Bye-bye, Blogsome
Blogsome, host of this blog since before it had a name, are closing down. The large and alarming message that now appears above all management-interface pages says they’ll be around until the seventh of December, so I’ve got a while to find a new host.
I’ve got an in-house expert on this stuff who’ll probably tell me where to go (a function she is sometimes called upon to perform on other occasions). But I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask my readers, too.
I’ve got a WordPress WXR-format backup of everything here (because all of my images are on dansdata.com, the whole backup is only that one 12.1Mb WXR file), so I’ll very probably be moving to another WordPress host. I’d also like to be able to run my own Google ads, as I do on this site. The new host also has to have a demonstrated commitment to freedom of speech, to make sure they won’t drop me like a hot rock if another Firepower debacle happens.
Apart from that, I’m open to offers.
What do you all reckon?
Wow, that's an attention-getting message!
What's wrong with hosting it on the dansdata.com server? Like www.dansdata.com/blog ? A wordpress install is relatively easy to perform and maintain.
...of course, I'm not factoring in any other considerations here...
Comment by unfunk — November 25, 2011 @ 4:15 pm
The dansdata.com server, as far as I'm concerned, is a directory I FTP stuff into. It's a flat-file site and I don't really even want admin access to it, since SecureWebs have always provided me with good support.
I definitely could switch to WordPress at SecureWebs - it's one of their standard services - but I kind of like the idea of keeping my eggs in a couple of baskets.
Comment by Daniel Rutter — November 25, 2011 @ 5:06 pm
If you're happy with Wordpress as a blogging platform, then why not get a hosted service straight from the source - http://wordpress.com/
If you're getting a lot of traffic and need to guarantee that you can handle the load, use their VIP service http://vip.wordpress.com/
I have no relationship with wordpress, other than that I use their free software on a number of sites I admin.
Comment by kai — November 25, 2011 @ 6:43 pm
I heartily recommend Wordpress, I run it on several websites. And as unfunk pointed out, setting it up is a matter of minutes.
Of course, Wordpress.com offers Wordpress blogs hosted by them free of charge, the only limit is diskspace. But seeing how you host your own images, that won't be much of a problem. I don't know how much control they give you over backups, domain names and other such matters though.
If you just want another hosting provider, I can heartily recommend Nexcess.net, who have hosted my site(s) for close to ten years now. Their service is second-to-none, 24/7, and their prices are reasonable. They recently started Wordpress specific plans, though I don't really see the point of that (all you need is a PHP host and a MySQL database, really). They also have Wordpress as one of the options in the automated setup-scripts with their `normal' hosting.
And if you need help setting up a Wordpress site, (which I doubt you do), I'm sure you have ample readers willing to offer a hand.
Comment by Itsacon — November 25, 2011 @ 6:49 pm
Perhaps create a Google+ page? I'm not sure what their record's like on things like ignoring takedown requests from bad people, but I'd guess you may fall foul of the DMCA, so that could be a problem.
Comment by rikkus — November 25, 2011 @ 8:25 pm
How about http://freethoughtblogs.com ? Their privacy policy mentions Google ads, a look at the info on one of the pages mentions being generated by WordPress, and they obviously have a demonstrated commitment to freedom of speech! You would be a great addition to that site (demonstrating that free-thinking and skepticism can also have a practical side)!
Comment by rojmiller — November 26, 2011 @ 2:07 am
I can recommend http://www.hostgator.com/
Their customer service has always been awesome and the frequently run good deals for service.
I don't know their policies on DMCA type stuff but I'm sure if you email them about it they'd be happy to talk about it.
Right now they've got a Black Friday thing going on, but failing that feel free to email me and I can probably get you hooked up with a coupon code of some sort.
Comment by Amstrad — November 26, 2011 @ 3:06 am
I thought about that, but I figure that if FTB wanted people to be able to just ask them for a blog, they might have provided some slight hint on their front page as to how one might go about doing that :-).
I presume they're invitation-only, or something.
Comment by Daniel Rutter — November 30, 2011 @ 1:25 pm
I second the FTB recommendation, assuming the lingering teething problems, popup ads, and occasional blog drama aren't deterrents.
Comment by jaranath — December 1, 2011 @ 7:24 am
I doubt it. I just don't think anyone's quite organised enough over there to have set up proper administrative channels yet. (Perhaps that in itself might be a minor deterrent...)
I don't know who "owns" FTB, but PZ Myers is one of the founding members so you could try enquiring though him, either by email, or via the latest iteration of the endless thread (which will almost certainly have moved on by the time you read this).
He seems to deal with a very high volume of correspondence though, so if you need a quick response maybe try another member.
I believe the Digital Cuttlefish was also a founding member so you could also enquire there.
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