Arch Rival Lunarpages - Squatter Ads On 404!

So Lunarpages has started placing domain squatter looking error pages onto their customers websites.

Example can be seen here:

http://www.isarapix.com/pix56/1191866359.gif

They say that this is to help cover the costs of their program that offers free hosting to schools. Look it over real good though... it acts as if YOUR domain is endorsing this crap, and the tread of customer revolt has been removed from an already hidden from the public section of their forum.

Contrast that with Dreamhost, who offers free hosting to ANY non-profit org (and when DH had more than one package it was their highest one that was given too!) and allows any and all criticism to be voiced openly without censorship... oh, and uses STANDARD Apache error pages... rather than hijacking their users traffic to finance their "charitable" offerings.

Thank you Dreamhost, for providing what is showing more and more to be a true oasis within the web hosting world!

Haha, ya Lunarpages continues, seemingly at least, to just find lower and dirtier ways to screw over everyone as time goes on. Customers and rivals alike.

Go Go Gadget DreamHost!

It's pretty pathetic either way... but is that just default that can be overridden, or is it forced no matter what?

I can't remember who it was, but another host was getting noise for that not too long ago--but if I remember correctly, you could still override it with your own pages.

Yeah, their customers can create custom errors and bypass it, but realistically speaking, how many will even know that this has been done?

I have a friend with a wedding video site hosted with them, and had I not told him (which REALLY pissed him off too) he would have probably never known... and that's who they are PREYING on (and PRAYING for!).

Any way you slice it is is downright scummy... it would be one thing if it were adsense ads or something (still not cool, but another thing, no doubt)... but they have it set up to look like it was done and endorsed by the domain holder.

They know it's scummy too, or they wouldn't have deleted the thread on their forum (which had already been moved from public view to a hidden section).

Speaking of the hidden section... it is the reviews/feedback section, which one must have 10 posts to view... how is someone completely new and looking into the service going to benefit from reviews?

I wish Dreamhost would STOMP THEIR ASSES in some basketball or dodgeball!

Whoa, this isn't going to be pretty for Lunarpages.

I thought they were supposed to be decent. Is this their first bad move?

In reply to:

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Is this their first bad move?

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No. Their first bad move was an amusing attempt to block the employment by DreamHost of a former Lunarpages employee.


-- si-blog --

No, Lunarpages has made several really poor decisions recently. They recently tripled the number of sales required to get an affilate payment and made the policy retroactive. They changed their TOS only AFTER complaints of unauthorized use of clients registered domain names to allow themselves permission to link to ANY site or service using their clients domain name. Their support has gone so far downhill that contacting them is a total waste of time, you are better off hoping the problem clears of it's own accord.

Well I'm in the process of moving from them after I found you guys.

I'm actually FTPing my one of my old sites right now :)

If all goes well after a few months, I'll be moving the rest over.

welcome to our happy dream host!

I'm a Looserpages subscriber myself at the moment. Unfortunatlely I moved over there about Sept 10 or such. My wif has had a domain since September 2004 and when I was at ipoowerweb I was merely a subdoming of her as in vernsdidj.scottieluvr.com Now, ironically as it turns out, HER site is actually a Add-On domain or sub domain of vernsdidj.com over at the LP site. When I set it up they set me up as the main domain so I was registered with tucows registar on September 10 of 2007, so I am at their mercy for what.. 60 days from 9-10-07? Scottieluvr.com was registerd at tucows on Sept 30, 2004 as a Birthday gift to my wife. It was registered and hosted by ipowerweb, and it got transferred over with LP around the next week. Is it available for hosting on LP? I've a notion to transfer the domain name registraion only back to ipowerweb where I have several other domains I have registerd with them for a year. I love the domain servicing area of tucows and is very easy to enable/disable the lock on the domain when it's from ipowerweb. Not so with LP I had to call to get the domain freed up (unlocked).

Anyway, I thought it was illegal to change something like the 404 error pages without notification first and then anyone who was already a customer should have been given the "right" to allow or disallow them to do it under the Grandfather clause. After they change the TOS, then any new user would have to resolve that themseleves, but they would have had the opportunity to see what it was about before hand and make steps to change the error pages themselves.

Honestly, I have always been able to get ahold of tech support on the phone. I use their toll free number to call them, and I just wait.... and wait... but on their dime.

I'm looking forward to Dream host, just have a few questions and won't go further in here, but will start another thead about the matter.



Cheers!
Vern
http://vernsdidj.com didgeridoo info and more

You've described the chain of events that led me to leave Lunarpages also. It wasn't an easy decision, since my current contract ends in July next year. However, seeing as how support has gone downhill (with the exception of the people I know and used to work with at LP) and Lunarpages' disrespect toward customers with this custom error pages fiasco, I felt it was time to jump off the ship before it sunk even further. I already had custom error pages so this change didn't affect me technically, but it and the lack of communication of it was indicative of LP's attitude and it bothered me greatly. Not to mention the deleting and censorship and outright banning of forum members who have given so much to the community.

"I've a notion to transfer the domain name registraion only back to ipowerweb where I have several other domains I have registerd with them for a year"

Take note that ipowerweb isn't much of a company anymore either... they were bought out by the webhosting borg Endurance, which also owns powweb. They are infamous for buying out hosts and screwing over existing customers who leave in DROVES soon thereafter... I was once one of them.

In reply to:

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You've described the chain of events that led me to leave Lunarpages also.

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It's got to be difficult to have a relationship with a host you have enjoyed deteriorate to the point where you feel you need to leave.

I became aware of the "custom error pages fiasco" while doing some development work on behalf of a Lunarpages customer.

I'll admit that I was pretty shocked when I saw what they had done (after borking a url), and I went to the read the whole Lunarpages TOS. Wow. Frankly, it's a TOS I could not agree to, and not soley because of the error page issue (though that *is* a huge problem with me).

Sections 6.1 and 6.2 (under section 6 "6 OWNERSHIP OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY; CONFIDENTIALITY") are also absurd.

Read literally, 6.1 precludes you from allowing access to the services to a developer you hire to help you ("You further agree not to provide access to the Lunarpages services to any third party.")

6.1 also could be construed to prevent you from sharing "workaround", 'methodolgoes for using the service, and "fixes" with others (" Any and all right or title to any engineering, coding, programming or customer service work around or other modification of the Lunarpages service shall also remain the sole property or Lunarpages.")

6.2 is just as onerous, in my opinion:

"...you may have access to certain information and materials relating to the Lunarpages business, customers, software technology and marketing which Lunarpages treats as confidential (hereinafter "Confidential Information"). You agree to at all times during the term of this agreement and otherwise as set forth herein: (i) hold in confidence, and not disclose or reveal to any person or entity, any "Confidential Information" without the express prior written consent of Lunarpages; and (ii) not use or disclose any of the "Confidential Information" for any purpose at any time, other than pursuant to your rights under this agreement for the purpose intended."

This puts the burden on *you* to determine what information "Lunarpages treats as confidential (hereinafter "Confidential Information).", as it is not specified what, precisely that information is. To my way of thinking, any information they allow a customer to have is, by its very nature, *not* "confidential". And get this part: those "restrictions" (whatever they may be, outlive your association with the service - "These obligations shall continue indefinitely for so long as the Confidential Information is a trade secret under applicable law and shall continue for three (3) years following termination of this Agreement with respect to Confidential Information, which does not rise to the level of a trade secret." Really! Trying to suppress free discussion of an ex-customer's experiences with the service here, are we?

Section 9.1 (under "9.0 INFORMATION USAGE AND COMMUNICATIONS") is way too broad for me; I'd like to see *some* qualification as regarding the circumstances under which they can share my information ("including but not limited to your account information, dates of service, billing address, billing records, usage statistics, site statistics, services purchased, domain name purchases, correspondence to or from Lunarpages concerning you or your account, or other information which in Lunarpages sole judgment is reasonable"). Wow. The rest of the verbiage makes it clear they can release whatever information they want to whomever they want for any reason they want. Hey, it's their right to do business the way they want, and at least they are honest about it, but I could never go for that.

In reply to:

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It wasn't an easy decision, since my current contract ends in July next year.

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Actually, from the way I read their TOS, they claim that *much* of your "contract" might last a lot longer!

"11 SURVIVAL

Sections 1, 3 through 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, and 15 through 21, inclusive, of this agreement shall survive the termination of this agreement and shall remain in full force and effect after any such termination. "

I'm wondering if they used the same legal counsel to prepare their TOS as they use for certain other legal work? I see what looks to me to be a lot of the same thinking evidenced in their TOS as was evidenced by another recent "brilliant" legal tactic ("The Gloves Are Off").

At any rate, welcome to DreamHost, and to these forums!

--rlparker

In reply to:

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Sections 1, 3 through 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, and 15 through 21, inclusive, of this agreement shall survive the termination of this agreement and shall remain in full force and effect after any such termination. "

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What a load of old cobblers! There is no way they can enforce their TOS, in whole or in part, after you have ended your association with them.


-- si-blog --

In reply to:

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What a load of old cobblers! There is no way they can enforce their TOS, in whole or in part, after you have ended your association with them.

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Well, that would be my thinking also; I don't think most courts would give that section any validity.

That doesn't mean they might not try to "RIAA/MPAA" your ass, and make you spend time, money, and aggravation defending a ridiculous claim.

Like I said, I could never go for that TOS.

--rlparker
(singing out load, "Send lawyers, guns, and money...")

"Frankly, it's a TOS I could not agree to"

And neither did their existing customers... the TOS was CHANGED to that AFTER the discovery of this whole thing resulted in an outcry on their forums (which was silenced soontherafter). People in the now gone thread were wondering out loud about the legality of the move, and suddenly the TOS "addressed" it for them.

In reply to:

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And neither did their existing customers... the TOS was CHANGED to that AFTER the discovery of this whole thing resulted in an outcry on their forums

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Again, "Wow." It's really kinda hard to believe a company would shoot themselves in the head like that, but it *does* happen!

--rlparker

I've been on Dreamhost for a year (after being on 1and1). I left 1and1 because they went down quite a bit and when I spoke with someone there, they assured me that the last time I was down was 6 months earlier for 2 minutes (while I was on the phone my site was down). Dreamhost has been down just as much, if not more, but they have the decency to tell us.

Anyway, like all the loudmouths who were threatening to leave, I started my research on hosts I can go to. I found a site which seemed like a good place to start: http://www.webhostingjury.com/

The reviews for Dreamhost rang true, as did those for 1and1. So, I felt good I found a good review site. Lunarpages is way at the top.

But, my next search was for "lunarpages sucks". My oh my. And you think PayPal has it bad. Anyway, a search for "lunarpages reviews" comes up with tons of sites, most of which seem to be affiliated with lunarpages. Which makes me wonder about webhostingjury.

Anyway, I've concluded the following:
1. You can't figure out who's impartial, or at least "fair and balanced" (other than Papa Bear himself of course... just ask him)

2. All web hosts are not good, and it's just a matter of where in the scale of "not good" to "truly terrible" they are

3. If you have to choose, don't bother with one where there is no forum for customers/potential customers, or there is censorship

Which leaves me still here.

One thing about the staff at Dreamhost is at least they seem like decent people.


Edited by tmasc on 10/11/07 11:23 AM (server time).