When a new bot is released, why does SATEXAS wait to offer it?

The group that supports the eggdrop today isn't the same group that supported and coded the eggdrop during its earlier days.

Today, the eggdrop is released much quicker, with alot more revisions and patches than it used to. It's also coded directly for Linux and FreeBSD and is not always as stable on other platforms.

For these reasons, SATEXAS watches the releases, then waits at least a week for bugs while doing our own tests on the Eggdrop Bot. Once we feel it's a "good" or "stable/secure" release, we compile it and put it in our "Pre-Compiled" area for users to use.

Does this mean that a user can't start using it from Day 1? Of course not. Users are free to compile their own bots and versions at any time. As a precaution for the above reasons, we don't rush forward to offer the new ones until we deem them safe and smart. Remember, new isn't always better.

These vhosts aren't as 'cool' as some out there. Why?

SATEXAS has always sported an 'older' or 'mature' crowd. This style of membership, combined with strict management, has combined to form many years of stable and quality service.

The last thing SATEXAS wants to attract is the 'kiddie' crowd, the crowd that generally causes the most trouble, and dos attacks (among other things).

Super 3l33t hosts and names will only cause us to lower ourselves to the level of the pluthera of kiddie shell providers out there. If l33t hosts are what you need, you will need to find another shell provider. :)

Why is SATEXAS more expensive than most places I've seen?

Let's face it, most all shell providers are young people (kiddies) with a co-located box. They love IRC shells, they want to make some quick money, so they build or rent a box and have it colocated on a network. Some are done poorly, some are done well. But neverless, the average lifespan of a shell provider is much less than a year.

SATEXAS has been doing shells for over 6 years. We are one of the oldest, if not the oldest, out there. We are also one of the largest. We are one of the more "adult" shell systems out there, going out of our way to be strict and try not to sign up the 'kiddies' who cause trouble. The "bad element" of users is normally attracted to "3l33t" vhosts and cheap prices. We prefer the more adult users with less chance of attacks and takeover problems.

Are there a ton of providers that give you "more processes for less the price"? You bet.. there is a whole slew of them. But we know or economics... we have less users, make more profit, and have a more stable and advanced network because of it. Less users means easier connections, more stable servers, and less probability of constant DOS attacks.

In addition, SATEXAS is an ISP. We do more services than just shells, and to keep up with the latest in technology, good bandwidth, good customer service, and other stability that shell users need, we need to charge a price which we can afford to provide these services at an acceptable level.

The old saying is you get what you pay for in this world, and with SATEXAS, that's how we feel. Besides, what's a few extra bucks for a lot less headache and piece of mind?

SATEXAS won't accept some new members from certain countries?

Every day we receive over 10 fraudlent applications. Of all the fraudlent applications we receive, 99% of them are from overseas (non-USA/Canada) users. Of that 99%, most all of those are from 5 specific countries.

There are good users in those countries, but due to all of the abuse and fraud, we have chosen to close our doors to many countries as a whole.

We're not concerned with stereotyping users, or bad-mouthing countries and their citizens as a whole... but the fact is that over 75% of all SATEXAS user problems involve non-USA/Canada users.

For these reasons, SATEXAS will often reject applications from outside North America.