

We have been toying with the idea of just going unlimited web hosting (space and transfer) with madgenius.com ... and then just watch the top people if there are abuse issues, like every other host seems to be doing.

So what do you guys think of unlimited hosts? Do you stay away from them, or do you just not care?

What would you consider abuse? That would be the limit. What do you mean it depends of the data? BW is BW.

 

[SunnyD]

If you look at the other hosts, they all have that little 'abuse of service' clause.

All shared hosts have that sort of clause with cpu/memory, now they're just adding transfer/space....which we're thinking of moving to.

I understand what you're saying. You don't understand what I'm saying.

I'm sick of businesses advertising a product as "Unlimited" then clearly limiting it. If there is any limitation whatsoever, then don't call it unlimited.

Obviously abuse of service means you have some upper limit in mind, hence it's not "Unlimited". Do not use the term "Unlimited" if that is the case.

 

[lxskllr]

Obviously abuse of service means you have some upper limit in mind, hence it's not "Unlimited". Do not use the term "Unlimited" if that is the case.

Yea. Liberal web hosting would be better imo. BTW, how do you feel about Tor exit nodes?

 

[ViviTheMage]

I understand what you're saying. You don't understand what I'm saying.

I'm sick of businesses advertising a product as "Unlimited" then clearly limiting it. If there is any limitation whatsoever, then don't call it unlimited.

Obviously abuse of service means you have some upper limit in mind, hence it's not "Unlimited". Do not use the term "Unlimited" if that is the case.

I see what you are saying, that is why it would only be a problem with the blatent abusers.

What would you consider abuse? That would be the limit. What do you mean it depends of the data? BW is BW.

It is dependent on that data, and bandwidth usage.

 

[SunnyD]

Also, another nefarious use of this "Unlimited" limited by abuse of service sham that I hate:

Are you planning on spelling out EXACTLY what constitutes abuse of service in terms of usage constraints? If so, then it's clearly limited.

Or are you going to bury it under the more nefarious "Abuse of Service" clause, which means abuse of service is determined at your sole discretion and could differ from one client to the next? Which is clearly a bad business practice on its own merits.

---

Simply put, unless it's unlimited without any repercussions, I want to know exactly what I'm paying for so I don't get unplugged in case I run into the camouflaged wall you're erecting.

---

That said - how many domains can I put on one of these accounts?

 

[DaveSimmons]

In reality you always had real storage and bandwidth limits, after which you'll consider it "abuse", like you imply here:

... and then just watch the top people if there are abuse issues, like every other host seems to be doing.

If it's "unlimited" can I really park my 350 GB of FLAC files on your server to stream my CD collection?

TANSTAAFL. I understand that.

Claiming a plan is "unlimited" is lying to me, so I'll take my business to someone who is more honest.

This might make perfect business sense for you to do, but I'd much rather know your real limits up front, then go over the hidden quotas and be dumped for "abuse."

 

[ViviTheMage]

I see what you are both saying, and this would be for new clients, or those who want to convert.

We are seeing a heavy cut in web hosting clients signing up, and a lot mentioning the fact they are aren't offering 'unlimited' like the other hosts as a reason they are not signing up. Which is why we are entertaining the idea.

Yes, EVERY web host you sign up that is unlimited is an *, putting a clause in their ToS, or wherever that they reserve the right to shut you down for 'abuse'.

 

[Blackjack200]

I understand what you're saying. You don't understand what I'm saying.

I'm sick of businesses advertising a product as "Unlimited" then clearly limiting it. If there is any limitation whatsoever, then don't call it unlimited.

Obviously abuse of service means you have some upper limit in mind, hence it's not "Unlimited". Do not use the term "Unlimited" if that is the case.

Everything that's advertised as "unlimited" is like this. The idea is that if you are paying for some level of server useage, and you have an unexpected spike in traffic, your costs won't go up. At the same time, if you try to take advantage of the offer you will get smacked down. I don't see what the problem with this is.

Go to a diner and order a cup of coffee. The sweet waitress will happily refill it once, twice, three times, maybe even four times. I bet after that you will start getting looks. Try staying for the whole day and drinking as much coffee as you can. Use their WiFi the whole time too. See how that works out.

Now, if you're a regular customer at that same diner that waitress will probably cut you some slack and fill up your coffee a bunch of times for some special occasion.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Maybe you could be honest about that - have in giant letters "unlimited" then explain what that really means for all the web hosts offering it.

But I'm not a typical customer. From a marketing to the masses standpoint, offering weaselly not-really-unlimited plan will probably make you more money than being honest.

Teaser rates and fine print work on most people, that's why Comcast, etc. do almost all of their marketing that way.

Free smart phone! *

* 2-year plan at $99 a month required.

 

[SunnyD]

Everything that's advertised as "unlimited" is like this. The idea is that if you are paying for some level of server useage, and you have an unexpected spike in traffic, your costs won't go up. At the same time, if you try to take advantage of the offer you will get smacked down. I don't see what the problem with this is.

Go to a diner and order a cup of coffee. The sweet waitress will happily refill it once, twice, three times, maybe even four times. I bet after that you will start getting looks. Try staying for the whole day and drinking as much coffee as you can. Use their WiFi the whole time too. See how that works out.

Now, if you're a regular customer at that same diner that waitress will probably cut you some slack and fill up your coffee a bunch of times for some special occasion.

It's understandable. Like the high school football team that was thrown out of the Chinese All-You-Can-Eat Buffet a while back. There are certain expectations in some cases.

But my point is companies are blatantly abusing (ironic choice of words, no?) the term "Unlimited" and then hiding the limitations so that customers in the market for these services, which vary widely, have no idea what to construe as abuse. Personally, I'd rather deal with an honest company that tells me upfront that their "Almost Unlimited" service has a high cap of X GB storage and Y GB bandwidth sustained over Z billing periods before it is considered abuse and remedy or revocation will be assessed instead of happily chugging along one day and have my site disappear the next day with a nastygram email sitting in my inbox saying "Your account has been terminated for violation of abuse of service clause. Have a nice day!" because I had no idea that X+1 GB was too much.