We covered the CharityHost debacle earlier.  If you identify as a TLDR:

• CharityHost appeared on LET (and LEB) offering pretty average pricing for VMs.  Their angle was that they gave discounted or free services to charities, but otherwise were a pretty typical provider.
• They don’t allow adult content.
• In a giveaway, a LET member won a 500GB FTP space from them, and subsequently loaded it with 500GB of his private porn stash.
• CharityHost’s automated scanners detected that and CharityHost suspended his account.
• The community erupted about this breach of privacy.

Now, to be fair to CH, there’s a couple finer points to weigh:

• I’m guessing that their automated scanners scan everything in accounts, which is how they noticed.
• The porn here was in a private FTP space, which caused the controversy.  If the user had put 500GB of porn in his public_html, there probably wouldn’t have been any drama at all.
• Of course, FTP space is only “private” if the user keeps it private.  Accounts can be created, passwords shared…

Regardless of how you evaluate it, CH handled it poorly.  They came on LET and argued with everyone, which is never a great move.

And Now They’re New Again

With the brand tarnished – perhaps by LET’s awesome SEO – the owner (Andre) has decided to change course and rebrand as ExactVM.

He’s got a web site…well, a template up.  Ironically, it says:

So I guess by “your terms” that means you get to dictate your own AUP…?  Mmmm, probably not.

Of course, CharityHost was a rebrand from the same owner’s earlier SpectroHost.

There’s a LET thread on the topic.

raindog308

Raindog308 is a longtime LowEndTalk community administrator, technical writer, and self-described techno polymath. With deep roots in the *nix world, he has a passion for systems both modern and vintage, ranging from Unix, Perl, Python, and Golang to shell scripting and mainframe-era operating systems like MVS. He’s equally comfortable with relational database systems, having spent years working with Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.

As an avid user of LowEndBox providers, Raindog runs an empire of LEBs, from tiny boxes for VPNs, to mid-sized instances for application hosting, and heavyweight servers for data storage and complex databases. He brings both technical rigor and real-world experience to every piece he writes.

Beyond the command line, Raindog is a lover of German Shepherds, high-quality knives, target shooting, theology, tabletop RPGs, and hiking in deep, quiet forests.

His goal with every article is to help users, from beginners to seasoned sysadmins, get more value, performance, and enjoyment out of their infrastructure.

You can find him daily in the forums at LowEndTalk under the handle @raindog308.