So who do you host with?

Neither have I concerning domains. I think GoDaddy should stick to domains and leave hosting to the hosts.

 

I use 1&1 for one dedicated server. My smaller, more random personal sites are on shared hosting with Hawk Host -> Hawk Host - Shared, Reseller and Virtual Web Hosting

Hawk Host has been quite reliable and great customer support. They are smaller, but provide a higher level of service.

 

This is true. I'd never purchase a domain elsewhere, I don't think.

Edit: Actually, for me, that's not so true. My GoDaddy account did get hacked and then so did all of my websites. Luckily the hacker(s) only changed my index pages. This was a devastating time for me.

 

I think I remember when that happened to you. I suppose that they could beef up their security - that's one of the only flaws that I can really think of when they come to mind.

 

When I called them to get my account back, that wasn't the greatest experience either, to be honest.

But that was over a year ago and I don't usually hold grudges like that. I still prefer them, for my domains, over their competition.

 

Dealing with them over the phone can be compared to extracting teeth - painful and never-ending.

 

Yes.

Just to summarize, incase anyone wanted to know about a bad GoDaddy experience:

I suppose I can't criticize them for my account getting hacked on their website. Maybe my password was easy to crack, I don't know - the password shouldn't have been. However, it did take two or three phone calls to solve the problem. The reason for this was solely the people I talked to. This was because the first one or two people were not willing to help with my provided information. The last guy understood my situation and was able to resolve the problem (I don't think I knew my 4-digit code you make for GoDaddy, whatever they call it).

 

They're strict when it comes to providing them with that PIN number. It's rather ridiculous, but on the other hand, it is a security measure. Can't fault them for that I guess.

 

My domains are with eNom. However I purchased a domain from GoDaddy once because they were having some sale. Something like a .com for $2.99. The next day, I had 40 advertising emails in my inbox from GoDaddy trying to get me to purchase other services. Everyday after that, I had a new advertising email from them. It was outrageous. Once they allowed me to transfer the domain name, I did and have never looked back at buying domain names from them. I don't care what offers they provide.

I also purchased hosting from them. More customers were going with GoDaddy and their hosting support is non-existant. They can't even help someone create a database properly. So I purchased a hosting account from them to find out how their control panel works and document it so we could provide support to customers using their servers. Again with the emails and the advertising. Combine that with the sub-standard support and lack of professional services, I suggest people stay away from them.

Now even though I am not a GoDaddy customer anymore, I still get an email every fortnight from them asking me to purchase some service or another. I used to click the unsubscribe link every time but would still get them. Now I just report them to my email provider (Microsoft) as spam every time they come into my inbox.

 

// Off Topic

I do use GoDaddy as my Domain registrar and I use NzRegistry for my .co.nz domain names.

// End Off Topic

And Wayne, the only Emails I have ever received from GoDaddy are when I register a new name and they email me the details. I've never received any promotion or special offer emails.

 

I've only ever used GoDaddy and NameCheap and have had no problems whatsoever with either of them.

As far as hosting, I rarely ever hear a good thing about GoDaddy.

 

I've heard nothing but negative things about their hosting services (and it's generally been in regards to their uptime and reliability).

 

Same. I was looking for a new shared hosting provider last October and browsed the WebHostTalk forums to check out reviews from real people. The vast majority of reviews knocked GoDaddy on just about every level of service. That kind of bad reputation has got to be hurting them, at least for hosting.

 

Now I have never had that experience with GoDaddy. The only emails I ever get from them are reminders if one of my domains is getting close to expiring, or an occasional sale. But that's not more than once a week or 2.

Exactly. I've heard some real horror stories from some of my clients.

 

Lucky you. I get these advertisement e-mails all the time and it's extremely frustrating.

 

You're not the only one. I get them on a near weekly basis.

 

I'm direct with a datacenter - SoftLayer.

 

That's the way to go, Boss - dedicated hosting is, in my opinion, the serious choice.

 

Except there's no reason to be on a dedicated box unless your forum/site is huge -_-

 

I've always gone with dedicated hosting (either hardware or virtual) regardless of the size of my forum - but then again, I'm abnormal. :p