Hostcentric - Grant

Did you sort out your FPE problems?

After 9 days of earbashing HostCentric I gave up in the end and just used FTP to upload the files. I figured if they couldn't get it right after 9 days, during which time they kept offering various excuses, they were probably never going to, and part-way through this process they deleted all my files which meant that our company web site was down for almost 3 full business days. I just couldn't afford to wait any longer while they fiddled around, so in the end told them to LEAVE IT ALONE and I used FTP

This is a real pity because when you have more than 200 pages on your web site, it's hard to keep track of which ones have changed. Not to mention uploading all the _overlay and _derived files when a Nav. Bar has changed

However, I don't anticipate needing the change the Navigation Structure too drastically in the next little while, so I've put it on the back burner for now. After talking to Kiwi Hosting (where Kate hosts this site), I've discovered that the FrontPage Server Extensions are in the process of being phased out there as well, effective mid-Jan next year [xx(][xx(]

Maybe the convenient days of using FrontPage to publish changes are in their dying throes and I will have to look at another solution. Someone suggested a Content Management System. Whichever way I look at it there is a lot of work involved so I will stick with FTP for as long as possible.

WHY OH WHY did they have to break something which has worked OK for the past 9 years???

It really p1sses me off

Hostcentric told me Frontpage has been/was being discontinued so I binned it. I had a problem with the weather data (updated every 10 secs)and Hostcentric advised:

'It is quite possible that the FTP update is causing the issue ... the system will only allow 5 ftp connections from the same account at the same time; perhaps a 30 second/1 minute update cycle would allow time for an FTP connection to be broken down.'

Now they tell me but I have worked around it.

I have bought myself an XHTML/CSS textbook from HTML Dog www.htmldog.com/ (good tutorial too) so will try doing it from the ground up rather than 'cutting and pasting'

quote:Originally posted by GBpeter

Hostcentric told me Frontpage has been/was being discontinued so I binned it...

Well I wish they had been just as honest with me instead of stringing me along for 9 days

During that whole debacle I used their "Live Chat" to try and get some sense out of them, but quickly realised that the people who staff Live Chat are just lackeys that can only read Support Tickets and relay information to the "Engineers".

The people on Live Chat could not even authorise a refund of the month's hosting charges without referring to the accounts people. I finally got one month's free hosting whoop-de-doo US$8.95 [xx(]

Service Standards at HostCentric have gone to the dogs I'm afraid. I guess I've just been lucky that nothing else has gone wrong in the past few months.

Agreed about Livechat but their 'techies' seem switched on.
Cheers

Grant

Did you switch to someone else?

It looks like I will need to as their server can't cope with multiple ftp threads without 'seizing up'.

I've no idea what their server is like as far as multiple FTP threads, but these guys have a major forum and a number of fair sized websites hosted... you could give them an email and ask Alan aout their hosting and server capabilities?

www.fishnhunt.co.nz/prism/index.htm

Grant, I use a neato little program for updating web sites, it does an ftp compare between the local (my newly updated pages), and the web set, and only uploads what I have changed.

www.superflexible.com

I also use it for scheduled backups, sequential backups, and for copying large groups of files. Better than windows, cos if it comes across a locked/active file, it keeps going and tries again later. Windows just chokes and stops.

quote:Originally posted by GBpeter

Grant

Did you switch to someone else?

No, still with HostCentric for now.

Our web site is going sweetly again, and Wyseyes has posted an excellent tip for a smart FTP program which will get around the lack of FrontPage Extensions.

Thanks for that, it sounds like just what I need next time I have some updates to do

quote:Originally posted by wyseyes

Grant, I use a neato little program for updating web sites, it does an ftp compare between the local (my newly updated pages), and the web set, and only uploads what I have changed.

www.superflexible.com

This is REALLY excellent, thanks Wyseyes

It's what I should have been using for ages to Sync. my laptop every time we leave the farm. Instead I've been doing it the hard way via Windows Explorer.

Once I've got the Profile set up it will be just one mouse click to get everything in sync. Awesome [8D]