BIG PROBLEM!

[TomMoorehouse]

This is a letter I received today:

Hello,
During a recent server survey we noticed that your site is using an extreme amount of server resources, this is generally caused by the large number of concurrent users on your site. Your site has had an average of 70-80 users online simultaneously each day for all of this week, and the past month and has consistently been the biggest user of server resources. After further investigation, we have concluded that your site is no longer fit for a shared hosting environment, based on recent statistics of both your account and the entire server.

Due to this, we would reccomend you consider either our Semi-Dedicated or Dedicated Server packages.

Semi-Dedicated is a step between a Shared Account and a Dedicated Server. The current Semi-Dedicated plan is as follows:

· 4000Mb Storage Space

· 200Gb Data Transfer

· Unlimited E-mail Accounts

· Unlimited E-mail Auto-responders

· Unlimited FTP accounts

· 10 MySQL database

· 50 Subdomains

· 15 Vanity Domains

· SSL Support

This package costs $120 per month. Note however, that this would offer a limited amount of growth for your forum. We would instead advise a Dedicated Server #1, which would offer more room for growth.

Our dedicated servers not only offer all the benefits of IPS Hosting, they also allow you complete control over your own account, the ability to create new accounts and resell web hosting, full 'root' access, a free server transfer, $49.00 off setup fees for current hosting customers, and much more. You can see more details of the Dedicated Servers we offer at http://www.invisionpower.com/ip.dynamic/ho...vers/index.html.

Unfortunately, if you do not wish to upgrade to either of these we must ask that you look for another web host. Please keep in mind that our resource usage policy is much the same as most other web hosts and as such we strongly believe that the upgrade to a semi-dedicated or dedicated server would be your best option.

If you have any questions about this, please let us know and we'll be happy to assist. Thank you for choosing Invision Power Services.

Best Regards,

Invision Power Services Hosting

System Administration Team

This is the reply I sent them:

I'm sorry but this is completely unfair. We are well within the stated limits of our hosting package. We have a 25 gig transfer package and have only been averaging 16. This is only slightly more than half of our limit. Further we have access to a completely free unlimited bandwith server that we use for hosting the site images. I can't understand how we could possibly be "using an extreme amount of server resources". I used to host the site myself off my DSL line at home. Our community has not grown very much at all. If we were to upgrade to a bigger package, and then we got to slightly more than half the the limit you set are you going to say again that we need to upgrade? Like I said we have access to a completely free server with unlimited bandwith. The only reason we want professional hosting is for when things go wrong or we get hacked like last week. I don't have the time to fix them anymore like I used to. Our community is non for profit. We have a donation drive each year to pay for the next year's hosting. We paid for an entire year already. Please call me at home regarding this matter after 1pm Chicago time. 708 588 1280
Sincerely,

Tom Moorehouse

Can anyone provide any help??

 

[Scott Norris]

Sounds like somebody wants some new Servers and wants us to pay for one of them. Raw deal.

 

[Don Ferrette]

What a scam!!! We barely average 16 gigs of transfer & they want us to have 200??? WTF!?!? We'll never use the package they are trying to force you into, this is pure BS!! There is no way we need a dedicated server!! Time for a well placed phone call to a higher up outside the Invision Sales Team. :angry:

 

[Propjockey]

Never accept a "No" from someone not authorized to give you a "Yes".

 

[330T]

I'm in the IT field, and have run a small hosting company for a long.. long time. I now pay for a collocated server, that runs all of my web junk.

Most hosting company’s lease space from larger hosting companies, who lease space in a data center. These “small fish” or 3rd or 4th tear hosts only make money estimating you the customer using only 1/8 of their allotted resources. The host is further backed into a corner when using inexpensive hosting software because it does not easily allow them to move fast growing sites to servers that are empty.

That’s where the hosting company is coming from.

Now you’re the customer are in a bind, the host can shutdown your site. When you signed up and agreed to their terms of use they build in more back doors than you could possibly try to count, so you are in a dilemma. You can Agree to pay more, tell them no we are happy with our current method of hosting, or you can so screw you buddy and move to a new host.

My suggestion, stick it out, make sure you have good backups of your data!! Backup a few times a week incase they suspend your account. If you need more assistance please PM me and we can talk some more.

 

[MalaysianFlyer]

Man that sucks big time!!!

Hope it can be resolved, as this site is too good to loose

 

[Don Ferrette]

Man that sucks big time!!!

Hope it can be resolved, as this site is too good to loose

We won't lose it, but we all may have to throw some coins in the jar a little more often. No problem I will contribute again without reservation!

 

[Ronald van Essen]

Man that sucks big time!!!

Hope it can be resolved, as this site is too good to loose

We won't lose it, but we all may have to throw some coins in the jar a little more often. No problem I will contribute again without reservation!

Yes

and a contribution from the Netherlands will also come in that case.

Ronald.

 

[waltr]

Tom,

I'll always help fill the glass jar.The knowledge here is second to none.Never mind the entertainment that comes up time to time (replacement pistons & rods) :lol: :lol: .

Whenever you're ready,The old Pay-Pal link seems to work out pretty good.

As you've seen before,there's alot of support out here.And we all appreciate what you do for us.

Thanks and good luck,

Walt

 

[Jim Allen]

Tom,

My sentiments are the same as Don, Walt & others. There are enough people who will support whatever cost is encountered to have a reliable server.

BTW, the Photo Gallery page cannot be displayed. I attempted to log on several times this morning.

Jim

 

[TomMoorehouse]

here is the reply I receive:

Hello,
Our normal limits for concurrent users online for a shared package is 50-60 online users. As you can see from this tracker, your site is over that limit numerous times throughout the day:

<img src="http://www.blackwidow.cc/sshots/intl.gif">

The SD package should serve your current usage, but as mentioned before, will offer little to no room for additional growth.

Thank you,

Blake Cheatham

System Administrator

Invision Power Services

 

[tunnel290]

here is the reply I receive:

Hello,
Our normal limits for concurrent users online for a shared package is 50-60 online users. As you can see from this tracker, your site is over that limit numerous times throughout the day:

<img src="http://www.blackwidow.cc/sshots/intl.gif">

The SD package should serve your current usage, but as mentioned before, will offer little to no room for additional growth.

Thank you,

Blake Cheatham

System Administrator

Invision Power Services

I will be happy to donate money for this great site to continue.

Brody Doucet

 

[TomMoorehouse]

here was my reply:

The forum visitor counter has not worked correctly forever. If you look back through our ticket history you can see where I asked to have it fixed. It never was. At 5am this morning I showed 5 registered members and 70 guests. No way is that correct. Right now at peak time of the day it says 30 guests and 20 members. Thisthis is lower than at 5am. No way is this correct. A few forum version upgrades back our "Most users ever online was" 41. currently it is over 1000. see this thread: http://www.intlwaters.com/index.php?showto...hl=users+online

Our member base has not grown even a fraction of this amount of an increase.

Actually we have the "Pro Hosting" package I just remembered with 50 gigs of transfer. We only have 16. I feel like we are being scammed.

Please call me at home at 708 588 1280 so we can discuss this

Sincerely

Tom Moorehouse

 

[Geraghty]

Blake Cheatham

System Administrator

Invision Power Services

Blake...is that pronounced......"cheat...em"? :blink:

 

[Ray Sametz]

WOW, Had a flash back to the Three Stooges. Ray :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[TomMoorehouse]

here is the latest:

Hello,
The system we are using above does not use the forum online count to obtain its numbers. It reads directly from the database sessions table. I am sorry you feel we are trying to scam you, I can assure you that we are not inflating numbers. The bandwidth alone is not the only factor in the load on the server. Each user generates a number of database queries. Once the number of queries reaches a certain point it begins affecting other users on the server.

Thank you,

Blake Cheatham

System Administrator

Invision Power Services

Any my reply:

Yes I do feel like we are being scammed. Please give me a drop dead date for our site. It will take us some time to transition to a new host. How quickly can you issue a refund for the remainder of our paid in advance year of hosting. I am deeply disappointed that our relationship has to end in this manor.
Sincerely,

Tom Moorehouse

 

[330T]

do you own a copy of Invision?

 

[TomMoorehouse]

do you own a copy of Invision?

I just downloaded it and a copy of our database

 

[Don Ferrette]

Time to go over Blake Cheat 'em's head. There was never any max. on line users at at time restriction listed in the package so how can they throw that on you now?? Not to mention we use barely a 1/3 of our transfer limit. :angry:

 

[Ron Olson]

Something that I have noticed lately that usually I never pay any attention to is the amount of "Guests" in here at any given time. I find it hard to believe that there can be 30 or more people at any time just in here looking around. I realize that I or anyone else can sign in as invisible but still a lot of people any way that you look at it. It makes me wonder if Invision isn't boosting the numbers just to screw the site out of more money.