This is where I will try to answer some frequently asked questions, so please check here before emailing me.
1) Who are you? Why are you doing this?
2) What is a subdomain?
3) How do I access my new website? What is FTP?
4) Can you explain [insert programming language] to me?
5) Will you build my site for me?
6) What is the difference between a forwarded and a pop3/webmail email address?
7) How much space/bandwidth do you offer?
8) My site will be huge/have a lot of visitors - how can I help you out?
9) What kinds of files/scripts are allowed?
10) What should I do if I want a blog/news tool on my site?
11) You agreed to host me x months ago, but I didn't build my site - now it is gone! What happened?
12) I went to check on my site - and it has disappeared! What happened?
13) Is there somewhere I can go when my site/the domain I'm hosted on is down (and therefore your email doesnt work)?
14) Why do you host sites about men kissing other men? R U sik?
15) [Insert name of random actor/popstar] is not gay! How dare you suggest that he is!?!
Who are you? Why are you doing this?
I'm a Swiss fan in her early 30s, who got into the internet and various fandoms in a serious way a couple of years ago. After a while I started collecting domains like others collect stamps and soon hosted some of my friends, because all that webspace was going to waste. Then I found that it's not that much more expensive to move to a bigger account and decided to offer hosting to anyone who's tired of free servers and wants pretty urls. More about me can be found on my personal domain.
What is a subdomain?
'Subdomain' is what they call a sub-page of a domain. It's the you part in you.domain.net, and you'll need to tell what you'd like it to be when you apply for hosting. It will then be the url to your site, either in the form of http://you.domain.net or as http://domain.net/you. Both kinds work.
How do I access my new website? What is FTP?
FTP is 'File Transfer Protocol' and is used to upload files to your website. For this you will have to download an FTP client (like Leech for Windows or Transmit for Mac) and log into your account using the ftp information I send you in your acceptance email. Free FTP clients: Windows | Mac.
I personally am on a Mac and using Cyberduck.
Can you explain [insert programming language] to me?
Chances are, I can't. I write my own html and a bit of PHP, but don't code my own scripts, because I simply don't know enough. Almost everything that needs MySQL I've downloaded as finished scripts. A good place for these is Codegrrl.com - or just use Google, as there are a ton of script repositories out there.
There are many useful tutorials out there, if you need to figure out how a certain language works. Some examples: Lissa Explains It All (html), Web Shoppe (html, css, javascript, php,...)
Will you build my site for me?
Sorry, but no - I just don't have time for that. You'll have to build your site yourself. I don't care if you write your own code or use one of the many many available web editors, so I'm sure you can put together something nice.
What is the difference between a forwarded and a pop3/webmail email address?
A forwarder will send all email sent to yourusername@domain.net to an already existing email address. A pop3 account allows you to access your mail with an email client like Outlook or via your browser.
How much space/bandwidth do you offer?
That's not to easy to say, because I've got all my domains hosted on the same account, but DreamHost is very generous with both space and bandwidth, so I don't foresee any issues on that front any time soon.
My site will be huge/have a lot of visitors - how can I help you out?
How nice of you to ask... If you'd like to contribute to the upkeep of my sites, feel free to paypal me some money at webmistress {AT} shirasade.net. It'll be greatly appreciated! Another thing you could do is get your own webhosting, which doesn't have to be expensive - I personally am quite happy with DreamHost. :)
What kinds of files/scripts are allowed?
Basically you can upload anything you want to your account, as long as it's legal. I just ask that you don't use it for just storage and don't upload more than a couple of mp3s. Not only is the contribution of copyrighted material illegal and could get me in trouble, you could also easily overwhelm the allotted space with files that are too big.
What should I do if I want a blog/news tool on my site?
I won't explain how to use a blogging tool, whether for a weblog or to post news to your site. There are too many tools out there and I just don't have the time. I'd recommend trying out Blogger, which you can integrate in your site quite simply, or WordPress, which is the easiest fully featured blogging tool around. It requires MySQL, so let me know that you'll need access to a database. You can find tutorials for both.
You agreed to host me x months ago, but I didn't build my site - now it is gone! What happened?
Well, I made a big clean out, contacting everyone with hosting accounts that hadn't build their sites in the past months. I gave a one week ultimatum to get back to me, then the account was deleted. Also, any accounts with bouncing emails were deleted. If you are delayed in building your site for months on end or change email addies - let your host know, will you? That's just polite, I think.
I went to check on my site - and it has disappeared! What happened?
Well, that might be because you ignored (or were unaware) of the multiple emails sent out regarding a hostee cut. This became necessary after I pretty much ran out of webspace, bandwidth and money at the beginning of 2005. I gave several warnings, starting on February 22, 2005. I finally began deleting unresponding sites when I started the move from Netrillium to DreamHost.
Is there somewhere I can go when my site/the domain I'm hosted on is down (and therefore your email doesn't work)?
Yes, there is. Updates are posted in the updates journal hosted on Tumblr, which will be online even when the domains are down. There is also a Twitter account you can follow. If I am aware of problems, I'll post about it there, as well as any other updates. If you're hosted with me, you're also welcome to join and post about any changes to your site. If I am not aware of a problem, please inform me about it - you can use my LiveJournal email addy for that, which will always work: shirasade {AT} pm.me.
Why do you host sites about men kissing other men? R U sik?
It's called slash, darling, and if that kind of thing offends you, I have an awesome idea: Just don't look at it! I'm an adult as well as a fangirl, same as most of my hostees, and while I don't like porn, I do like (or accept) sexiness of various kinds, including the same-sex variety. Maturity is a must here, so if you can't take it, please leave. Oh, and learn how to spell.
[Insert name of random actor/popstar] is not gay! How dare you suggest that he is!?!
If you had read a bit more carefully you'd have noticed the various disclaimers scattered through my websites - this is all FICTION, which, if you check a dictionary, means that it's not real. No offense is intended, it's all just for fun. For a more carefully worded argument, check out Zarah's essay In Defense of RPS. And don't bother flaming me, because I very much don't care.