CH.. CH.. CH.. CHANGES @ 2 YEARS

[ZippityDooDah]

How can it possibly cost $2000+ per month just to host a forum? There are a ton of cheap hosts with unlimited storage out there. Who is the host?

See https://glp1forum.com/threads/ch-ch-ch-changes-2-years.5435/post-71077

Our hosting is overseas and not an off-the-shelf solution that anyone offers, and "unlimited" is just a marketing term in the same way cell phone providers use it that doesn't actually mean unlimited.

 

[ZippityDooDah]

My thoughts exactly. I could get over 10 dedicated servers for that price.

Please let me know what providers and in what country.

 

[Calm Logic]

The two I mentioned (since I have used them in the past for Xenforo) are based in Florida.

But outside the US:

https://www.liquidweb.com/blog/european-dedicated-servers/

Their comparison chart requires desktop mode to see well, at least on my phone.

I used to get most of my info though from WebHostingTalk.

 

[ZippityDooDah]

Not selling out is a huge win for all of us! I have only been involved heavily in two car forums, one sold out and was destroyed imho and don't spend more than 5-10 minutes a month there. The other went with tasteful top banners and a section where vendors can advertise. Vendors can discuss things in general and offer help in other sections but no sales. 6-7 years later it is the number one niche site for the hobby and check in multiple times a day. You are on the right path.

Don't. Even. Get. Me. Started. On. Car. Forums!

I've been involved with countless car groups for 40 years, have been on a number of club boards/committees (down to 1 now), and have owned, been admin/mod, or involved with I can't even count how many. phpBB, IPB, vBulletin, Xenforo, etc. and Usenet, CompuServe CB Chat, and BBSs before that. The one universal constant with all of them is never-ending chaos; questions about ownership and how to fund upkeep/improvements, group buy disasters, advertising debates, paid or free classified sections, yada, yada. Just typing that got my blood pressure up lol!

Hopefully with the help of everyone here I'll be able to use many of the lessons learned from all of those wonderful and terrible experiences to help continue to build this into an important and reliable resource for a long time to come!

 

[exploitedworkerbee]

How can it possibly cost $2000+ per month just to host a forum?

Apparently it drives up bandwidth and storage costs when people post questions without bothering to read the answer that was already given in that very thread.

 

[Meat_Peterson]

I'm extremely appreciative of the sacrifices you've made to benefit the community. This is the healthiest I've been in a long time. Had I not ended up here, I'm sure the outcome would have been different. I would even pay a subscription fee to be part of this. You have my support in whatever direction you see fit. Thank you ♥️

 

[FamousGoodkitty]

How can it possibly cost $2000+ per month just to host a forum? There are a ton of cheap hosts with unlimited storage out there. Who is the host?

There are a lot of other costs to take into account when hosting your own place. Besides a hosting provider and domain name registration there is security, VMs, backups, DDoS protections, firewalls, forum software, maintenance, improvements, etc. etc. etc -- everything adds up very fast. Sometimes you even need to hire someone well versed in systems to work out an issue or problem (cause we all aren't experts in these things).

 

[Calm Logic]

There are a lot of other costs to take into account when hosting your own place. Besides a hosting provider and domain name registration there is security, VMs, backups, DDoS protections, firewalls, forum software, maintenance, improvements, etc. etc. etc -- everything adds up very fast. Sometimes you even need to hire someone well versed in systems to work out an issue or problem (cause we all aren't experts in these things).

People do easily spend $2k and more per month. But they are not necessarily shopping around. The guy I used to help me with some things was very affordable:

Driven 2, LLC - Driven 2 Services is rated "Excellent" with 4.8 / 5 on Trustpilot

Do you agree with Driven 2, LLC - Driven 2 Services's TrustScore? Voice your opinion today and hear what 75 customers have already said.

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It would be hard to imagine anyone who knows more about managing Xenforo than Ken, except for maybe a few Xenforo employees. He is good for automating as much as possible, reducing the need for future human intervention.

 

[Int96]

My thoughts exactly. From Hivelocity or Vultr, I could get easily over 10 dedicated servers for that price.

Yes, they definitely need to shop around before paying so much money.

 

[LuckyLukey]

Love the transparency. Keep up the good work! Retirement is important business. Congrats on getting to retire a bit early.