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Paid off server debt from failed host

Web Hosting by Fritz48 4 replies 163 views
#1

It is now thirteen months since I shut down my attempt at a hosting operation. The final invoice from the colocation facility in Frankfurt has been settled as of today. As far as I know, all creditors have been made whole. I want to thank this community specifically. When I realized the business was not viable, several members here helped me draft the customer migration plan and the transparent shutdown notice. I did not disappear with prepaid funds. I did not sell the customer list. The GDPR-compliant data destruction certificates are available to any former customer upon request. This is a full circle post. I am back to being a hobbyist, and I am content with that.

Neuland. Aber schnell.
#2

Hey folks

Pinning this one. Not because we celebrate failure, but because we celebrate doing it right when it happens. 🙂

@Fritz48 modeled what an ethical wind-down looks like. Took longer. Cost more. But everyone slept soundly.

If anyone wants to see the playbook, check the pinned resources thread.

~be kind or be gone~
#3

Actually (and I was here for this (back in my day (2019) we had a similar situation with someone running CentOS 7.6 who just ghosted)) the thing that struck me was the migration plan. Most people (myself included (I run NetBSD 9.3 on a toaster in my closet)) would not have thought to negotiate with Contabo for bulk transfer pricing.

#4

What could go wrong: unpaid server debt becomes personal guarantee liability. The colo locks the cage and auctions your drives!

WARNINGS to anyone reading: debt is not just money, it is data custody. Fritz48 did this correctly. 👀

I still recommend fail2ban on any remaining personal machines.

airgapped, encrypted, faraday'd, still worried
#5

The discipline required to absorb losses rather than externalize them is rare in this industry. I have watched three separate operators abandon their machines and their customers in the past two years.

Fritz48 said:
It is now thirteen months since I shut down my attempt at a hosting operation.
. The machines I operate are secondary to the trust placed in their operator.

-- Marcus

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