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exit(0);

Well, posts here from the last few months have been slow, irregular and unenergised. Here is one post that I have intended to write for the last couple of months. TL;DR version — for personal reasons and for the future of LowEndBox blog and LowEndTalk community, I have decided to step down and take an exit.

Some Background…

1st of February 2008, I took on the moniker “LowEndAdmin” and a picture of an old VIC-20, and wrote the very first blog entry “Hello World“. It has since been quite a ride over the last 4 years. I was a lone blogger back then. I worked as a software architect for a financial software company, and had some general amusement in the world of hosting and virtualisation. A low cost VPS where you get root account + total control was a niche that I rarely saw people writing about, back then at least. So I started blogging about low end VPS hosting with a monthly cost capped at $7/month. I was on the hunt of some cheap servers for my spare time projects at that time anyway. I was looking for servers that were cheap enough so that the cost of hosting can never used as excuses not to get my hands dirty with ideas.

Fast forward 4 years.

Analytics graph of visitors

LowEndBox.com is quite a different beast these days. It’s often mentioned in other webhosting forums (hmm, I meant WHT). It’s one of the top 3 results when you search “cheap vps” on Google. Rather than scanning through offers sections on WHT, low end providers are jamming my inbox with listing requests every single day. It has built a hard core community over here and at LowEndTalk, where hosting related topics and other non-sense are often discussed. It even endured some nasties. Big thanks for the community for not forsaking the site when it was in trouble.

Just Don’t Have The Time…

However it seems that I’ll be the one deserting the community here.

Despite the apparent “success” of LowEndBox, for the past year it has become more of a liability to me, rather than an enjoyable blog, let alone a useful asset. The amount of work involved in posting escalates. The ever enlarging dead pool means it takes more time to investigate all the n00b providers who sent me requests. Writing dead pool posts itself is actually mentally disturbing, by just thinking about all these scams in the hosting industry. And technical posts? Regarding to fine tuning services for low end systems? These became few and far between, as most people are here just for the cheap “too good to be true” VPS offers.

A blog that was originally set out to help me getting started to work on my side ideas became a big project in itself, where it sucks up valuable time where I could actually do some “work”. This was more of the case over the last 12 months, where I transit from being a faceless employee of a large corporation to being the boss of my own startup. For those who have worked in tech startups you would know how much time your own business demands, not to mention I also have family and church commitments. I often post on LowEndBox way pass 12am wondering, “hey why am I still posting here?” I just don’t have the time.

Nor Enjoying The Community…

Okay. I have to say that I got to “know” some great individuals over the last 4 years on this blog, although “know” does not go beyond a few email exchanges. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep in touch with some of you.

At the same time this community is also filled with teenage hosts plotting their next pump ‘n’ dump, and scam artists planning how to defraud a provider. Blogging here for 4 years forced me to see a lot of dark side of hosting business. Many are also quick to shot down a competitor, and people don’t hesitate to label others “scammers”. I too might be at fault here for being extra sceptical and cynical — but I have to admit that it does not make a community enjoyable.

And guess how much that motivates me to keep on writing here? Not much.

Staled Growth of The Websites…

With me severely lacking in time + motivation, unfortunately that it’s the community that suffers. I have to say that LowEndBox actually did not grow much in 2011, in terms of number of visitors and page views. At the same time I know there is so much you can do with a hosting oriented community.

But I don’t have time. That again draws in guilt because I know how much useful this website can be, if I have the time to code these new features and extra functionalities, if I have the time to be more interactive with other community members, if… The websites remain stale because their owner don’t have time nor enough motivation to grow it. Not cool.

I am Taking an Exit…

EXIT So, I decided that that’s it for me. I need to move on. Moreover, it’s not just reducing responsibilities and asking for extra hands. I want to be out of here, completely. Just don’t want to think about “I wonder how LowEndBox is doing” when I am taking a break after a long day at work.

I got a few options here.

  • Mark Pilgrim-style infosuicide by just shutting down all the sites and replying HTTP/1.0 410 Gone. We will just wake up one morning and LowEndBox is no more. And life moves on.

    Probably not the best solution — even I would agree with that. Although I can see it as an attractive option when nothing else works.

  • Sell the sites on Flippa to the highest bidder. This site fetches just ~USD$500 per month on the ads so I guess with 12 to 24 months valuation people might pay $10k for it? Seems to be a small chunk, but at least there’s something for me after blogging here for 4 years.

    However, I think it might not be the best outcome for the community. Whoever buys the site you’ll be sure that they’ll want to have ROI. I don’t want to think about what will happen when the new owner just wants to squeeze every bit of revenue out from this site.

    But then again, (1) everything has a price, and (2) never say never.

  • Pass on the baton to the chosen one, to whoever is worthy, or just to the “people”, to the community. “Here is the key”, hmmm I mean the domain EPP code and my root password, take control and let the website be what it meant to be! Grow it, and continue to benefit to the el-cheapo hosting community!

    I guess this might be the preferable outcome. However, whom should I pass the websites to? Who is willing to take up the responsibility? Many are willing to put up their hands I guess, but who would the community trust? A hosting company with lots of insider knowledge? A veteran leader who knows how to manage a community? A carefree college student who has lots of time on his hand? Hmmm. Probably not the last one.

Okay. I have now spelt out my intention and will just let the discussion roll from here. I will try to answer questions in this thread and keep people updated. If you wish to contact me directly, here is the email address: contact@lowendbox.com.

Updates

Thanks for all the people who emailed me their offers. I have already decided on the outcome — I will pass the baton to one community member who has already formed a team to move the sites forward. Announcement will be made in the next couple of days when the dust settles.

LEA
Latest posts by LEA (see all)

254 Comments

  1. M:

    Its sad to hear how you have come to feel about your site, but I’m sure everyone completely understands.

    I think you have a total right to sell for $10k or whatever you can get. If the new owner abuses the community somehow (e.g. accepts payment for preferential listings) then the community can re-form somewhere else.

    Good luck with your start-up!

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:03 am | Reply
  2. Adam:

    :(

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:08 am | Reply
  3. Du Song:

    This is *SAD* to see this site go away.
    As a longtime reader, I just want to say thank you.

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:15 am | Reply
    • Nah. The site is going away if there is no desirable outcome. I have received many emails over the last hour and I think the site will definitely stay.

      It’s just me that is going away :)

      January 19, 2012 @ 8:57 am | Reply
      • LEA,

        First of all I’d like to thank you for all your effort building this site and community and it is truly a sad moment to know that you are exiting. Frankly, I had good times reading your post and comments from the community members, and it is good to be part of it.

        I understand that sometimes it is hard to balance between the popularity of a blog/website vs the original intention when you built it in the first place.

        In the end it is you who have to decide whether to follow your passion and idealism that surely motivates you to manage this site or drown them all for the sake of popularity or good side income.

        Your decision to step down and exit, although it is regretful, proofs that you really value your human quality and that you don’t want to trade your passion and idealism for anything.

        I can only wish you good luck and have a Happy Chinese New Year. May all the blessing and prosperity of the Year of The Dragon shine on you and all of us, the LowEndBox Community.

        p.s. I agree with what Asim proposed below, for the sake of the community.

        January 19, 2012 @ 8:08 pm | Reply
      • Alux:

        Long time reader, first time commenter… sad to see you go :(

        Have you considered putting the site in an archive mode and just keeping LowEndTalk active? In a dream world you’d still post stuff like the LowEndBox script for setting up a decent hosting environment on minimal specs. I liked the VPSs for the same reason as you, projects that didn’t really matter if I lost them, but they’re all over now and I much prefer dedicatd servers now myself. I’d like to know more about maintaining a low end system and stuff, which might even be relevant to your work now?

        January 19, 2012 @ 11:32 pm | Reply
        • I think it would be the new owner’s best interest to keep the archives. LowEndBox appears in a lot of Google SERP when you do research on those hosting providers.

          As of low end script — it’s on github and many have already branched it to make it a lot better :)

          January 20, 2012 @ 3:30 am | Reply
  4. Well now, that really is a shame :(

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:22 am | Reply
  5. Rsh:

    My first thought was – DAMN! But… it seems you are right about “too good to be true” VPS offers.
    Your “Yes, You Can Run 18 Static Sites on a 64MB” was The Revelation of St. LowEndBox Admin for me.
    What now? Bunch of 256-512 MB plans. Why to spend your own time to sustain some kind of mirror of WHT.
    This is not your fault, this is matter of progress.
    Thank you for leading us through these years!

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:23 am | Reply
  6. Thank you for your hard work and good luck :)

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:23 am | Reply
  7. hc:

    It’s been a wild ride, but fun while it lasted.

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:25 am | Reply
  8. HuluWa:

    Surprised..A pity.

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:25 am | Reply
  9. Would like to wish you all the best for your future endeavours, I have not been here long, but even I can see you have a great community here, I only hope that someone takes up the baton and carries on your legacy.

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:25 am | Reply
  10. Honestly there will be no fair option for all parties involved. While LEB and LET are the only sites I visit on a regular basis anymore, I honestly cannot think of a good way this can end. Your options are viable, but I don’t foresee LEB/LET surviving such a transition because the way they are currently handled (LEA’s hands off approach) is the best method for such a diverse community.

    That being said, leaving LEB and LET in the hands of multiple people would probably give the best chance of success and as for the revenue, I say you should still benefit from the site even after you pass the baton.

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:31 am | Reply
    • I honestly cannot think of a good way this can end

      Me either. That’s why I have left this thing hanging over the last 4-5 months before finally bringing my intention to exit here — because I just can’t think of a perfect solution (except doing a clone of me, or Time Tuner that gives me more time — sorry been watching too much Harry Potter these days).

      Anyway, I guess I just had enough so am willing to accept imperfect solutions.

      January 19, 2012 @ 9:02 am | Reply
      • justmoi:

        IMHO either WHT takes it over, or it’s over. If it is not run by someone from the community, it won’t be trusted and become an ad board -> useless. But thanks, it was good while it lasted :)

        January 19, 2012 @ 10:29 am | Reply
        • If it is not run by someone from the community, it won’t be trusted and become an ad board

          Yes that’s the idea. Someone from the community and trusted. Only if I can stop people whom I have never heard of emailing me their “take-over offer”…

          January 20, 2012 @ 3:33 am | Reply
      • Spirit:

        I really like this community, this site and I must admit that I am a bit scared when it come to thinking about successor. So many business interrests, hidden agendas, armies of active clones (even from established reputable hosts), immature approaches from oldies, etc… I have feeling that this will ends bad.
        Keep domain and access in your hands. I know that you don’t want this but please, keep it!

        January 19, 2012 @ 3:04 pm | Reply
      • Alux:

        Pfft! Watching Harry Potter? Seems like you have plenty of time for the site to me :/

        Heh, just kidding :P

        January 19, 2012 @ 11:33 pm | Reply
  11. Torsurfer:

    This site has helped me find some very good providers for my VPS and I’ve also learnt a lot here and also at LET. Thank you so much, LEA. I wish you the best in whatever you do after LEB/LET.

    Hopefully someone ‘worthy’ comes along and take over the site and keep it alive.

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:32 am | Reply
  12. While it’s sad that you’re ending this, I have to say a lot of good came out of Low End Box. It helped pave the way in the budget conscience market (and gave out a nice boost in sales). What I think you should consider doing is appoint some “authors” to work on Low End Box and have them sift through e-mails and post offers like you’ve done.

    Low End Box still needs to live, it’s vital to the budget market and helps immensely, especially for the bargain hunters out there. Yes you always get a few bad apples rolling through, but with a basic checklist, a lot of that can be filtered out and it could help out.

    Whatever you do, I appreciate the time you’ve spent into it and I hope whoever ends up with it continues the legacy.

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:38 am | Reply
  13. ken:

    :( Got hooked on these sites last year, and they are pretty much my only sites I visit multiple times daily…

    All the best!

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:40 am | Reply
  14. I’m surprised, and I wish you very well on your future adventures. Hopefully the torch will pass to someone from the community to whom most of us respect.

    You’ve done amazing work, your blog had gone from a blog into a community. I still think it possible one person should run it, but we shouldn’t know who.

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:44 am | Reply
    • Yes it’s definitely possible for a single person. I guess I just got other commitments. Like many teens selling up their hosting companies after school holidays due to “other commitments”, I am ready to put myself into the dead pool (but hopefully LowEndBox lives).

      January 19, 2012 @ 9:04 am | Reply
  15. Ben:

    Not really surprised, sadly… But I somehow now, more understand the lack of direction we went through these last months.

    I still believe there is something good, great in your idea(s), something good that regroup a little core of fellow members… Yes, I’m still saying ‘we’ and use present tense!
    I’m new here, discovered your work a little bit too late, but I’ll be sad to see it disappear. I will pray for your last solution, and hope that a very short team of approved shepherds – with batons or even sticks – will see the light of day.

    Anyway, thanks and good luck!

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:45 am | Reply
  16. ray:

    Bad news really, but it’s your choice so just go on with what you think is best for you, LEA. Personally I’d like to see management of the blog & community handed over to reputable member(s) of the community while keeping the ad income for yourself (you deserve that!) if you insist to quit. Francisco gets my vote because he isn’t eager to get a chance to promote his brand (ab)using the blog like many new hosts may.

    Good luck and thanks for all you’ve done so long.

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:49 am | Reply
    • Haha I can see it now, every post ending with ponies…

      January 19, 2012 @ 7:53 am | Reply
    • Hi Ray,

      No one affiliated with a web host should be the owner of LEB for obvious reasons I’m sure you can understand how opinions/posts/moderation might come off as bias if that was the case.

      Best,
      Kevin

      P.S. Thank you for your efforts Admin, wishing you the best of luck. I appreciate your hard work.

      January 19, 2012 @ 8:50 am | Reply
      • ray:

        Of course a totally neutral person is the best choice! Anyway good luck LEB!

        January 19, 2012 @ 10:43 am | Reply
    • twochair:

      Don’t you think there would be a conflict of interest on Francisco part if he’s handling this blog

      January 23, 2012 @ 7:19 pm | Reply
  17. Thank you LEA for everything :)

    Francisco

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:52 am | Reply
  18. rych:

    No way bro, we’re shutting SOPA down not LEB/LET

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:53 am | Reply
    • I was thinking the same thing, ironic how this happened shortly after strikeout day. Regardless we must respect his decision and be appreciative of his hard work over the past few years.

      However an admin leaving a site is not always a bad thing, sometimes change is good :) What if LEB were to collect a group of members who are reputable in the community, who aren’t affiliated with any web host, not only would we see better moderation, but more listings, and a stronger community. I am keen to see how the future will pan out for Lowendbox.

      Best,
      Kevin

      January 19, 2012 @ 8:56 am | Reply
    • Yeah I was a bit hesitated to post because of all the blackouts from yesterday. Now MegaUplod is down, people got arrested, Anonymous attacking FBI/Justice.gov at the moment, etc… They have absolutely nothing to do with my departure.

      Yes really!

      January 20, 2012 @ 3:38 am | Reply
  19. Thank you, leb

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:58 am | Reply
  20. Steve81:

    Thank you LEA for your works. Was very appreciated.

    I hope that you’ll choose to give the keys to a reputable member of the community.

    January 19, 2012 @ 8:04 am | Reply
  21. neverno:

    i’m sorry to see you make this decision. but everything have an end. if you do bite off more than you can chew in here. i think the best way is to leave. wish you have a great future.

    for LEB/LET, hope you can find the right guy to pass on the baton.

    again, thanks for your amazing work in the pass 4 years.

    January 19, 2012 @ 8:04 am | Reply
  22. tobeychan:

    why ……..

    i love u forever……

    what a pity….

    if u come over to China for traveling…

    everyone who had buy vps introduce by LEB will welcome u

    January 19, 2012 @ 8:08 am | Reply
  23. Kairus:

    Gotta do what you gotta do! I hope to see it passed on to someone else, I think that would be the best solution for the community. I can’t think of anyone objective enough to take care of the site though.

    January 19, 2012 @ 8:16 am | Reply
  24. 我英文不好,谁看到给翻译一下:人生有几个四年,这样的男人已经很持久了。但仍旧希望继续坚持下云。

    January 19, 2012 @ 8:16 am | Reply
    • fire in ice:

      Just translation:

      How many four-years are there in the people’s life? This kind of man must have been very hard indeed,but I hope he can persevere with it.

      January 19, 2012 @ 9:16 am | Reply
    • neverno:

      English Translation for @小夜:
      not much 4 years for a man in his hold life. you are the best, you are doing great in this 4 years. but anyway i still hope you can continue posting here.

      to @sola:
      this isn’t a playground. stop saying fool here . plz respect the author!

      January 19, 2012 @ 9:32 am | Reply
      • sola:

        English Translation EX for @xiaoye:
        How several four-years of life we have?Such man is very lasting.But still hope to insist on it.

        To @neverno:
        Seriously you will lose.But I no longer do so next, I will respect the author:(

        January 19, 2012 @ 12:28 pm | Reply
    • “How many 4 years does a person have? He has put forth a lot into this site and kept it going for a long time. I hope the best to you and continues on strong with your life.”

      (I’m a native Chinese speaker.)

      January 20, 2012 @ 10:34 pm | Reply
  25. Paul:

    It’s been a great community.

    January 19, 2012 @ 8:16 am | Reply
  26. Well,may be let it turn into a ah… commuity?a place to discuss?
    choose more than one people to write,make a rule,and donate the profit?
    aha…my lebcn.com has’t update for about half a year…tired studying
    sorry for my poor english

    January 19, 2012 @ 8:21 am | Reply
    • well,i didn’t see that
      “it’s not just reducing responsibilities and asking for extra hands. I want to be out of here, completely.”
      but maybe you can send the site to some commuity?
      Well, let me think…

      January 19, 2012 @ 8:36 am | Reply
    • neverno:

      the Low End Talk’scommunity plz…. not the Low End Box’s blog.
      have you visit LET yet?

      January 19, 2012 @ 9:18 am | Reply
      • Well,a little…
        and as I’ve emailed LEA,a commuity will still need a leader.

        January 19, 2012 @ 9:46 am | Reply
  27. Nicholas Chan:

    Sounds like you got material for your next deadpool update. Oh wait…

    January 19, 2012 @ 8:25 am | Reply
  28. Freek:

    Ouch, did not see that coming!
    Nevertheless, Thanks for everything LEA and good luck with your future ventures.

    January 19, 2012 @ 8:26 am | Reply
  29. marrco:

    thx LEA for letting an old dog learn new tricks, and good luck with your new company.

    January 19, 2012 @ 8:27 am | Reply
  30. Daniel:

    Dear @LowEndAdmin,

    thanks for all your great work, time and effort. I have been around for some more then a year now, and this is, together with LET,
    the only website I visit on a daily base. I understand your time-problem, a startup is very time consuming and you have to get your priorities right.
    I sincerely hope somebody from the community would take over, or maybe a few people. We might just vote on a poll on LET
    between the respected members and make them all ‘authors’ and one of them ‘admin’.

    Kind regards,
    Daniel

    January 19, 2012 @ 8:29 am | Reply
  31. c:

    I have been reading LEB for a long time. It is sad to see you exit. :(

    Anyway, thx for your posts in the last years. :)

    January 19, 2012 @ 8:53 am | Reply
  32. Bye Bye 88
    Looking forward to seeing who is taking over this site..

    January 19, 2012 @ 8:54 am | Reply
  33. vedran:

    Well, this sucks but I understand perfectly how you feel. And option #3 is the only way for this place to survive and stay what it is now.

    But again, if I were you I’d try to sell it first.

    January 19, 2012 @ 8:55 am | Reply
  34. Really sad to hear you are leaving and taking an exit with no uturn in sight! Its the sad news of 2012, for me at least
    I’d say this would be the best option

    1) Setup a group of people as moderators/admin of LEB/LET
    2) Setup forwarders to send the same offers to everyone and those moderators can continue the legacy of LEB by posting offers and moderating LET
    3) You take all the advertising share

    If this is not workable then a full 410-Gone or a sell-out would pay you well. I would really miss LEB and your offers/deadpool posts

    January 19, 2012 @ 9:01 am | Reply
    • Steve81:

      That’s a very good idea, IMAO.

      January 19, 2012 @ 10:49 am | Reply
      • Thanks Steve for agreeing with my suggestion. I dont think one person can do all that what LEB was doing, especially because we, the community, may not come to a point where we can appoint just ONE person

        January 19, 2012 @ 10:51 am | Reply
      • ray:

        That will be a great I think.

        January 19, 2012 @ 10:55 am | Reply
    • a:

      Thank you LEA!

      I would agree to the above as well. I hope to see a group carrying on this website so it becomes a real community based discussion.

      Good luck!

      January 19, 2012 @ 11:22 am | Reply
    • Albert:

      +10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

      January 19, 2012 @ 12:56 pm | Reply
    • @Asim — thanks for the suggestion. However I can’t really be hands off if that’s the case, can I? And rather than sending back 410 Gone, I am hoping the new owner can continue + new ideas — things I don’t really want to think about. If I am still the owner, I don’t think people will be motivated enough to bring it to the next level.

      I don’t even want the advertising revenue. The new team would need it to run the site properly. If they can present a good plan for it.

      January 20, 2012 @ 3:59 am | Reply
      • @LowEndAdmin I respect your decisions. I hope the best for LEB/LET.

        I still think that handing it over to a bunch of LEB/LET users instead of one user would be a good idea but thats just me and my thoughts.

        January 20, 2012 @ 5:38 am | Reply
  35. Calle:

    Sad to see you go.
    Thanks for all the hard work.

    January 19, 2012 @ 9:12 am | Reply
  36. tinyX:

    Said to see that :( , just thank you for your hard work these years.

    January 19, 2012 @ 9:31 am | Reply
  37. greyboy:

    I’m very sorry to hear about that.Iwish you have a great future in Internet or others…do you care more about cloud

    January 19, 2012 @ 9:49 am | Reply
  38. Tom:

    Being a reader since 2008, I would say that you should just sell it since you are no longer enjoying this activity. This will be the best outcome for you, maybe not mentally, but surely money wise, considering that you aren’t a wealthy rich man leaving a luxury part of the world. No matter what happens with the website after the sale it will not be the same without you.

    Remember 4VPS? That’s what will most likely happen if you give this website to wrong hands. Not only will they let the website die eventually, but you’ll always remember your bad decision.

    Sell it LEA…

    January 19, 2012 @ 10:11 am | Reply
    • Bob:

      Somehow I agree on that… weird enough as it’s the countrary of my own comment :p

      Pretty hard to give it to somebody else, & I feel like that many people from the community might not survive the site without you, but well, you weren’t that much around here during the last few month so well.. who knows… but it would just be to bad to see LEB becoming as bad as possible and slowly collapsing…

      January 19, 2012 @ 10:17 am | Reply
    • Don’t really enjoy being referred to as the ‘wrong hands’ :(. All plans for 4vps are still valid. I asked for feedback from interested parties who would like to help build it out on LET but got no takers, so assumed it wasnt something that was in dire need.

      January 19, 2012 @ 2:18 pm | Reply
    • … considering that you aren’t a wealthy rich man leaving a luxury part of the world.

      What are you talking about?! I live in the best city in the world! :)

      Okay might not be a “rich” man yet (it’s all subjective though), but most definitely feeling content with what I have got at the moment.

      January 20, 2012 @ 4:01 am | Reply
  39. Thanks for all your help and support over the past 12 months or so. You’ve been absolutely superb. Good luck with the startup, and hopefully LEB will continue in some form or another!
    Nick

    January 19, 2012 @ 10:14 am | Reply
  40. Bob:

    Sad news, but well I guess we could expect it. So much crappy hosts, less posts & it was visible that you had less time / didn’t enjoy it doing LEB as much.

    It’s probably a sad news for future providers, as LEB seemed like something that could help when you’re starting in the VPS industry but well, asi es!

    Thanks for what you did though, and good luck with the new solution.

    The 410-Gone is beautyfull & if the community had to survive it will, at the same time if you find somebody that can take care of the site… I might want to help on that. But please don’t #2 it would mean ads everywhere & LEB would lost it’s soul…

    Have a nice day anyway & thanks for what you did!

    January 19, 2012 @ 10:15 am | Reply
  41. What a pity. I host a blog in Chinese, and all I wanna do is to be a Chinese LowEndAdmin. Thanks for everything you have done!

    January 19, 2012 @ 10:30 am | Reply
  42. Johnny:

    That’s such a shame but I do understand. Thank you very much for all you’ve done for us and, if I can be selfish for a moment, especially for me. I agree that you should cash in. Johnny

    January 19, 2012 @ 10:53 am | Reply
  43. It’s so sad to see you exit :(

    Maybe there are many people with so much knowledge about VPS/Server/Linux/Windows/Operating System.
    But not all of them are wise enough to admit their fault. And not all of them are happy to answer the questions asked.

    Well then,

    I only can say, Thank you for all of your precious time for us :)
    And wish you could have a better life than now :)

    Regards,

    Erawan Arif Nugroho

    January 19, 2012 @ 11:08 am | Reply
  44. Thank you for the listings and good luck for the future,

    It would be good for LowEndBox to continue, but I hope you reach the outcome that works best for you.

    Kind Regards,
    Martin

    January 19, 2012 @ 11:15 am | Reply
  45. I still remember first time i came to this site it’s because my 384MB linode VPS (low in memory not in price :P ) and i still remember the LowEnd name is the first who catch my eyes in google search result. i jumped in to this business it’s because LEB/LET member. I honor all LEB/LET member as my family. the great family who will hunter together to find the best low cost vps provider. So if it’s time to move on i hope we can always remember who we are and for what we stand for.
    LEA if you have a time for coming to my country let me know about this. let we go somewhere and spend a lot of time for holiday. i pay the bill. even if you go with all of your family. find my name and my address from whois. this offer available for all LEB provider and client too. we are still a big family. the big green family. :P

    January 19, 2012 @ 11:16 am | Reply
    • Bob:

      Would your offer still be valid in a couple of years? :)

      January 19, 2012 @ 11:19 am | Reply
      • even for a hundred years Bob. :) but please don’t forget this community.

        January 19, 2012 @ 11:32 am | Reply
    • Most definitely interested in going to Indonesia, one day :) Cheers!

      January 20, 2012 @ 4:04 am | Reply
  46. I had a feeling this was coming, the site just seems to have come to a hault (With posts etc)

    Its going to be sad to see you go, i wish you the best of luck with whatever project you take on next!

    January 19, 2012 @ 11:55 am | Reply
  47. what i want to say.. it’s very hard to spell out. but i hope LEB still continue as before even with another admin,moderators etc. good luck LEA for future carrier.

    January 19, 2012 @ 12:08 pm | Reply
  48. Having used this site for the past 3 or so years, it’ll be sad to see you go but I completely understand your viewpoint.

    Thanks for keeping the community going all this time!

    January 19, 2012 @ 12:09 pm | Reply
  49. erv:

    just wanted to say thank you, i found some good deals here over the years.

    January 19, 2012 @ 12:15 pm | Reply
  50. I think we all know it should go to drmike!

    January 19, 2012 @ 12:19 pm | Reply
  51. I may have not commented much, but I have enjoyed reading and taking the offers from the first day I started reading.

    Hopefully the person whom carries it on is able to do a very good job and that it doesn’t turn into basically an ad board.

    Thanks again for the website, it helped me :)

    January 19, 2012 @ 12:28 pm | Reply
  52. Jan:

    Before I came first to this site I didn’t even know there’s such a thing as a virtual “low end box”. Even though I found a pretty good low end VPS provider some time ago I always enjoyed reading your blog posts about the new offers.

    Let the site/project die in style using the first method. That’s what I would do.

    Cheers!

    January 19, 2012 @ 12:52 pm | Reply
  53. Go:

    Well that’s really sad, LEA is a very important part of LEB, himself :(

    I would suggest two solutions:

    1) Having a moderator (or 2) moderating the blog and LET altogether with a sort of reward/deal, while LEA takes care of hosting and such (while still an administrator and can post sometimes). The moderator should take care of posting, emails, moderating, etc.

    2) Which I don’t prefer, is selling the blog, but to someone LEA trusts, like Fransisco (buyvm) for instance, to make sure that he is a one who can, in turn, assign a moderator and arrange a management method to keep the blog and LET going well. Aim is to not pass it to someone who is careless or his only aim is to rise ads (or sell it to someone who will do so), or to only take care of his own company and keep this a ghost ship that returns some revenue..etc.

    January 19, 2012 @ 12:54 pm | Reply
    • mina:

      What the f*ck? Selling to Francisco would just make this place full market place of his brand(s). Same goes for selling anyone who is affiliated with some web hosting company.

      January 19, 2012 @ 12:57 pm | Reply
      • For our no stock? Right on :)

        In the last 2 years we’ve been posting on LEB, count how many times we’ve done so. I think last year we did 2 posts? If anything, we give far more advice/warnings/etc of brands and insight into the market and future things than most.

        There has been countless times that i’ve listed off pre-emptive deadpool markings, sometimes right at the start of a posting.

        LEA knows my stance on the communities and he knows if he ever needed resources we’d do our best to help him. We don’t ‘need’ LEB to live, we have an army of support on twitter and countless other spots. We do love the LEB community, though, and spend a fair bit of our time posting in LET :)

        Francisco

        January 19, 2012 @ 1:23 pm | Reply
      • Go:

        @ mina:

        fine, but (tbh) I see your next comment is weird:

        Honestly,

        I think you should do the pump and dump, eg. selling this site and not worry how it will end.

        I cannot think of a person on this community who could take your position, while being unbiased and technically ready to take over of this.

        Which makes me think you are one bidder :P

        January 19, 2012 @ 1:25 pm | Reply
    • Go:

      Well fine, but (tbh) I see your next comment is weird:

      Honestly,

      I think you should do the pump and dump, eg. selling this site and not worry how it will end.

      I cannot think of a person on this community who could take your position, while being unbiased and technically ready to take over of this.

      Which makes me think you are one bidder :P

      January 19, 2012 @ 1:11 pm | Reply
  54. mina:

    Honestly,

    I think you should do the pump and dump, eg. selling this site and not worry how it will end.

    I cannot think of a person on this community who could take your position, while being unbiased and technically ready to take over of this.

    But if you’re not into selling – you should still keep the ad revenue – while having editor here and moderator on LET, possibly the same person.

    Giving over such a successful site is not a smart move, and while you think “community” would deserve it – it doesn’t. It’s your work, and you should be able to make something off from it.

    January 19, 2012 @ 12:56 pm | Reply
    • As I have stated in the blog post, this feels like a liability/a debt to me — having to keep the community going on something I’ve lost the motivation for minimum return.

      Anyway. I’ve been giving away things to “undeserving” people all the time. I am just passing on my “debt” to someone here to continue the work here.

      January 20, 2012 @ 4:21 am | Reply
  55. krish:

    Really sad to hear about it… when something comes for free we really dont understand the value…

    Now i feel guilty because i never returned anything for the benefits i received… i started using this site only from Nov 2011.. but still..

    So i request LEB admin to put a donate option and we all should contribute whatever possible to keep this site live… because i think if it goes to somebody else it will never be the same… also instead of banner ads i thinks he can implement sponsored/premium listing or posts… and as said above more moderators to do routine jobs….

    Hope it will survive in the present form… All the best….

    January 19, 2012 @ 1:18 pm | Reply
  56. Hey

    It is sad to see that you have lost interest in maintaining this site. It probably gets rough when you get hundreds of email asking you if you can post for them. Hopefully, you can pass the baton to someone who is passionate about this industry and at the same time is not affiliated by any of the web hosts.

    Thanks for your time … really appreciated it.

    January 19, 2012 @ 1:21 pm | Reply
  57. William:

    I’d take it for $10k without thinking twice (would even pay more).
    Even though we are certainly biased i also run nohostsland and some others before it so i am certainly qualified :-).

    You got our mail in your inbox if you’re interested.

    I think you earned it to get a payment out of it, even some recurring.

    Best for your future
    William

    January 19, 2012 @ 1:28 pm | Reply
  58. James:

    Well it will be a shame to see you go LEA. I have learned a hell of a lot from the blog and the community here. All the best for the future and fingers crossed there can be some way to keep things going in some form.

    January 19, 2012 @ 1:39 pm | Reply
  59. Jamie:

    Thank you for everything LEA. Best of luck with your future projects. :)

    January 19, 2012 @ 1:50 pm | Reply
  60. MikHo:

    I’m a frequent visitor since last year, enjoying every minute. Since I started (ab)using/learning/enjoying lowend boxes at that time I’ve been very interested in this community but not very active. I for one will be very sad if you LEA chose to do either option 1 or 2. I have this nagging feeling that all that you built will then be lost one way or another.

    I truly hope that either you pass on to LEA2 that will keep the community alive with the high spirit that you have inspired us all with or choose an “editor” for lowendbox.com and moderators for lowendtalk.com.

    Whatever YOUR choice will be, I whish you all the best in the world.

    January 19, 2012 @ 2:02 pm | Reply
  61. Ztec:

    Thanks for LEB!

    January 19, 2012 @ 2:05 pm | Reply
  62. Zero:

    LowEndAdmin,

    thank you for everything.

    January 19, 2012 @ 2:06 pm | Reply
  63. Agreed. Thanks.

    We’re having a bit of discussion over here as well in case folks haven’t seen it:

    http://www.lowendtalk.com/discussion/1165/lowendbox-possibly-closing/

    If you do give it up to someone else, the first question that comes to mind is if that person will be public or if their identity will be a secret like it is now.

    January 19, 2012 @ 2:15 pm | Reply
  64. Goring:

    Thanks for LEB. It was my “must read” for everyday needs ;)

    January 19, 2012 @ 2:17 pm | Reply
  65. NO DONT GO!! i love this website and always look here when advising people on a vps service :( im going to miss this place alot i can only hope it lives on

    January 19, 2012 @ 3:11 pm | Reply
  66. Is sad,.

    But looking to the past months, in some way I thought this could happen.

    I am happy because here I found my hobby, my main community, and I have learned like an sponge since I am here.
    I am impressed how this community has growed, and how popular this site has come, sometimes I wonder how I can create an ultrapopular site like this… but I don’t have ideas =P.

    I don’t remember how I came around lol, but surely like most people, looking for an offer, and then Google moved me here.

    Yes, is sad how the industry is full of scammers, n00bs and other kind of idiots trying to steal our money, but the virtualization is the way to go these days, an ultra popular market, and there is a lot of competency to get more clients (more money).

    Close? or who must take this site? I don’t know, I am reading the thread at LET and still they are discussing hehe. At the end you must take your decision n_n whatever it is.

    Thanks LEA, for all the hard work, and good luck =)

    (Maybe is time to get me out and let the sun shine on me again, hahahaha!)

    January 19, 2012 @ 3:34 pm | Reply
    • vedran:

      Yeah, I was looking for cheap VPS and Google brought me here

      January 19, 2012 @ 4:44 pm | Reply
  67. i reload LEB’s main page from 9 am until now to see if there’s a new LEB’s posted, but what i got is this exit(0) title.

    though i’m just a silent reader, i really love LEB. you know for a noob like me, it is very hard to keep on track with high priced provider, so mostly i stay with low ends and hit the mid-hi end sometimes. it is too bad that you’ll be exiting LEB, i learned a lot from here, but that’s your decision, i respect you. thank’s a lot.

    January 19, 2012 @ 3:42 pm | Reply
  68. Don’t 410 it I am comming frequently for background check :P maybe I mirror/backup it just to be sure.

    Seriously now, I know the feeling when something made a full circle inside you (not exact translation available in english)

    Only a big thanks for time, especially the personal one and being such a cool guy and everything

    Love from Greece and I hope that everything goes well with your life

    P.S. IMHO don’t sell, keep community put other people in charge and enjoy the profit you deserve it

    January 19, 2012 @ 4:12 pm | Reply
  69. I’ve saved my main words for the email I sent but I’d like to thank you publicly for the work you’ve done, your work has created a great community and taught people a lot, thank you.
    ~ Max

    January 19, 2012 @ 4:28 pm | Reply
  70. Dino Suarez:

    Please sell it and make yourself some cash. It isn’t going to be ‘lowendbox’ without you. So cash out
    while you can – because you deserve it for your hard work.

    January 19, 2012 @ 4:34 pm | Reply
  71. João Neto:

    I’d like to thank you for your work, and am sorry to hear that you feel that way, ahtough I might understand you. Even though I usually don’t post, this website is on my top 10 visited websites – I find it extremely useful and my #1 resource on (cheap, yet great) hosting!

    I wish you the best, LEA; and thank you! – I hope that if you decide to ‘pass on the baton’, you will still stay around (as a regular user) :). Also best of luck on your startup.

    January 19, 2012 @ 4:38 pm | Reply
  72. Keith W.:

    Thank you for all of your work to date. You’ve introduced me to the concept of bargain basement hosting options, and learned alot from my experience.

    It is clear your work is greatly appreciated by the community, and I hope you enjoy your suddenly available free time :)

    January 19, 2012 @ 4:39 pm | Reply
  73. camarg:

    Thanx LEA, it’s been a pleasure reading your posts.
    hope you’ll stick around

    January 19, 2012 @ 5:00 pm | Reply
  74. innya:

    Well best of luck to you and the final outcome of your decision on LEB & LET future.

    I have been here and enjoyed reading and donating money to dead pool vps as well as good LEB providers since you started out.

    January 19, 2012 @ 5:07 pm | Reply
  75. Dano:

    As I arrived late to the party(<6m ago), I just want to say thanks for creating this site & running it with integrity. I feel that the comments and research you presented to the community were valuable and also entertaining, and I am surely going to miss your presence.

    Again, I for one really appreciate the time you took to make this site fun to read everyday, and I wish you good luck with whatever is on your mind for the future!

    January 19, 2012 @ 5:08 pm | Reply
  76. Jason:

    Oh yes, let’s give LEB to the King of Low End, Francisco.

    p
    Never heard such a stupid idea.

    I think if anything, LEA rightly deserves to sell LEB on. His hard work is appreciated by many and the only way as he says to part without it causing worry is the ditch it or sell it – selling it seems wise. Maybe contact iNet and see if they would be interested?

    January 19, 2012 @ 5:26 pm | Reply
    • Maybe contact iNet and see if they would be interested?

      Oh hell no. iNet has proven time and time again not to listen to the folks using their websites. This would be a very bad idea.

      January 19, 2012 @ 6:39 pm | Reply
  77. 1337y2k12:

    Bye LEA, your blog has been great and has saved us many $$$!

    I would say that if you are giving it away then don’t give it to a vps company (like buyvm etc) because there is always a chance for abuse, plus it would seem bias, and that really would make us all sadface even more than we are right now :(

    I like the idea of 401 Gone myself, seems to best way and fitting, but fair play if you want to make some bucks out of this, it is yours after all!

    January 19, 2012 @ 5:58 pm | Reply
  78. Dang, that’s sad to see =(. Wish you all the best LEA.

    January 19, 2012 @ 6:01 pm | Reply
  79. Fran or Dr Mike should get it i think if it was to be passed on.

    January 19, 2012 @ 6:06 pm | Reply
  80. Amfy:

    Oh damn – so a great blog and now something like that :(

    January 19, 2012 @ 6:41 pm | Reply
  81. So sad, hopefully its put in the right hands…. LEB/LET is something we all can agree on that we visit regularly.

    Be a shame to see it be mishandled. Thanks LEA for all your hard work, we appreciate more than you know over at ChicagoVPS!

    Regards,

    Chris

    January 19, 2012 @ 6:53 pm | Reply
  82. Good luck to you LEA!

    I have enjoyed reading and participating in this community.

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:35 pm | Reply
  83. Christian:

    Sorry to hear that, but I think we all respect your decision. I would like to say thank you for your big effort collecting and listing lowendvps providers. Earlier I had to rent bunch of dedis for my production, nowadays I’m getting away with some cheap under <7$ VPS's.

    I hope you can manage to get a good future for LEB or get atleast some cash :)

    January 19, 2012 @ 7:50 pm | Reply
  84. InsDel:

    Thanks for everything. I’m sure whatever startup you’re doing will be awesome ;)

    January 19, 2012 @ 8:09 pm | Reply
  85. andrew:

    best of luck with the new startup

    i did enjoy the site v. much and got 2 vpss from your postings.

    i hope the site carries on in some form but do appreciate the time it demandsnot just from you but also from whoever replaces you.

    January 19, 2012 @ 8:22 pm | Reply
  86. Jun:

    Thanks a lot LEB.
    Just hope you would continue posting forever.

    January 19, 2012 @ 8:29 pm | Reply
  87. Sad sad day.

    I wish you the best of luck.

    I know your probably dead set on an exit however call me crazy but how about this for an idea(s):

    1) appoint a team of admins from the community.
    2) code in some better automation, e.g. paid form based hosting offer submissions that are vetted by the admins, no one can submit more than 1 p/month
    3) set a strict and automated criteria for offers e.g. $x p/mb ram
    4) profit share the payments for posting offers.

    This would massively reduce the time commitment and perhaps you can start to enjoy its existence again.

    Would be a massive shame to see this site either vanish or to start becoming profit driven rather than community driven.

    The only viable alternative right now (excluding WHT) that actually is original and not just a clone of leb is 96mb.com

    January 19, 2012 @ 9:52 pm | Reply
  88. Quentin Hedberg:

    I would gladly take over your blog part-time. Without it, I wouldn’t have rented a VPS and become interested in creating a website and learning linux, etc. Thank you for 4 wonderful years!

    January 19, 2012 @ 9:58 pm | Reply
  89. thank you for all your hard work LEA. even if you didnt know, this site helped me alot. And i want to show my gratitude to every member of this precious community. Web is much better place with you all. Thank you all…

    January 19, 2012 @ 10:42 pm | Reply
  90. This is really sad news to read, as lowendbox has been a fantastic resource for the last 4 years. One I think everyone’s going to miss, quite a bit, especially myself. :( Me and a few others just launched http://www.cheapvpsdeals.info to hopefully provide some sort of alternative to the potential demise of lowendbox. We hope we can be even half as useful as lowendbox has been. Thanks for the time and energy spent building this site to what it’s become!

    January 19, 2012 @ 11:35 pm | Reply
    • Jordy:

      This is a good idea and has a lot of potential (provided you’re just as good as sifting thru the vps offers as LEA is) and won’t ever start to sell out the community for your own gain. I think the community would be best served is LEA was to endorse an alternative site and just forward this domain to there and be done with it. Just a clean and quick, but obviously still sad goodbye.

      January 20, 2012 @ 3:24 am | Reply
    • The horse isn’t quite dead yet, beating it while it’s still alive is just cruelty :P

      Francisco

      January 20, 2012 @ 4:00 am | Reply
  91. alkamir:

    thanks a lot 4 ur blog… it really help me.

    January 20, 2012 @ 12:30 am | Reply
  92. Roro Qiu:

    What a sad news!

    Thank you for your hard work, LEA. I get my lowend vps from your blog. This is a great blog that I will always remember.

    January 20, 2012 @ 2:53 am | Reply
  93. Sad..but its a good move I guess, people are moving into the Saas, Paas.
    ** taking backup of your lowend script before its gone ***

    January 20, 2012 @ 6:18 am | Reply
  94. wow sad news indeed

    still new to LEB community but it’s slowly grown on me and helped me find some great deals on LEB VPS for my projects, so thanks :)

    maybe turn LEB into a product/user review type of system, so LEB providers get listed and LEB end user post reviews in a newegg.com product feedback type of system (limit the word count etc) ?

    January 20, 2012 @ 6:34 am | Reply
  95. rych:

    noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

    so sad now.

    me sadding.

    January 20, 2012 @ 6:45 am | Reply
  96. shearerc:

    LEA, thanks for us introducing to me and many others the world of low-end boxes.

    You built up this site with your own blood, sweat and tears. You’re well within your rights to do whatever you see fit.
    However I do hope LEB can continue without you in some form or another.

    January 20, 2012 @ 7:24 am | Reply
  97. thekreek:

    LEA its sad to learn that you’re leaving, specially since all this time and even from before (hostingfu, you also have some great material there).

    As a long time reader, I vote for passing on the baton. I might not have much voice here, but I prefer it would be something neutral (no providers related, this way we could avoid possible misunderstandings)

    Thanks for all this time, good luck on you’re new projects and the best wishes.

    January 20, 2012 @ 8:20 am | Reply
  98. proxima:

    I discovered this blog by accident about 4 months ago.
    Visited here regularly since.

    Needs must.. all the best LBA…
    And thanks to everyone else for help and guidance.

    Proxima

    January 20, 2012 @ 9:51 am | Reply
  99. David:

    Thanks for the site, I’d hate for the site to go down.. but you gotta do what you gotta do.

    January 20, 2012 @ 11:10 am | Reply
  100. Nate:

    Oh wow.

    This is actually really depressing news….

    January 20, 2012 @ 11:42 am | Reply
  101. ARGH. Why do people make comments in a way that LowEndBox is going to disappear? Well I did say that 410 Gone was an option, but that would be the last result if there’s no desirable outcome.

    And I was surprised at how many offers I’ve received over the last 24 hours from the willing hands. The community certainly won’t die — it’s going to have a team of new leaders, and it’s only going to get better. Rather than having the slack LowEndAdmin trying to juggle everything, you might now have a motivated admin trying to take this site to the next level.

    January 20, 2012 @ 12:11 pm | Reply
    • ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF LOW END BOX.

      WILL DRMIKE FINALLY POWER UP AND REVEAL HIS TRUE EMPLOYER?

      HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa……

      Sorry, been watching way too many DBZ movies lately <_<

      Francisco

      January 20, 2012 @ 12:16 pm | Reply
    • Jason:

      Here’s to a commercially bias future and demise of LowEndBox!

      January 20, 2012 @ 2:11 pm | Reply
      • Ginger.:

        Thought we had got rid off you..

        January 20, 2012 @ 2:52 pm | Reply
        • Jason:

          Wouldnt give you the satisfaction.

          January 20, 2012 @ 2:53 pm | Reply
  102. DB:

    Even though I have never bought a VPS in my life, I always come here daily to read new offers and comments from users of this great community.
    Each day I learn something new about hosting, DNS management, how to “validate” new providers, how to keep the guard high about scammers, how to use a small VPS using less RAM possible and have a great site running on it (I’m referring to you LowerEndAdmin).

    If I had to choose, I would choose either option 1 (to close LEA) either option 3 (to pass the baton).
    Two names come to my mind as your successors:
    Yomero
    Francisco
    The former because I always read him/here in each new offer, the latter because of his reputation built from scratch and his presence (he always pops-up out of nowhere giving great suggestions).
    I would suggest to make a poll in which we can choose your successor; if it can’t be done or you don’t want to do it, then close LEA: I couldn’t stand to see this great site in the hands of scammers.
    And to every user that is part of this community: thanks for all you did and for making this site what it is now.

    Note:
    I read some comments suggesting to sell this site: I think that the ones writing are bidders, otherwise said users would have never suggested a thing like that.
    It is disgusting to see you use each and every occasion to make a profit from the work of others: suggesting to destroy a site like this… You are worms, leechers, parasites… I have no words to describe how disgusting you are to my eyes.
    Anyway, this is referred to users that suggest to sell without giving a point (most or all of comments like this) and to users popping out of nowhere suggesting it.

    Note2, to Francisco:
    If you want to win the race hands down, you can suggest a free VPS for each user that votes you ;-p

    Note 3, always to Francisco:
    Ponies, horses, stallions… When will come the era of Unicorns? ;-P

    January 20, 2012 @ 12:46 pm | Reply
  103. Very sad… lowendbox.com for me – etalon quality sites, unique catalog VPS. All my 6 VPS i search here.
    I am hope, what new admin will support lowendbox.com.

    LowEndAdmin – great THANX for this sites! Russia with you.

    January 20, 2012 @ 1:13 pm | Reply
  104. Zach:

    First of all, thanks for all you have done to build this great community and site, LowEndAdmin! I have been involved in a couple of forums (one had over a million users) as a moderator and admin in a past life, and I know it is far from easy. So, in some small way I know pretty much where you’re coming from. I had to step down from the moderating gig at the large forum due to health/personal reasons and it was very difficult, as I’m sure this decision was difficult to make for you.

    I have only been here for a few short weeks and have already found a couple of great and cost effective VPS providers. It’s incredible that I can get 3-4 LEBs for what one mid-range shared hosting package would usually cost. It’s addicting, and I wouldn’t have been turned on to this great hobby if not for your site and the work you have done on it. :)

    So, anyway, thanks again for all you have done. On a personal (selfish) level, I really want the site to go on and be in good hands on a long term basis. Seeing your update is encouraging, and I hope to find out more details soon.

    Just reading through your posts during the short time I have been here I know this isn’t just another idiotic cookie cutter “review” (read: referral) site, where they just sit back and wait for the referral dough to roll in. When you find legitimate issues with hosts you’re not afraid to call them out. I really like that, and over everything else, I hope this one trait continues on in the new LEB.

    I wish you the best of luck in all of your future endeavors and hope nothing but the best for you. :)

    – Zach

    January 20, 2012 @ 1:19 pm | Reply
  105. That’s good news at least :)

    However I would like to point out that of all the posts ever made here I would have expected this one to get the most comments in the least amount of time, and I think the last BuyVM sale got a ton more in no time…. very sad.

    I do hope that whoever takes over enforces some realism (No offence meant LEA) e.g. no $7 for 2GB offers or a minimum price per MB/KB which should get rid of allot of the pump and dump offers posted here which (almost?) always end bad

    January 20, 2012 @ 2:09 pm | Reply
    • Yomero:

      Don’t worry Anthony, I am here ready to spam 400 comments per minute.

      January 20, 2012 @ 4:15 pm | Reply
  106. Whats going on at LET > Fatal error: Class ‘Gdn’ not found in /home/lowend/lowendtalk/htdocs/bootstrap.php on line 41

    Regards,

    Ash

    January 20, 2012 @ 2:41 pm | Reply
  107. yokowasis:

    I just know the this sit not more than a month ago. And yet, now the owner is retired. Maybe I will never get to try the VPS world if not from this site. I hope the next admin is as good or better than you, and not money oriented.

    January 20, 2012 @ 4:47 pm | Reply
  108. MikeJ:

    Dear LEB admin,

    Thank you so much for your wonderful work and website over the years. It’s quite sad to hear such news… But the spirit of LOWENDBOX will continue to shine as if you are here. Good luck with whatever you are doing!! God Bless you!

    January 20, 2012 @ 5:35 pm | Reply
  109. Go:

    A suggestion: why not add a “Donate” button in LEB so that all (clients and also providers using the site) can show support, and I’m sure LEA will feel better, and probably can be able to get enough for living solely out of LEB (that substitute having a full time job for living) ? I don’t see any issue with that solution when I look into projects like Wikipedia running based on donations for their full time work. It just needs a statement from LEA, to clarify the situation with his full time commitment to LEB during years.

    I also agree like others, with Asim’s suggestion http://www.lowendbox.com/blog/exit0/#comment-60326

    January 20, 2012 @ 7:33 pm | Reply
    • Christian:

      I don’t think LEA is having money related problems. It’s just the time.

      January 21, 2012 @ 2:28 pm | Reply
  110. Vipies:

    What a drama..
    If you are good person you will not disappear like this.
    If you are good person your reader could found you on Facebook or twitter (about yourself).
    If you are good person, how can your reader appreciate your effort create this site and community without knowing you who you are.

    The conclusion is……..

    January 20, 2012 @ 7:35 pm | Reply
    • The conclusion is……..

      you are trying to throw some fire on gas station..

      January 20, 2012 @ 8:00 pm | Reply
      • Sorry but I have to admit that sometimes I’ve felt the same way as Vipies states a couple of times now. Sorry for saying this but LowEndAdmin has let some slide with the personal attacks, listing providers here who are running flat out illegal operations and known spammers peddle their wares instead of making the community better.

        January 20, 2012 @ 9:42 pm | Reply
        • People have different definitions on “personal attacks”, and you also need to look at the motivation, the context and the tone used. Personally I have reviewed all flags, but have decided NOT to act some of them because I don’t see them as attacks.

          I have also spelt out many times why seemingly dodgy operators got listed. Sometimes — due to lack of research they got through the filter. Sometimes I was merely pointing out the fact, that hey — these are problematic and potential scammers. LowEndBox blog posts got onto Google SERP so more people can be aware of the issues

          January 20, 2012 @ 9:56 pm | Reply
        • I wrote a rather lengthy response but I’ll let it go.

          Thanks though for removing that attack against me from earlier today. It’s a pity that this isn’t the first time the person has taken a shot at me.

          January 21, 2012 @ 12:34 am | Reply
    • The conclusion is……..

      The person, the individual, the man behind LEA has a good standard of decency and he has a sense of moral obligation to the community (he could have just silently sell this site to the highest bidder, instead he post this thread before exiting).

      He wants to keep his sanity as more and more e-mails (hundreds of them on a daily basis, be it automatically or manually sent) requesting him to post their offer and many of the offers are too good to be true.

      He wants to keep apart his personal life as a family man, as a friend and as a professional with the life as a blogger or a community veteran. (To be honest, many of us befriend LEA only through e-mails, LEB and LET and only a few knows him in person)

      So, to me he is a good and reputable person. :)

      January 25, 2012 @ 6:03 am | Reply
  111. Thank you for everything LEA, wish you all the luck in world with your start-up!

    January 20, 2012 @ 7:39 pm | Reply
  112. Wow, this is last thing I would expected! Totally understand where point it’s time to leave. Hopefully you get to keep your title as veteran and hop in LEB once in a while!

    In addition, how can we keep in touch with you if we don’t have your personal email address? :)

    Best luck!

    January 20, 2012 @ 8:55 pm | Reply
  113. There are a lot of scammers on flippa too, so he could easily sell to the wrong guy. If he does sell it, regardless to whom, I doubt the community ever be the same :\

    January 20, 2012 @ 9:53 pm | Reply
  114. I have put in an update to the blog post about 12 hours ago. In case people have missed it, I have found the right person to pass the sites onto. No, I did not sell the site, and I thought from my blog post I have already spelt out that for the sake of the community, selling it wasn’t desirable.

    Anyway. Migrating the ownership would take a few days, and announcements afterwards.

    January 20, 2012 @ 10:00 pm | Reply
    • Bob:

      Great news!

      Who’s that guy/girl?

      Hope we have a presentation as first message from him/her!

      :D

      January 20, 2012 @ 10:34 pm | Reply
    • LEA, we’d like to say THANK YOU for everything you have been doing for EDIS and for the whole community!
      We all wish you the best for your future projects.

      Cheers from the Austrian south-end
      Gerhard, William and the rest of the EDIS team.

      January 21, 2012 @ 11:06 am | Reply
  115. Jack:

    @LEA is LET staying under your ownership?

    January 20, 2012 @ 10:10 pm | Reply
  116. Jack:

    Okay.

    January 20, 2012 @ 10:22 pm | Reply
  117. LEA,

    Thank you for all you’ve done. I would buy you a beer if I ever see you in real life. Hope the best to you, your family, your church commitments, and your business.

    January 20, 2012 @ 10:37 pm | Reply
  118. Blackstorm72:

    You mention that the community is not doing much the past few months.

    This blog post is generating as much comments as ipap has lol. While I don’t comment much, this is now generally my place for a dose of drama. I absolutely hate WHT’s rules and regu
    lations that I don’t speak there but only here. This community is also rather nice but I do see a fair share of attacks here.

    Best wishes LEA, Thanks. Work is always appreciated especially when done on your own time and for free (minus ads). Make sure you visit the world, I heard its cool :p

    January 20, 2012 @ 10:41 pm | Reply
    • Blackstorm72:

      Hooray for cell phone spacing issues. Sorry lol.

      January 20, 2012 @ 10:42 pm | Reply
  119. Looks like the cat’s out of the bag:

    http://www.lowendtalk.com/discussion/comment/24356#Comment_24356

    So much for waiting a few days.

    January 21, 2012 @ 1:11 am | Reply
    • vedran:

      I somehow thing that’s only a joke.

      January 21, 2012 @ 1:22 am | Reply
      • Then we have yet another example of why we need sarcasm tags. :)

        January 21, 2012 @ 1:48 am | Reply
        • I think we should make a wiki article documenting the changes we’re wanting, a tag would be quite high on my list :D

          Francisco

          January 21, 2012 @ 2:08 am | Reply
  120. earl:

    It’s really unfortunate to see you go LEA.. Lowendbox was more fun when you were more active back in 2010, even thought LEB will still be around you have a unique way of presenting your site that will definitely be lost with a new Owner/Admin. Definitely not a good start to the upcoming year of the Dragon!!

    January 21, 2012 @ 2:57 am | Reply
  121. Wishing Lowendbox many more years, i love this site.

    January 21, 2012 @ 6:05 am | Reply
  122. Someone just tipped me about the commotion going on here, unfortunately i do not visit this site as i much as i would like lately.

    Thank you LEA for all your efforts on helping the lowend segment of VPS hosting industry over the years as well as those people who are looking for VPS host on a tight budget. Congratulations on building such as vibrant community…. I wish you all the best in what ever path you want to take, i will definitely miss your “clever” sense of humour.

    To the new owner(s) you are still welcome to host this website for as long as you like at QuickWeb for free :) all the best and hope you continue develop and grow this site further.

    To everyone, hold on tight LEB won’t go anywhere which is nice to hear!

    regards,
    Roel

    January 21, 2012 @ 9:52 am | Reply
  123. You should really turn this into a digg style site where people vote up good deals. You should charge a nominal fee ($1,$5,more?) for adding a listing with no guarantee that it will make the front page. This may weed out some of the less successful cronies.

    This would also give you the opportunity to target advertising toward low-end vps hosts via the submission pages.

    Is there software available that can deal well with the cheating?

    January 21, 2012 @ 3:01 pm | Reply
    • You should really turn this into a digg style site where people vote up good deals

      I believe he tried that previously with a upvote plugin. It got abused with a certain bad provider getting the most up votes.

      January 22, 2012 @ 7:44 pm | Reply
  124. Alex:

    Hi! It’s very sad to see you leaving the project. Yet I believe I do understand why you made such a decision: we live our lives just once — that’s too little to spend them on things that are not a pleasure anymore.

    No matter what option will be chosen, LEB will never be the same without you. Like Queen has never been the same after Freddie’s death. Sorry for such a dramatic comparison, but you got my point.

    If I were you, I’d make a 410 page and a legacy version of the website for the reference purposes (which would be a frozen snapshot of a current LEB). I’d locate it at http legacy.lowendbox.com and place a link to it from the main 410-Gone page. Even if you do pass the website to someone else, please still do make a non-editable un-commentable reference copy that would be _independent_ from a new owner. In that case, because LEB is strongly associated with LEA, it may also be a good idea to force a new owner to change the site name (offer him a redirect from LEB com) and to place a link to a legacy version.

    Anyway, thanks to what you’ve done. Your work helped me a lot! I wish you good luck and joy with your new project!

    P.S. sorry for my English

    January 22, 2012 @ 12:38 am | Reply
    • Go wild :3

      lowendbox.inportb.com
      lowendbox.inportb.com/all.htm (warning: 6.4MB gzip’d)

      January 23, 2012 @ 7:17 am | Reply
  125. Miguel Ângelo Santos Pereira / MrGeneral:

    LEA, as I said in the email, I wish you the best, and don’t ever stop emailing me! :-P

    January 22, 2012 @ 4:53 am | Reply
  126. Sad to see you go, but I can understand. Hope you get to enjoy some of your new free time.

    January 22, 2012 @ 5:38 am | Reply
  127. drapko:

    Thank you LEA!

    I wish you good luck :)

    January 22, 2012 @ 12:37 pm | Reply
  128. Just got back from a vacation trip, thanks to someone who sent us a ticket about this news.

    LEA, thank you very much for helping us reach all customers who need lowend boxes to start with. I can say that part of Jolly Works Hosting’s success is because of you and LowEndBox. We will miss your kind words about us on your posts that actually motivates us to do better.

    Surely, we will regret you for leaving, but of course as much as we want you stay, we also want you to be happy and proceed to something else you want.

    In behalf everyone here at JWH Sales, THANK YOU and we wish you the best of luck! :)

    January 22, 2012 @ 6:24 pm | Reply
  129. Borja:

    Thats fucking sad… there no one who can do it similar to you.

    Thanks for your time and effor… I checked everyday this website, at least 4-5 times since I know it (about 2 years ago).

    You impressed me, everyday man. You are the bosh.

    If you need a php,css,html,ajax/c#/python programmer and a new system more automatized, just call me, you got my email.

    January 22, 2012 @ 10:53 pm | Reply
  130. DDevine:

    I have been in a very similar position myself and it sucks.

    Best wishes! I’d rather you be happy after years of giving us this great service than bitter and broken.
    Hopefully the takeover team doesn’t join a deadpool list.

    January 23, 2012 @ 3:08 pm | Reply
  131. What about pay per offer? Let’s say $50 for every new offer. It definitely will reduce the scam offers, and your burden with those.

    January 23, 2012 @ 3:50 pm | Reply
    • Tom:

      Where’s the logic man? My friend Ken from UptimeVPS has bought corporate membership for like half a year on WHT just to run a scam, and you are telling us that a scammer can’t afford 50$ on his scam?

      This will just remove the offers that are meant for “PROMOTION” not earning from them and this will be a free pass for any scammer to guarantee there feature here? Use some logic dude.

      January 23, 2012 @ 4:26 pm | Reply
      • He only paid for 3 months so $300. Once he made his first $300 off scamming people (remember, he didn’t have to cover his hosting since he was living on free OVH months), corp. was the first thing he picked up.

        He didn’t even last long enough to run the period out. I wouldn’t doubt if he tried to chargeback inet over it.

        Francisco

        January 23, 2012 @ 11:59 pm | Reply
    • A scammer will use $50 stolen dollars to scam some more!

      January 25, 2012 @ 8:46 pm | Reply
  132. Erik:

    I’m pretty sure this site is worth a lot more than $10,000 to some people. I would sell it in heart beat if I were you. This site will have big changes no matter what if you give it away, and I suspect the current community wont like it. But if you want to give it to me, I’d be willing to give it a shot. I would charge $100 just to apply to be listed on the site and I’d probably shut down the comment section or at least eliminate anonymous postings.

    January 24, 2012 @ 3:22 am | Reply
    • Stephen:

      I sincerely hope he’s not handing over the site to someone whose ideas are this stupid.

      January 24, 2012 @ 3:13 pm | Reply
    • $100 to post? Like WebHostingTalk?

      Also, the going rates for sites is a percentage of the revenue. How much do you think this site is worth? $25k? Even $10k is kinda high, likely $8500 but you never know

      January 25, 2012 @ 8:38 pm | Reply
      • Erik:

        He was saying the site brought in $500/month, but in previous postings he implied that he was turning advertisers away and had an aversion to raising advertising prices (not in the spirit of the site). I respect that, but he that makes it obvious that he wasn’t maximizing profits so his own valuation was low based on that alone.

        To put things in perspective, several years ago, I had a site that was completely garbage, but somehow managed to have a PageRank of 7. I had an offer for $10,000, but my partner didn’t want to sell and we wound up making a little more than that over time just indiscriminately selling text link ads before our PageRank went to shit (and deservedly so). Anyway, I’d say $25,000-$50,000 is what this site is worth.

        January 29, 2012 @ 8:30 am | Reply
  133. I am very sad to hear this notice..I lost a good place to find out the good vps….

    January 24, 2012 @ 3:23 pm | Reply
  134. Brennan:

    Sad to see you go @LowEndAdmin, but I understand completely.

    Best wishes to you in your new venture(s).

    I propose a toast~

    January 24, 2012 @ 5:00 pm | Reply
  135. Noxn:

    Good bye. Wish ye luck in your future endeavors.

    January 24, 2012 @ 11:43 pm | Reply
  136. someone1:

    think selling this project is better than leave it to die or you don”t have to sell the whole project you can seek a partner to help

    January 25, 2012 @ 8:23 am | Reply
  137. melf:

    @LEA, wish you all the best and thanks for whatever that you’ve dedicated.

    January 25, 2012 @ 7:14 pm | Reply
  138. Paul:

    Maybe this is just a mid-life crisis, and after some burritos and a few kegs of beer, you’ll be right as rain.

    January 26, 2012 @ 12:21 am | Reply
  139. Anyone know when posts are going to start back up?

    January 26, 2012 @ 3:26 am | Reply
    • After the new owner takes over and gets settled in. This post was the current LEAs last post I think.

      January 26, 2012 @ 4:19 am | Reply
    • Next week? Feel free to use LowEndTalk if you have some awesome offers to share :)

      January 26, 2012 @ 11:01 am | Reply
  140. Ben:

    i’ve enjoyed this site while it lasted. i’d offer to help with any new site, but it looks like lots of other people are keen already :)

    January 26, 2012 @ 5:14 am | Reply
  141. Very happy that the sites move on to a new owner, I’m sure LEA have found the right person to move this community on. Also thanks a lot to LEA, for creating this great community, and putting a lot of work into the site.

    January 26, 2012 @ 1:14 pm | Reply
  142. Naruto:

    The new LEA is sure taking his time. I need more action. Hurry up new LEA.

    January 26, 2012 @ 4:31 pm | Reply
  143. ar:

    nice site .. Just the companies that get offered.. doesnt seem to last long..:(.. I dont know how to filter… this is my 3rd time trying to be cheap.. and again burning..:).. I fully understand the owner..:)

    January 26, 2012 @ 4:44 pm | Reply
    • innya:

      @ar: You can always ask user of Lowendtalk.com for sugguestion or input. Most people there use or test out most of the offer on LEB.

      January 26, 2012 @ 9:32 pm | Reply
    • Christian:

      After a while you will have an instinct for it, how to choose a provider. :)

      January 27, 2012 @ 6:03 pm | Reply
    • Bob:

      Maybe you should just not try to go to the cheapest provider though…

      Anyway, as Christian says, there are clear signs that an host can’t/won’t run for a long time, signs that you’ll soon be able to feel ;)

      January 28, 2012 @ 10:16 am | Reply
  144. This site was and is an so valuable to me. Please keep up running.

    January 26, 2012 @ 6:51 pm | Reply
  145. It’s definitely a good place to find low end VPS and helped me start one even.

    January 27, 2012 @ 8:07 am | Reply
  146. Daniel:

    Thanks for all. <3

    January 27, 2012 @ 10:07 pm | Reply
  147. veer:

    @LEA All the best for your new startup.
    It’s really sad that you are leaving, but it’s the right thing to do for you in the current cicumstances.
    Again, Wish you all the best.

    January 28, 2012 @ 3:17 am | Reply
  148. Tom:

    I could run the site for you if you want.
    I would love to run LowEndBox and keep it alive as it’s one of my favorite websites. :)
    Although i do not mind as long as it stays.

    January 28, 2012 @ 8:49 pm | Reply
  149. dalibor:

    Thank You Admin

    January 29, 2012 @ 11:25 am | Reply
  150. very sad, but I understand completely.
    Thank you LEA with your LEB

    January 29, 2012 @ 12:17 pm | Reply
  151. khafi:

    wow…
    what happen…
    please come back someday.. :)

    January 30, 2012 @ 12:01 am | Reply
  152. ijul:

    my 1st vps found from here (August 2011), and now i have >10 vps which still run (from various provider), beside that maybe 5 i’ve canceled ;)
    thanks LEA for have “plunged” me…..

    best regards
    ijul

    January 30, 2012 @ 2:14 pm | Reply
  153. Jesse:

    Thanks for the hard work. I completely understand your problem and hope you will be able to find the right people to continue this valuable project. Good luck

    January 31, 2012 @ 11:46 am | Reply
  154. SajtXL:

    Thanks for a good job, and good luck in the future!!

    / Gunnar

    January 31, 2012 @ 11:52 am | Reply
  155. Thank you LEA for everything,
    My English is not enough good to say best thank you that i want to say to you.
    I learned a lot form your blog, first time 2 months ago i find out this blog have only one man on top, and surprised how you can mange this large community alone and at this moment i see you are going to be retired because of this big pressure and i understand you, and i wish being success in your hole life. but please don’t be disappear, we want to learn more from you, i suggest create new blog about blogging and how you managed to make this blog successful and how you manage your time:)
    Good luck and sorry for my bad English :(

    January 31, 2012 @ 2:02 pm | Reply
  156. Tim C:

    LEA, thank you for your hard work over the years. Best to you in your future endeavors!

    January 31, 2012 @ 5:08 pm | Reply
  157. sidlav:

    Would be cool if new owners somehow could co-operate with this author of this web – http://nohostsland.com/
    I found that project VERY interesting, but it seems its dying for some reason :(

    January 31, 2012 @ 5:35 pm | Reply
  158. Joe Merit:

    Dust appears to have settled… so who owns this place now :) ?

    February 1, 2012 @ 8:33 pm | Reply
  159. Folks, please stop emailing me offers and asking when they’re doing to get listed. I didn’t take over the site.

    Some of you are pasted the level of harassment.

    February 2, 2012 @ 12:17 am | Reply
    • After the last comment on LET, fuck it.

      @LEA, you could have handled this so better. The rest of us get to deal with your mess.

      February 2, 2012 @ 12:47 am | Reply
      • Oh and nice choice on your replacement. It’s unfortunate he thinks all of this to be funny.

        February 2, 2012 @ 1:21 am | Reply
  160. LCamel:

    Thank you for establishing such a great site and community!

    February 7, 2012 @ 3:35 am | Reply

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