Subj : Re: Web hosting
To   : Andre
From : McDoob
Date : Tue Mar 15 2022 12:57:07

 An>  Mc> $5 x 12 months is 50% *more* than $40/yr. Just pointing that out...
 An> 
 An> I didn't even catch that it was /year and not /month. I wouldn't even
 An> know where to start unless I was buying a base tier with like two years
 An> up front.

Easy enough mistake to make... (^_^)

That's one reason why I suggested building a server on a Pi. After the initial
payout, the running costs are effectively zero. After all, you'd need internet
and electricity to interact with a hosted server too. If you run it for four
years only, even the top end setups would be less than $40/yr. If you go to,
say, ten years...it's more like $20/yr, or less...Heck, if you're extra 
frugal, and just buy a bare board Pi Zero W and a microSD card, it could be
less than $40 *in that first year*!

Another, more important (at least to me) reason is, it's not somebody else's
server. Nobody but the owner can take it down, break it, or otherwise make it
unuseable. Nobody but the owner can say what is or is not acceptable content in
that server, either. Personally, that's a big difference, and why I wouldn't
use a hosted server myself.

Naturally, there are drawbacks. It is often (far) easier to slap a Wordpress
site onto a pre-configured server than it is to build a webserver literally
from the ground-plane up. What you save in money, you'll probably wind up
spending in time (and effort) instead. 

And, it may not be easily possible to achieve the goals intended when working
with a Pi (especially older models), depending on those specific goals. A
simple website, and a 128-player FPS game server are not at all the same.
There are limits to these little guys, though those limits are often being
stretched...

As always, it depends on personal need. Do I need specific features that
aren't availiable on a Pi-based home server? Do I have the
skills/time/resources to do it myself, and is it worth investing these? Is
*my* internet more stable than that of a host? Does my ISP even *allow* home
servers (some don't)?

It may very well be that my suggestion doesn't make any sense, when the OP
considers all the factors...or, maybe it will make perfect sense...

McDoob
SysOp, PiBBS
pibbs.sytes.net

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
 * Origin: PiBBS (21:4/135)

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