Originally posted by DomainDog
Indexing- Bad Idea??
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Originally posted by DomainDogOpenbox, that seems like an odd statement. I thought that what these forum were all about?
I know I for one have gotten a lot of support and learning from you and many others on this forum. I usually reserve trouble tix for malfunctions and things not fixable or diagnosable via our level of access.
I for one enjoy reading posts and discussing various topics with various people. I do my part to contribute just as everyone else does. That's what makes a forum such a great opportunity. I'd hate to see that limited to "select" individuals.Comment
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You know all those hundreds of indexed posts aren't going to disappear any time soon. The number of personal accounts at Dathorn are substantial and growing. The secret is out. Might be a good time to review those business plans?"Whatcha mean I shouldn't be rude to my clients?! If you want polite then there will be a substantial fee increase." - BuddhaComment
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I believe none of us participating on forum are considering others as competition. At least I am not. Actualy, one recent poll showed that most of the people here are using Dathorn to support other business they have with clients (usualy web development) and reselling is not main business model.
I am sure there are lots of people who do just reselling but not participating here. I may bet that number of us who are active here is much lower than number of client Dathorn has. Others are not willing to share, or simply do not have what to share.
Honestly, I do not care. If I need help, I ask, if I can help, I try to.
This is fine comunity worth belonging to.Comment
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Originally posted by ][kkebraI agree with DomainDog. You're left with the options of changing your username somehow or finding a non-indexed place to post. It's different for everyone though.
It's just too bad there's not even one section here where Dathorn customers can have a private discussion not open to the entire world.** Custom Graphics **
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I thiink I can see DomainnDog's point on this... compare it to Staples (or any retailer) leaving their wholesaler's invoices on their products while on the shelf... if you saw one of these wholesale invoices, would you continue to go to the retailer or would you go straight to the wholesaler (making the assumption they would sell to an end user)....
personally, it would have to be a LOT of "value-added" service to justify paying the markup a retailer normally would make...
I don't think DomainDog said anything about closing the forums - he just pointed out that they could be found out by googling... why not slap in a robots.txt to stop the search engines, but still leave them open to the public from dathorn.com? That way if someone is interested, they could still get into them but at the same time they wouldn't be "advertised"?
just my 1.98 worth (after markup).Comment
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Originally posted by bd2003why not slap in a robots.txt to stop the search engines, but still leave them open to the public from dathorn.com?
Personally I'm indifferent to it, but I guess it begs the question - is the lack of a robots.txt (or similar directives) intentional, i.e., to increase Dathorn's exposure, or was is simply forgotten.
BTW ... Most users ever online was 1171, 05-25-2004 ... did a badly written spider run amuck or did I just miss a really hot topic.Comment
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I think you will find that in any small business the key to success is Service, Service and Service.
If you look at the Consumer Electroincs Field, ( I have been involved in it for over 25 years) the only way for small businesses to survive is service, it's not always price if you are smart it should not be price.
Think about it this way if you want to buy a 46" projo from a walmart or a future shop, do you think the sales rep that you bought it from cares once you get it home if it works........, most do not care...... however the same purchase from your local electronics store and you will have service not a issue. ( if the store is worth anything at all)
In the world of web hosting the same applies, there are millions of cheap hosts, scammers, etc etc, most here have experienced them..... same applies to website designers etc etc.
It's the package you are selling, the service you supply and keeping your customer happy. Most of the people you do work for will be people you know or from contacts that will recommend you.
A customer doesn;t want ot know about a domain name, dns redirects, html php, cgi bins etc , they want a web site that works is open for business and updated weekely, monthly etc.... the finished product is their mani concern
You do good work provide the service and have reasonable pricing your business plan should work.
As far as thinking that the internet was somehow private, well I think that person should maybe read a bit more etc......Cheers,
Gary
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Originally posted by bd2003just my 1.98 worth (after markup).
bd2003, that almost a 1000 percent MARKUP!!!! I demand to know who your wholesale supplier is!!!!
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Originally posted by chrisdBTW ... Most users ever online was 1171, 05-25-2004 ... did a badly written spider run amuck or did I just miss a really hot topic.** Custom Graphics **
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Have a look at the robots.txt file for another, bigger reseller host, recently sold to a UK based reseller host, whose whole site is a vBulletin forum:
Code:User-Agent: * Disallow: /
Another one doesn't use robots.txt, but has extensive 'Clients Only' forums that are not publicly accessible.
Whilst another re-seller host similar to Dathorn (BW) has their forums wide-open, like Dathorn.
So its a mixed bag here.
From a user-perspective, as a user who sometimes has to solve tech problems, it is probably on balance a good thing to have these resources exposed to Google. It helps me locate fixes and solve problems, which can be good.
On the other hand, from a business perspective, it probably does mean people should exercise discretion in how they report customer issues here. Same as anywhere.
After all, even if Google was blocked from searching the Dathorn forums, users with even a bit of savvy could still figure out who the reseller was, and then just come over to the Dathorn site and forums directly and look around.
The issue of them discovering you are charging them $10 for a service you get for $14 misses the point. You are discounting the value you add for your customers to the basic service Dathorn provides you, through whatever extra support, customer service, other services etc etc you provide. Most people are willing to pay extra for that, and recognise it as valuable. You need to be more confident about the value you add, and continually impress your customers with your service too.
If your customers felt good about that, you needn't worry about them discovering your margin, especially if it is just a $10/$14 issue.
However, if you were charging them $100 for your service, and were delivering it to them really badly, then I'd be worried about them discovering your Dathorn price base, and leaving.Comment
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You missed one Samsam ... I've got another reseller account that doesn't even have a forum. It's a Plesk Reseller account too. There your on your own. Like here they only supply server support.
So thank you Andrew for the forum however you want to run it!"Whatcha mean I shouldn't be rude to my clients?! If you want polite then there will be a substantial fee increase." - BuddhaComment
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Originally posted by samsamThe issue of them discovering you are charging them $10 for a service you get for $14 misses the point. You are discounting the value you add for your customers to the basic service Dathorn provides you, through whatever extra support, customer service, other services etc etc you provide. Most people are willing to pay extra for that, and recognise it as valuable.
That's exactly why I referred to as silly the baseless criticism another poster offered of profit-based selling!
The truth is- most of my customers are refugees from sucky webhosts who gave them nothing but grief. They appreciate all I do for them and they would probably pay me double if I asked them to.
Hmmmmm...... maybe I should consider............. NAW!
DomainDog
PS-> I base my business on the Andrew Dathorn model: Great Service at a Fair Price!** Custom Graphics **
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