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Philosopher King
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Re: Account Suspended?
« Reply #2 on: Jul 13th, 2004, 5:38pm » |
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Guys, I am here... barely. Regarding what's been up with FantasyFootballer.com and theEnglishMaster.com, I have been through hell and back. Jeff, Brad, I did get your phone messages yesterday when all this started. I was just too knee-deep and upset to "deal" (with more than I already had on my plate). Over these past 24+ hours, I have gone through the range of emotions      and, bottom line, I went, no, was forced to go to war  for "the Gridiron" (and the English Master) in the stupidest turn of events. I STILL am absolutely exasperated, frustrated, drained and VERY saddened and disgusted by what transpired here and with the colossal amount of time and energy wasted on "resolving"  all of this I do not have the energy to go through IT ALL now. Suffice it to say, it is some of the most f'ed up BS. If Bill, KillerKingSting, happens to come through, he can begin to divulge. He luckily got through to me on the phone today and knows the WHOLE deal.
Ultimately, as Bill and I discussed, when... if I do lay it out on the line, I may call upon you all to come together and as a group make an "effort" to help me defend "the Gridiron". That said, given the surrounding circumstances that caused this mess, I do/would NOT want the presentation of what happened to devolve into an inane, immaterial debate about SPAM. After what I have been put through over the past 24 hours, I wouldn't be able to handle it; it would be VERY hurtful to me, especially since "the core group" here groks the spirit of my efforts and knows my personal circumstances and M.O., AND, ultimately, it wouldn't get me or us anywhere (substantive). I've learned from this whole experience, BUT that (mere) fact does NOT even come close to justifying the actions deemed necessary and the measures taken by the parties I was dealing with. Bottom line, 1) what was done to me here and what resulted this time around doesn't even have to originate from an e-mail from me; it could stem from any e-mail containing a link to any of my sites, or, in a more likely scenario, a member of "the Gridiron" could do this to me when I send out those occasional e-mails to our members, and 2) the e-mail message that was "put into question" is not of the massive, completely untargeted, oftentimes automatically-generated, bulk SPAM that we all dislike. Point being, if you guys want to be let in on "it all", it is NOT going to be up for blah-blah-blah, la-di-da "discussion". I would be letting you in on "it all" as a rallying cry and if that is not how you think you are going to be willing to take it, i.e. get behind me 150%, I would rather just drop it. I already went through a 3-on-1 situation where NO ONE acted as my advocate. I am not about to put myself through more just for the hell of it. What happened is worth you all's knowing in detail, but ONLY in light of your love of the site(s) or, in other words, my efforts and the "spirit" and fruits of them.
So, given that, do you guys want to know all the gory details of what transpired over the last 24 hours or do you just want to let it go?
Bottom, bottom line, in the LONG RUN, our goal has to be to generate enough revenue (by way of both FantasyFootballer.com and theEnglishMaster.com) so that we can host the site(s) on our own and not have to go through an external web-hosting company, whose whims we are subject to.
I'll be back later tonight if I have the energy; if not, tomorrow.
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| « Last Edit: Jul 13th, 2004, 11:35pm by Stegfucius » |
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Re: Account Suspended?
« Reply #4 on: Jul 14th, 2004, 12:04am » |
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on Jul 13th, 2004, 5:38pm, StegRock wrote:Guys, I am here... barely. Regarding what's been up with FantasyFootballer.com and theEnglishMaster.com,
Suffice it to say, it is some of the most f'ed up BS. If Bill, KillerKingSting, happens to come through, he can begin to divulge. He luckily got through to me on the phone today and knows the WHOLE deal.
Ultimately, as Bill and I discussed, when... if I do lay it out on the line, I may call upon you all to come together and as a group make an "effort" to help me defend "the Gridiron". That said, given the surrounding circumstances that caused this mess, I do/would NOT want the presentation of what happened to devolve into an inane, immaterial debate about SPAM. After what I have been put through over the past 24 hours, I wouldn't be able to handle it; it would be VERY hurtful to me, especially since "the core group" here groks the spirit of my efforts and knows my personal circumstances and M.O., AND, ultimately, it wouldn't get me or us anywhere (substantive). I've learned from this whole experience, BUT that (mere) fact does NOT even come close to justifying the actions deemed necessary and the measures taken by the parties I was dealing with. Bottom line, 1) what was done to me here and what resulted this time around doesn't even have to originate from an e-mail from me; it could stem from any e-mail containing a link to any of my sites, or, in a more likely scenario, a member of "the Gridiron" could do this to me when I send out those occasional e-mails to our members, and 2) the e-mail message that was "put into question" is not of the massive, completely untargeted, oftentimes automatically-generated, bulk SPAM that we all dislike. Point being, if you guys want to be let in on "it all", it is NOT going to be up for blah-blah-blah, la-di-da"discussion". I would be letting you in on "it all" as a rallying cry and if that is not how you think you are going to be willing to take it, i.e. get behind me 150%, I would rather just drop it. I already went through a 3-on-1 situation where NO ONE acted as my advocate. I am not about to put myself through more just for the hell of it. What happened is worth you all's knowing in detail, but ONLY in light of your love of the site(s) or, in other words, my efforts and the "spirit" and fruits of them.
Bottom, bottom line, in the LONG RUN, our goal has to be to generate enough revenue (by way of both FantasyFootballer.com and theEnglishMaster.com) so that we can host the site(s) on our own and not have to go through an external web-hosting company, whose whims we are subject to.
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I am going to be very brief and basic about this because like Steg said, it's not worth the attention or time taken.
#1 = events that happened to shut down the Grid & English Master were not of Steg's control.
#2 = A unpatriotic canadian who dislikes the USA (web site cossett.net or .com click the canadian flag in upper left corner) was sent a link to englishmaster and instead of #1 = deleting the email which we all do; #2 = or responding back to be taken off an email list (like he was even on one to begin with ) ; #3 = he emailed spamcop.net or .com to report US.
#3 = SpamCop emailed Steg's Server Host and the server host shut us down.
#4 = SpamCop????? With employees that introduce themselves as "internet Deputys" - Really, this is a JOKE. And the Host of this server fears a "blacklist" if he doesn't respond to Deputy SpamCop.
This is a BIG RIDICULOUS JOKE.
#5 = We can rally to professionally tell all 3 of the contributing parties (SpamCop, Cossett, & the Host Server which I have now forgotten - get back w/ you all on that) how ridiculous this whole situation was as if WE are some type of internet threat to begin showing up in everyone's email box. And that they SHUT us down for this??? We are not even about that. What this site means to us extends through human bonds and friendships and common interests. And getting the right people in here to extend those friendships and bonds.
#6 = bottom line ~> it can happen AGAIN. We need to be of our own power and control. That is the MAIN focus here as it is actually something WE can do to better ourselves and get out from under the nit-picking CRAP we just went through.
It reminds me of a lot of the job positions that were created at the hospital I work at in that, these people are REALLY doing NOTHING in terms of the big picture that is making a difference. Shut us down for what? a link? As if we are some type of malignant disease amongst the endless correspondence and advertisements of internet sites?
You guys kow what we are here and it is FAR from that. Don't the Deputys of SpamPolice have scarier fish to fry? And the unpatriotic guy who reported us - he must have a LOT of time on his hands - no life. I guess in some small demented way, we were a threat to his canadian pride. And it gets even more ridiculous with the Host server fearing a BlackList.
What if this happened during the season?
Long term goal = get our own software and server and pitch in w/ Steg in order to do so.
thats it for now.
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| « Last Edit: Jul 14th, 2004, 12:06am by KillerKingSting » |
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*BEE BYE BOE BUM!!; I SMELL THE STENCH OF SOME INSANE PLAYER SCUM.
*2004 CHUMP-ION of Insane World!!!!!
*Domination of the DUKE BEEgins right here!
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Philosopher King
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Re: Account Suspended?
« Reply #5 on: Jul 14th, 2004, 1:21am » |
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on Jul 13th, 2004, 5:38pm, StegRock wrote:| So, given that, do you guys want to know all the gory details of what transpired over the last 24 hours or do you just want to let it go? |
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I have come to the conclusion that I am going to spare us all of going through this,... again for me. I will, however, probably eventually divulge the ultimate culprit, who single-handedly caused all this. Not tonight, though, because in doing so I will have to give some of the context, which I just do not feel like getting into tonight.
Quote:Bottom, bottom line, in the LONG RUN, our goal has to be to generate enough revenue (by way of both FantasyFootballer.com and theEnglishMaster.com) so that we can host the site(s) on our own and not have to go through an external web-hosting company, whose whims we are subject to. |
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Actually, as more information has come in on this, my "bottom, bottom line" there is not really the case (although for other reasons, it would be good to strive for). Ultimately, (as my "investigations" are turning up) how the (informal/private-sector) enforcement of the newly enacted "CAN-SPAM Act" is manifesting seems to (lend itself to the) blatant breach(ing of) antitrust laws (when it comes to big monolyth internet companies like Yahoo! or Earthlink which provide both internet access (act as an ISP) and web-hosting services, which simply does not fly with how the "CAN-SPAM Act" is being enforced within the private sector by the private sector by way of "blacklists" which are used by ISP's, i.e., in short, ISP's are the ultimate enforcer). Many small web-hosting companies like ours, Hostica.com, do not also act as ISP's and even those who do, like my local-yocal guy over on Highway 35 in Shrewsbury, NJ Net Internet, are so small that their "blacklisting" of IP's would really have no efficacy, so the small guys are at the mercy of the "big boys", who are essentially the (unchecked) authority in control. Where this trickles down to dudes like us is in the fact that the smaller the web-hosting company, the lower the threshold for SPAM complaints, i.e., whether FantasyFootballer.com, for example, is hosted at Hostica or the much more expensive Yahoo! would not affect the number of e-mails I would send out in the name of FantasyFootballer.com, BUT at Yahoo! I would have a MUCH, MUCH higher threshold, one that, knowing my practices, I would probably NEVER exceed, for receiving complaints before action would be taken, i.e. more leeway to SPAM. This would ultimately conduce the absorption of smaller companies by bigger ones. Anyway, there is MUCH more to this, but the bottom line is that it all amounts to a systemic legal advantage for the "big boys", which is an antitrust breach. What is going on here is kind of reminiscent of the basis of Netscape's successful antitrust suit against Microsoft regarding Microsoft's inclusion of Internet Explorer with the Windows operating system. I would venture to say what is going on here is WAY WORSE and MORE BLATANT!!!  How do I go about pursuing it all, though? 
Addendum/Clarification: this was being written, as I realized after posting, while KKS was writing his reply.
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| « Last Edit: Jul 14th, 2004, 1:30am by Stegfucius » |
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Philosopher King
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Re: Recent Downtime
« Reply #9 on: Jul 15th, 2004, 12:05am » |
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Guys, FIRST and FOREMOST, THANK YOU for ALL the support. You guys obviously know where my heart is at and I appreciate that.
Jeff, I have to regretfully admit that the e-mail that came into question was not one of those occasional e-mails I send out to members of my forum(s). The recently enacted "CAN-SPAM Act", http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877.html, is changing the landscape of "commerical" internet communications (as if my efforts can really be considered "commercial"), and what I sent is now considered "unsolicited commerical e-mail", a.k.a. UCE SPAM, (though it would not have been through December, 2003) and I did (unknowingly) break a couple of the specific terms of the Act. Before opening the "Let's Talk English" forum over at theEnglishMaster.com/Internetstitute.com, I NEVER made ANY telemarketing-type "cold e-mail contacts", never felt the need to. But, to get that forum off the ground quickly (preferably before heading off to graduate school when I will have much less time to put into my internet (ad)ventures) and knowing how I was going to go about it, i.e. not over the top, I felt that I needed to take that kind of route. I thought the way I was going about it, in a very targeted manner soliciting only to others in the EFL/ESL industry who would find my site useful, in fairly low quantities (MUCH less than the quantities mentioned in the Act), in a very friendly yet professional manner, referring ONLY to the ABSOLUTELY FREE forum (which as it is I plan to keep FREE), and to an international audience where who knows what laws apply, was okay (*and 198 appreciative members and hundreds more guests later it has been),... but I was wrong (wouldn't have been just 6 and a half months ago). However, technically, with this new, inchoate U.S. legislation, it doesn't matter anyway what kind of e-mail it was. What happened to me could potentially happen to any site by way of ANY e-mail containing a link to the site (but as I explain above it would be impossible to take down one of the "big boys" this way while quite easy to bring down one of the "little guys" like us). This is unfortunately why I will now also have to be VERY careful about even e-mailing the very members of my forums (in the way Jeff points out I... used to). Also, there are no two ways about it that this ONE guy who reported me is an uptight (Canadian) freak who needs to get a grip... and a life!
In a way, though, in hindsight, this guy inadvertently did me a favor. It was better that this happened now before fantasy football really kicks into gear and I am back in school. I had the time to deal with it and get it resolved in an expeditious manner, thus reducing the "cost" of it; given where I am right now in life, the stress of it all did not cause me to neglect (too many of) life's other necessities, and I learned A LOT.
Regarding all that I learned and sd's extra-supportive commentary (thanks SO MUCH,  sd), as I stated in my last post, hosting the site ourselves would actually NOT solve this problem though it is true, like anything in life, the more self-sufficient we are, the better off we are (which, especially in light of my political economic beliefs as per what I state on the "G.T.K.Y.G. - Topic: Politics" thread, is definitely part of what I am up to here both practically and philosophically). Now I know better. Doing that would actually make us smaller and paradoxically, as per my last post, a bigger target (as our threshold for being "blacklisted" would be even lower than it is now with Hostica). Mind you, this new, tightening cyber reality is part and parcel of this new legislation (which is part and parcel of assholes who abused their internet freedoms, which ironically includes some of those current "big boys", who in part became big by way of such abusive tactics). 
*(Guys, especially in light of all that has happened here and the fact that my hands are now quite tied with respect to trying to grow the "Let's Talk English" forum, I would love to get that member count to 200. So, if you have not yet gotten over there and signed up, I would REALLY appreciate it if you did. It is located at: http://www.internetstitute.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi. Thanks in advance to those who come through. )
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Re: Recent Downtime
« Reply #10 on: Jul 15th, 2004, 4:12am » |
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Well, working with the internet daily and such...I've never heard anything more ludicrous than this threat of a blacklist and this "SpamCop." It sounds like a load of bull, Steg, so maybe the eventual phasing into your own server/self sufficiency would be a good thing. And of course, I've got my experience and my father's, who has been doing computers since the mid 1960's, experience. So if you ever need help in the technical field, I'd be glad to assist.
Just personally I think maybe that's what you'd eventually want to do because any host that can be bullied like this is obviously a POS. And being our own server and such, the "threat of a blacklist" wouldn't mean much. No, the only threats I'd worry about are those from Microsoft or the government and this seems to be neither.
Just my 2 cents.
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| « Last Edit: Jul 15th, 2004, 4:15am by sexydexy » |
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Philosopher King
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Re: Recent Downtime
« Reply #11 on: Jul 15th, 2004, 1:19pm » |
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Okay, I'll let "the picture" start to fill itself in here...
I must admit (to all) that sexydexy is actually quite  with his assessment of things (including our web host) and the "ultimate" goal should be as he presents it.
sd, here's how spamcop.net's "blacklist" gets its efficacy (and then I want to hear your response (because as my gut told me from the get-go there is something  about ALL this))...
People... anyone can join spamcop.net and become a member. These members can then "file" a "spam complaint" on basically any e-mail they (subjectively) deem spam. The web host of the site the e-mail can be linked back to, usually by way of a link or links contained in the e-mail, is then contacted with this "raw, 'not investigated' complaint" made by this random, essentially anonymous Joe Blow through this privately-run, apparently self-proclaimed authority. The web host is now on alert and depending on their "record" and SIZE they may feel like they should take at least "some sort of" immediate action, like a mandatory 72-hour suspension of the "offending" site, which is now after this the official policy of Hostica (the smaller the web host, the more likely they are to feel bullied into acting immediately, i.e. upon receipt of this initial "raw, 'not investigated' complaint" made by this random, essentially anonymous Joe Blow through this privately-run, apparently self-proclaimed authority). Basically, then, bottom line, spamcop.net does their "investigation", at their own pace mind you unless someone basically innocent or at least unwittingly guilty freaks out like I did and hastens the process, and contacts the web host with their final (authoritative ) findings, i.e. that the complaint was erroneous or even malicious (very difficult to determine; they will probably very seldom admit to that (of one of their members)) or that the site owner made an innocent mistake and will take appropriate corrective measures henceforth (like me) and that a note should be made but the site should be reopened, or that this person is guilty of habitual spamming and should be shut down, etc., etc. My hosting company claims to me that when this happens most of the people just take off and quickly move to a different host because they are in fact habitual illegal spammers. In any event, the short of it is, get this, that the number of complaints needed to shut down a site is proportionate to the size of the host/hosting company. Since Hostica, our host, is small, hosted sites only get one strike; on the second strike, they're closed!!! This is because, again based on the size of Hostica, if they receive a third separate complaint via spamcop.net, spamcop.net will look upon it as if Hostica did not take "appropriate" action (read, "shut the site down") and will "blacklist" them. Actually, though, the host could even be "blacklisted" if Hostica did not temporarily suspend the offending site during spamcop.net's "investigation", i.e. even after just receiving that initial "raw, 'not investigated' complaint" made by this random, essentially anonymous Joe Blow through this privately-run, apparently self-proclaimed authority (this is what happened to me and this is why Hostica has now implemented this mandatory 72-hour suspension for any spamcop.net complaint). Now, you may be wondering...  So, who cares about this "blacklist"? Well, here's how it works... GET THIS... ISP's (and I think even search engines), like AOL, Earthlink, Yahoo!, et al., subscribe to these kind of "blacklists" AND WHOEVER IS ON THEM THEY MAKE UNAVAILABLE TO THEIR USERS, i.e., if Hostica were put on spamcop.net's "blacklist" and AOL was subscribing to it, which they probably are, Hostica and all of its sites would become unavailable to all AOL users. So, in other words, it is like spamcop.net is doing the "big boys'" dirty work (moreover, in the name of helping enforce the new "CAN-SPAM Act")!!! And, I wonder how AOL users feel about this practice!?!?
So, what's your take, sd,... all?
...
I have a pending e-mail in to spamcop.net further picking the agent's brain with whom I am dealing. She said she will not be able to get to it until maybe Friday. Perhaps I will share that will you all... I would actually like to share ALL of the e-mail correspondences with you all from beginning to end (in the hopes that there is an eager lawyer out there among you), but a part of me just wants to leave well enough alone, at least for now (I mean there are probably still a handful of these e-mails I sent out still floating around out there... What if I unbelievably, unluckily receive another complaint? So, actually, I am not completely "over" this yet and completely relieved of stress,  as if my little fantasy football and English education sites merit all this attention).
...
As much as people with computer know-how, we need some dudes with some legal know-how. 
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Re: Recent Downtime
« Reply #13 on: Jul 16th, 2004, 3:11am » |
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I spoke candidly to my father about this...explaining the situation and such.
You see, we are working with an East Coast company (we live in Hawaii, btw) and recently sent out thousands of emails to users who had given their emails to the site.
Now, Steg, unsolicited spam is unverisally known in the computer world as email sent out to people who haven't given their email address to your site directly or signed up here...meaning you would have had to used a data miner or bought data information from companies willing to sell email information to third parties.
I know that's not the case. Therefore, the guy who got the email MUST have gotten it because it was part of your database because he signed up on YOUR site. Since he willingly gave up his information to YOU, you can use it any way you see fit given the site structure although there is mostly a gentleman's agreement of the "remove me from the list" functions.
As for this SpamCop sending their info to Yahoo!, AOL, etc, I think that's BS. AOL and Yahoo! have sophisticated enough filters and PAY people to make pop up blockers and the like as such that they don't need a 3rd party like that to do their dirty work. They do it in house. No, SpamCop sounds like a vigilante group with good intentions but are really just screwing things up, as seen here.
I don't mean to put any pressure on this whole situation, Steg, but this Hostica is *REAL* crap. No real host would do such things. I would suggest switching as soon as you can and in the long run (or short term if you can generate enough money) you can buy a server or get a dedicated server with a host (more flexibility in hosting but not quite as autonomous as hosting your own).
Of course, there are details that would need to be worked out if FantasyFootballer were to get its own server so if you're going to do that, you'd need a few months to plan. But switching hosts shouldn't take too long and you can probably find one with similar prices to the one you have now that won't bend to this vigilante group's will.
If anything, what THEY are doing is illegal...it sounds like extortion since they don't have all the facts. You're in the right, Steg, and this is a ludicrous situation.
Everyone please feel free to email me at my personal email:
metallica@hawaii.rr.com
If you need any help with any technical issues or issues such as these, I'd be glad to assist and I'm hoping these matters can be resolved for the Gridiron as soon as possible.
Hope that's the reply you were looking for.
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Philosopher King
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Re: Recent Downtime
« Reply #14 on: Jul 16th, 2004, 4:48pm » |
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First off, sd, thanks for your consideration and input. It is MUCH appreciated!
on Jul 16th, 2004, 3:11am, sexydexy wrote:Now, Steg, unsolicited spam is unverisally known in the computer world as email sent out to people who haven't given their email address to your site directly or signed up here...meaning you would have had to used a data miner or bought data information from companies willing to sell email information to third parties.
I know that's not the case. Therefore, the guy who got the email MUST have gotten it because it was part of your database because he signed up on YOUR site. Since he willingly gave up his information to YOU, you can use it any way you see fit given the site structure although there is mostly a gentleman's agreement of the "remove me from the list" functions. |
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Regarding this part, you must have read too quickly through the part above in which I addressed this (specifically to Jeff). The person who made this complaint was NOT a member of my site (so he was technically in the right... kind of).  I, however, did not use any automated means like you mention to garner his e-mail address. I just did so "longhand", so to speak. For the whole story regarding that e-mail, refer to the second paragraph, which starts with "Jeff", of my second-to-last post above.
Quote:| If anything, what THEY are doing is illegal...it sounds like extortion since they don't have all the facts. You're in the right, Steg, and this is a ludicrous situation. |
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I do have a couple lawyer buddies looking this over. I look forward to hearing each of their determinations. Ironically, that SAME EXACT word came to my mind and lips when considering what spamcop.net is up to, "extortion".
Quote:| If you need any help with any technical issues or issues such as these, I'd be glad to assist and I'm hoping these matters can be resolved for the Gridiron as soon as possible. |
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Has been filed!  And, again, thank you for offering.
...
Lastly, eh-hem, dudes,...
on Jul 15th, 2004, 12:05am, StegRock wrote:| *(Guys, especially in light of all that has happened here and the fact that my hands are now quite tied with respect to trying to grow the "Let's Talk English" forum, I would love to get that member count to 200. So, if you have not yet gotten over there and signed up, I would REALLY appreciate it if you did. It is located at: http://www.internetstitute.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi. Thanks in advance to those who come through. ) |
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Philosopher King
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Re: Recent Downtime
« Reply #18 on: Jul 17th, 2004, 4:25pm » |
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I did not know I was to tailor my posts here on "the Gridiron" to first-graders (as if, in this particular case, the issues discussed herein can be accurately expressed with first-grade vocabulary and grammar). ... Somehow the joke always ends up being on me, right? Forgive me if I am a little bit testy on this particular thread.
Actually, paying attention to the specific question and "getting it right" and responding in an appropriate, responsive manner (on the parts of Hostica and Spamcop, e.g.) is something that has only increased the colossal amount of time wasted and added to the absolute frustration of all this. Sometimes it astounds me that people even get from A to B. Or, do people? Is it A to somewhere they've come to accept as roughly B and then clean up the mess that is eventually, inevitably created later without really considering the headaches and heartache that will likely be incurred, moreover, by unsuspecting third parties during that clean-up? ... This doesn't just apply to the business world, either, actually. Anyway,... it's just that I don't feel too "jokey" on this particular thread, especially when the joke is at my expense.
...
For those of you that the above was too difficult to follow...
See Dick run.
Jane is playing with a "Speak-and-Spell". Mary is playing with an "Etch-a-Sketch". They are having fun.
5 times 5 is 25.
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Philosopher King
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Re: Recent Downtime
« Reply #19 on: Jul 17th, 2004, 7:00pm » |
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Case in point, regarding the point of my post above,...
I sent the following e-mail to Hostica regarding a VERY legitimate concern (that concerns ALL of US) stemming from this whole "event":
Dear Jay,
Thank you once again for your help this week with resolving that "spam" matter expeditiously. Though I do not anticipate any problems in the future, I am still kind of freaked out about what happened and the ultimately tenuous circumstances I now feel I exist under, especially based on already having one strike against me, and I do have one more IMPORTANT concern. While my account was suspended, I did not have FTP access to my sites and I could not receive e-mails. As I have message-board forums at both of my sites, one of them is actually built around a forum, the former concerns me greatly because at any given moment I do NOT have my sites completely backed up. The latter is of obvious great concern, period. So, my question is... If something ever did come to pass that would cause my account to be terminated (without prior notice), which, granted, I do NOT expect on my part, but now I know that someone else could cause that, and understand that it's just that I am a bit hypersensitive right now and want to make sure ALL loose ends are tied up, would I for a period of time be granted FTP access to my account so I could download pages I want/need and be able to download my e-mail? To me, this is a VERY important issue that will determine what "moves" I may or may not need to consider.
Thank you for your anticipated response, Jay. You've been a great help to me and I ultimately do appreciate the services Hostica.com has provided me for three years now. I am...
...Sincerely,
Steve Stegeman
theEnglishMaster.com & FantasyFootballer.com
His "unresponsive"  reply:
as far as I know you already have ftp access to everything. but I will pass this onto support to explain how you should be able to backup even the databases.
Jay
My reply:
Jay,
Your response was, well,... not really responsive to my specific query. Yes, I have complete access to my account and files right now. I know that.
Please, when you have the time, peruse my original e-mail, which is attached below, again and answer the specific question I am asking. There is no rush. I just want an appropriate, responsive response. Thank you.
Steve Stegeman
The ABSOLUTELY retarded response (to the original e-mail) I received just today from their "support" team:
Hello,
FTP access is currently available; with FTP access, you can download your website files as necessary. If you need your FTP login information resent to you, that can be taken care of. In addition, you can use the Webshell3 file manager from within your account to download a backup of your website files. In Webshell3, the "Archive" function will allow you to download a file containing a complete backup. For backing up MySQL databases, the phpMyAdmin interface is available. To log into phpMyAdmin:
1) log into your account with us
2) click on MySQL server
3) click on the phpMyAdmin link
4) log in with your database username / password
After logging in, click on the export link. You can export the database as a plain-text .sql file (which can be imported later), or compress it in a zipfile, or other compressed formats.
Thank You
----------
Chris
Hostica.com
 ...
sexydexy should be laughing his ass off right now. I mean... Are you fucking kidding me? This is a simple "introduction to the system" e-mail you'd send out to a newbie client. I mean we got miscommunication, the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, etc., etc., going on here. It's like watching the    . It's malpractice. Pay attention and do your fuckin' jobs right! Don't create more work by constantly getting it wrong and causing us all to go in circles! And, mind you, this is NOT a new experience for me, and not just with Hostica. There seems to be industrywide incompetence.
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Philosopher King
of Fantasy Football
Site Administrator
GBRFLer
Champ - '94, '99, '02, '04
I love ''the Gridiron''!
Posts: 19699
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Re: Recent Downtime
« Reply #20 on: Jul 19th, 2004, 9:45pm » |
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Spinning off or should I say "out of"  my last post, here is Hostica Jay's latest brief, incompetent response (to my second e-mail in the post above):
I will forward your request to support. I do not know how to back up a
database.
Jay
My reply (also cc-ed to their "support" team):
Hi, Jay!
First off, let me jog your memory. This is Steve Stegeman of theEnglishMaster.com and FantasyFootballer.com. I went through that baloney with spamcop.net last week and my question peripherally regards that situation.
My question has absolutely nothing to do with backing up databases. It has nothing to do with databases, period. It has to do with FTP access to my sites and e-mail access to e-mails sent to addresses in connection with my sites IF MY ACCOUNT WERE EVER TO BE SUSPENDED AGAIN or, heaven forbid, TERMINATED (which I do not expect to ever happen, but am right now a bit sensitive about given last week's lame series of events).
I am looking forward to my query's finally being specifically addressed.
Sincerely,
Steve Stegeman
theEnglishMaster.com & FantasyFootballer.com
Oh my, huh? 
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