Hi there everybody.

I am new here and this is my first post. I am an active atheist and a skeptic and I have been setting up an online bookshop for atheist literature and other goods. I am trying to do this without shoestrings at all, and I hope if it takes I will migrate to paid hosting services. Recently I found a free host; I don't know if I should really mention them here but their name is in my bookshops URL and I have used this in my signature. I don't know if I should even do that, but I will remove it if it is a problem. Unfortunately my host doesn't support PHP & MySQL (not for the free accounts) which I will need for databasing stock and delivering dynamic web site content.

I actualy came here looking for a server to just support my customer and stock data and serve dynamic content which I figured I will reload back into the main website. I don't know if this is technically feasible and I am still learning a lot. I am however impressed to learn that I can get full web hosting service, in exchange for writing on a forum. I am addicted to forums and spend quite a lot of unproductive time (usually debating with creationists) in various forums. I do fancy myself as something of a budding writer and enjoy word play and generally expressing ideas in the written form.

I have a couple of inquires regarding these boards and the associated web hosting, which is not clear from my present investigations. 1) I was not sure which forum to choose so I have signed up at both. Will my credits be accounted for separately and if so can they be transferred to the one account? 2) It is not so clear from the FAQ just how much writing earns how many credits. Not that I should have a problem, I am quite a prolific writer and I should earn in excess of my needs. I am more interested in bartering an spare points I accrue to others, who I may wish to pay for other services with my own website etc...

Well that's enough from me for now. I look forward to a productive an prosperous relationship with the good folk here and I will speak to you again soon.

Regards Skep.

Welcome to Astahost! You have made the right choice in choosing a good host, they are reliable and there is great support. You said that you signed up at both forums (I'm assuming the other is trap17).


To answer your first question, your credits will be separate, what you earn here can't be used on trap17, and vice versa. Secondly, you cannot transfer credits from one to the other (Astahost > Trap etc).

I would like to also tell you the difference between Astahost and Trap. Astahost is a more technically based forums, while Trap is more open to the discussions - more for everyday stuff. That said, there is still everyday topics here at Astahost. If you are not as technically aligned, you may want to be hosted at Trap to sustain your credits better. It may be harder to sustain credits here if there is no topics you can post in. You are still welcome to post here and get help about technical aspets of your site.


For your second question, the amount of credits that you get for posting varies lots. If you right long, informative posts you will get more credits then if you write one-liners and nonsense topics. You don't want to write lots of small topics about nothing useful. This can be very annoying and you can also get banned for small annoying posts. Make your posts informative and useful, and of a decent length. They don't have to massive essays, but if you have something to contribute, your very welcome. Also, just remember to make sure that you put your topics in the right categories! Have a search around the forums for topics on how to write a good post (theres a few around ). You might also want to have a look at topics like the Importance Of Spelling And Grammar.

Again, welcome to Astahost and good luck with your hosting!

EDIT: This post just got me something like 4-5 credits, so you can judge from that!

This post has been edited by Jimmy89: Jan 24 2008, 05:13 AM

That's the one. I signed up there first, and decided it might be a bit full of woo (now there's a technical term). So I decided I better come in here and check out the technically oriented forum.

Damn. That's a shame. It would be nice to contribute to either of or both forums, and credit the user as single entity. I assume they are both run by the same parent company Xisto. Or perhaps they are just individual entities and both Xisto customers.



Yep. I got all that.

Ah... where do I start. I have a childhood background in hobby electronics. I grew up in a home with a shed in the backyard containing a very large lathe and many pieces of machinery. My father was an industrialist and owned a spray painting / baked enameling shop, than a sandblasting factory. One of my brothers became a TV technician and got me into electronics kits. Latter I progressed to CB radios and modifying them. I studied for my amateur radio license but never sat the test. I also kept bees, from which I curtailed a fair degree of biological knowledge (more than I realized at the time). I began an active interest in reading popular science at about the age of 24. I have also been an avid computer geek for over 15 years. I love GNU/Linux and OSS.

I guess it depends on what is meant by technical. I have a fairly wide set of interests and background in technical things in general, but if the kind of technical info being encouraged is more narrowly computers and internet related then I may be better of at trap17,



Snap.

Well there is a problem I will never have. I am inclined to write long monologues, that attract plaints of derision for long verbose and detailed manner. What can I say I love to write. Creationists never do appreciate detailed technical writings which may be deemed educational and usually resent a pragmatic tone. Well, you can only lead the horse to water as they say. Perhaps my kind of writing, would be better appreciated here.



Why do I get the feeling you are going to regret encouraging me to write long posts? At a forum I recently frequented I had a habit of maxing out the edit box (10,000 words I think), I kept having to write muti-part posts with 'continued...' at the bottom. On one of my last posts I filled up the edit box nearly six times.

I keep warning you. You may regret saying such things around old Skepticus.



Thanks for the welcome and all of the good advice Jimmy.



Yeah? Not bad. The one you responded to got me 7.2, So, I will be flooded with so much credit I may be able to buy the company.

Regards Skep.

Sounds like your are going to be a great asset to Astahost. You sound like you have a very technical background - you'll fit in fine!

Trap17 and Astahost are both part of the Xisto Network, as you guessed. You are still able to contribute to both forums, i think you may be able to be hosted at both (don't quote me on that, i'm not too sure) but i would choose one to be hosted at, and contribute to the other one also (I don't think you will have many problems keeping credits up! )

Enjoy!

I'll confirm this You can be hosted at both Astahost and Trap17, since there is no reason for this kind of rule to exist.

Judging from your posts, you should be able to maintain your credits at Astahost fairly easy, if your accounts gets approved. I wouldn't worry about the latter, though, as your posts are a great example of how to post quality well-written messages.

Yeah, thanks pyost.


Awww Shucks [blushing and shuffling feet]. Thanks mate. I did accidentally make a largish post over at Trap (because I had been browsing on both boards and they just look so similar). I should have known, as it was a religious woo topic postulating the creation evolution debate and starts nearly identical to one I just spent two months posting on. I do really belong in here, because the moderator expressed some disappointment at what I had said and because it is about ten times longer than my first post here, yet I only earned 10 points for it. I don't think both boards can be using the same credit algorithm. I wanted to make one nice long post and just get my credit well over the 30 point mark so I could apply for the larger hosting package. Then I discovered that I was actually on Trap instead of Asta !!!BUGGER!!! And what's this only ten points nonsense? Ouch that bites.

I will close my Trap tabs and stay away, as it really can be a trap if you get caught up in one of those creationist debates, and the visual similarities of Trap17 really does make it a trap, if your intention is to post in here.

Sorry, completely off-topic, but your first sentence I felt rather surprizing :

I expected an atheist to be a contemplative guy, mainly observing others acting, with full respect but without any intrustion. I expected only religious people to be active.
I would like to discuss with you about this subject, however this part cannot fit the "Computers & Tech >Internet and Websites" subforum. What about opening a topic on that precise point, preferably in the "Einstein Factor" forum ?