Hey All...
I know I have not been around here in a while. Sorry about that. The problem is that I end up getting drug into a debate and then I end up sitting in front of my PC for hours going back and forth with someone who knows very little about anything in the real world and I wondered why I even bothered. I am sure you can understand that.
In this thread, however, there seems to be some really intelligent conversation going on (which I like) and since we were mentioned by name I figured I could pop in here and make a few points without having to be here all night. Cool?
Let me start by responding to the OP's question....
It really depends on what you want to accomplish and what resources you have at your disposal. There has been some good points made in this debate for both sides (Managed versus Unmanaged) but there is one point that has not been brought up that I think is the most important.....even if you have all of the talent and knowledge needed for setting up and maintaining your servers what about MONITORING? Any good Managed Provider is going to monitor your server 24x7x365 and will immediately fix anything that goes wrong with no involvement from you. With an Unmanaged Server that will be your responsibility.
Now, before anyone starts to scream "PINGDOM" at me let me admit that there are services out there that, for a very small charge, will monitor your sites and will alert you with an email or text message if they are not responding. However, what happens when that alert comes in just about the same time as you are falling into that DEEP sleep where you are dreaming about 4 naked Victoria's Secret Super Models taking turns slobbering on your cock? Do you think you will hear it and wake up? Or worse.....what if it is NOT a dream??? Are you going to tell Adriana Lima to stop blowing you while you run to the bathroom because your Hard Drive is failing? I can only imagine what she will think that means!
Don't get me wrong...if you are lucky enough to already have a small staff of tech guys who can work out an "on call" schedule or something like that or maybe you always wake up in the middle of the night when you get an email or text message. In either of those scenarios then I can see where an Unmanaged Dedicated plan can work for you. But, if you are not that lucky then you may want to consider paying the extra $50 or $100 per month to have someone always there ready and waiting for you by getting a Fully Managed Dedicated server.
Maybe one day soon we can have another discussion on Managed versus FULLY Managed. Yes, there is a difference but I will save that one for another day
Now to some more specific points....
Thank you, sir. We always appreciate the kind words.
I will admit that we have always had that reputation but most people that host with us think that what we bring to the table is worth it a little bit extra. And, of course, that reputation is sometimes a little exaggerated....and that may have even been our own fault back in the day. Back then we marketed ourselves as the most expensive, best web hosting money could buy. But as the industry adjusted, so did we. Of course, now-a-days, there are many people who do not think that $199 per month for an Entry Level Fully Managed Dedicated Server that will be fine for most small-medium paysites is too much to ask. But we also understand that there are other options available and we are not the only game in town. We just want to take care of our customers and keep them happy.
Hey Jigster....Thanks for checking us out. Yes, we do not display prices for our Fully Managed Hosting because for that service we prefer to put together a custom tailored proposal that will meet your needs for a price that you are happy with. If you check out our Dedicated Servers (unmanaged) you will see the prices posted because we are not customizing a solution for you on those plans.
As for "scuzzbag" webmasters that we host I honestly cannot really say. I would like to think that every customer we have are fine upstanding citizens but I am sure that if you look hard enough you will probably find one or two that you do not like. Heck, we have some customers that I don't even like that much (LOL!!). We host Bridgestone Rubber's complete Golf Division and I have tried my best to use their golf balls but I just simply like the Nike's better....(maybe I can afford the Titleist one day)......but that does not mean that I think that Bridgestone is a "scuzzbag". If we cannot earn your business because of some other company we host then I understand and I respect you for it. But, if you want to discuss it further with someone just send an email to sales (AT) nationalnet {DOT} com and hopefully they will be able to help.
Sorry for the long post...just trying to contribute since I am not around much anymore.
--T