Questions:
  1. What are all those extra folders in my home directory?
  2. Can you give me a list of the countries that you have clients in?
  3. Can I change my account user name?, that is the user name you assigned me when I opened my hosting account?
  4. Do you support online faxing?
  5. What are hits, pageviews, sessions?
  6. Server Disk Space
  7. General Account Information
  8. Helpful Links
  9. Linux and Unix ?
  10. FTP ?
  11. The Novice WebMaster ?
  12. username and password restrictions
  13. I uploaded my site, but it STILL says UNDER CONSTRUCTION... what do I do ?
  14. What do I need to NAME my HOME PAGE ?
  15. What FTP Software Do You Suggest?
Answers:
  1. What are all those extra folders in my home directory?
    The domain-www folder is the only folder you will usually ever need to work with. Under normal uses you should never need to deal with the others.

    domain-www: This is where you put your web pages.
    domain-mail: This stores your email until it is downloaded.
    domain-secure: Just a link to domain-www
    www: Just a link to domain-www

    In the domain-www there are two folders:
    cgi-bin: Place your CGI scripts here.
    stats: The Site Statistics feature uses this info. DO NOT TOUCH.
  2. Can you give me a list of the countries that you have clients in ?
    No.
  3. Can I change my account user name?, that is the user name you assigned me when I opened my hosting account?
    Yes, you can... but it is STRONGLY suggested that you DO NOT ask for this.
    If you REALLY need it changed for some reason, e-mail to contact@x-mb.com.
  4. Do you support online faxing?
    No.
  5. What are hits, pageviews, sessions ?
    Hits are actual people at your site.
    Pageviews are actual number of page views for your site INCLUDING refreshes and returns.
    Sessions are number of people at your site, but then user clicks around and hits many pages on your site... all is ONE SESSION>
  6. Server Disk Space
    Server Disk Space
    This is your space…the place where you will put your website. A specific amount of space on a webserver reserved for your use. This space is pre-structured for you with a "home" directory, also sometimes called a "root" directory. Think of this as the doorway into your space on our server. Everything that belongs to you, all of the features and files that we provide, as well as the files and folders you add for your website will be contained within this one parent folder called "home" directory.
  7. General Account Information
    This section contains general information that will apply to most accounts and be of interest regardless of user level. Even FrontPage users should take a stroll through this section for important information that will apply to them as well.

    User ID and Password
    Entrance to your account is protected with both a User ID and a Password which you received in your confirmation email after you opened your account. 

    Please note that your Password and User ID are not interchangeable. Also, confusion can sometimes arise when different programs use different terms to indicate User ID. For example, Telnet uses the term "login" instead of User ID. As a rule, the term Password is standard and used consistently from program to program. If something else is called for, such as User, Name, or Login, enter your User ID.

    Changing Your Password
    To change your password, go to your online control and there is an option ON your control panel to change your password.
  8. Helpful Links
    The following are sites on the Internet which we have found to be helpful:

    The Web Developer's Virtual Library
    A great resource for all things HTML:
    http://www.stars.com/

    The CGI Resource Index
    A vast selection of CGI Scripts (free and for pay):
    http://www.cgi-resources.com

    Directory Guide
    A guide to many of the directories on the Internet:
    http://www.directoryguide.com

    Position Agent
    Find out how your page ranks in search engines and find out to to
    move your site up in the listings:
    http://www.positionagent.com/

    Submit-It
    Submit your site to multiple search engines at one time:
    http://www.submit-it.com/refer

    Black Coffee
    Applications, resources, and source code for Java users and developers:
    http://www.km-cd.com/black_coffee/

    Gifpile
    A huge selection of artwork for your webpages:
    http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Gallery/2681/home.html

    Notice
    Some of the text referring to CGI scripts was taken directly or adapted for our use from ReadMe files provided by the script designers. Many thanks to the folks at Matt's Script Archives for their excellent documentation!
  9. Linux and Unix ?
    An OS, or "operating system" is the program you use to operate and run your computer. By far the three most universally used and recognized by the average lay surfer are Windows in any version from 3.x to Win 98, NT, and Macintosh. Linux, and Unix are both operating systems as well. They don’t have, or support, all of the bells and whistles of the more popular operating systems, but that’s not what they are meant for. These two operating systems are for serious stuff…for fast and dynamic data transfer…for allowing one computer to talk to others quickly and smoothly. Not for personal entertainment. This is why server computers and many other types of businesses use Unix and/or Linux operating systems. They aren’t pretty, but they are smart, they are stable, and they are fast.
  10. FTP ?
    FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. Like the name implies, it’s main purpose is to make transferring files from one computer to another as fast and easy as possible. And it is very good at it’s job! Unlike Telnet, FTP is not a program. It is instead a "protocol" just like http is a protocol. Your browser program uses the http (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) for viewing, reading, and translating HTML into the bright and colorful interactive web pages you see on your computer screen. In order to use FTP you will need a program such as WS-FTP for Windows, or Fetch for Macintosh users.

    Visually, you will not see either the imagery of a browser, or the blank white screen and black text of Telnet. Instead, if you are using WS_FTP, you will see two panels, each with folders (also called directories) and files displayed. One panel will contain the folders and files on your computer. The other panel will contain the folders and files on the site you are logged into. If you are using Fetch, you will see something a bit different.
  11. The Novice WebMaster ?
    Ftp? Unix? Linux?!!! HUH!?
    Chances are pretty good that you access the Internet using a browser program. Chances are also pretty good that you use some version of Netscape, Internet Explorer, or something very similar to those two biggies. You may be wondering why I mention this cause, gee, is there any other way to access the Internet?? You gotta have a browser…right?? Well…no. You don’t. In fact, the gigantic, feature laden browser programs most commonly used today are just one type of program that you can use to surf the net. Granted, they provide the most visually appealing view of the Internet, and they are the most fun and entertaining to use with their image and sound capabilities. They are, in fact, largely responsible for turning the Internet into a place where people from all walks of life around the world now go to play, work, shop and learn.

    Browsers are not the only programs you can use to access the Internet, they are certainly not the first, and, depending on what your needs and tasks may be, they are not always the best program to use either. After all…your email program is great for email. But it isn’t necessarily the best tool to use if you want to write a book. Your browser is great for viewing the Internet, but it is not always the best tool to use for managing a website. For that, you will want something simple, fast, and basic that will let you upload, download, and access files on your site quickly, easily and with a minimum of fuss and frills. Frontpage and FTP are the two tools that fulfill these needs best.
  12. username and password restrictions
    usernames and passwords should be 5-8 letters long.

    You will be grateful you chose a short password when you have to type it 20 times without seeing it.

    Conversely, a one-letter password is pretty easy to crack.

    Passwords are case-sensitive. Usernames may or may not be depending upon the application.

    Do not use punctuation, for example Cr13:1-5. This is a bad idea in both cases, but even more fatal for passwords.

    Punctuation is particularly bad when you are initializing software and do not know whether some of its component tools do or do not accept punctuation. For example, UNIX accepts some punctuation but mySQL does not. The troubleshooting can be painful.
  13. I uploaded my site, but it STILL says UNDER CONSTRUCTION... what do I do ?
    You need to delete the file called:
    index.html in your main web directory (yourdomain-www) and name your startpage (homepage) index.html .
  14. What do I need to NAME my HOME PAGE ?
    Your default page, or HOME PAGE, needs to be named:
    index.htm or index.html
    ALSO, you cannot have both at the same time. If you do find that you have both an index.htm and an index.html - please remove one or the other and only keep one or the other in your directory.

    ALSO, this file is CASE SENSITIVE. In other words, if you have named your home page:
    Index.htm it will not work... because of the capital "I". Yes, that really makes a difference.
  15. What FTP Software Do You Suggest?
    Windows Users:
    We suggest that you use an excellent shareware program called WS_FTP, or CuteFTP.
    WS_FTP is our first choice.
    You can download WS_FTPle for free at:

    http://download.com/

    You can download CuteFTP for free at:

    http://download.com/

    Mac Users:
    We suggest that you use Fetch, which may be downloaded for free at:

    http://www.dartmouth.edu/pages/softdev/fetch.html