Hosting/File Structure/Security

[Jake]

Hosting/File Structure/Security

Peer1 was recommended to us for our dedicated hosting needs. They appear to be one of the best that I’ve come across and I trust the person who made the recommendation. They are expensive but you get a lot for the money. I was also impressed that Plenty of Fish and Vonage are hosted with them. I have to stay at a hosting company located in Canada. Comments anyone?

Second question I have is regarding file structure on the server. Where should I place my paid content? Originally I was just going to place it one folder below www root and build my structure out from there (Year/Month folders according to when I upload them.) I then thought maybe I should place a folder in my web root (same level as the public or www folder.) The only way that I know of accessing the files is from a local link/call. Your thoughts?

For web security there seems to be two players Phantom Frog and StrongBox. I’m leaning towards StongBox but that purely on what I’ve been reading and not from users. There seems to be some verbal sparing between the two developers and StrongBox just comes across as the winner in my opinion.

Looking forward to hearing what you have to say.

Best Regards,
Jake

[Lee]

#1 You dont have to stay hosted in Canada, that being said, check out NationalNet, they are by far the BEST hosting company in adult.

#2 Most paid content is located in a folder called domain.com/members/ typically this will depend on the type of scripts you are using to run your paysite though, but be aware that wherever your paid content goes, your billing processor is going to need to install scripts there to protect it and give paid members access to it, for this reason, /members/ is what most use in the industry.

#3 StrongBox is the program of choice by many and Ray has excellent support, i dont know to many people that use PhantomFrog to be honest and i have never used it myself so cant really comment on how good the product or support is for that.

Back to file structure for a second though, you might want to search GWW for 'organization' there are a couple of articles i wrote about organizing your file structure and server layout a few years ago you might like to read up on

Regards,

Lee

[Jake]

#1 You dont have to stay hosted in Canada, that being said, check out NationalNet, they are by far the BEST hosting company in adult.

It was on the advise of our lawyer we should stay in Canada. Because we are not going to follow 2257 to the letter...any exposure (hosting included) could cause some legal problems.

#2 Most paid content is located in a folder called domain.com/members/ typically this will depend on the type of scripts you are using to run your paysite though, but be aware that wherever your paid content goes, your billing processor is going to need to install scripts there to protect it and give paid members access to it, for this reason, /members/ is what most use in the industry.

Will do. I see no reason to re-invent the wheel. If it's been working for countless other sites then it's good for me. I was also curious what StrongBox needed.

#3 StrongBox is the program of choice by many and Ray has excellent support, i dont know to many people that use PhantomFrog to be honest and i have never used it myself so cant really comment on how good the product or support is for that.

Back to file structure for a second though, you might want to search GWW for 'organization' there are a couple of articles i wrote about organizing your file structure and server layout a few years ago you might like to read up on

Regards,

Lee

Found the article. Great info.

[Lee]

It was on the advise of our lawyer we should stay in Canada. Because we are not going to follow 2257 to the letter...any exposure (hosting included) could cause some legal problems.

Then i hope your business plan doesnt involve the use of an affiliate program for others to promote your content, that will turn a LOT of potential new affiliates away.

This another of the issues i mentioned in the other thread topic you started when it comes to the 'business' side of the adult industry, even though the U.S has no way to reach you in Canada, or any other country in the world, the adult industry is operated primarily on U.S based laws.

If you are not going to follow 2257 regulations you are going to find it extremely difficult to get any business done, with pretty much anyone reputable.

Regards,

Lee

[Jake]

Then i hope your business plan doesnt involve the use of an affiliate program for others to promote your content, that will turn a LOT of potential new affiliates away.

This another of the issues i mentioned in the other thread topic you started when it comes to the 'business' side of the adult industry, even though the U.S has no way to reach you in Canada, or any other country in the world, the adult industry is operated primarily on U.S based laws.

If you are not going to follow 2257 regulations you are going to find it extremely difficult to get any business done, with pretty much anyone reputable.

Regards,

Lee

hmmm...good points to ponder. I'll bring this up with our laywer.

[gaybucks_chip]

Jake,

I think the move to stay outside the US is a wise one. If you host inside the US then you give the Feds something they can seize. Of course, technically they could still do so in Canada, but it will never happen.

However... conveniently, NatNet has a data center in the Netherlands which serves all of their customers who want servers outside the US. I have to agree with Lee here, we have been with at least 8 different hosts in the US over the past 8 years, and I can tell you from experience there is simply nothing remotely approaching NatNet as far as the quality of the service and support you'll get. Particularly for a new webmaster, NatNet's team will allow you to do what you do best without messing with the backend crap that you'll have to deal with (in one way or another) with most every other host, even the ones that claim to be "managed." I never believed the hype about NatNet until I actually experienced their service.

As far as following 2257 to the letter... I would be willing to wager that 90% or greater of US-based affiliate programs don't follow it to the letter. It's exceptionally complex and 3/4 of the webmasters I speak to don't even understand all the nuances of it. (I don't claim I do either, just that I seem to know more than a lot of others.) So as long as you're making an honest good faith effort to comply, I don't think it will affect your ability to market to US-based affiliates. We've spent thousands of dollars on developing our own software for compliance, and probably thousands more in staff time inputting and cross-referencing the data, but we're also pretty conservative about compliance, and you can get away with a lot less, particularly since, at the beginning at least, you won't have a ton of content to mess with.

I will also give a strong endorsement for Strongbox. Ray Morris is an absolute topnotch guy, knows his shit inside and out, and has probably forgotten more about web security than most people will ever know. Cozyfrog is one of those companies that sells a lot of the sizzle rather than the steak, and their product might be fine, but honestly, there's a reason that Strongbox has a very large percentage of the market, and it's because it's a great product from a great guy who believes in providing excellent support and assistance, and not ripping you off on endless recurring monthly fees.

[HunkyLuke]

NationalNet is the prime choice for adult hosting and they have affordable entry level servers starting at $199/mo. Plus like Chip says, they also offer Netherlands based hosting if you are paranoid about 2257. Email the sales guys directly on sales@nationalnet.com to get a quote for your needs.

Strongbox is also a #1 choice for anti-password sharing and hacking, Ray is a top notch bloke and provides a product second to none, for a very reasonable one-time price.

Good luck!

cheers
Luke

[raymor]

Thanks for your comments, guys. We deal with several web hosts each
day and I'd agree NatNet is pretty good. They are pretty large, so you get
the benefits of that like 24/7 tech support. Some people prefer a little bit
smaller company where you can get the owner on the phone, but with those
little companies you probably won't get anyone at 1AM, so I can definitely
nod in agreement on NatNet.

[gaybucks_chip]

Some people prefer a little bit
smaller company where you can get the owner on the phone

I am constantly amazed how often I get email responses from Bill (NatNet president) at 11pm on a Saturday night, or in the middle of a Sunday afternoon, often after I've just put a ticket in for regular support.

More than once, I've asked for something really minor but oddball at NatNet that the night crew for one reason or another isn't experienced with (We have a number of oddball setups on our servers, again thanks to NatNet's flexibility), and I've specifically said "Please don't wake anyone up to resolve this issue, it's really minor and doesn't need instant response, so let's just wait till tomorrow when someone will be in to resolve it." And even then...half the time, they wake somebody up anyway. It is simply beyond belief how extraordinary NatNet's service is.

And just to be clear, I don't get anything for recommending them, other than seeing them continue to grow and prosper

[basschick]

another recommendation for strongbox here.

it appears at a glance that peer1 does not accept sexually explicit websites - their terms say they don't host sites that might harm their public image and that users may not use their service to "distributing sexually explicit".

http://www.peer1.com/aboutus/terms.php

btw, many mainstream companies either flat out don't allow porn or have it at their discretion to remove porn sites whenever they feel like it. what that means is that at any time one of their corporate clients can say "hey, did you know you have PORN on your servers?" and off you go.