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View Full Version : Had to be said...

ValhallaComics
10-04-2006, 12:36 PM
This post was in response to a person asking if BlueHost was the right fit for him. A guy, going by the name "been told" responded with a flame towards BH. I had to post this, because I'm really just sick of all the flaming that I read on here. I apologize to the admins for posting this, because I realize this is a response to a thread that you deleted.

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*sigh* Who is this "been told" guy?

I don't think it's fair to use this forum as a jumping point into purchasing a hosting solution.

Why? Because if you really did look around, you'll notice that most of the people complaining in these forums are the same people. There really aren't that many people that have hosting solutions with BlueHost that actually post here. There's a remote few. You'll probably get a better testament of BlueHost's services by visiting the CEO's blog (http://www.mattheaton.com) and checking the comments of users. There's more of a unique showing there, then there ever will be, here.

Regardless... If you want an honest opinion/review of BlueHost, I'll give you one:

First of all, I've been a client since April 17, 2006, so I've been around for about 6 months (a little less).

The setup process was extremely quick for my account. Requesting SSH access was done with ease and I got through (on the phone) within minutes. The security for setting up SSH access is quite good, as they require faxed identification and proof that you're who you say you are.

The customer service is (at least has been) phenominal. They treat their customers well and with respect. I've not had one bad experience with them. The technical support is equally as good. They know what the hell they're doing and they're quick to respond to issues. I've had to call two or three times in the past 6 months, because I needed an upgrade to a server, as well as SSH access.

They have so many boxes on their network, that I'm confident to say that they do and will have issues at times. Every host will be the same way and will have the same issues (if not more/less). Servers/hardware get(s) old, software becomes obsolete, software has holes/exploits (and when patches/upgrades are released, hackers will find more holes/exploits), every host will have their share of DoS and DDoS attacks, etc, etc, etc.

My site has been down for a total of two times in 6 months. The first reason was because of a horrendous DDoS attack that happened a few months back. It was crazy. The second time my site was down, was because of a faulty router (which has been replaced). I was informed, both times, of the downtime and the reason for it via E-Mail, the forum and Matt's Blog.

Are there issues that are ongoing? Sure. Here's one that I have: the CPU usage continues to raise to enormous levels at sporadic times. Perhaps this is caused by faulty code from a user, perhaps it's because multiple people are installing something at the same time, perhaps it's an installation or program in general that hangs.

When you're dealing with software, databases, internet services and hardware, you should expect to see some problems along the way. When you have a hosting plan w/ a company that offers shared hosting, you should expect these and more. Let me tell you... for a shared hosting company, these problems we've seen are few and far between. They're quickly dealt with and I appreciate the support that's given.

I'm pleased with my service so far and will continue to use BlueHost as a provider for as long as they offer the same services w/ the same response rate. It's not every company that has a blog for the CEO, as well as a forum for its users. It's also not every company that asks its clients for input on what would make the services better. They continuously expand their services and try to adhere to our needs. Take the live chat for example, which was instituted not that long ago.

Anyway, that's about it from me. I apologize for the long review, but it needed to be said. I'm pretty sick of the same people complaining about things. Especially when I haven't experienced the same problems.

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Thank you.
Been Told
10-04-2006, 12:53 PM
This post was in response to a person asking if BlueHost was the right fit for him. A guy, going by the name "been told" responded with a flame towards BH. I had to post this, because I'm really just sick of all the flaming that I read on here. I apologize to the admins for posting this, because I realize this is a response to a thread that you deleted.

I flamed nobody, I simply spoke out about the lack of reliability with BH in the last few days.
The guy asked me if I would recommend BH - and I said at the moment I wouldn't - because people are complaining about downtime a lot in this forum.

I was under the misapprehension that this is an official BH Customer forum. Had I known this is a User to User forum, I would not have complained about BH here because obviously noone here can do anything about that.

So relax. I have already apologized to the admin. And I repeat: I did NOT flame BH at any point. I spoke openly, yes. I was angry with the lack of support I am getting from BH at the moment, yes. Did I insult or flame BH? No.
areidmtm
10-04-2006, 01:24 PM
Believe me, I totally understand everyone's frustration. I have sites that are down too. This just isn’t the place to be mad. It is a user helping users. If you need account related things, you need to contact bluehost or even the CEO himself, as people have done.

I understand that when people are mad, including myself, say things before actually really thinking about the situation.

The domain was bought by bluehost, but is not maintained by bluehost. Yes the admins of bluehost DO have administrative right to the forums, but what goes on here and what is said, is control by myself. There are other moderators to the forum, but rarely are they here. 99% of the forum is controlled by me.

I can understand how deleting threads may be construed as bad tactics, but look at it my way, when people come here to say that bluehost sucks and how mad they are, there is no point in those thread. It isn’t helping anyone. You say that deleting threads will give a false sense of the services at bluehost, but so do those threads. When people are upset and usually over exaggerating things.

Posting how you site is down and how mad you are, is not going to get you anywhere. The people at this forum cannot help you. If you really do need help, contact bluehost directly. If it is not constructive criticism to bluehost, then there is no need to post it here. The forum is to help out already members. Yes do people come here before signing up and ask questions, but the main purpose is to help already members.

There have been a lot of constructive criticism towards bluehost that I keep, but anything that but that, I have to delete.

Please try to understand why I delete posts and where I am coming from. Being the forum moderator is not an easy job.

Thanks!
Been Told
10-04-2006, 01:34 PM
Please try to understand why I delete posts and where I am coming from. Being the forum moderator is not an easy job.

It certainly isn't. And I can definitly see where you're coming from.
As I said before... I wrongly thought this was a forum where BH employees are supposed to help BH customers with things.

Considering it's not, there is certainly no point in doing what I did.
StrongBad
10-04-2006, 02:01 PM
It certainly isn't. And I can definitly see where you're coming from.
As I said before... I wrongly thought this was a forum where BH employees are supposed to help BH customers with things.

Considering it's not, there is certainly no point in doing what I did.


I double that. But Bluehost really need a status page where it shows which boxes are down, why, and an ETA. That would stop most of these "flames".
Been Told
10-04-2006, 02:03 PM
But Bluehost really need a status page where it shows which boxes are down, why, and an ETA. That would stop most of these "flames".
True. I hope they'll take the suggestion.
areidmtm
10-04-2006, 02:03 PM
But Bluehost really need a status page where it shows which boxes are down, why, and an ETA. That would stop most of these "flames".

I agree, I think that I heard somewhere that they might be working on that. I'd contact support to be made sure.
techgy
10-04-2006, 05:50 PM
I agree, I think that I heard somewhere that they might be working on that. I'd contact support to be made sure.

I made a suggestion to Matt Heaton on his Thread about how to improve BH. I've also seen it one other place. From my perspective a decent status page would go a long ways towards informing everyone of problems and thus would probably put a stop to lots of Tickets, Phone Calls, etc.

If anyone has heard that this in the works, please post a note here. This would be great.

Thanks!;)
StrongBad
10-04-2006, 06:27 PM
From my perspective a decent status page would go a long ways towards informing everyone of problems and thus would probably put a stop to lots of Tickets, Phone Calls, etc.

It's absolutely true. There's no bigger waste of money than for Bluehost to take on more support staff, just so that they can all give the same responses to everyone who calls. Fire those new 15 employees, slap them in the face with a wet fish when they complain, get a woman with a deep, husky RP English voice to say "Have you checked the status page at bluehost.com/status?" and incorporate it into the on-hold music on the support line, and bang -- company and customer morale is back up.
thenewguy
10-05-2006, 04:36 AM
Fire those new 15 employees, slap them in the face with a wet fish when they complainThis is the funniest thing I have seen on here so far. If I worked at BlueHost, I would print this page out your post and put it on my bulletin board. :p
aries458
10-05-2006, 08:31 AM
"Have you checked the status page at bluehost.com/status?" and incorporate it into the on-hold music on the support line

For a moment, I thought I was on *bay:p
vegasgwm
10-05-2006, 05:25 PM
Fire those new 15 employees, slap them in the face with a wet fish when they complain, get a woman with a deep, husky RP English voice

yeah, its been a while i read some funny **** in this forum, hehehe
dixieau
10-06-2006, 02:40 AM
For the record I am SO glad that people post there outages here as it gives me a guide as to why things have been quiet from my sites... :o that is I have now finally learnt to come and check things here if I can't gain access to my site.. the amount of times I got sooo angry at myself, changed settings restored computers, interenet access, networking, tearing my hair out to finally come in here and find it's not me! So thanks people!
bboysteele
10-06-2006, 07:14 PM
This is a great forum. A lot of helpful info is here and a lot of people with knowledge to lend to people. My only grip with the forum would be that the two post that I posted never were answered by anyone. lol I guess the questions stumped the expert users here. The idea of a status page would be a great tool if it gets implimented. I hope it does.
ds4081
10-07-2006, 09:54 PM
I made a suggestion to Matt Heaton on his Thread about how to improve BH. I've also seen it one other place. From my perspective a decent status page would go a long ways towards informing everyone of problems and thus would probably put a stop to lots of Tickets, Phone Calls, etc.

If anyone has heard that this in the works, please post a note here. This would be great.

Thanks!;)


I talked to support today and this is in the works. They are working on it, and plan on colocating it out to another datacenter so if they have total meltdown they can still report it. Sounds like its a few weeks out till we will see this.