DreamHost

DreamHost logo.

DreamHost logo.

DreamHost is a Los Angeles-based web hosting provider and domain name registrar. It is the web hosting branch of New Dream Network, LLC, founded in April 1996 by four undergraduate students at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, and now hosts over 300,000 domain names (23rd-ranked Web Host) on a network of Linux-based servers.

DreamHost is also an ICANN-accredited domain registrar. It used to operate the .la country code top-level domain, the country code for Laos which is being marketed as a domain for Los Angeles. It stopped operating it in February 2006 because it reportedly received very few customers.

Promotions and criticism

Some users of DreamHost services promote them enthusiastically; the fact that they can profit from referrals through an affiliate rewards program (in which all customers are automatically enrolled) plays a part, but many customers are genuine fans of the service. Customers are able to issue "promo codes" giving discounts to those they refer, with the discount coming out of the referral commission they would otherwise have received.

However, Dreamhost also has its critics, with some customers quitting and disparaging DreamHost because they experienced difficulties and failed to get them adequately resolved. They have had periodic "growing pains" where an influx of new customers exceeded their ability to provide good service immediately, and some instability was reported, though they usually were back to normal in a few days. One frequent criticism is the lack of direct telephone support; customers must submit support requests in a web form and wait up to 24 hours for a response, although this is in no way unique to DreamHost.

Control panel

One aspect of DreamHost that is subject to both praise and criticism is their control panel, which is a proprietary one devised by their own programmers. Fans like how it gives access to a wide variety of services provided by DreamHost, including allowing the setup of blogs and wikis using software installed on their servers. Critics dislike its "nonstandard" nature, preferring the cPanel software commonly used by many other hosting providers.

Non-censorship policy

DreamHost does not censor the content of sites hosted there, unless it is actually illegal (under the laws of the United States, where they are located) or involved in activity such as spamming that violates DreamHost's Acceptable Use Policy. There is, for example, no barrier to "adult" sites, or sites that state extremist views.

External links

• DreamHost
• DreamHost Blog - staffer blog that offers a behind-the-scenes view of the web hosting business.
• DreamHost Wiki - an extensive knowledgebase, maintained by DreamHost staff and customers, offering tutorials and explanations for web technologies and techniques (only partly DreamHost-specific).
• DreamHost Discussion Forum - provides support and assistance for DreamHost customers, by DreamHost customers, and answers questions for prospective customers.
• Unofficial DreamHost Blog - monitors and accumulates interesting facts and information about DreamHost, its customers, and its service.