A R T

L I T

N E W

W E B

Bait & Switch
TED WARNELL

FREE WEB SITE HOSTING

It's just one of those things that make the Web an interesting place -- . Cool.

That they ask us to fly advertising banners to help pay for the service -- no problem. This, too, is all part of the 'being in cyberspace' experience. Still cool.

That they have a right to make changes to their servers and the services offered -- they have the right to mind their business -- no argument. That they are doing us a favor by hosting our Web sites -- true -- but this favor is returned in the form of original and unique content for their site, and it is provided by us to them at no charge -- should be win-win. And of course we have a right to make changes to the content of our Web pages as required or desired --

should be win-win for all.

That they have a right to make changes to their servers and the services offered -- not disputed. How they make those changes, though, is something else...

Here is a quick look at changes made at free Web hosting services, four of the biggest players in the game. Do you spot a trend?

Geocities offers free Web site hosting plus services in exchange for a link to Geocities plus inclusion of ad banner code somewhere on your pages. After signing up millions of members, policy is changed so that ad banners are forcibly made to pop up on every page, plus, an annoying and ugly floating ghost image (a link to Geocities) is made to appear on all pages.

Xoom offers free Web site hosting plus services in exchange for a link to Xoom somewhere on your pages. They promise members will never be made to fly ad banners(!) After signing up millions of members, their policy is changed so that an incredibly ugly button bar is made to appear at the top of the browser window and member Web pages are then forced to appear inside a frame.

Spree offers free Web site hosting plus services -- and -- an optional 'incentive program' to prospective members. After signing up millions of members, their incentive program is made mandatory for all and ad banners are forcibly made to appear on every page.

Tripod -- latest to take the bait and switch approach to reputable business -- offers free Web site hosting plus services in exchange for... nothing initially, and then for a pop up ad banner that would appear only at entry to Web sites hosted by Tripod, but now appears larger than ever on every page thanks to Javascript code forcibly inserted into all pages.

Spot the trend? Bait 'em with promises you have no intention of ever keeping and then forcibly switch 'em to your real agenda --

it's a scam and a shame.

When was the last time you surfed Geocities? If you are a Web artist and content producer, when was the last time you put any new content on their server? It is just too painful to surf there with need to wade through all of those slow pop up windows, and the idea of creating a thoughtful and beautiful new page to be destroyed by pop ups and floating junk is just too pointless... And so the whole thing rots.

Things get worse.

While most or all of these companies have offered Web page hosting for a fee from the start, and without any requirement to fly banners or host pop up windows, floating links, and etc., it is unfortunate for them now that recent offers to their 'free' clientele sound a bit like extortion -- 'you can pay us to make the crap go away'. Kind of like a protection racket -- 'pay for our protection and we'll stop fire bombing your business'.

Did they all go to school with Al Capone?!?

It is unfortunate, too, for the Web community as a whole, and for Web artists and creative content producers, many of whom are in it for the love of it, that this opportunity to try to create something worthwhile by accepting honest to goodness useful services provided freely by reputable companies with the means to make it real is nothing more than a cheap come-on, a setup for a scam, preparation for a protection racket run by ultimately unethical companies -- all in the name of good business.

That it's a good business dollar-wise -- good for the bottom line -- apparently so.
 
 
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