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Third Generation Internet Services

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MUD HOSTING AND MU* SERVICES

INFORMATION AND SERVICES

Professional MUD Server Hosting

MUD and MU* Hosting FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions regarding our MUD hosting services.

MUD Hosting and Web Hosting Questions

Billing Questions

Servers, Network and Datacenter Questions

Software and Development Questions

General Questions

MUD Hosting and Web Hosting Questions

Do your MUD hosting packages include web site hosting? Am I able to have a game website as well?

Yes, our website hosting services are included with all of our MUD hosting packages. You'll have complete access to all of our web design, application installation and management features to build and maintain a great looking web site for your game.

Do you offer personalized email hosting services with your MUD hosting packages?

Yes, our email hosting services are included with all of our MUD hosting packages as well as our anti-virus and advanced spam filtering technologies. Through an easy to use control panel, you can setup and manage email accounts for yourself or all your players.

Does it cost anything extra for web hosting or email service?

No, these services are all inclusive with the general price of each MUD hosting package. For a more detailed explanation of what is included with all MUD hosting packages, please visit the Compare MUD Hosting Services page.

What email protocols do your networks and servers support?

We provide web-based client services as well as POP3, SMTP and IMAP support. We also support secure email protocols as well. Our email services are compliant and tested with 99.9% of all email software clients.

I would like my own domain name for my MUD, how do I get one?

A domain name is a great way to establish your own unique identity on the web. You may purchase a domain name through us at any time. During the checkout procedure you’ll be given the chance to register a new domain name of your choice, or if you are already a customer, you may purchase a new domain name through the Client Support Area at any time.

I already have my own domain name, can you host it?

Yes, we provide several different solutions to host already registered domain names. If you so choose, you may transfer your domain name to our registrar or choose just to redirect your domain to our name servers.

Do you offer a simplified web hosting solution, such as a web hosting control panel?

Yes, we currently offer cPanel as a web hosting solution for all hosting customers. Our hosting control panel provides webmasters with all the tools they require to create an impressive web presence as well as simplifying their daily administration tasks.

Do you provide additional shell accounts for MUD packages?

Yes, we provide additional shell accounts for MUD hosting packages as listed on the MUD Features web page. All shell accounts are configured by default for individual development use and we recommend MUD administrators take pride in their security and use the recommended repository systems provided for them. However, if you require less restrictive access between your shell accounts, (sharing applications for example), we are willing to work with any dedicated customer.

How do I request an additional shell account?

Please log into the Client Support Area and submit a support request to our Technical Support Department. Optionally, you may order an additional shell account through the Client Support Area upgrade options for your package.

How do I transfer a domain name from another hosting provider?

Prior to requesting a domain name transfer, there are a few requirements that most registrars will require you to meet before they will process your request to transfer to a new registrar.

1. Before submitting a domain transfer request, please check the accuracy of the information listed in the WHOIS Database for your domain.

2. To accept and receive the proper authorization and security code, you must be listed as the Administrative Contact for the transferring domain.

3. As the Administrative Contact for the domain, you must have access to the email address listed for the Administrative Contact in the WHOIS Database. Most registrars will send a confirmation email to this address that must be verified.

4. The domain name must be older than 60 days. Registrars are unable to transfer domain names unless they have been registered for more than 60 days.

5. Ensure your domain is not in a Registrar-Lock or Hold status. Some registrars automatically place your domain in a Registrar-Lock status for security purposes. Contact your registrar to remove the domain’s status. Or if you have access to the domain’s management settings, you must remove the status yourself. The domain’s current status can usually be found within the WHOIS Database.

6. Verify your domain is currently NOT expired. We recommend transferring domains prior to the 14 day expiration date to complete a successful transfer. All transferring domains, non-expired, receive an automatic 1 year renewal at the time of transfer.

7. Submit your transfer request through the Client Support Area. Login and select ‘Order’ from the Quick Navigation menu. From the ‘Browse Products & Services’ menu, select the option to ‘Transfer a Domain’. During the checkout procedure, you will be given several options to configure your domain as well as input your EPP code if necessary.

All .com, .net, .org, and .us top-level-domains (TLD) require a security authorization code (EPP Key) before any gaining or losing registrar may attempt to transfer the domain. You can obtain an EPP Key by contacting your current registrar. The EPP Key is generally delivered by confirmation email to the listed Administrative Contact’s email address listed in the WHOIS Database.

To access the information listed in the WHOIS Database for your domain; you must have modification rights to the domain or be listed as an Administrative Contact, Billing Contact or Technical Contact before you can update the listed information. Please contact your current registrar’s support department if you need assistance.

The domain transfer procedure can take up to 10 days to successfully complete and domain propagation can take an additional 48 hours as well. These wait periods are based upon the loosing registrar’s policy and support services.

Can I switch hosting providers without transferring my domain?

Yes, to switch web hosting providers without the aggravation of switching domain registrars, we fully support external domain DNS requests. At purchase, you are given the choice to purchase a new domain, transfer an existing domain or use an external domain elsewhere.

At signup, you will receive a confirmation email from Third Generation Internet Services that lists our network’s Nameservers (NS) and DNS information. To use this information, you must have modification rights to the domain or be listed as an Administrative Contact, Billing Contact or Technical Contact before you can update the domain’s DNS servers.

Billing Questions

What types of payments do you accept?

We accept most major credit cards as well as PayPal.

Do you accept Money Orders or Personal Checks?

Yes, on a special case-by-case basis we will accept money orders or checks from MUD hosting customers only. Please contact our sales department if you wish to consider this payment method.

Do you provide automated billing support?

Yes, we provide an advanced and secure automated billing support system. Our billing support system presents our customers with the capability to fully manage their accounts and all personal information.

Do you offer automatic upgrades and downgrades as well as partial account upgrades?

Yes, our automated billing system provides the capability to all customers to upgrade or downgrade their service as well as support individual upgrades and add-on services.

What is the Transfer Assistance service?

We understand that switching hosting providers can be a difficult and demanding task, that is why Third Generation will help simplify this process for you. Our support department can migrate your websites, domains, files, images and MySQL databases for you while you worry about more import matters.

What is the Terms of Service Agreement, TOS?

The Terms of Service Agreement is the conditions by which the provider and customer agree to abide by for access to Services. The Terms of Service Agreement (TOS) together with our Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) and Service Level Agreement (SLA) are intended to protect the Customer just as much as the Company.

Servers, Network and Datacenter Questions

What is your network speed? Can I test your network latency?

We provide a high-quality 1 Gbps public network connections per server, hosted from multiple Tier 1 premium bandwidth providers. To test our network latency, please feel free to ping one of our server’s IP addresses: 192.99.187.232 or 51.161.59.8.

Where are your datacenters located?

Third Generation is currently located within the Phoenix NAP datacenter facility located in Phoenix, Arizona USA and the OVH Beauharnois datacenter in Montreal, Canada.

Who are your Tier 1 Bandwidth Providers?

Level 3, SAVVIS, NTT America, Equinix, Global Crossing, Qwest, Telefónica, Internap and Comcast

Are game ports reserved for each account? And how many ports are available?

We reserve 25 ports per hosting package and 50 ports for Titan hosting packages. All game ports are reserved at the time of purchase and monitored at the firewall to provide security and reliability. If you require additional ports please contact the Technical Support Department.

How do I reserve specific ports? Do I get to choose?

Yes, during the check procedure you will be given the chance to request specific game ports. Just note which ports you would specifically be interested in. However, please supply more than one request in case your first choice has already been reserved by someone else.

How often are server backups performed?

Account backups are performed every 24 hours. All data is backed up twice, once locally and then to a separate geographical off-site location. Backups can also be performed individually by all customers through their hosting control panels. Customers can restore an account backup or individual files from a backup at any time.

What does it cost to restore a backup or a specific file?

Backup data is self-managed through the provided control panel. Restoration requests from cold storage archives can be requested without cost.

Do you provide SSH access?

Yes, we provide SSH access for all shell accounts. Also, we provide SFTP access as well as secure POP3, SMTP and IMAP services.

Software and Development Questions

What is MUD Setup Assistance service?

With MUD Setup Assistance we will provide all new customers who request service, help with bringing up their initial codebase on our servers. Please note, this service is limited to only an initial configuration and is not an agreement for further software development assistance, website migration or advanced software configuration services. Game Setup Assistance is limited to first 30 days of service. We provide an optional service to customers who require future assistance setting up, configuring or debugging their codebases.

Do you offer alternate versions of GCC?

Yes, we currently offer several different versions of the GCC compiler. We offer our default version, 4.1.2 as well as legacy version 3.2.3 and a newer stricter standard 4.4.0. If your source fails to compile correctly with a newer compiler, we recommend updating your configuration to use the legacy compiler 3.2.3 needed for older game code bases. To configure your source to compile with an alternate version, replace the binary path in your Makefile (cc=gcc) with the binary of your choice. (cc=gcc32 or cc=gcc44). Newer versions of GCC exist under our Software Collections baseline (SCL), where you may find the latest version of GCC.

Do you offer Database Support?

Yes, we currently support MySQL and SQLite databases on all of our servers. All of our MUD hosting packages come with MySQL databases included with every package. Please visit our Compare MUD Hosting Services page for more information on individual package details.

Do you offer FTP Support?

Yes, all accounts currently support FTP as well as SFTP (Secure FTP) services.

What version of Python Programming Language do you currently support?

We currently directly support Python version 2.7.5, 3.4.x and 3.6.x. Any version of Python is accessible through an installer such as ASDF.

What version of the MySQL engine do you currently support?

We currently support MariaDB 10.

What version of PHP do you currently support?

We currently support multiple versions of PHP 5 and PHP 7. We support legacy versions and the latest supported version.

General Questions

Do you support other MU*’s other than MUD's?

Yes, we support all *nix compatible codebases. We provide a 30-day money back guarantee service to all customers. If it doesn’t work, feel free to ask for a no-hassle refund.

How long have you been involved with the MUD community?

We have provided private services to the community for over 14 years. In 2007, we decided that our friends and community deserved better and established our services to the public to provide a reliable and actual affordable commercial hosting solution. Through our dedicated experience and knowledge, we have helped drive many new advanced services to the community as well as establish truly affordable services for developers. Our mission is to breathe new life into the RP gaming community and live amongst like any true MUD'er or MUSH'er would understand.

How much system memory (RAM) do I actually need?

Most smaller codebases usually require around 50 MB for development. This is why our Giant MUD Package provides everything you need to get started. No longer will you need to purchase a more expensive account to run the code base of your choice like other providers. Once your game has outgrown its development stages and needs more resources, you’ll find our account control panel an easy to work with solution that provides dynamic upgrade capabilities without any hassle. Larger codebases like CoffeeMUD and Java-based sources require a substantially larger amount of memory usually due to the JVM. These codebases can be served directly from our MUD packages now.

How long does it take to receive my account after purchase?

We provide same day account activations. You will receive your new account email within 24 hours of purchase. The average wait time for account activation is generally never longer than 4 to 6 hours. You'll be up and running in almost no time at all. If you do not receive your account signup email within 24 hours, please check your Bulk Mail or Spam email folder. Alternatively, you can login to the Client Support Area at any time to read archived copies of sent emails or verify account activation.

How many MUD's can I run at once?

All MUD Hosting Packages provide support for your main game as well as your development or builder game port. So depending upon your game's configuration and resource usage, each package will support up to two or three instances of the same game, as long as you are NOT exceeding your account, memory or CPU limitations in total.

Do you offer a development, testing or building port?

Yes, with each MUD hosting package we include multiple game ports. You will have full capability to run your alternate ports as necessary as long as you are not exceeding your total account quota or memory limit.

What is a MUD, and how does one play a MUD?

Did you know the MUD Community and its history is nearly 40 years old and was first comprised of some of the first games developed for computers!? For the best resource guide, please visit Wikipedia.