I am definitely one of those on that list of novices, for now. My stressful experiences before successfully setting up this blog site convinced me of that factual reality.
The following post catalogs, more or less, my memorable time spent searching for the right solution to my desire for owning a domain name of my very own.
That stridently urgent desire was piqued by the summary deletion of my second oldest blog without any warning or apparent reason.
It left me wondering where and how I went wrong writing about my daughter and any other topic that I took a fancy to. That blog was featured on “Blogged” and had the same template as this one.
Anyway, even till now, I do not know whether it was deleted for any of four reasons or more. Was it that my daughter’s second birthday picture was not good enough? That was my last post there.
Could it be that the US INS asked that the blog be taken down because I had written about the problems immigrants would be facing soon, as soon as the INS had updated its computers with new systems and its personnel through new recruitment and intensive training?
Would I be right in assuming also that it was probably “removed” because I had written a little bit unflatteringly about the parents of missing little Madeleine McCann?
Or, should I think that a pesky Adbrite ad that kept blocking the entire blog – and could only be removed by clicking on “Skip this ad” or so – could be responsible for my plight?
Whatever it was, you can imagine how badly affected I had been at the time because I can only now write about the harrowing experience a bit more dispassionately.
So, that got me wishing for something more than free blog sites online, a search that has me safely ensconced now on my own domain – paid for lock, stock and barrel. The journey follows.
Yahoo:
Before that, I was in the middle of downloading the new-and-still-free Yahoo Sitebuilder 2.5 wonder software when I realized that I must also use it in conjunction with one of the rather steeply priced Yahoo web hosting plans.
Startlogic:
So, I decamped from Yahoo and went for Startlogic instead. I had used a web host ranking website to select the second-highest ranked web host from an onscreen list.
That was because I recalled my father once told me never to “to do anything to the extreme, max out anything, set anything to the maximum value, or do anything too low even when provoked.”
My next surprise was the overcoming the hurdle of finding out that my already-purchased domain name was really registered by Tucows!
I learned later on that Tucows and Startlogic are actually business partners, just like Blogger and GoDaddy.
Here too, I realized that I had to have FTP Client software installed in order to use the Startlogic server for publishing anything at all to my new domain on the Net – it was actually registered as a .com domain, not .net.
That revelation got me searching for suitable-but-free software and downloading Mozilla’s FileZilla as fast as I could.
Then came the following fascinating conversation series recorded between FileZilla client and the Startlogic server after I created a short test file for publication.
This could very easily befuddle an unwary layperson:
{ Status: Resolving IP-Address for xxxxxxxxxxxx.startlogic.com
Status: Connecting to 66.96.134.69:21...
Status: Connection established, waiting for welcome message...
Response: 220 STARTLOGIC FTP Server ready
Command: USER Administrator
Response: 331 Password required for Administrator
Command: PASS ******
Response: 530 Login incorrect.
Error: Could not connect to server
Status: Resolving IP-Address for xxxxxxxxxx.startlogic.com
Status: Connecting to 66.96.134.69:21...
Status: Connection established, waiting for welcome message...
Error: Connection timed out
Error: Could not connect to server
Status: Waiting to retry...
Status: Resolving IP-Address for xxxxxxxxxxxxx.startlogic.com
Status: Connecting to 66.96.134.69:21...
Status: Connection established, waiting for welcome message...
Response: 220 STARTLOGIC FTP Server ready
Command: USER xxxxxxxxx
Response: 331 Password required for xxxxxxxxx
Command: PASS **************
Response: 230 User xxxxxxxxxxx logged in
Command: SYST
Response: 215 UNIX Type: L8
Command: FEAT
Response: 211-Features:
Response: MDTM
Response: REST STREAM
Response: SIZE
Response: 211 End
Status: Connected
Status: Retrieving directory listing...
Command: PWD
Response: 257 "/" is the current directory
Command: TYPE I
Response: 200 Type set to I
Command: PASV
Response: 227 Entering Passive Mode (66,96,134,69,180,53)
Command: LIST
Response: 150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for file list
Response: 226 Transfer complete
Status: Calculating timezone offset of server...
Command: MDTM .membership
Response: 550 .membership: Forbidden command argument
Status: Directory listing successful
Response: 421 No transfer timeout (300 seconds): closing control connection
Error: Disconnected from server }
That was on April 3rd, 2008. Next, I checked my Startlogic Control Panel and the URL of my new domain name.
How long it took me to sign in to the Control Panel us better left unsaid. Suffice it to say that it must have had something to do with my relatively slow dial-up Internet access.
Setting up the e-mail client via Thunderbird was a waking nightmare. No setting seemed to work for me at all.
In addition, trying to use Startlogic’s touted new Page Creator feature for my domain was like a conversation between two deaf mutes: the feature was practically inaccessible because it took so long to load and the Startlogic website continually timed out my attempts to login.
After all that rigmarole, nothing had happened on my still-blank ‘website’ and there was no sign at all of the location of the test file uploaded earlier on.
That confirmation started a series of dialogue-by-e-mail between Startlogic and yours truly. See them below:
[Please downgrade my Prologic Account to Basic Membership because I want to manage it myself.
Please help me to point the domain name - www.xxxxxxx.com - and other DNS settings to my free blog - http://xxxxxxx.blogspot.com - on Google's Blogger platform.
I understand that Google Blogger's 'Alias' is "gh.google.com".
I need you to effect these changes ASAP so that all traffic to http://xxxxxxx.blogspot.com will now point to my domain name at www.xxxxxxx.com.
In addition, if the domain renewal for two years will be $13.5, please charge me the said sum via my credit card.
Thanks for working successfully on the slow dial-up access problem to your website.
Why I am cancelling? Well, mostly because the FTP publishing and website creation procedures and processes are a bit overwhelming for me right now.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi, Gabriela Dyer.
Thank you for your help. Did just what you said and got a file uploaded through FileZilla yesterday.
I use a dial-up Internet access. I have been unable to log into the FileManager on your website. Same for the CM4all Website creator.
I keep getting the error:
[Error: Host Not Accessible
The web host members.startlogic.com is not accessible.
Possible sources of this error:
* The host name is invalid
* There was a DNS error
* The web site may be unavailable
* You may not be connected to the internet
Please edit the URL, or search for it using Google.
Google Web Accelerator version 0.2.93.116-pintail.a
Windows XP 5.1]
What did you mean by "....So that we will able
> to downgrade your account and refund the unused
> portion of the amount to your credit card."?
How much would the 'unused portion' be worth and what exactly is a downgrade to a 'basic' package?
Just curious. I was under the impression that my deal was for a 30-day money back guarantee when I signed up.
I would still want to keep the already registered domain name.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: xxxxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com
From: support@startlogic-inc.com Add Mobile Alert
Subject: xxxxxxxxx / Unable to Log into the Account and Web Site [C04845087006775882]
Date: Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:29:13 -0400
Hello,
Thank you for getting back to us.
We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you. I have checked
your account and was able to log into your account ‘xxxxxxxxx’. I
have sent the account login information to your account Administrative
e-mail address xxxxxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com.
I have checked your Web site http://xxxxxx.com/ and noticed that you
have not uploaded any files under public_html folder. Hence, you are
unable to access your Web site. You can upload the files to your Web site
using FTP and FileManager.
In order to upload files using FTP, please follow the steps given
below:
1. FTP host address: xxxxxxxx.startlogic.com
2. FTP username: your FTP username.
3. FTP password: your FTP password.
4. Port: 21
5. Default Directory: /public_html
If you wish to downgrade your account to basic, please get back to us
with the answer for the Security Question ‘What city were you born
in?’ set in your account ‘xxxxxxx’. So that we will able to
downgrade your account and refund the unused portion of the amount to your
credit card.
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.
We are available 24x7.
Sincerely,
Gabriela Dyer
Customer Support
====================================================
> Thanks for the feedback, Stan Price. Since yesterday
> in the afternoon till now, I have been unable to log
> onto your site and into my account.
> I was able to take a screen shot of my account
> statement in the morning yesterday (my time: GMT+1):
> the surplus charge of $83.40 had been removed (its
> status had been marked 'pending').
> My old screenshot of the account before yesterday is
> also still available. Each screenshot file is a full
> screen page and 32 MB in size, so I cannot include
> them as attachments for your information in this
> e-mail.
> With regard to your e-mail statement quoted below:
> [Please note that, amount can only be refunded when
> > account is cancelled or down graded.]
> Kindly cancel my account or downgrade it immediately
> for my refund ASAP. Thank you.
>
--- support@startlogic-inc.com wrote:
> Hello xxxxxxx,
> Thank you for getting back to us.
> I have checked http://xxxxxxx.com/ and it is loading
> fine. It is showing blank because no Web site
> content are uploaded.
> Your domain is registered with TuCows. We are
> resellers for TuCows. Hence, any information
> regarding the domain should flow through us.
> Our records show that, we have charged your credit
> cord $59.40 for Prologic Hosting Plan on March 25,
> 2008 and $12.95 for Site Backups and Restore on the
> same date. We have not charged your credit card for
> $80. If you had such charges from StartLogic, please
> fax over a copy of the credit card statement(s)
> showing those charges. The statements would need to
> reflect either the credit card number or the first 4
> and last 4 digits of the credit card(s) number as
> well. This information can be faxed to 781-998-8340.
> Please include the below information in your fax.
> Cardholder Name
> E-mail address
> Billing address (street, city, state, country and
> zip code) Credit
> Card Number Credit Card Type
> Please note that http://xxxxxxx.startlogic.com/
> is account URL. Any domain added to the account, by
> default reflects the contents of account URL. While
> uploading or publishing, it gets published or
> uploaded to the account it self.
> Please note that, we are a Web hosting company and
> unfortunately, we do not edit customer's Web site or
> assist our customers with Web site creation. Hence,
> you need to contact a Web site designer regarding
> this issue. However, we work with a number of
> skilled Web Developers who can help you to create or
> edit a Web site. You can learn more about the
> various Web Designers we support at:
> http://www.startlogic.com/reseller/webDesigners.bml
> .
> Further, we provide tools for building Web site like
> CM4all.
> Please note that, amount can only be refunded when
> account is cancelled or down graded.
> If you have any further questions, please don't
> hesitate to contact us. We are available 24x7.
>
> Sincerely,
> Stan Price
> Customer Support
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Thank you ror responding, Prescott Kelly.
> > At first, it was impossible to login, especially
> on the second day - my computer failed to connect to
> your server each time and my 'prinbin.com' domain name
> was just a blank page.
> > Then, when I finally was able to login, navigating
> > your website was difficult and I could not understand
> > why 'Tucows' should be the registrar for my domain
> > name, which I applied for through 'startlogic'.
> >
> > Thirdly, yesterday, I discovered that I had been
> > billed twice for 'prologic hosting' service - one for
> > about $60 and the second for about $80!
> > In addition, I could not understand why I was
> > 'publishing on xxxxxxxx.startlogic.com' instead
> of 'xxxxxxx.com'.
> > Now, I'm learning that I must upload some files
> first before something or anything happens? I give up.
> >
> > All I wanted to do was pay for a ready made hosted
> > website that would enable me to blog about the
> things I love on my own domain name without the hassle of
> a free blog.
> > I hope you understand now why I've lost interest
> and want a refund? Thanks.]
All that I can say is, “Thank God for whoever invented the idea of a 30-day money-back guarantee in commerce!”
To make a really long story short, I got a full refund only because I had requested it a day after my credit card account had been debited $73, which was the amount for the hosting service, a WHOIS data privacy service called something like “domain registration data masking”, and the domain name.
Whatever the case, I must commend Startlogic for working fast to correct my inability to log onto their website for most of the time I was in contact with them, presumably due to their settings not being compatible with my slow dial-up Internet access.
However, I did not like the fact that new customer service personnel handled each of my complaints on the same topic. That is not all, by the way. There is still a bit more to be said.
Squarespace:
Then, I tried the exquisitely software engineered Squarespace! Fantastic set up but the price was not right for me.
Why would I pay $7 every month without even having my own domain to show for it, unless I paid even more? That was what I asked myself, as I was about to register for an account there.
I should thank Squarespace for their policy of asking an interested registrant to try out their premium service before paying.
Finally, I had to let go totally when I discovered that their own independent web hosting partner had actually admitted hosting their own blog on Blogger!
Bugger-bummer bum rap, buddy! So, I am here now really loving every minute of Blogger for the right fee for my already stressed pocket book.
Stumble It!
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