Community Questions and Answers II
From LifelessWiki
For the first time we did this and the complete text of what was in it please see: http://www.lifelesswiki.com/wiki/Community_Questions_and_Answers
Has Trel ever thought LLP would die?
Swordude wrote:
Hey Trel, thanks for having a great service. I was just wondering if there was ever a time when you thought LLP wasn't going to make it and eventually die down?
When this was started back before it was even called Lifelesspeople.com the idea was just a project in the short term. This was never planned to almost be in its 7th year.
I'd say that would be the only time I thought the idea was going to die out because it was never planned to go this far. :)
Has Trel ever considered abandoning LLP?
Voldemort wrote:
Was there a time you felt like abandoning LLP, shut everything off because things were not going well?
I would have to say no. That isn't to say that all the times during the years have been rosy and all good, but I never wanted to just quit and move on. I always wanted to make it work and make it better.
How did LLP survive so long?
Where does the money come from?
When was LLP started?
Did Trel have any problems?
Where is Trel?
Who would take care of LLP if you gave up on it, if anyone?
Does Trel exercise?
Why Yahoo! ads instead of Google?
What cell phone does Trel use?
Jacky wrote:
Sorry, but I got too many questions. If you don't feel like answering all, then just answer one. I'm the curious sort.
1. How did LifelessPeople survive so long?
2. Where do you find the money to keep LifelessPeople going or is there a sponsor? If so, who is the sponsor?
3. What is the exact date that LifelessPeople started? If you can't remember, perhaps you could provide the month and year?
4. Did you meet with any problems on the journey of keeping LifelessPeople alive?
5. Where are you recently? I don't see you on IRC anymore...
6. If one day you decide to give up everything, who will be your successor? Or would you just shut it down and that will be the end of the story?
7. Do you exercise? What sports are you active in? Basketball? Soccer?
8. Why do you prefer Yahoo! ads instead of Google's one?
9. What mobile phone do you use?
10. What computer do you use? The brand and model?
11. How old are you?
I'll answer a few of those. :)
1) I would say the number one thing that made it all possible was being agile and forward thinking. There have been some hard choices along the line and each of those times were critical to the future of the service. Each one was very hard because I can think of a few right off that could make or break the service completely.
The choice to switch from Windows to FreeBSD w/cPanel. It was a rocky start and things did not function well for awhile there. We can all thank the people that stuck it out through the transition for helping to keep L2P alive. Most have moved on to other projects and such by today, but they did make a difference at the time.
The choice to implement posting requirements into the service was another case of something that had to be done to ensure the future of the service. This was a particularly unpopular decision since back then it wasn't common to have such requirements in a provider.
2) I've already answered this three dozen times, but here it is: Primary funds to manage this service come from profits off of the various technologies and such that are tested here. Other funds come from places such as donations and advertisers which help to put money into the war chest for times when there are unexpected expenses that would ruin the budget for the quarter.
3) L2P itself started in December of 2001, but the webhosting service that was remade into L2P was founded much earlier. I believe the first free email and chat services from the oldest incarnation of the service went live between late 1998 and mid year 1999 though I can't be certain of that anymore.
4) Running a free webhosting service is like playing balance the table on your nose. Its not easy to do. Wink Short answer: Yes, definitely.
5) I haven't had the time for IRC lately, but I do pop in from time to time to say hello.
6) Hmm.. I don't know that successor would be the proper term for it. If I ever decide to give up on LPNL and step down.. I would likely put everything up for sale.
7) I do exercise a bit to relax and stretch out after sitting at a antiworkstation for hours on end. A routine with a workout machine is usually what I have time to do since it is just in the other room.
Cool This is a trade secret.
9) Treo 650
Editor's Note: That is one awesome phone.
That is enough from one person. ;)
Will LLP use phpBB3?
Voldemort wrote:
Oh, and are you going to upgrade to phpBB 3 when it comes out? (Shouldn't be too far away from now, since the last release is beta 2 if I am not mistaken) (Can't edit original post, so making a new one)
Yes.. eventually.
Don't expect us to just jump to phpBB3 the day it is released (as much as I would like to). There are many considerations that will need to be taken into account before we can move. Once those are squared away and I am reasonably certain we won't have a massive explosion of problems/bugs right after the upgrade then we'll upgrade.
I will also say that many of the modifications that were suggested and said "wait until phpBB3" will be considered. Just don't get in a hurry for major modifications to phpBB3 after it is released if any at all that aren't absolutely necessary. Wink
Have you ever banned a user in anger?
burek wrote:
I have a question: Did a LLP user ever manage to piss you off so much you banned him without explanation or in an evil way? Very Happy If no, when were you pissed off the most over an LLP member, who was he and what did he do?
Interesting question..
As part Director, Moderator, Owner, and forum member I have many conflicts of interest to think about.
As owner my job is to make sure this service is as profitable as possible. As director it is my job to make sure this service runs as smoothly as possible. As a moderator it is my job to make sure that we all live in peace and harmony.. or as close as possible. Finally as a forum member it is my job to express my views and opinions without holding back because of the first three. :)
With all that considered.. No I have never banned anyone just because they made me angry. Part of the reason that I believe the community is still here and is still so lively even after so much time is the freedom of topic and the freedom to express your ideas that we all enjoy even if I or the people in a position of authority like moderators disagree with you.
Have I ever been very happy to ban someone I didn't particularly care for because they broke the rules and were up for a ban? Yes. ;)
Where does Trel see LLP in 5 years? How does he see LLP? How was that hosting conference?
Quote:
Five year plan: Where do you see LLP going in the next five years? Do you see LLP as a mere stepping stone in your future ventures? Or is it your center piece? How was that hosting conference? :D What trends do you see out there that LLP could hop on and ride the wave with, or rather, are there any trends you forsee to be flops and want LLP to have no part of?
1) Over the next five years I see L2P staying much the way it is today. Good quality with good value for the effort and hopefully a very lively community with people from all over the world coming together to discuss their ideas.
2) In a mind share sense L2P is the corner stone of the entire LPNL line and that is mostly because of how much I like this place. In a practical sense L2P is always a stepping stone of some sort on to another project or another partnership. It is always involved in some way, but perhaps not the center piece itself.
3) The HostingCon.. it is very hard to say exactly how it is..
Better than 2005, but still not great. :)
4) Interesting... and hard to answer.
L2P has never been one to ride a wave or follow the crowd as that has lead more free webhosts to their doom than I care to count.
Ignoring current "waves" and looking forward I could see the following:
I think we'll see some investment into Windows based free webhosting to a point and see some compound offerings of both UNIX and Windows based hosting at some more adventurous providers. (L2P isn't even looking at this so don't get your hopes up.)
On the other side I think we might start seeing more free reseller account offerings coming back over the next 12 - 24 months as virtualization technology matures. Instead of using a full server with the costs associated it might come from the direction of providers using far cheaper virtual servers powered by technology such as Xen, Virtuozzo, or even OpenVZ. The falling cost of services like this and the more specialized "fully managed" VPS solution providers will make this type of free webhosting far more possible.
I think both of these are going to run into significant problems starting off due to the underestimation of costs and risks associated with each. Done right both of these "waves" could carry a smaller provider to the front of the pack quite easily, but I doubt more than a handful would survive in the long run.
I'm happy with L2P's core offerings for now and I don't see the roll out of any major additions to offerings such as Windows accounts or reseller accounts of either kind at any point even in the distant future.
I might consider Windows based hosting if there was enough demand for it, but I doubt there is enough demand to go along with something around double the current PBPP requirements for Windows based accounts due to cost of such services.
Very few people are posting, should we run around like our hair is on fire?
burek wrote:
I have another question: At the moment, LLP seems to be in a little crisis (very few people posting, almost no new members etc.). Do you see this as a threat and, if you do, do you have any plans to change this?
It is a trend at this time of year to slow down a bit as people get quite busy doing many different things. As of right now I don't see it as a crisis and it is just part of a yearly trend.
Who is Ivan?
version2 wrote:
Who is Ivan [Ristic?] and how do you know him?
Ivan is the author of a piece of software called mod_security. It is part of the overall protection system used at L2P to keep sites safe from robotic attacks against scripts such as phpBB and others.
