>30 = ~2 ; Credits Don't Compute; Site Down Credit system appears horribly broken

[evought 0]

First let me say that I am upset at the moment, so if this comes across that way, do not take it personally. This may be a simple mistake somewhere, but I am very confused and frustrated.

I found this site, built up about 20 credits, and applied for a basic site (cost, 10 credits). Over the couple days it took the site to be approved, I continued posting and got up to somewhere over 30. The account was approved, I spent the weekend at a local festival (what I do for a living) which tied me up for 48 hours. I get back, and my new site, which I have printed on the business cards I handed out at the fair, is *down*. Apparently, because I am at a negative credit balance.

Now, the explanation of the credit system in the announcement forum says:

KEY POINTHosting Credits = "No. of Days a User can be *IN*ACTIVE"
It determines the no. of days a user can remain absent on our forums. So if you have 365 Hosting Credits. You can go for a long vacation without visiting our forums for a Year.

Therefore, I would expact to have over 18 credits left (minus 10 for the hosting package, minus 2 for the 48 hour absence or maybe 3 depending on exactly when it was charged). Instead I have about (-)5. Further, on the message that says my site has been suspended, I find this:

The Hosting Credits determine the amount of days you can remain inactive. We recommend that you maintain a sufficient amount of hosting credits (more than 10). This will give you enough time, incase you cannot stay active due to any consequences.

Even if it is not exactly one point per day, I definitely had more than 10 points and should have been able to miss *one weekend* without going negative and *being suspended*. I have *no problem* posting and being active on this site and no problem building up credits that I do not even need. However, I am *disabled* and am selling crafts to support myself. I need to be able to be inactive for short periods and followed the rules for taking care of that. Now my site is down.

I saw another post on this forum which states that zeroing your account is standard practice after approving a host. If it is standard practice, I do not see it posted anywhere official or in the FAQs, and certainly the above quotes are much more prominent. Second, it still does not bring me down to (-)5. Third, what about the posts I have made after the application was submitted? Fourth, it seems just a bit off the wall if it is a standard practice.

So, my question is, what do I do from here? The message says I need to post more to get the site back up. I signed on in the first place to visit the forums and post, but, if my site was suspended by policy and that policy includes arbitrarily subtracting credits with no explanation, I am not sure that I want to bother.

Thoughts? Policy explanation?

[OpaQue 15]

After you Upgrade, Credits are reset back. Hope that explains..

[evought 0]

After you Upgrade, Credits are reset back. Hope that explains..

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Err... no, I don't understand. Do you mean "If I upgrade to the next level of hosting, the credits removed when I had my host application accepted will be added back in?" I had intended to submit an application for an upgrade today after posting some more, but now I no longer have the credits to do so.

 

Further, I am now up to over (+)7 credits and my site is still suspended. The message said I would only need 3 credits for the site to be reactivated.

 

I think what is really needed is a good solid explanation of how putting in a hosting application and upgrading affects your credits, something like the pinned post in the Announcements board. In the meantime, I am still at a loss as to how to get my account reactivated, or whether to even bother. If the rules are not clear and I have to go through this kind of thing on a regular basis, it is not worthwhile and I need to go elsewhere.

 

I rather like the concept of Xisto. I have spent many, many hours over time answering peoples questions online and it is nice to be able to get something back for it. I think the big problem is that the rules are just not comprehensible and, from other posts, I am not the first person to be confused. The biggest thing that makes me angry here is the surprise factor. I put in effort, followed the posted rules, ended up being penalized, put in more effort and still do not have a working site. I am making good posts and generating conversation. This generates traffic for you. My customers cannot get to my site and see a message which makes it look like I am insolvent or have bad credit.

 

What do I need to do from here?

[vujsa 0]

Your website is up and it looks good. I use Mambo as well.I hope that things continue to work correctly from this point on. I think that you'll find that your situation was unique and that most people have very little trouble getting their hosting set up. You pointed out that others have had set up issues in the past and we have either located the problem and fixed it or found that the user in one way or another was responcible for the problem. Things like bad post being removed and credits deducted as a result is usually how most people get into trouble.Once you reach 30 credits again, I highly recommend that you upgrade to the full hosting account. We have very very few problems from upgrades but keep in mind that your credits will be reset so don't wait too long after yo get your credits up to 30 before you request an upgrade.Hope this helps.I have a few suggestions for your website by the way and I've gotten pretty good with Mambo if you are interested.Happy Webmastering. :mellow:vujsa

[evought 0]

Your website is up and it looks good.  I use Mambo as well.

It is working again, thank you.

I hope that things continue to work correctly from this point on.  I think that you'll find that your situation was unique and that most people have very little trouble getting their hosting set up.  You pointed out that others have had set up issues in the past and we have either located the problem and fixed it or found that the user in one way or another was responcible for the problem.  Things like bad post being removed and credits deducted as a result is usually how most people get into trouble.
Once you reach 30 credits again, I highly recommend that you upgrade to the full hosting account.  We have very very few problems from upgrades but keep in mind that your credits will be reset so don't wait too long after yo get your credits up to 30 before you request an upgrade.

Hope this helps.

It does. As I said, though, this *really* needs to go into your docs and be somewhat prominent. The surprise factor is the biggets thing.

I have a few suggestions for your website by the way and I've gotten pretty good with Mambo if you are interested.

I would appreciate that. This is my first use of Mambo. I have spent a good bit of time running Zope sites. I am getting very frustrated with Mambo but am nearly certain I am just not doing things correctly. Just doing simple things like getting my own logo and name on the masthead (still have not gotten a logo up) has been "interesting".

Still, it seems to be a good product and I see other sites using it well, so I suspect I need to just grit my teeth and get through the learning curve.

Feel free to send me a personal message with any tips or advice.

[OpaQue 15]

Thanks Vujsa for the reply.If you lose credits, its basically because :-1> You spammed somewhere and we deleted your post. Your associated credits are removed + extra fine.2> Misbehaviour at the forums.3> Breach of TOS.Account Reactivation takes atleast 1 hour. So please be patient. In some cases, it might take more time considering the server load and status. If any of the services of our server are found to be jammed, the reactivation process is postponed for another 1 hour.And last point, We have been in business for almost a year now and haven't cheated anybody till date. There are hundreds of members who are hosted and using our service since a very long time. You can trust our service and its reliability blindfolded :-)Thanks.

[evought 0]

Thanks Vujsa for the reply.

 

If you lose credits, its basically because :-

1> You spammed somewhere and we deleted your post. Your associated credits are removed + extra fine.

2> Misbehaviour at the forums.

3> Breach of TOS.

 

Account Reactivation takes atleast 1 hour. So please be patient. In some cases, it might take more time considering the server load and status. If any of the services of our server are found to be jammed, the reactivation process is postponed for another 1 hour.

 

And last point, We have been in business for almost a year now and haven't cheated anybody till date. There are hundreds of members who are hosted and using our service since a very long time.  You can trust our service and its reliability blindfolded :-)

 

Thanks.

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Apparently also:

 

4) You apply for a host account or upgrade and you get your credits zeroed. This needs to be posted somewhere!

 

I was never worried about being cheated, but mistakes do happen and obviously, people get confused. I would just like better information about what is going on to avoid that.

 

In any case, thank you all for getting it back up.

 

P.S.: Since this a community forum, I will start by posting this information somewhere more visible, but it should probably make it into your TOS.