To many kiddie hosts?

[Jon-RackSRV]

To me the term kiddie host doesn't specifically refer to the age of the host but to their mentality i.e. do they have a childish and ignorant outlook on the fact that if they are taking money from a client for a service, will they actually provide it.

The kind of things that erk me about "kiddie hosts" are as follows:

1.) Those advertising 24x7 support when they are a one man band. Now I've been a one man band before so I'm certainly not attacking any hard working soloists but it's unfair to mislead clients by advertising 24x7 support when its impossible to meet such bold claims with no staff.
2.) Those who claim to operate their own network/hardware when in fact all they do is resell and then mislead clients on their website with lies stating differently.
3.) Those who have not spent any time planning a pricing structure or plans for the future. This sort of thing happens often and causes serious damage to our industry as clients naturally want the best in terms of pricing and these "kiddie hosts" have unrealistic and unsustainable pricing making them often look more competitive when in actual fact they are not!

Thankfully we don't directly compete in the web hosting side of the industry so point 3 doesn't affect us hugely.

Anyway, that's my take on things

 

[SenseiSteve]

Add to that list owners who run their packages on unmanaged servers, have no tech staff or contingency plans, then when problems arise are unable to cope.

 

[Midpulse]

"Kiddie Hosts" in the aspect of short-term hosts, not age, simply teaches consumers to do more research before they invest. Some people need a little loss in order for them to figure out that they should do more research before they buy something. There are exceptions, of course, but I believe this applies to the majority of hosting purchases.

Google is something people don't use often enough.

 

[Exmasters-Mark]

All they do is give the hosting industry a bad name.

Believe they don't do even this, mostly because the thing you have also talked about:

whole bunch of people selling something they don’t really have a clue about to another bunch of people that have no clue.

while the industry is constructed by the professionals.

E.G. You do not blame the whole cycling sports when you see kids unable to ride a bike? Or you do not curse all the steel-making field when someone sells you the sh*tty piece of metal, which has been melted in the outdated open-hearth furnace. The same is here.

 

[hostavps]

I agree... when there are too many resellers out there that dont really know much about what they are reselling then that eventually becomes a problem.

 

[rlshosting]

I agree. Too many people that act like children in this industry.

 

[SenseiSteve]

I agree. Too many people that act like children in this industry.

Seriously, how do you define too many? Of course, there are some kiddie hosts that do a horrible job at hosting - but I can think of some (at the time) reputable hosts that bit the dust and left their clients hanging. If you're searching for web hosting, it begins with being an educated buyer - just as in every other industry.

 

[Forward Web]

IMO there is to many "kiddie hosts" promising the world for next to nothing. All they do is give the hosting industry a bad name.

I think the whole master and alpha reseller accounts add the problems as you end up with a whole bunch of people selling something they don’t really have a clue about to another bunch of people that have no clue.


Anyhow that is my whine for the day lol

I agree with this, however the consumer definitly shares part of the blame by not doing proper DD before signing up with a company.

 

[Blue]

In most countries an under 18 cannot _legally_ enter into a contract with a client or supplier - so the majority of "kiddie" hosts are at a minimum breaking the law ...

I keep hearing this argument. Any evidence to back it up?

Is there any evidence at all out there that it has ever been an issue?
The contract is worthless regardless of age if the provider decides to cut and run.
I have yet to see any evidence of a scorned client ever getting satisfaction based on a TOS/AUP violation or a client losing money because they were unable to enforce a contract with a "kiddie" host.

Perhaps people in this thread could provide some empirical evidence.

 

[othellotech]

I keep hearing this argument. Any evidence to back it up?

In the UK (and I believe the rest of Europe) The age of legal capacity, for the purposes of contract law, is 18. Those under 18 are referred to as "minors" in all legislation relating to companies and contracts.

 

[rlshosting]

I think they mean maturity level. Not age.

 

[HostOX]

Sorry but age is nothing to do with it to be quite honest.

I started out in hosting at age 14, and the main business setup to be a success became one.

At age 15 I started the big one, I am now nearly 19, my companies are making 70% profit margins and I am highly ranked in google, and this year they are taking double if not 3 x the orders. We also run nearly 30 servers.
And at that age, I was quite a competent, technical minded young chap, and now I have advanced above and beyond with no education but my own.

I quit my college after two years, left the business and the IT course, to finally run my companies full time.
And I now run 7 companies and 2 more being built, all succesful, now IMO, if I can be mature, and become successful and provide something not even the adults back in the day could, then any kid can run a business, with the right mind and intention.

So most likely you refer to a level of brain age, not physical age.

Sorry here, no pun intended, I have seen people age 16ish providing a better service with faster support than any adult who has a company can or does, and probably better than hostgator and many other high up companies, certainly it might be because they are not that big yet, but they continue to prove they can beat the big boys in more than one way, even when they grow to bigger sizes.

I think we need to abolish the crooks, the adult con-artists and the kid crooks from the industry and the morons with no competence to run a business nor a server.

So in one definition, kiddie hosts are not the issue here.

I see anyone putting down a young person trying to prove themself and become a success and better themself, a complete moron and stuck up idiot.
Providing that person has good intentions and is doing good or trying.

Too many people don't see that in a few years, the young ones will be powering the industry and the world, were as all the adults and big boys move on or burn off, simple fact, it is the new generation, dito.

So no, I do not agree.

Dedication - First and most vital part to being something I define as a success.
Tactics - We all need them.
Passion - Hate what you do? Leave.
Knowledge - Is power. (Contacts are better IMO)

A young person who has those 4 factors, will go somewere, there is a lot more but who cares.


The statement should be 'Too many morons in this industry" correcto!

Its 6AM, dam, tired, peace.

 

[GreenOliveTree]

I think they mean maturity level. Not age.

I agree. That is not polite and not right to believe if person is young he or she is unprofessional.
There are a lot of examples of young successful people.

 

[paullopez]

I agree with Paul 0130, IMO age really doesn't matter. What should be important for customers, if web host gives value to their businesses, the stability of servers, the availability of support, a fair price and the professionalism of web host and his team. That's it.

 

[ServerSea]

Support and technical team makes a kiddie host a strong one, so as a hosting company, once you have these features, sky will be the limit.

 

[NetFusionHost]

No one really knows about hosting until they've been doing it a while. Plus the people who don't know any better are probably not the clients you want anyway!

Everyone has to start somewhere.

I think that's the big one. I know lots of young people who are very experienced with servers, however if they are mature, know how to manage the finances and how to run the servers/reseller/business then It could be a good thing.

I completely agree with this, I am only 16 yet I know more about servers, finances, and hosting then most 20 year olds. Unfortunately there are so many people in my age range that get into this business for quick money, that it gives younger hosting business owners a bad name.

Age has little relevance to the discussion of who is a reliable and honest host.

I agree 100% here for the same reasons as above.

 

[othellotech]

E.G. You do not blame the whole cycling sports when you see kids unable to ride a bike?

But they're not selling you "professional bike riding lessons" - which would be the correct analogy

There is a world of difference between being a clueless user (everyone has to start somewhere, although preferably do it _offline_) and being a clueless supplier ...

 

[Forward Web]

Sorry but age is nothing to do with it to be quite honest.

I started out in hosting at age 14, and the main business setup to be a success became one.

At age 15 I started the big one, I am now nearly 19, my companies are making 70% profit margins and I am highly ranked in google, and this year they are taking double if not 3 x the orders. We also run nearly 30 servers.
And at that age, I was quite a competent, technical minded young chap, and now I have advanced above and beyond with no education but my own.

I quit my college after two years, left the business and the IT course, to finally run my companies full time.
And I now run 7 companies and 2 more being built, all succesful, now IMO, if I can be mature, and become successful and provide something not even the adults back in the day could, then any kid can run a business, with the right mind and intention.

So most likely you refer to a level of brain age, not physical age.

Sorry here, no pun intended, I have seen people age 16ish providing a better service with faster support than any adult who has a company can or does, and probably better than hostgator and many other high up companies, certainly it might be because they are not that big yet, but they continue to prove they can beat the big boys in more than one way, even when they grow to bigger sizes.

I think we need to abolish the crooks, the adult con-artists and the kid crooks from the industry and the morons with no competence to run a business nor a server.

So in one definition, kiddie hosts are not the issue here.

I see anyone putting down a young person trying to prove themself and become a success and better themself, a complete moron and stuck up idiot.
Providing that person has good intentions and is doing good or trying.

Too many people don't see that in a few years, the young ones will be powering the industry and the world, were as all the adults and big boys move on or burn off, simple fact, it is the new generation, dito.

So no, I do not agree.

Dedication - First and most vital part to being something I define as a success.
Tactics - We all need them.
Passion - Hate what you do? Leave.
Knowledge - Is power. (Contacts are better IMO)

A young person who has those 4 factors, will go somewere, there is a lot more but who cares.


The statement should be 'Too many morons in this industry" correcto!

Its 6AM, dam, tired, peace.

I'm going to have to disagree with this on so many levels. Although it is true that someone at the age of 15 can have the capacity to work hard, its still does not change the fact that someone who is 15 or even 19, is still going to be very inexperienced in life (and what experiences you hold in life, go a long, long way in business).

The best someone young in the industry can do, is have potential. But its not possible for someone who is 15 to come right out of the box with the same knowledge and know how of someone who has been in the industry 10+ years. Not going to happen.

 

[Localnode]

I'm going to have to disagree with this on so many levels. Although it is true that someone at the age of 15 can have the capacity to work hard, its still does not change the fact that someone who is 15 or even 19, is still going to be very inexperienced in life (and what experiences you hold in life, go a long, long way in business).

The best someone young in the industry can do, is have potential. But its not possible for someone who is 15 to come right out of the box with the same knowledge and know how of someone who has been in the industry 10+ years. Not going to happen.

Facebook, Napster. All started by people very early in life.
Sure it's a different industry, but by the looks of both founders they obviously did something right.

You get experience in life as you age.

 

[Artashes]

Facebook, Napster. All started by people very early in life.

Those guys who started companies like Napster were inventors.

Running day-to-day operations of a DC or a large hosting enterprise takes experience in knowing how to handle various issues. The more you do it, the more you know. I think this is what F-G-G meant.