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Space Upgrades
- How do I apply?
- What should I check?
- What do the staff check?
- How long does it take?
- What if my application is refused?
- Can I add space to my CGI-BIN account?
Ad removal
- What do I get?
- How do I apply?
- How long does it take?
MySQL Database
- How do I apply?
- How long does it take?
- What is it? What do I get? How do I use it?
Space Upgrades
Q: How do I apply?
A: Log into the members' area using your 'planet' account details, and follow
the link for space upgrades there.
You will then see a short form to fill in, asking for details of how much space you want and
your reasons for wanting it. Fill that in as accurately as possible after reading the next
question.
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Q: What should I check?
A: First and foremost, check that your site follows the Terms of Service and
Spaceports Policies, or you may find that you end up with a space reduction instead.
The staff check each site manually, so make sure it doesn't break any of the rules.
Secondly, make sure that you've used up most, or preferably all, of the space already allocated
to you.
Do not ask for too much space in a single application. If this is your first upgrade from
your initial 10 or 20 Mb, then asking for 100 Mb is likely to be refused. Requesting 20Mb,
then 30Mb and finally 50Mb (using the space responsibly between applications) is a much more
sensible approach.
Be descriptive when giving the reason for your application, and what the space will be used
for. Just typing "I run out of space and need more" is not only vague, it's stating the
obvious.
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Q: What do the staff check?
A: Before I answer this one, I have to point out that I have never been
involved in any of the Spaceports admin processes, so much of it is educated guesswork based on
observation over the last couple of years. I don't know what order these checks are done in,
or whether my description is complete.
However, it's probably fairly close.
Okay, obviously they check your submitted form details first of all. Incomplete or
inaccurate details would give your application a higher than average chance of being refused, as
would applying when you still have a lot of unused space.
They then have to decide if the request is reasonable, by looking at the reason for the request,
the intended use to which you will put it, and how you've used the space you have already.
This is obviously easier for them to judge if your account has been upgraded several times in the
past.
This will involve them actually visiting your site, so they'll also be checking that it follows
the rules. If it doesn't, then they aren't going to bother processing your request any
further, and if it's particularly bad, they'll probably forward your details to the abuse
department.
They aren't there to critique your skills as a webmaster, but they will be looking at how you
are using the resources. If you only have one or two pages and have filled the rest of your
space with downloadable files, then your site is not even close to paying for itself. To give
you additional space would just increase the amount your site was costing them.
Possibly they also check your bandwidth (transfer) stats for the last month or two. If
your site consistently hits the daily or monthly limits, then giving you extra space would not do
anyone any favours.
Finally, bear in mind Spaceports have been around for five years or so now and they do this
hundreds, if not thousands, of times every day. Please try to make the process and quick and
easy as possible for them.
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Q: How long does it take?
A: 2-3 weeks.
It's possible that it might take a little longer at busy times, or if there's some sort of
crisis going on, but usually the process is a lot quicker than that.
You'll receive an email if your application is accepted, which will state how much space you've
given. This might not be the same amount as you requested, depending on circumstances.
The figures in the members' area should also update accordingly.
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Q: What if my application is refused?
A: If you don't receive an email within a month, and the information in the
members' area does not change, your request has likely been refused.
The staff do not always have time to inform you of the reason your request was declined.
Last I heard, they were receiving over 1000 emails every day (they weren't all upgrade requests,
but you can imagine how busy they must be).
Applying again with the exact same details would be a waste of everyone's time and resources, as
they don't decline requests without reason. Read the answers to the two previous questions
(again) and adjust your request and/or site accordingly before making another application.
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Q: Can I add space to my CGI-BIN account?
A: No. You're limited to 10Mb and/or 1000 files only.
Please don't bug the staff about this, as it will just prevent them from getting on with other
tasks.
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Ad Removal
Q: What do I get?
A: All automatically inserted advertisements, including popups, can be removed
from your 'planet' site's pages (as has been done here) for one year.
You are also not required to display inline banners on the CGI-BIN server if you pay for this
upgrade.
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Q: How do I apply?
A: Login at config.spaceports.com
using your 'planet' account details and follow one of the links near the top of the page.
One allows you to pay $20 for the upgrade via credit card, and the other using 200 clicks.
To use the latter you will have to have had a site here for some time, as the revenue sharing
scheme was discontinued in November 2001. Some of us still have unpaid clicks remaining,
which is why the link is still there.
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Q: How long does it take?
A: Approximately 72 hours (3 days). As with any service, the actual time
will vary.
The easiest way to check if the upgrade has been processed is to visit your site.
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MySQL Database
Q: How do I apply?
A: Login at config.spaceports.com
using your CGI-BIN account details and follow the link near the bottom of the page.
If you don't already have a CGI-BIN account, login using your 'planet' account details, and
apply for one first.
You cannot apply for a MySQL database using your 'planet' account details. A database
would be useless on the 'planet' servers as you'd have no way of interacting with it - for that you
need a Perl CGI or PHP script, and they only work on the CGI-BIN server.
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Q: How long does it take?
A: On average, an hour or so.
Problems do arise from time to time, so if it seems to be taking longer than that, check for
announcements in the "Comments From the Dev Team" section of the Spaceports forum.
Apparently, users no longer receive an email when the request has gone through, as the password
for your database will now be identical to the one used for your CGI-BIN account. This can be
confusing, as it's not immediately obvious if you have a database yet.
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Q: What is it? What do I get? How do I use it?
A: See the CGI-BIN FAQ and the MySQL section of this site for further details.
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