HWT may be moving...has moved

[IBBoard]

Having recently discovered a new addition in the Terms of Service of the hosts of Hive World Terra, we may have to move soon.

The new ToS states that software downloading sites are not allowed - something they've discretely slipped in without people knowing. We're awaiting clarification on whether "software download sites" means any site with software downloads, or whether they mean "illegal/pirate/warez software download sites". In the mean time some alternatives are being examined.

Hopefully, if a change is needed, it should be nice and smooth. The preferable course of action would be that the current host clarifies that all is okay and that they mean illegal software, but if not then we should be covered

[IBBoard]

OK, a temporary site (without any working downloads yet) has been set up on DreamHost. The URL is ++URL Removed++ If people can check it out and give opinions on speed (page loads seem a little slower to me, but that _could_ be because it isn't cached by being accessed lots.

The other option that I'm currently considering is a place called ASmallOrange.com. They're unrelated to Orange the phone company (luckily!) but they have great reviews on WebHostingTalk.com and seem like a forward-thinking and friendly group (they even have a little Open Source Software section, which keeps the Linux side of me happy ) They'd probably be used as an alternative if Micfo say that application hosting is out but linking to them on another host is fine

[edit] OK, DreamHost has been dropped. They've got stupidly restrictive emailing policies that mean we'd potentially need to give people confirmation emails when the requested to sign up for topic notifications! On top of that, Abi's Perfect Imagination site relies on emails, so their excessive restrictions just seem crazy. A Small Orange is seeming like the best bet, even if I end up having to pay $20 per month for a Large plan instead of the $8 I'm paying at the moment.

[IBBoard]

I still haven't received full clarification from Micfo about their new ToS, but it seems like the general direction is that now they're offering rediculously huge amounts of bandwidth to everyone then they're changing the ToS so that people can't actually use it without having very huge and very popular static image galleries and the like.

I now have a Tiny account on A Small Orange, just waiting for the account information. Chances are we'll be moving over there eventually, but Micfo still have a while to redeem themselves.

As for cost, I've decided it'll be better to get a Medium plan at $10 and pay the 50c per additional GB as and when we need it, since HWT and associated domains run at about 20-25GB of bandwidth a month and Medium offers 25GB.

[IBBoard]

Okay, so there's nothing much there yet, but I now have a new domain and hosting at A Small Orange.

The auxillary domain that may be used just for software hosting, but will more likely end up as an additional domain on our new hosts from the current information I have, is HWTSkins.co.uk.

[IBBoard]

The move commenceth!

I've just asked ASO to upgrade my account there from a Tiny to a Medium, then I'll begin migration.

Our current host's company forums have been down for the last week due to maintenance that they said should take 48 hours. They're also letting the server load get up to 10, 15 or even 25 before bringing it down to the 3-5 level when I complain. It should be at 1 per processor in the server, which means 2 for a dual-processor machine. Server load is (as far as I remember) something like the number of tasks arriving at the processors in each time unit. Anything over 1 is more than a single processor can sensibly handle.

More updates as the transition is completed - sorry for the minor down-time we'll experience, but I'll keep it to a minimum.

[IBBoard]

Welcome to the new location

If you can read this, the update is complete. It took slightly longer than planned when I realised after 18 hours that I hadn't actually changed the name servers (d'oh!) but about six hours after I changed them, I can see the new location.

Hopefully the new location will be much more responsive and accessible