I’m still here and this is my domain
First off, the MacCast and myself are still here, but as you can see we are having MAJOR server and hosting issues. MacCast.com and the enhanced feed have been down for the last day and a half. You can still subscribe to the regular feed at http://feeds.feedburner.com/maccast, although I have not posted a new show since 9/13/2006 (I planned to release a show yesterday and then this happened). I want to say I am sorry for all the confusion and frustration my recent hosting issues have caused you. Second, please don’t be alarmed by the changed URL (http://maccast.terraform.com). This is a temporary measure which I will explain in a minute. Terraform.com is the domain for my new business and is still my domain.

So what happened to MacCast.com?
The answer to that question is a bit complicated and confusing even to me, but the simple answer is I made some wrong assumptions and have some things to learn about how hosting companies operate. The short answer to all of this mess is that the MacCast and MacCast.com is growing too fast and we exceeded the limits of the hosting plan I was using. In short, I was using a shared hosting plan from GoDadddy.com and the other customers on our server didn’t like all the added traffic, complained, and GoDaddy shut down the server. They did this yesterday without any warning or notification to me and I have been working since yesterday to try and fix it. GoDaddy refuses to re-activate my account and so I had no other choice but to forward https://www.maccast.com here until I can arrage new hosting.

What was the problem with your hosting? Bandwidth?
Suprisingly, MacCast was not shut down for bandwith issues. I had made sure to purchase plenty of bandwidth (2TB) and plenty of storage (200GB) with my GoDaddy shared hosting account. This is why I was so shocked when the site was cut off. I monitor my bandwidth useage and my storage very closely and I was using about 1.5GB of bandwith and 1.5GB of storage, so I was nowhere near my limits. So, like me, you are probably asking, “So what’s the problem”? The answer is what I now know to be the dirty little secret of low cost shared hosting plans. They will sell you as much cheap bandwidth and storage as you want, but if you run a reasonably popular site using modern web applications, then good luck tying to acutally use that bandwidth or storage. I was shut down becasue I was using, according to GoDaddy, more than my fair share of the processor cycles on the server. Esentailly you can have bandwith, you can have storage, but don’t use the server too much or we’ll spank you.

Now to be clear, this is not only a GoDaddy.com issue (almost all hosting providers operate shared hosting plans like this) and I take full responsibility for not reading all the fine print in my service contract. What I do have a problem with is how GoDaddy chosses to treat customers who, like me, unknowingly find themselves in this situation. I was not contacted or notified of the issue before being shut down. I was not given the oppportunity to correct the problems before being shut down. After the shut down GoDaddy did not offer me any options to fix or change the applications on my shared hosting plan to reduce the load on their servers so I could have my plan re-activated. I was told my only option to get my site back up and running would be to move to a VERY expensive (USD$100+/mo) dedicated hosting plan. GoDaddy advertises heavily on Podcasts and to Podcasters, so when you hear these ads and choose to make a purchase just be very aware of what you are buying. For the past 9 months I have been very happy with GoDaddy’s shared hosting service. I also have to say their customer service has been excellent. They are very responsive, courteous and as helpful as possible. The problem seems to be not with GoDaddy’s customer service, but with the policies and practices implemented by GoDaddy management. It may be industry standard, but the standard seems flawed from my perspective. This is what I am taking issue with.

So when will this be fixed and whens the next MacCast?
A new MacCast was supposed to be released yesterday, but this problem effectively put it on hold. As soon as the hosting is fixed I will release a new show. Since yesterday I have been spending 100% of my time to get the site back up and running. This page is one temporary measure put in place so I could at least communicate to you and let you know what was happening. I have also fixed the eMacCast feed and will drop an audio message there.

I am in the process of setting up new hosting on a dedicated server so we can hopefully avoid this issue in the future. It will probably take me a couple days to get everything migrated over and set up. I appreciate your patience and understanding and hope you stay subscribed. Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,
Adam Christianson, Host
The MacCast