| Posted by oediv, 04-23-2017, 08:53 AM | |
Hey guys-
How do web hosting companies deal with porn sites in a shared hosting environment? I'm not a righteous Puritanical and don't have a problem with porn in general, but it should be personal and private.
I'm currently trying to find reseller hosting and the list is fairly short to begin with as I'm trying to go non-ein and support the independents, but during my research there were two sites on my list that said they accept adult content. One said they accept adult 'artistic material' and one said they accept pornography as long as it adheres to the US pornography laws. I made a half-assed attempt to find out what the US porn laws were, but the Miller criteria was very vague and the government site wasn't much better, referring back to Miller.
So, do web hosts have lawyers on staff to decide if the porn sites are "law-abiding"? Who checks to make sure they're not just "cleaning up" the site to gain access to the web space then doing something like kiddie porn after that? It's like renting your house - the renters come to look at it all clean, smiling, and polite, then once they're settled you find out they're really drug dealers.
Do all web hosts accept adult content and those two hosts are the only ones that actually stated it in their FAQs? Is there some kind of server separation when it comes to porn sites on shared hosting?
Thanks very much for your time.
ps - A couple of years ago I moved my family-friendly site to a well established hosting co. and within about 5 weeks started getting porn-related 404s in my GWT dashboard. They were definitely porn because they had the p-word and c-word (male and female) in the URL, and left no doubt to the imagination. I closed the account, moved the site elsewhere and haven't had a problem since. I'm still using that hosting co. but only as a domain registrar, not for hosting.
Last edited by oediv; 04-23-2017 at 08:57 AM.
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| Posted by BoomHost-Kumar, 04-23-2017, 09:09 AM | |
Not all hosts are adult content friendly despite whether it is legal or illegal. Better to read each hosts ToS than their FAQs and if still in doubt contact them directly and get any questions answered. Even if they allow adult content no reputable provider would put both porn and non-porn sites on the same shared servers for various security reasons... normally the providers would warn the customer and move the site to a porn friendly server (or suspend the site in question altogether if the provider is not adult content friendly) as soon as the providers find out during their regular audit checks on what's hosted on their servers.
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| Posted by oediv, 04-23-2017, 09:23 AM | |
Hey winman - thanks very much for that info. Very relieved to know there are porn-friendly servers, and I didn't know that web hosts underwent audit checks. I'll start looking for the TOS on the remainder of the sites on my lists. Thanks again for your reply.
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| Posted by BoomHost-Kumar, 04-23-2017, 09:32 AM | |
No problem. Don't get me wrong here... I am not saying all providers would have or run porn-friendly servers. In my opinion, it should be the best practice if a host decides to accommodate porn/adult materials in a shared hosting environment. Also, audit checks is just an internal process for hosts that I was referring to and it is not something industry standard. If a host cares about what's hosted on their servers they should be auditing their servers (hosted content) periodically for any ToS violation, etc - Again, just a best practice and not an industry standard in my opinion.
Last edited by BoomHost-Kumar; 04-23-2017 at 09:36 AM.
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| Posted by oediv, 04-23-2017, 09:35 AM | |
Okay, got it. Thanks for the clarification. Have an absolutely great day!!
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| Posted by MechanicWeb-shoss, 04-23-2017, 04:39 PM | |
There are providers who specifically advertise hosting for porn sites. And then there are providers who allow adult content. In both cases, what is allowed and what not should be detailed clearly in their Terms of Service. If not, or if it seems blurry, move on. Of course, not every legal aspect can be addressed in the TOS but it should be clear enough to give you a fair idea.
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| Posted by oediv, 04-23-2017, 05:37 PM | |
Thanks for your reply, but it's already a bit blurry. What's the difference between porn and adult content?
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| Posted by MechanicWeb-shoss, 04-23-2017, 05:40 PM | |
The difference is relative to how you refer to porn. Some may refer to it as "adult content", some may not. It should be laid out clearly in the TOS.
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| Posted by db09, 04-24-2017, 03:19 PM | |
I'd err on the side of caution and contact each host you are considering directly. It's really the best way to be 100% sure you'll be in good shape.
As for recommendations, I currently have a reseller account with BuyShared I'm quite happy with. They allow content that's legal in the US and/or Luxembourg.
You might also want to check out the Webmaster Q&A, Buy and Sell and Business Services forums on GFYdotcom. The site itself is specifically for adult webmasters and a great all around resource.
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| Posted by rpoarch, 04-24-2017, 04:18 PM | |
No not all web hosts will host porn/adult content web sites. You are doing the right thing by reading the TOS and checking into such matters before just signing up and creating the adult website. I don't think Hosts normally have a lawyer on staff (some bigger hosts may), but they usually decide at their own discretion. You have to make sure that the laws where the host operates (country), and the location where you are allows adult content and porn websites. As far as if web hosts put porn sites on their own server, I'm not sure (I've never hosted adult websites).
When you find a web host that allows adult content, open a support ticket and explain what your site content is exactly, and make sure that it isn't against their TOS. This is the only sure way to make sure they allow it. Also read in their TOS to make sure its spelled out properly.
Best of luck!
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| Posted by TrentaHost, 04-24-2017, 04:32 PM | |
Technical jargon, just ask each host and see what they say, most cases as long as it's Adult Content you should be okay, some providers don't allow it because it leads to a lot of copyright issues, porn battles LOL. Many porn sites just link back to other porn websites and make money on ADS so the content is streamed from the bigger porn websites, some just save it locally or copyright the full versions and then get a DMCA to get it taken down, lots of hassle and headaches.
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| Posted by madRoosterTony, 04-24-2017, 04:46 PM | |
There is no real difference in porn vs adult content, any way you look at it, its all naked bodies. Many hosts do not allow it due to the fact that its was subject to abuse, ddos attacks, spamming, etc for many years.
Most of the hosting companies that I am aware that allow adult content, require that the client provide access to all documents showing they are abiding by local laws. For example proof of age documents, etc. These documents are normally stored on the account outside of the public_html folder and are periodically audited to make sure the number of documents is in line with the amount of content on the site. For example if there are only documents for 10 models, but 1000s of photos on the site, this means they either are not keeping their documents upto date or they do not have proof of age for some of the models.
As far as illegal content, most of the time the client does not ask if they can put adult content on the network. They normally hide this in deep folders hidden from standard scans. There a few tools that can be used for looking for common URL strings in the logs to help find these. Plus most of the time the general public will alert the hosting fairly quickly that this type of activity on the network. A few years ago we had a guy rent a server, for months was an excellent client. Then we started getting reports of child porn on his server. We immediately investigated and saw the files were being uploaded via FTP using his standard ftp client, but also from the same IP as his standard files were coming from. At that point we brought in the authorities to start an investigation. Turns out he was uploading the files and was convicted and sent to jail.
As far as what you experienced on your site a few years ago, sounds like the host did not have proper security settings configured. With a proper setup, one site should never be able to effect another site.
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| Posted by HostaPolis, 04-24-2017, 06:39 PM | |
I think most of what I would have said has already been mentioned. Not all providers will allow this kind of content but some do. It is best to just be in contact with them before making any purchases so you know. I know someone who had an adult theme to his site and did not check with the provider and threw quite a bit of money out the window. They had to cut him off and did not offer a refund. As madRoosterTony mentioned as well, most will make sure you are abiding by the laws of your location. Child porn/underage porn is still an issue online so no one wants to risk that being on their servers.
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| Posted by oediv, 04-25-2017, 07:46 AM | |
Thanks for the posts, but I think it's taken a wrong turn somewhere - I don't want a webhost that allows porn on a shared server.
Last edited by oediv; 04-25-2017 at 07:50 AM.
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| Posted by oediv, 04-25-2017, 07:48 AM | |
Where on earth did you come up with the idea I'm creating a website with adult content?!? My site is family-friendly and I want it kept away from the porn.
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| Posted by MechanicWeb-shoss, 04-25-2017, 01:45 PM | |
In that case, just write a note while you are ordering to put your site on an IP that doesn't host adult content. You can also open a ticket with your provider requesting to do so. It should be fairly simple for them.
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| Posted by HumaneHostingOwner, 04-25-2017, 01:48 PM | |
To boot it will show whether the provider cares or not. In case they don't just ask for a refund for the order. Given in that case they are failing to meet a critical simple accommodating requirement.
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| Posted by rpoarch, 04-25-2017, 02:19 PM | |
Sorry for misinterpreting your original message. Like stated ask your current host if they can move you to a server that doesn't have adult-content or porn on it. Or simply find another host that doesn't allow such content on their servers at all. I didn't realize it but I currently use StableHost for my reseller account and they apparently allow adult-content (as long as its not child pornography) on their servers, but I've never seen any porn related 404's. They may have a different server setup though for adult content (I'm not sure).
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| Posted by Julien@Hostabulous, 04-25-2017, 02:26 PM | |
The problem was resolved quick for us, we use LiteSpeed. It's against their ToS so no adult hosting for our customers
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| Posted by HumaneHostingOwner, 04-25-2017, 02:33 PM | |
I find it weird that a paid software is restricting their customers what they can do with their licenses.
It like if a billing software to say it not allow to sell adult hosting related services. What sense does it make to enforce such policies?
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| Posted by SenseiSteve, 04-25-2017, 04:20 PM | |
I would think it matters if you're simply leasing the software rather than owning it. By leasing it, I would think there would be a Terms of Service or License Agreement in force.
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