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Posted by Kimi, 06-19-2002, 02:01 PM I would like to know what good and bad experiences you've had with ChatCircuit.net and their reseller program. The price is right, but I did attempt to e-mail them twice to get more information...one e-mail bounced back as undeliverable, and one went through, but has not been replied to, as of yet. I read some positive things here in the past about ChatCircuit, but how have they been doing lately? And are they dependable? Thanks, Kim
Posted by Suffolk Designs, 06-19-2002, 02:34 PM doesn't sound promising.
Posted by Kimi, 06-19-2002, 02:56 PM My thought exactly....but I was hoping it was just a *fluke*. Kim
Posted by Choppy, 06-19-2002, 06:31 PM You should always give them a second chance with something so small! Maybe you should email them again and explain the situtation and what has happen and they will be so grreatful that they will even give you a discount. Or maybe they have a prob with a server and they also have many support emails coming through. Good luck
Posted by slabhost, 06-19-2002, 07:04 PM Kimi, I think they are great and they are always on AIM. In fact Vic the owner is on AIM now if you want to speak to him. AIM: lazzchatcircuit SlabHost
Posted by Kimi, 06-19-2002, 07:23 PM Thanks. I will certainly give it another try. Kim
Posted by porcupine, 06-20-2002, 09:30 AM I've dealt with Chatcircuit.net (.com, .net, and .org are all the same company), and i would recommend them. Lazz (owner)'s ICQ is 112167, he comes on to chat often, and is around nearly as often as i am (which is pretty impressive). I know he's been around for a long time, is a very honest person (which i'll be the first to point out is getting more and more rare around here), is around often and has very competitive pricing. Hope that helps
Posted by Magnet Eye, 06-20-2002, 09:37 AM Is this guy for real? $19.95/month for 3GB of space and 45GB of bandwidth? I was looking at voxtreme or mchost...now i wonder. Anyone? -matt
Posted by zRedDice, 06-20-2002, 09:45 AM I'm with the program, and we've had no problems. The service has been fast. We had one problem where Webalizer was down for three weeks for some unknown reason, but other than that, its been an awesome experience. Do note that they will NOT offer SSH access. - James
Posted by Magnet Eye, 06-20-2002, 09:49 AM they offer no SSH? I'm a newbie, I know of SSL...what's SSH? (DER) -matt
Posted by porcupine, 06-20-2002, 09:54 AM SSH is similar to telnet, except secured, it's a raw command prompt. Many hosts in the lower price range will avoid offering it because it opens up a world of potential security risks, because generally if someone wants to hack a server, ssh is going to help a *lot*.
Posted by Magnet Eye, 06-20-2002, 09:55 AM ok, so what am I losing then? If I were to sign-up with them?
Posted by porcupine, 06-20-2002, 09:59 AM Probably nothing, many places wont offer SSH anyhow, but its just access to a raw command prompt, you're only loosing it if you're one of those people who like to work in SSH instead of in the panel like CPanel/WHM.
Posted by Kimi, 06-20-2002, 10:27 AM I tried writing to ChatCircuit again, and this time, I got a very prompt response. Vic was very helpful and answered every question I had, in detail. Sounds very promising to me! Kim
Posted by mas3000, 06-20-2002, 05:41 PM Their servers are with you.
Posted by porcupine, 06-20-2002, 05:46 PM Actually no, they're not. My rep isn't for sale, and i dont ever try to "boost" customers like that unless i know what im saying for a fact. Chatcircuit may have servers with us in the future, but currently they do not *cough* .
Posted by mas3000, 06-20-2002, 05:52 PM I also talked to Chatcircuit about getting him a dedicated server, but he said that he was going to sign up with you.
Posted by porcupine, 06-20-2002, 05:54 PM I can always hope
Posted by mas3000, 06-20-2002, 05:59 PM What I found interesting, when I looked up his domain name Chatcircuit's homepage is hosted at Rackshack and the bandwidth is all Verio. I didn't know Rackshack used all Verio now? 3 130.152.180.21 2.809 ms DNS error [AS226] Los Nettos origin AS 4 198.172.117.161 7.833 ms ge-2-3-0.a02.lsanca02.us.ra.verio.net [AS2914] Verio 5 129.250.29.122 9.936 ms ge-0-2-0.a05.lsanca01.us.ra.verio.net [AS2914] Verio 6 129.250.46.110 7.819 ms p4-0-0-0.a05.irvnca01.us.ra.verio.net [AS2914] Verio 7 129.250.46.54 10.544 ms ge-0-3-0.a06.irvnca01.us.ra.verio.net [AS2914] Verio 8 129.250.17.93 9.141 ms p4-1-2-0.r01.sndgca01.us.bb.verio.net [AS2914] Verio 9 129.250.3.205 8.845 ms p4-2-0.r00.sndgca01.us.bb.verio.net [AS2914] Verio 10 129.250.3.185 37.849 ms p4-1-0.r01.hstntx01.us.bb.verio.net [AS2914] Verio 11 129.250.29.89 41.285 ms ge-0-2-0.a03.hstntx01.us.ra.verio.net [AS2914] Verio 12 128.241.2.102 38.540 ms ge-0-0-0.a03.hstntx01.us.ce.verio.net [AS2914] Verio 13 207.218.223.34 39.822 ms tayhou-223-34.ev1.net [AS13749] Everyones Internet 14 216.40.242.201 40.675 ms hack.tv (Fake rDNS) [AS13749] Everyones Internet
Posted by porcupine, 06-20-2002, 06:05 PM Thats just one route in. It's just chance that you're on verio there.
Posted by mas3000, 06-20-2002, 06:09 PM Every traceroute I do I get verio.
Posted by porcupine, 06-20-2002, 06:16 PM Are you tracerouting from different locations? Your ip may only ever go through verio because it'll always be the fastest route.
Posted by mas3000, 06-20-2002, 06:24 PM I connected through a different IP and I still get Verio. Interesting.
Posted by hostnoob, 06-20-2002, 07:42 PM I went to that chatcircuit really great plan they have! i'm new here and I'm wondering if there's other host that offers similar or better so I can make comparison.. thanks, nOOb
Posted by Choppy, 06-23-2002, 08:38 PM Wonder were i can buy 45gigs of bandwidth for $19.95. Just another of these pricing structures i dont understand! At least there not offering 10 gig hard drive space too. Regards
Posted by blah, 06-23-2002, 08:44 PM The problem with ChatCircuit is that they don't allow over-selling.
Posted by porcupine, 06-23-2002, 08:51 PM What do you mean by that exactly?
Posted by blah, 06-23-2002, 08:58 PM They don't let their resellers over-sell i.e. sell more than what they have, and that's how most resellers get by.
Posted by mas3000, 06-25-2002, 12:11 AM How would they restrict you? So, basically they are overselling by making sure you can't oversell so they can make the money for the resources you don't use.
Posted by porcupine, 06-25-2002, 12:16 AM mas3000: uh, that doesen't make any sense, i asked how they prevent people from overselling, not "do they benefit from clients that dont use their resuorces". Every provider benefits if a client doesen't use their resources, that doesen't have anything to do with them preventing a subscriber from overselling though
Posted by chrisb, 06-25-2002, 01:25 AM It concerns me that I couldn't find a phone number or specific address on ChatCircuit.net's site. Also, I couldn't find anything about their network or hardware. Maybe I overlooked them though. Further, you may want to look at their TOS. It's a bit strict for me, as in #12: 12. Your account may not be used as a storage or backup facility. All files in your directory must be linked from publicly accessible HTML pages. We prevent the theft of bandwidth and use as storage by limiting the linking ability from other servers to HTML files only. NOTE: This is EXACTLY how some hosts can give so much bandwidth. They put a restriction in their TOS similar to #12. They know that if they don't allow storage or links other than HTML files, that you probably won't use much diskspace or bandwidth. It may work for you, but I'd rather pay more, and be able to use my storage and/or bandwidth however I choose. ...and I wouldn't want to live without SSH either. Last edited by chrisb; 06-25-2002 at 01:33 AM.
Posted by porcupine, 06-25-2002, 01:28 AM I know very few hosts that would allow you to use their servers as a backup server for their webhosting plans. Go try it with a few "unlimited space" hosts .
Posted by chrisb, 06-25-2002, 01:31 AM ummm, to begin with... I would never use an "unlimited space" host.
Posted by porcupine, 06-25-2002, 01:47 AM shrug* im merely pointing out, preventing hotlinking is usually considered a good thing by the client, and not allowing their space to be used as your personal backup server doesen't sound at all unreasonable to me, as i stated very few hosts allow this. And theres a good reason too. If you allow me to use you as a backup server, then i can technically put copyrighted materials on your server as my safe backup in case something should happen to my originals, and we dont need a rocket scientist to see what the legal implications of permitting backups (which could permit that) would bring you.
Posted by chrisb, 06-25-2002, 02:02 AM I agree that preventing hotlinking is a good thing. The problem I have is that if I want to save files that aren't linked to HTML files, I wouldn't to be able to. Example 1: I want to have a directory of scripts that I am working on, yet I wouldn't want them linked to an HTML file. Example 2: I have a specific directory where I want to store some .tar.gz and .zip files. Example 3: Instead of using anonymous ftp, I may want to just have a specific http directory where people can download files.
Posted by blah, 06-25-2002, 12:12 PM ChatCircuit said they don't oversell either
Posted by mas3000, 06-25-2002, 12:28 PM Huh, you asked them?
Posted by chatcircuit, 06-25-2002, 01:58 PM I seldom respond to threads in this manner, as I think WHT is a great place for people on both sides of the hosting business to openly express how they freely feel; in an appropriate manner of course. As to Chatcircuit........ Myles at Prioritycolocation.com is a friend of mine. I do not currently have any servers located with his company, but do send potential clients who request special server setups to Myles, as they do a wonderful job in this area. As to Myles character, I have found him to be forthright and very professional (ok myles, send me the check now :-) ) .......mas3000 appears to be an authority of some sorts, but not one on the hosting practices of Chatcircuit Web Hosting..... We do not oversell our servers, nor take advantage of any of our clients in this area. It is clearly stated how many domains a reseller can sell, this is so that every host on the servers has a fair opportunity to provide good services, on fast machines, on fast connections. All of our reseller servers are hosted at Rackshack, where we lease the redhat 7.2 boxes and add our own control panels, etc. As to our TOS.......... Most of our TOS/AUP were written in the hayday of the "free" webhosting sites that placed specific restrictions on their clients. Our purpose here was too prevent the illegal distribuition of mp3's, graphics, warez, etc. from people who were trying to avoid these restrictions with other hosting companies. So the term, fileserver is appropriate here, we do not offer file serving services on standard accounts. On a multi-host server, this would be a deceptive practice for a host to offer, in my opinion, as it would place a heavy load on the server and restrict the services others have paid for as well. For the legitimate user, like the uses "chrisb" describes, there is nothing that restricts his use in the three areas he describes: [quote/paste] chrisb I agree that preventing hotlinking is a good thing. The problem I have is that if I want to save files that aren't linked to HTML files, I wouldn't to be able to. Example 1: I want to have a directory of scripts that I am working on, yet I wouldn't want them linked to an HTML file. Example 2: I have a specific directory where I want to store some .tar.gz and .zip files. Example 3: Instead of using anonymous ftp, I may want to just have a specific http directory where people can download files. --chris [end quote/paste] These uses are normal for any web host, and there is nothing that restricts them at Chatcircuit. Perhaps I will restate the TOS to include a better definition of "chrisb's" points, as they are valid ones and will perhaps offer better clarity. ......Chatcircuit contact Chatcircuit started hosting 7 years ago and uses the "virtual office" concept to conduct business. (as do a majority of hosting companies) Our techs/support staff are "virtual" as well, in countries all over the world. Most I have known personally for 5+ years, but have never met one in real life. I, the owner, personally live in the Mojave Desert in southern california and do all of my work from a office in my home (yes a real office with a door and everything! :-) ) There is no "store front" nor do we a offer phone number as the office is staffed by...........me, and I just dont have the time to answer every phone inquiry. We do however respond to EVERY email request with information, and though not as timely as some would like, I try to personally answer these inquiries myself (upwards of 50+ a day) One thing to note though....our clients come first. If we have clients who have setup problems, from being new to the hosting business, or working a script problem out, their needs come FIRST. So replies to inquiries, while very important, come after clients requests/needs are taken care of first. None of our servers are kept here locally, nor will would I ever do so, as internet connection speed is rather dismal here, and I prefer the security of well established datacenters like Rackshack and Sprocket Data. All of our clients are provided with a 800 number for usa/canada use, once they sign up that connects to me, where ever I am, 24/7. Each client also gets my personal home phone number, and yes I do answer my phone! For clients who cannot phone, for geographical reasons, there is internet chat contact using AIM, ICQ, MSN, and IRC chat. Most of these communications are handled by me personally, as I like the "hands on" aspect of good customer service. ...a further note on our TOS/AUP and hosting restrictions... SSH service is wonderful, I use it constantly everyday. There are many opinions on the offering of this service to clients......here is why we do not.............. SECURITY. Ive seen all the arguments on this, but the bottom line is the security of each of our clients is our first and foremost concern. Any server is hackable (dont flame me on this, my opinion, been there done that, and I wont respond anyway). Any host who says they are not hackable, first challenges the script kiddies and hackers to target them, and are, in my humble opinion, incorrect. (again my personal opinion). Nudity/Porn........ We offer our services to alot of religious organizations and non-profit organizations. It has been our commitment to not provide this form of hosting. There are many reputable hosts who do offer this hosting, and that is perfectly ok for them. I am sure anyone requiring this type of hosting will find a good one here at WHT. ...In Closing I hope I have cleared up any important points/questions. If not pleased with my responses, do not hesistate to email me or post here at WHT. I seldom come to WHT these days, so email or aim or icq or msn would be a "speedier" reply to any questions you may have. WHT is a great place for people to 'voice' their opinions. I look forward to many "colorful" responses! Vic Chisnell Owner - Chatcircuit Web Hosting AIM: lazzchatcircuit ICQ: 112167 MSN: chatcircuit@msn.com webmaster@chatcircuit.net
Posted by Kimi, 06-25-2002, 03:41 PM I am the person who started this thread. I was looking for a new reseller account. After doing a LOT of homework and looking into several hosts, I decided to go with ChatCircuit. To be honest, I couldn't be happier. As you saw in a previous post earlier in this thread, I mentioned that I had written to ChatCircuit, and the e-mail bounced back at me. Two people on this board encourged me to try again, stating that they had had very good experiences with ChatCircuit. So I did...and boy, I'm REALLY glad I did. The difference in customer service between my old host and my new is like night and day. I've sent Vic several e-mails with various questions, and I ALWAYS get a prompt reply. I was also pleased with the fact that I did NOT feel pressured into signing up. Sometimes, when checking out new hosts, you get the standard sales pitch and feel pressured to sign up on the spot. Not with ChatCircuit. It actually took me a few days to decided, and I had all the breathing space I needed for that. I actually had my choices narrowed down to two choices, either of which I know would have been good. One was ChatCircuit, and one was HostAreUs. In the end, I chose ChatCircuit. I did this mainly because of the time they have been in business, as well as the package they had to offer....and the customer support. To be fair, HostAreUs had terrific customer support as well. They answered all my e-mails very quickly, and would have also been a terrific choice for hosting, in my opinion. I am completely happy with the decision I made in the end...to sign up with ChatCircuit. I know there are a lot of good hosts out there. I'm just happy to be signed up with one of them. One last comment...Yesterday, my old host wrote back to me and apologized for all the inconvenience I had been put through and offered me free hosting for 2 months. I turned it down. They then wrote me back today and offered me 4 months free hosting. I turned that down too. At least they tried to make amends, but I am happy with where I am now. I know I made the right choice. Thanks for your help. Kim
Posted by hostnoob, 06-25-2002, 05:03 PM I too just signed up with chatcircuit as a newbie in hosting I think signing up with them is 1 GREAT! experience for me. They answered all my questions pre-sale or after-sale, helped get everything working 'til I can do it my own. I highly recommend chatcircuit for all those who are new and under a tight budget. hostnOOb
Posted by Choppy, 06-25-2002, 06:18 PM Just to confirm we are actually a competitor of ChatCircuit ( If you can say that ) What i stated when i told you to re try sending the email was not through experience but knowing the business that sometimes things get top heavy and some email does get lost or starts bouncing back due to a reboot or something. Good luck with CHatCircuit everyone, Kind regards
Posted by chrisb, 06-26-2002, 01:44 AM Thanks for taking the time, Vic, to explain my misunderstandings of your TOS. You're probably right about SSH. Even though I've been hacked a few times before, I really want SSH. I have no doubt that it is safer without SSH, and it is probably wiser to go with a host that disallows it, but many of us have been spoiled. Perhaps our strong desire for SSH and the ease of using it is clouding our logic... but that's another thread that's already been done. It's good to hear the good customer reviews.
Posted by Kimi, 06-26-2002, 02:23 AM Choppy, Thanks for pointing that out. Obviously I misread your original comment. I am glad that you pointed out that I should consider giving ChatCircuit another chance, as there could be many reasons why I didn't receive a prompt reply the first time. Actually, I did find out exactly why I didn't get a reply right away. Apparently Vic was dealing with a forest fire in his area and had to evacuate for several hours. I'd say that was a pretty good reason. To ChatCircuit's credit, as I mentioned earlier, each and every reply since has been very prompt (many of my questions were answered within 5 minutes). I've been happy enough with ChatCircuit so far that when a friend of mine contacted me today because she was looking for hosting, I sent her to Chatcircuit, and she signed up for an account with them. Since she used me as her referral, I even get a percentage of what she pays as a referral fee. Kim
Posted by GTC, 06-27-2002, 01:42 PM Kimi, u are lucky.....i am still stuck with the old web hosting company. They didn't care to active back my control panel and FTP. I can't copy out my customer website and move to new hosting. DataHxxts.net service is like ****!!!!! They make me lose my customers!!!!!
Posted by Kimi, 06-27-2002, 01:56 PM GTC, You better believe I know how lucky I am! I take it that DataHosts has still not responded to any of your e-mails? If they did, did they give you a reason why your account isn't functioning? Also, do you have your account set up for monthly recurring billing? The part that made me the most unhappy was that I wasn't getting any response from DataHosts but they still found my money good enough to take. Incidently, Datahosts DID try to get me to come back. They offered me two months free hosting, if I would change my mind and choose to stay. I turned it down. They then offered me four months. I had already made up my mind to leave, and I'm glad I did. Since I've moved all my domains to a new hosting company, everything has been great! I don't want to sound like a commercial, but ChatCircuit made me feel right at home, and I couldn't be happier. I wish you the best, Kim
Posted by Kimi, 06-27-2002, 02:07 PM GTC, I take it you didn't happen to make backups of your websites before you started having problems with DataHosts? If you can't get in through your ftp name address (ie. ftp.nameofdomain.com), have you tried ftping with your IP address instead? The IP address should be listed in the original e-mail DataHosts sent you when you first signed up for your account. I'm not sure if it will work, but it's worth a try. By the way, when I saw problems coming down the pike, I downloaded everything from each site and burned it to a CD. That was after the FTP problem was fixed, but it doesn't look like you're so fortunate in that respect. I really do feel badly for you. In the future, it might be a good idea to make regular backups and burn them to a CD....just in case this sort of thing ever happens again. I'm just glad I got the chance to do that before I left DataHosts. I also try to make backups on a regular basis, especially when I make any significant changes to a website. Not a bad habit to get into. Let me know how things turn out for you. Kim
Posted by GTC, 06-28-2002, 10:27 AM Thanks for your advices..... I still waiting for their reply to active back my accounts......the reasons they give me is my customers do alot of spam mails and get alot of complaints....so they have to block our control panel and FTP??? Do this sound reasonable? I dun know.....as i am quite new to this. Anyway, Kimi if possible pls update me chatcircuit.com service as i might move my hosting to them soon......and might use your name as a reference.
Posted by porcupine, 06-28-2002, 10:45 AM uh, chatcircuit wont host you GTC. No good hosts are spam friendly.
Posted by Symbolik9, 06-28-2002, 11:25 PM Looks like Lazz is being affected by the Arizona forest fires, judging by his AIM away message.
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