Frequently Asked Questions

The NearlyFreeSpeech.NET FAQ (*)

Our Service (*)

What is adjunct access?

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

What is a resource accounting unit?

How do I set up TLS (HTTPS) for my web site?

What is an alternate emergency contact?

How exactly are storage charges calculated?

Will bandwidth charges apply to my ssh usage?

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

What is resource billing?

How do I transfer something to another member?

How do I set up two-factor authentication for my membership?

How do I set up TLS using my own key and a third-party certificate?

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

How do I cancel my membership?

To manage services for multiple entities, should I create multiple memberships or accounts?

You should only ever have one active membership (because the membership represents "you" as an individual). Creating or accessing multiple memberships is a violation of our Terms and Conditions of Service. Doing so will cause all sorts of problems and may result in substantial additional fees if we have to step in. If you've already done this accidentally, and for some reason, we haven't detected it, please send us Transfer assistance requests from both memberships to consolidate your accounts onto one membership.

Your membership may have multiple accounts if you wish. Each account represents "a discrete pool of money." That's optional; you need at least one account to use our service, but we never require you to have more than one.

The ability to create additional accounts has no technical effects on your hosting. Provided an account balance is positive, you may create and manage as many assets (websites, domains, databases, etc.) as you like funded by that account.

It is solely a convenience feature that allows you to differentiate ownership of funds and assets, help track/control your spending, and share things when multiple people are involved in a project.

Often, this is done for tax, business, or legal purposes, such as:

Multiple accounts can also be useful if you have one site that is very active or given to surges and another that must always remain available. If both sites are on the same account and the account runs out of funds, both sites will be disabled. If they are on separate accounts, the busy site can never cause the other site to become disabled.

Therefore, you never have to create a second account for yourself to host an additional site, but you do have that option if it suits your needs.

For more information about setting up services that will be shared with others, see this related FAQ entry.

How did my account get overdrawn?

Can I change the name of my _____?

How can people contribute funds to support my site?

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

Why was I warned that my PayPal deposit is nonrefundable?

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

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

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

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

What is maintenance mode?

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

How can multiple people manage services hosted here?

Why does my bank's website say you charged my credit card even though your site said the payment(s) failed?

What is the "Excess Non-Production Sites" charge?

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

How do I remove or replace my two-factor device?

How do I hand over control of hosted services to someone else?

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

How do I transfer funds between accounts on my membership?

How do I remove TLS?

What are the IP addresses of your name servers?

Is my website non-production, production, or critical?

What is unbilled storage?

What is account sharing?

Why can't I cancel my membership?

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

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

Is penetration testing of sites hosted here allowed?

How can I send funds to another member's account or site?

Since your service is prepaid, how do I know when to add funds?

Do you provide refunds for services already rendered?

What do I do if I find a typo or mistake in your documentation?

What is NearlyFreeSpeech's backup strategy for user content?

Will my site still incur charges if it is disabled?