Frequently Asked Questions

The NearlyFreeSpeech.NET FAQ (*)

 Getting Started (*)

What is the difference between Domain Registration, DNS Service, and hosting?

Why does my domain not point to my site yet? (Or: What is an alias and why do I need one?)

Should I make my own backups of my web site?

How do I create a site on your system?

How do I connect to my site to upload files?

I uploaded a new page, but my browser still shows the old one. What should I do?

Is adding an alias to my site or creating DNS for a domain the same as registering it?

What's the easiest way to register a domain and set up a web site on your service?

How do I make a deposit?

Where can I find more information about whether or not your service supports the software I want to use on my site?

After I set up, how long does it take for things to start working?

Does it matter if filenames are uppercase or lowercase?

How do I delete a web site?

How do I remove a domain that is listed on my account?

Customization (*)

What canonical name settings are available?

How do I enable directory indexes for my site?

How do I create a website for the sole purpose of forwarding visitors to another website?

What path should I use for .htpasswd files?

How do I change the text displayed for missing pages and other errors?

How do I restrict what IP addresses can access my site?

Can I set up more than one alias for my site?

What should my site's canonical name be?

How do I mark my site as static content so I won't be charged for CGI/PHP?

Domain Name Service (DNS) (*)

I have NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS and www.example.com works but example.com does not. Why?

How should I configure my third-party DNS to point to my site?

Why are my active and authoritative name servers different?

How do I add NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS for a new domain name to my existing website?

What name servers should I use with my domain?

I already have NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS for www.example.com. Will it cost more to add another.example.com (or example.com)?

I have NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS set up. How do I add a new site using a subdomain?

How do I use a domain I registered elsewhere with NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS?

What are the 3 IP addresses listed for my site used for? Are they name servers?

How do I configure NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS to work with my third-party email service?

What is the "SPF Email Protection" option for DNS?

I have a NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS domain already. If I add a second, different NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS domain can I safely assume that it will use the same name servers as my existing domain?

How do I add / remove DNS records for my domain?

How do I change the name servers for a domain registered with NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

Do you support wildcard DNS?

Can I get secondary DNS in another location?

How come I can't remove that DNS record?

Domain Registration (*)

I have a domain registered with NearlyFreeSpeech.NET. How do I change the name servers?

Can I add or remove RespectMyPrivacy on a domain I already registered here or transferred?

I want to transfer a domain to NearlyFreeSpeech.NET. Will my site/DNS/email go down if I do?

Is NearlyFreeSpeech.NET an ICANN-accredited registrar?

If I still have time left on my existing domain registration with another registrar, can I keep that time if I transfer the domain to NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

Will you remind me before my domain expires?

Why is my domain transfer taking so long?

What are the steps involved in a domain transfer?

Why is the domain I transferred to NearlyFreeSpeech.NET not pointing to my site?

What happens to my domain's name server settings during a transfer?

I have a domain with a proxy privacy registration service. Can I transfer it to NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

What's the maximum number of years for which I can register a domain name?

I let my domain expire a while ago. Now I'm trying to renew it and I get "renewal failed." Why?

What happens if my domain transfer fails?

Can I create child name servers (glue records) within my domain?

Can you send the domain transfer approval to a different email address?

Do I need to put valid contact information on my domain registration?

Will you be adding additional top-level domains to register?

I have a bunch of domains to register/renew/transfer. Can you help?

Why am I still paying for RespectMyPrivacy service on my expired domain?

What is a push transfer?

Where are the actions for editing my registered domain?

How do I renew my domain name?

What happens to my domain after it expires?

Why does domain registration have different Terms of Service than NearlyFreeSpeech.NET hosting?

When should I renew my domain name?

What top-level domains do you support for registration?

How I do I get the transfer code for a domain registered here?

Why does my domain registrar show as "external?"

Something's weird about adding a new domain contact. What is it?

Why did my domain transfer fail?

I renewed my expired domain. Why is it still parked?

What does the error "The name server modification failed." mean?

Why doesn't the domain name I just renewed show up in the renewal monitor?

What does the error "the contact information you entered was not accepted by the registry" mean?

Email (*)

How much email can my site send?

I need email hosting for my domain. Where should I get it?

How can I stop spammers from sending email that says that it's from my domain?

I sent a test message from my Gmail account through NearlyFreeSpeech.NET Email Forwarding, which forwards back to my Gmail account. How come it never showed up?

I have NearlyFreeSpeech.NET Email Forwarding. Somebody tried to send me email and it was rejected. Why?

How do I send email to others using a domain name that I have NearlyFreeSpeech.NET Email Forwarding for?

How do I remove / stop being charged for NearlyFreeSpeech.NET email forwarding for my domain?

How do I set up third-party email services with NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS?

Why can't I disable the spam filter/virus protection/greylisting on my email forwarding?

What problems exist with pointing NearlyFreeSpeech.NET Email Forwarding at a Comcast email address?

Why can't I use an email address in a domain hosted here as my contact address?

What is greylisting?

Legacy Domain Registrations (*)

How do I update my legacy registration's name server information?

My legacy registration says 'Coming Soon' or 'Parked.' What's wrong?

Can I use funds in my personal bandwidth account to pay for legacy domain registrations?

Does my legacy registration need NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS?

How do I transfer a legacy registration to NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

How do I get technical support for legacy registrations?

I still have legacy registrations. What is the address of the old domain registration web site?

Log Files (*)

What is the easiest way to make sense of my log files?

Do my site's log files count as space usage for billing purposes?

My log file is huge and I can't remove it. What do I do?

I've enabled log files, now where are they?

What are log files and how are they used?

How does log rotation work?

How do I enable my log files?

Why aren't log files enabled by default?

The return code 304 shows up in my log files all the time. What is it?

How come the bytes in the log file do not add up to what you charged me for?

How many old log files will be kept during log rotation?

I rotated my log files, but the access_log.old file was not compressed. Why not?

What are each of the fields in the access log?

What happens if I change log file compression techniques?

What is the format of the error log?

Member Support (*)

What is the status of my support issue?

How do I request software installation?

What are the various responses to a system problem report?

What is a system problem?

What should I know about submitting a system problem report?

Do I really have to buy/spend support points just to get a simple question answered?

How do I "sell back" unused support points?

What are the options available for member support?

How do I buy support points?

What if I can't figure out which support option to use?

MySQL (*)

How do I get a MySQL process?

What is the DSN (hostname) I should use to connect to my MySQL database?

Ok, I have a MySQL process. How do I create a database?

What is the difference between a MySQL process and a MySQL database?

If I lose my MySQL admin user password, can you help me get it back?

Can I use ssh port forwarding to access my MySQL database from a remote location?

There's a 'mysql' database in my MySQL process that I didn't create. Should I delete it?

How do I access my MySQL database process from the ssh server command line?

What does the MySQL Error Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/tmp/mysql.sock' (2) mean? (or socket 'please_see_the_faq')

Why do I have to pay for a stopped MySQL process?

When I change my member password, do my MySQL passwords change too?

Where can I find more information on properly creating MySQL users?

After a MySQL upgrade, why do I have problems with database privileges?

How can I remove my MySQL process?

Why do I get the error "The specified login and password are not correct" when I try to log in to phpMyAdmin?

When I try to log in to phpMyAdmin I get the error "the username was not provided." What should I do?

What 'Host' value should I use when creating MySQL users?

How do I enable or disable InnoDB for my MySQL process?

Why shouldn't I use my MySQL admin username from my web site?

Non-Member (*)

What's the catch?

Doesn't your pricing suck compared to that host that offers 10 bazillion GB for $3 a year?

How much does the average site really cost?

What forms of payment do you accept for account deposits?

Do you support CGI? PHP? SSI?

What database software do you support?

Do you provide email hosting services?

Can I use .htaccess files to customize my web server configuration?

May I install other types of servers that are not web-based?

What common web applications work with your system?

Do you provide DNS hosting services?

Is your service easy to use?

What type of control panel do you use?

What software can I use to access your system?

How many web sites can I host with a NearlyFreeSpeech.NET membership?

One of your customer's sites offends me. Who do I email to have it taken down?

What if I want to host unpopular or controversial content?

How does customer service work at NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

What if my site uses less than $0.01 of bandwidth in a month?

Do you allow adult content?

Why don't you offer static IP addresses?

Do you support SSL for member sites?

Do you register domain names?

What are the most common things that do not work on your system?

What is your refund policy?

What is your hosting network like?

How will I know if my account is about to run out of funds?

Do you price-match your competitors?

How can you make money at these prices?

Do you support FrontPage Extensions and ASP?

Why do you only offer prepaid service?

My web designer says I should use SomebodyElse.com instead of you. What do you say?

Does each of your members get their own dedicated server?

What is the minimum deposit?

Can I invest in NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

Will you design my web site for me?

What happens if my account runs completely out of funds?

How do I report a violation of your Terms and Conditions of Service or illegal activity?

How big is a gigabyte?

Do I get interest on my deposit?

Can I link to files on my NearlyFreeSpeech.NET member site from my existing site somewhere else?

How do I report that my copyrighted content is being distributed by a site you host?

Do you offer collocation?

Are you about to pop up a "chat now with sales!" ad on me?

Can I get a credit if your service goes down?

Does 'NearlyFreeSpeech.NET DNS' support subdomains?

What happens if I get slashdotted?

What if I want to set up a web site but don't have a domain name / don't want to fool with DNS?

How many MySQL databases can I have?

What's the difference between an 'account' and a 'membership?'

How come your service isn't free?

What's the difference between bandwidth and storage?

If I use your web hosting, will you put banners or ads onto my site?

Why doesn't your website look like other hosting provider sites?

How much does a MySQL process cost?

Are your domain registration services intended for general-purpose usage?

Do you impose CPU limits?

What is the scope of your member support?

May I send email from a website hosted at NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

What if my site gets a DMCA complaint?

I visited a site that is hosted with NearlyFreeSpeech.NET. Why did I receive an "access denied" error?

What happens when I report a technical problem with someone else's services?

How do I report a technical problem with a NearlyFreeSpeech.NET site?

What sort of spam protection does your email forwarding provide?

How do I contact the operator of a site you host?

I am a journalist doing a story on a site you host. May I interview you?

What if my web site gets attacked?

Is your service only for controversial or extreme websites?

Why can't I sign up for your service through the Tor network?

Do you provide anonymous hosting?

Should I set up my new small business website at NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

Why aren't I getting system emails from NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

Can I use my NearlyFreeSpeech.NET site to accept credit cards?

Can I host a web or IRC proxy on your service?

Will you pre-approve my web site content for compliance with your Terms & Conditions of Service?

How do I sign up for my company/club/organization?

How much will my site cost to host with you?

What kind of hardware will my site be running on?

What kind of uptime can I expect with NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

How do I regain access to my membership if I lose my login information?

One of your members hosts something for me. Can I get access to it?

Our Service (*)

How can I have multiple users edit a web site?

How exactly are storage charges calculated?

What is a Bandwidth Bucket?

What is the fine print on the "two cents" free trial?

How do I ssh out from the ssh server?

Will bandwidth charges apply to my ssh usage?

I tried to change my contact email address but I never got a confirmation email. How do I get another one sent to me?

The IP addresses listed for my site have changed since I last looked. Should I be concerned?

What are the default directories created when I set up a new site?

How do I transfer something to another member?

I want to create a second website. Should I create a new membership or account first?

How come I can't ping/traceroute stuff on your network?

If I want to start my site over, should I delete it and make another with the same name?

How can people donate funds to support my site?

Why was I warned that my PayPal deposit is nonrefundable?

Can I have my member login / member name / site name / MySQL process name changed?

I don't think this service will work for me. How do I get a refund?

How did my personal bandwidth account get overdrawn?

What is an alternate emergency contact?

How do I sign up my friend for NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

How do I transfer something from one account to another on my membership?

You forwarded me a DMCA notification affecting my site. Now what?

I don't log in to your site all the time. How do I stay up to date on news and announcements?

Why does my bank's website say you charged me a bunch of times?

How can I share content between sites?

How do I see what users I have granted adjunct access to my site?

How do I pay you with a prepaid / gift card?

How do I transfer funds between accounts on my membership?

How do I change the contact email address I gave you when I created my membership?

What are the IP addresses of your name servers?

What is the GPG public key for use with signed duplicity remote backups?

How do I pay with MoneyBookers?

How do I get a receipt for a deposit I made?

Programming (*)

Can PHP safe_mode be turned off for my site?

How does CGI work at NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

What can I do if I want a script to run every so often on my site (like cron)?

What is the best HTML editor to use with your system?

Do you have register_globals enabled for PHP?

What is the path to the root of my site in PHP?

Where can I read more about how PHP works at NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

I am just learning HTML. Do you have any tutorial sites that you recommend?

I used an absolute path in an SSI and it didn't work. What should I do?

How do I increase the PHP memory limit?

What is the path to the root of my site for CGI scripts?

How do I change the version of PHP that my site uses?

How do I control what user a CGI script runs as?

Can I compile my own CGI application on your servers?

What is a site realm?

Troubleshooting (*)

Why shouldn't I report that something is "not working" or "down?"

If I have a directory called example, why can't I refer to it as /example?

Why does my site keep redirecting to the wrong alias?

How do I get rid of "Unknown Site" errors after my account runs completely out of funds?

I can't access my site at all. What should I check first?

Why can't I delete these files my web application created?

I am in the UK and when I enter my credit card information it says the address is wrong even though I know it isn't. What's wrong?

What does the error message "Zero Sized Reply" mean?

Why do I sometimes receive an "Access Denied" error when visiting my site?

What does the error "This site has temporarily exceeded its connection limit." mean?

Why am I getting a "premature end of script headers" error when I try to run a script?

Uploading (*)

What is the connection information to upload files to my web site?

How do I upload my content to my site?

Can I access my web site via ssh?

What directory do I upload my web site's files to?

What hostname should I use for SFTP?

What is SFTP?

Can I configure my ssh connection to use a public key?

I tried to SFTP to ftp.xxx.nearlyfreespeech.net and it failed. Why?

What program should I use to connect via SSH?

I am having trouble uploading with FTP. What could be wrong?

What are the fingerprints for the NearlyFreeSpeech.NET ssh keys?

I can connect to NearlyFreeSpeech.NET just fine, so why is your FTP or ssh server unreachable or timing out?

What if I think the name of your ssh server is too long?

Wikified (*)

How can I set up simple password protection for part or all of my site?

While running awstats, I get the message "Error 500: Internal Server Error (Premature end of script headers)." What's wrong?

If I use awstats, how can I keep just anybody from looking at my statistics?

How do I upload to your system with Microsoft Front Page?

How can I customize NearlyFreeSpeech's provided awstats script?

How do I configure my Blogger.com blog to be hosted at NearlyFreeSpeech.NET?

While running awstats for the first time, I get a message about permissions. What's going on?

How do I set up Dreamweaver to upload files to my site?

How do I upload to your system using Adobe GoLive?

When I try to run awstats it just times out. What's wrong?