Frequently Asked Questions

1. Global questions

Q: Why do I need to be active on your forums?
First of all, we need to cover our costs. Instead of placing advertisements on your websites, we place them on our own website.
Of course, this is not the main reason we require forum posting. You will most likely see that after posting a bit, you will start to enjoy posting on our forums. Without the original requirement, this would have never happened.
And with an active community, every user will get a quick response to his/her questions and problems.

Q: What does "being active on our forums" exactly mean?
We understand by "being active", that you visit our forums regularly and post something from time to time. A common mistake made by some users is that we appreciate quantity over quality. Quality posts tend to give a healthy orientation to the discussion and make our forums a place where people like posting. Posts without a clear use are thus not allowed.
Your 'activeness' is measured by Points. Negative Points mean that you are not active enough. You will get 2 warnings before your hosting account may be removed. After a cancellation due to inactivity you may always request a new account when you're back. Forum/Frihost accounts are not removed due to inactivity.
The calculation of the Points is made that way that every user who posts regularly will never reach negative Points. Once you reach the maximum number of posts, it may take several months before an account cancellation is even considered; so there is no need to worry about your account unless you plan to never come back.

Q: Which languages are allowed for my website?
Every language is allowed on your website. However, you need to be able to understand and write some basic English on our forums.

Q: Do I have to put a link to frihost on my website?
You certainly don't have to link to us, it still remains your own website. However, we do appreciate it every link.

2. Hosting Requests

Q: May I apply for a second account?
No, only one hosting account is allowed per person/ip address. That's why it is advised to use only one account per family. There will be more than enough bandwidth and space for your whole family. If you really need two separate accounts per IP, please contact us. However, they may never be accessed by the same person.

Q: May I apply for hosting with a domain?
No, the application needs to be with a subdomain because we want to provide users with a subdomain that they can use at any time - even if it is just for testing if your domain isn't (yet) working. However, you do not have to use that subdomain and there is no limit (within reason) for additional domains in the free hosting accounts we provide. So you may definitely use your own domains here.

Q: Why do I need 5 posts before requesting a hosting account?
First of all, this is to prevent abuse from hackers and spammers. Secondly, being active on our forums is required to keep your hosting. By posting 5 non-spam posts, you show to be willing to remain active in here.

3. Forum-related questions

Q: What may my signature contain?
Your signature may only contain one single image to reduce its size. You may promote your website in your signature, but no affiliate links/banners are allowed.

Q: What is qualified as spam?

• Every post that does not have a clear significance.
  
• Posts that solely consist of smilies.
  
• Every off-topic promotion of your website, affiliate program, service or anything else. Your signature is there to promote your website.

Q: May I double post?
Double posting is not appreciated in most cases, however there are instances when a double post might be appropriate. But in most cases, if you posted a message and you want to add something, just press the edit button and add it in your previous message.

Q: What are the 'FRIH$'?
The FRIH$ are a deprecated currency that is now replaced by the Coins. Users that already have coins can still use them for a lot of things.

Q: What are the 'Points'?
The Points are used to determine how active you are (if you are hosted by us). You shouldn't worry about them, unless they become negative. The hosting accounts of users with negative Points may be removed. You can't trade or exchange Points.
You are able to earn points by posting messages on our forums. At the moment of writing this, you can earn between 1 and 5 points, depending on the length of the post. Please keep in mind that those values are regularly changing and may currently be different.
Every day, 1 Point is deducted from all hosted members. There is also a maximum of 45 Points. Two email warnings are sent at -5 and -10 Points. Your account may get removed after those two warnings if you are still inactive.
Please note that the Points are only an indication of your activeness. Frihost uses it to indicate possible inactive users. No account is removed automatically.

4. Hosting-related questions

Q: Where can I get a free domain?
Getting a top-level completely free domain is usually a hard thing to get. Please be aware of services that provide a free domain for the first year and then start charging after the first year!
Now, if you really do wish to get a domain, here are your options:

• Buy one yourself if you are able to. You can get a .com domain for about 10$ a year nowadays.
  
• Get a free subdomain. There are websites offering free subdomains with dns management, like FreeDNS. (or you can simply use our free subdomain if you use our free hosting)
  
• Get a top-level free domain from us. We offer them in exchange of coins (our website currency) that can be earned by posting, referring other users to Frihost and a few other ways. We also offer free domains as prizes in our competitions.

Q: What are the mail settings?
POP3 and smtp:

• Server/VPS 1: mail.frihost.net
  
• Server 2: mail.frih.net
  
• Server 3: mail.frih.org
  
• Server 4: mail.frihost.org

Your username is the username@yoursubdomain and the password the one you made in cPanel/DirectAdmin for that specific username.
Please go to your Cpanel or DirectAdmin documentation if you need more documentation about this.
Please go to your Account page for the most up-to-date information regarding your hosting account and (other) settings.

Q: How do I connect to my control panel?

• Server/VPS 1: www.frihost.net:2082/
  
• Server 2: www.frih.net:2222/
  
• Server 3: www.frih.org:2222/
  
• Server 4: www.frihost.org:2222/

Please go to your Account page for the most up-to-date information regarding your hosting account and (other) settings.

Q: What are your nameservers and how do I use them?

• Server/VPS 1: ns1.frihost.net and ns2.frihost.net
  
• Server 2: ns1.frih.net and ns2.frih.net
  
• Server 3: ns1.frih.org and ns2.frih.org
  
• Server 4: ns1.frihost.org and ns2.frihost.org

Please go to your Account page for the most up-to-date information regarding your hosting account and (other) settings.
You only need these nameservers if you want to host your domain(s) with us. To do this, simply go to your domain registrar(where you registered the domain). Search for a page where you can enter nameservers for your new domain. Most of the time it is called "Nameserver setup", "DNS management" or "DNS registration".
After that, you will have to park that domain in cPanel (server 1) or add it as an additional domain (domain setup) in DirectAdmin (server 2/3/4).
After doing this and waiting for the domain to propagate on the internet, you will be able to use your brand new domain.