Web Service
Change Has Big Consequences
Backing up PC or electronic data is a
subject I have written about many times. I thought I had covered
just about every contingency requiring an up-to-date copy of your
computer data. Surprise! This column is being written because the
original column planned has been rendered useless due to the people
who administer my web site.
All they did was change one little
character in the name of my web site. Not just mine, but every web
site they host. The result? Not only can I not find my site, no
search engine in the world can find my site.
Why would the hosting service change
the URL, or Universal Resource Locator, the alphabetic name assigned
to a series of numbers that point to my web site? A change in server
software, from Unix to Microsoft, dictates the URL not contain the
tilde character, the”~”. The ~ is used in Unix systems with User
Names, but not MS systems.
The problem is the web hosting service
thought so little of their customers they didn’t bother to tell
their customers the change was coming. We found out when we tried to
visit our web site and got the famous “404” error, site not
found.
To make matters worse, the web hosting
service doesn’t care if I’m out the cost of business cards or
advertising, or in my case, a column about web sites! They offered
no apologies, or assistance to resolve the issues.
I have a feeling the legal eagles will
descend on the comatose propeller heads with a vengeance. In my
case, the web site I maintain is about my old Air Force unit and is
used as a community site by a group of people with a common interest.
No financial loss, just a regal loss of time and effort. As soon as
I have a new URL, I’ll upload the corrected backup data. Of course
neither Google nor any other search engine will be able to find my
site for quite a while, so I have to rely on word of mouth and
e-mail. One thing bothers me, though. What is to prevent any other
web hosting service from such an insensitive change? I had moved my
wife’s business site off of this web hosting service several years
ago, but I can’t help but wonder about the small businesses that
are suffering without recourse.
I’m shopping for a new web hosting
service and that is where I use a full backup of my web site. The old
service won’t restore the old name, so since I have to start over I
certainly won’t use the same service. Hopefully, my next web
hosting service will be customer oriented instead of totally
unconscious when dealing with its customers. Technology changes that
destroy customer loyalty are not going to keep any company in
business.
I’ll keep a backup of the web site
handy, just in case.
George Mindling
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