Your post is COUNTED at 95% of the Forum Topics. There are some exceptions like "Hosting Request forum", "Support" etc. where your post count does not increase. This is because we believe that these areas do not contribute much the the Information base of the forums.



?? POST COUNT & HOSTING CREDITS ??

The Hosting credits is a system which was introduced on 5th January 2005 to keep a track of Active members. Before we go into details of HOSTING CREDIT, let us see what it does and how to increase it.

[+] Why is this system useful? How does it help members?
The Hosting Credits System tracks the posts and keeps a record. It depends on the type of post you make rather than normal post counts. When you post a tutorial, article .. you recieve more credits than the conventional post count. Hence, it ensures that your work is not wasted and it is properly credited.
The next advantage is "Activity Period". The Credit system, will tell you approximately how many days you can remain inactive.

Unlike our competitors, WE DO NOT :-
1> Force our members to post Daily.
2> Hide or disclose information regarding activity
3> Force members to visit forums in particular period.
4> Give them Periodically posting targets.
5> Take long time to approve accounts.

The Above manual system ( used by our competitors ) is not useful. And has following limitations.

1> A member is willing to post Quality posts but limits it, because of the Post count system. As large posts will also be counted as a single post and not contribute anything extra.
2> A member wants to take a vaccation or leave for few days and has to depend on Administrators.
3> A member is supposed to request adminstrators for every details regarding activity.
4> A member has to wait for long time for his account activation.
5> A member has no knowlegde about his activity and has to depend on the sole discreation of the administrators. He can be asked to post more or less depending on the admins.
6> As the system is not automated or tracked, there are lots of members who abuse services as a result, these hosts fall down and shut down.
7> The Forum activity decreases and is usually below avearge thus making the forum experience boring and dull.

[+] HOSTING CREDIT *DOES* DEPEND ON POST SIZE.
The Hosting Credits depend only upon the size and Quality of the post. It does not depend on the number of post you make. All posts are counted except posts like "thank you", "LoL"...

[+] Hosting CREDITS are *NOT* counted in forums where Post Count is NOT counted.

[+] Hosting CREDITS are nothing but the number of Days you can remain INactive. You can see your credits on the forum index page. http://www.Astahost.com/index.php

[+] Hosting CREDIT has NO CONNECTION with Post Count.
And both are completely Seperate values/variables. However, if your post count increases, you can be assured that your Hosting credit has been incremented too. Because the Post Quality filtering tools apply to both of these functions ( Post count system & Hosting Credit )

Hosting credits are calculated and maintained inside our system. The possible calculations determine a users activity at the forums, performance. The Calculations depend upon your frequency of activity, length of posts etc.

:: IMPORTANT INSTRUCTION REGARDING WORKING OF HOSTING CREDITS ::

Hosting Credits are scheduled to be checked on daily basis. The Forum members credits are checked and steps are taken accordingly.

The Following is our Hosting Maintanance script task :-
[+] Hosting Credits Exhausted : Your Account gets SUSPENDED*.
[+] Hosting Credits Satisfactory : Your account is kept Active. If it was suspended, It will be un-suspended / Activated.
[+] If your Account has Exhausted your Hosting Credits and you have been inactive (after exhausting credits) for One month or more, Your Account is TERMINATED**.

*SUSPENDED : Files are safe, only the site is blocked.
**TERMINATED : Files are all deleted and all the records are cleared. No recovery possible.

If for some reason, you fail to be active and your Account gets Suspended, you will have to make the necessary posts and check your validity so that it shows it is healthy again. This will AUTOMATICALLY ACTIVATE your hosting account. ( Your files are safe )

:: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION ::

[Q] : Can I transfer my hosting Credits ?
A : Yes! Go to http://www.Astahost.com/process

[Q] : When Do I lose credits or when are the credits reset ?
A : Credits are reset (you lose your credits) to 3 after :-
1> You Activate your hosting account.
2> You Upgrade your Hosting Account.
The Credits have to be reset because until you apply for hosting, The credits follow a static system. The basic purpose of Credits system is to act as a COUNTDOWN timer. So, as days pass by, the credits go down and finally reach back to 0. After they reach 0, your account is suspended. Therefore, you are requested to be active and collect enough credits (for eg. 30 credits for one month) so that even if you stay inactive for month, your hosting remains safe.

When you first register at our forums and start earning credits, To help the new users feel comfortable and to keep permanent tracking, the credits don't act as countdown timer. So, when new members earn 5 credits, their credits remain 5 even after a year. They don't go down.
After you Activate your hosting, this is where the credit system starts its actual work. (The countdown begins :-) ) So, in this phase, the complete calculation system is changed and hence your Credits are RESET back to 3. So that you have 3 days to again collect your credits. After you get your account, suppose you make a post and earn 5 credits, (i.e. total 8) that will allow you to stay inactive at our forum for complete 8 days. :-)

Credits are RESET even if you apply for upgrade. So, If you upgrade, your credits are rest back to 3.

[Q] : If I cannot stay active at the forums, What can I do ?
A : This is one of the most frequently asked question, The answer is, Be EXTRA active at the forum and collect enough hosting credits to take a nice leave. Do not Spam. We handle Spamming issue very very Seriously and we will not step back to Suspend your account if we see that you are spamming. It is better if you have a forum reputation. It helps us to know your activity and quality of posts.

[Q] : If I am in very Bad Emergency, then what ?
A : You can purchase the Hosting Credits. Please contact sales@astahost.com

[Q] : The Hosting Credit shows my account in healthy condition/ Good condition, will posting more help any further ?
A : Yes. The hosting credit reporting tool reports the number of credits you have. But as for the credits are concerned, you still go on accumulating it. The limit max limit of this hosting credit extends upto approx 110.8 years. In short, your every valid post is counted. :-)

[Q] : What is the Best way to be active and collect Hosting Credits ?
A : We suggest that you make posts regularly and collect hosting credits accordingly. You will find it easy to make posts regularly and maintain your Hosting credits near 10 days or more. As you go on collecting more, the amount of credits offered also decreases.

[Q] : How do I know, If I am suspended ?
A : Your site will be redirected to a new location. ( suspension page ).

[Q] : My Account is Suspended, How do I un-suspend?
A : The main forum page will show you your current hosting credits. If it is negative, your hosting is propably suspended. You must have at least 7 Hosting Credits, to un-suspended your account automatically. We do this, so that members dont activate accounts and become inactive again. Activating and Deactivating puts a lot of load on our server and it requires us to restart the services.

If you want any more Questions to be answered, kindly post them.

Warm Regards,
OpaQue.

Dooga: Fixed forum link

Wow OpaQue, that was a very informative post. I think that this should eliminate the questions that many members have about hosting credits.

I was really excited to see that you were able to implement the hosting credit transfer function. This would provide our members with a really great way of thanking another member for the help that was received. I'm interested to see what kinds of contests members might dream up and offer credits as the reward for the winner.

I've got some ideas about some graphics work I might need to have a contest for.

I hope everyone will enjoy these new features.

Thanks for all of your hard work.

vujsa

Hopefully all members will read this upon arriving at the forusm, will certainly make our lives easier. On a similar note, I somehow way back when heard that mods could give additional credits for excellent tutorials, is that true, and if so, could you please PM me with how to do it?

~Viz

P.S. If this better beongs in the Staff section, I will move it there, but I felt regular members would want to see the answer to this question.

Additional credits for tutorials, I had felt this need but then I integrated in the credits system. So, posts which are longer get bonus credits automatically.

Okay, that would explain why I never saw how to do it, thanks OpaQue.

~Viz

The credits system is really awesome, It's great to keep people active and, show that many may not be as dedicated as others.

Some may just spam, and will get no where.

Me, well, That's different, I post to express my thoughts and opinions. Or just for fun by playing forum games, It's actually pretty cool.

Alot of people hate positng or dunno how to. Liek the older community or the younger ages, like for instance 9-12.

Thank you so much for this, Thanks YOU! I have been asking so many questions about the hosting credit sytem. Don't get me wrong, I read all the information you had about it, most of it was unclear, not very organized, etc. That is why people got confused. Now, that it has been fixed, you shout not have too may problems.

Thanks for this informative post!
I have only one question, which I can’t find any answer to anywhere. Why don’t I get credits for posting in certain forums like Politics & Economics (in the Life Talk forum)? I definitely think it contributes to the information base of this site!
I don’t think it is fair not to get credits for posting in these forums. I mean, there’re lots of interesting threads there and then you don’t get credits for keeping up the standard?
Maybe I can get an answer here?

Astahost is a a technology and computers forum. As such, you only get credits for technologically and computer related posts. However, we recognize the fact that people like to talk about other things as well, so we have forums for those items that don't contribute to credit count.

~Viz

Thank you for the post. Now I fully understand the "credit" system, which will make things a lot easier for me, as I tend to travel a fair amount due to work.

So now I know that as long as I post reguarly then I will remain in front, great.