The I wanted to learn x web framework requests…
Here at AmbitiousLemon we support an unusual variety of web frameworks, and we are always adding more. Combinations of some of these frameworks and some of our other features like Trac, subversion, postgresql, etc are difficult to find in a web host (free or otherwise). We offer these features because we actually use these servers for our own websites and because we are just generally excited by web technologies. So we understand why so many people requesting hosting accounts would be similarly excited about getting an account and just sort of playing around with this unusual mix of technologies. One of our core constituencies named in our mission is the education community so we are further excited by how many people want to further their education by learning how to use these technologies.
Despite all of this we do not grant hosting requests to people just wanting to do some unstructured learning. The primary reason for this is the kind of web hosting we offer is called “shared hosting.” What this means is there are many other websites being hosted on the server. Simply put, your playing around can adversely effect other members. The best way to learn these new technologies is to install them on your local machine (your PC). This way every time you need to restart the server, tweak the apache configuration, or write a bad script that causes apache to crash you won’t disrupt anyone else’s website.
We don’t want to discourage people who are excited by our service from applying for membership, but what we ask of you is that:
- You understand that development should be performed on your local machine, not on our production server. Tools such as Trac, Subversion, Capistrano, etc can aid you in keeping the community informed of your progress and rolling out updates to your web app after its initial launch.
- You submit a request that involves a specific project proposal. Tell us what you want to create and how you plan to use our server to accomplish your goal.
- If your project involves doing something that has already been done (like a blog, social networking site, micro-blogging, etc) that you explain why this project needs to be hosted. Writing these sorts of apps can be helpful in learning a language, but what does the final result of this intellectual exercise offer that will be of interest and use to people other than yourself and your mom. What is novel about your project?
If you come to us with a specific project that will be useful to others and educational for you and that we can practically serve we won’t be able to turn down your request.
