Help me find a web host that won't delete my files.
June 30, 2010 2:36 PM
I'm looking for a new web host for my very low traffic personal resume/portfolio site. Caveat: they must be willing to host several non-copyrighted MP3s produced by me and linked only from the site itself. How might I go about searching for hosts that will definitely allow such files?
Aside from being quite unreliable, my current host has routinely deleted the MP3 files I've put on their server, despite the fact that they are non-copyrighted files produced by me. I've argued with them about their ToS not prohibiting non-copyrighted MP3s, but my files are still removed - I believe through some automated process they routinely run on their servers.
Can you suggest a way to find web hosts that would allow MP3 files specifically, or some other reliable method of hosting these files off-site that would allow me to hotlink? Or, assuming it doesn't violate metafilter policy, can you suggest a specific host?
We're talking about a handful of spoken word MP3 files ranging from 2-15 megabytes. I would estimate that they're accessed a few times a month, if that. But they need to be there, along with the ability to run WordPress and a custom domain name.
Aside from being quite unreliable, my current host has routinely deleted the MP3 files I've put on their server, despite the fact that they are non-copyrighted files produced by me. I've argued with them about their ToS not prohibiting non-copyrighted MP3s, but my files are still removed - I believe through some automated process they routinely run on their servers.
Can you suggest a way to find web hosts that would allow MP3 files specifically, or some other reliable method of hosting these files off-site that would allow me to hotlink? Or, assuming it doesn't violate metafilter policy, can you suggest a specific host?
We're talking about a handful of spoken word MP3 files ranging from 2-15 megabytes. I would estimate that they're accessed a few times a month, if that. But they need to be there, along with the ability to run WordPress and a custom domain name.
pair.com has been hosting my mp3 files for nearly 10 years now.
Do you have a total on the total file sizes?
Also, if you are in the US, and you made the files, they still have copyright unless you've placed them in the public domain or under some other license.
The dropbox option that drjimmy11 mentions should work for you (especially at the volume of access you're talking).
I do spoken work stuff as well, and would rather have a site built around the files, but nothing should prevent you from linking to files in a dropbox.
posted by cjorgensen at 2:52 PM on June 30, 2010
Do you have a total on the total file sizes?
Also, if you are in the US, and you made the files, they still have copyright unless you've placed them in the public domain or under some other license.
The dropbox option that drjimmy11 mentions should work for you (especially at the volume of access you're talking).
I do spoken work stuff as well, and would rather have a site built around the files, but nothing should prevent you from linking to files in a dropbox.
posted by cjorgensen at 2:52 PM on June 30, 2010
they still have copyright unless you've placed them in the public domain or under some other license.
Yeah, I think what iamisaid meant is that he is not violating anyone else's copyright. But strictly speaking if you created them, the copyright belongs to you.
posted by drjimmy11 at 2:55 PM on June 30, 2010
Yeah, I think what iamisaid meant is that he is not violating anyone else's copyright. But strictly speaking if you created them, the copyright belongs to you.
posted by drjimmy11 at 2:55 PM on June 30, 2010
phpwebhosting.com has never given me any trouble about video or audio I've hosted: their TOS specifically forbid running any kind of "media archive" using their service, but a few mp3s or videos here and there accessible over HTTP are considered fine by them.
posted by deanc at 2:57 PM on June 30, 2010
posted by deanc at 2:57 PM on June 30, 2010
I've been using Dreamhost for a band site for years and have never had any problems. I don't think what you describe is typical...at least I hope not.
posted by substars at 2:58 PM on June 30, 2010
posted by substars at 2:58 PM on June 30, 2010
Seconding NFS - cheap, easy, and will not hassle you about content.
posted by chrisamiller at 3:17 PM on June 30, 2010
posted by chrisamiller at 3:17 PM on June 30, 2010
Deleting your mp3 files is atypical, as far as I know. Go with any well-known host* as suggested above, and you'll be fine.
If you want to keep your current host but just move the mp3 files elsewhere, which will be the easiest option, then I would go with nearlyfreespeech.net. Using their pricing estimator, it looks like 50MB of static files, serving up 200MB per month, would cost about eight dollars per year. They will give you a free subdomain (accountname.nfshost.com), and you can just pay twenty bucks up front, upload the files, link from your site, and be all set for years. Personally, I'd rather pay [such a small amount] for this sort of thing than rely on a free service.
You could also run the whole site on nearlyfreespeech if you wanted to, though they won't do anything like setup wordpress and keep it up to date for you.
* To check a host, you can Google "[hostname] site:ask.metafilter.com" and see if it's been recommended here more than a few times.
posted by whatnotever at 3:32 PM on June 30, 2010
If you want to keep your current host but just move the mp3 files elsewhere, which will be the easiest option, then I would go with nearlyfreespeech.net. Using their pricing estimator, it looks like 50MB of static files, serving up 200MB per month, would cost about eight dollars per year. They will give you a free subdomain (accountname.nfshost.com), and you can just pay twenty bucks up front, upload the files, link from your site, and be all set for years. Personally, I'd rather pay [such a small amount] for this sort of thing than rely on a free service.
You could also run the whole site on nearlyfreespeech if you wanted to, though they won't do anything like setup wordpress and keep it up to date for you.
* To check a host, you can Google "[hostname] site:ask.metafilter.com" and see if it's been recommended here more than a few times.
posted by whatnotever at 3:32 PM on June 30, 2010
I came here to suggest NearlyFreeSpeech as well. They are amazing.
posted by ttyn at 5:51 PM on June 30, 2010
posted by ttyn at 5:51 PM on June 30, 2010
nth-ing NFS. If you have no dynamic elements or SQL, it may be just perfect for you.
posted by singerdj at 6:02 PM on June 30, 2010
posted by singerdj at 6:02 PM on June 30, 2010
I run two WordPress blogs, both hosted on NearlyFreeSpeech. Sometimes I stick up media files. They've always been good to me.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:01 AM on July 1, 2010
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:01 AM on July 1, 2010
Thanks everyone. I've moved the files over to dropbox, and all seems to be well. I wasn't crazy about having to install something on my computer, but it seems I can delete that and still use the dropbox web interface if I need to make changes later on. I may still look into moving the entire site to NFS at some point.
posted by iamisaid at 1:38 PM on July 1, 2010
posted by iamisaid at 1:38 PM on July 1, 2010
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posted by drjimmy11 at 2:48 PM on June 30, 2010