I'm your standard run of the mill Taurus. I'm stubborn, plodding, and can be patient to the point of causing excrutiating pain to my nemesis. My nemesis is my web host.
The past five days have been a tornado of emotions; anger, humiliation, more anger, frustration, and--finally--acceptance that I'd been duped and now need to move on. My patience has been tested to the core. Perhaps it's the knowing I've been paying a company to shaft me that has been the most painful.
A year ago, with the help of my former daughter-in-law, we built a small website that was to focus on my writing ambitions. A few weeks ago I changed it completely after taking the free online classes at GNC (for details, see "Exercising My Mind" at www.seniorweblogs.com). I was using it for marketing purposes.
Five days ago my new website disappeared from the 'Net. I have no idea why it disappeared, but it was probably due, at least in part, to operator error--mine. In the course of asking for "help" from my web host I discovered they don't give "help". Since then, I've also discovered they were only "renting" me the domain name I thought I had purchased, have retained ownership of the domain name, and are now holding it hostage.
When my traipse through the dung is finished, I will be changing hosts. There may or may not be a domain name change. I'll post updated information at all three of my blogs.
During this ordeal I've been fortunate to have had the support of the fabulous women writers in my critique group, my loving husband, and a man I've only met through the web development classes--who is a tech/web genius and has vowed to stick by my side until this mess is unraveled. I know God has watched over me and there are good things to come. This is merely a stumble on the road to success.
When choosing the next web host, I will be asking many more questions than I did with this one. I'll be making sure the new host has customer support via telephone. I'll be purchasing my domain name--and receiving written confirmation that I own it. This time around I have something I didn't have a year ago; a multitude of trusted online friends to call on for guidance.
Revenge isn't my goal, which is why I haven't posted the web host's name.
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