X10 Hosted Website Directory

[IIN Operator]

One thing that could probably improve the service for X10 is to create a directory of web hosts (similar to the one on Geocities) hosted on X10. I think listing in the directory should be voluntary (possibly a forum page) and the site creators should be able to provide their site name, a description, and choose a category. Another good feature idea is to allow different sections of sites to be entered into different categories of the directory (for instance, a forum in the Forum category and the main content in a category relevant to that content).

A small thing like this would be very valuable in all likelihood to everybody because it would make promotion a little bit easier. Considering that X10 hosted websites are of much higher quality than Geocities pages, the directory would probably increase the odds of success for websites included therin and in doing so would increase X10's ad revenues (since the ads appear on every Advanced or Corporate page) and growth (because people would be more aware of X10's existance due to increased exposure of X10 hosted websites).

 

[Derek]

Lol if you list all the sites a hacker can find them all out and hack them all. And it takes along time to put all those pages up and update

 

[Micro]

Well, mainly not. You could program it so that people posted their sites if they wanted, only registered forum members could view... etc. Not a bad idea.

 

[Christopher]

Did you look at the Toplist?
http://forums.x10hosting.com/toplist.php

 

[IIN Operator]

Lol if you list all the sites a hacker can find them all out and hack them all. And it takes along time to put all those pages up and update

Of course, a hacker could hack the X10 servers just by finding the IP (which can be traced even for web servers even if you don't provide it publicly). To hack another user's Cpanel, you'd need their ID and password, which can be tough to guess because IDs are not always the same as the site name and even if you get the right ID, it is often difficult to even guess school/work account passwords of close friends, let alone some stranger who runs a web site (for which people are certain to be smarter at choosing passwords). If somebody hacked an account, the account holder still has a forum account that lies untouched, so of course they'd be certain to inform X10.

As for the updating task, a PHP script could do it automatically (just like PHP scripts handle account linking and the suspension check, as well as the server status post). By making it voluntary and automatic (as well as locking out all addresses that aren't on an X10 domain from being added), it would require little work (maybe just cleaning up abuse when some idiot decides to promote their porn site that they are hosting on X10 in clear violation of the rules, but that would actually help in enforcing the TOS because if somebody is stupid enough to start a porn site on a no-porn host, they're probably stupid enough to catch themselves).

I definitely think it'd be a good idea to only allow registered forum members to view the directory as Micro suggested. After all, as activity increases, the number of guests who decide to join and contribute increases. The more active members a website has, the more people are willing to themselves join. I'm not sure if other people have the same habits, but you probably judge a forum based on its members and the amount of posts before deciding to join. So websites are in a Catch 22. To have activity, you have to get activity, but to get activity, you must have activity. That pretty much sums up why 99.9% of all new websites turn out to fail. By making it easier for websites to be successful, their members may find their way to X10. As the userbase increases for a website, its profitability increases. Myspace wouldn't be around if it hadn't reached its massive size because a Myspace requires a massive amount of users to be a viable business.

Edit: I didn't know about the Toplist. Maybe a link should be added into the forum navbar to increase awareness of it. Something that nobody knows about is little better than something that doesn't exist.

 

[Cynical]

I was working on a directory thing a while back but got distracted from it.. if anyone wants I can finish it up in a couple weeks probably.

 

[Brandon]

We have one here: http://forums.x10hosting.com/toplist.php

 

[Alejandro]

Yeah, well it would be a good idea if we made some kind of directory... If the account owner wants his site there then they would go to the Account Panel in the forums and enable it... That's not a bad idea.

 

[ZeptOr]

We have one here: http://forums.x10hosting.com/toplist.php

I wouldn't really classify that as a directory

 

[Micro]

I do not have permission to access the page... What is it with me and accessing forum pages? Lol...

 

[Cynical]

This is what I was working on a while back, I'd be happy to finish it if people wanted me to: http://www.snsoftware.net/x10dir/

 

[Zenax]

Yeah I think that it would be a good idea if you finished it up Cynical. Good idea!

 

[Cynical]

Cool, I'll go ahead and finish it then, and then if we use it cool and if not then whatever .

 

[ZeptOr]

There's hurt in doing it, unless it requires a lot of time

 

[Derek]

OK this should be a good idea i know another host that did that and this is a good idea sorry about saying it was an "ok" idea =)

 

[the_king_dollars]

Yes, that idea is brilliant!

 

[Zenax]

Is there any deadline date for when you aim to have it finished?

 

[Kay]

I was going to start making something like this two weeks ago - but I decided not to, I should have now anyway Cynical it is looking good so far - keep it up.