We at IGN are providing you with notice of very important changes that are taking place with the IGN Hosting Services, including the sad news that we are shutting down the IGN Hosting Services.
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*1. Changes to the IGN Hosting Terms of Service*
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Firstly, certain sections of the IGN Hosting Terms of Service have been updated which are effective immediately. Please take time to read through the complete updated Terms of Service at the website below (a link to the previous version is at the top of the site):
http://termsofservice.hosting.ign.com/
We will post any additional updates at the above link. Should you have any questions about these changes to the Terms of Service, please do not hesitate to contact us via techsupport@gamespynetwork.com. Please note: subject to (B) below, the IGN Hosting Terms of Service will cease to be in effect after August 31, 2009.
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*(B) Shutting Down of IGN Hosting*
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As referred to above, we also have some sad, but extremely important news for you regarding your hosted site, and ask that you read through the following carefully.
After years of quality free hosting for gaming sites, we have decided to discontinue our free hosting services. We know that this will come as a shock and a disappointment to you; in this e-mail we will explain why this decision was made, when the shutdown will occur, and what the next steps are for the many hosted site owners who will be affected.
The primary reason for the discontinuation of the free hosting is one of compatibility. At IGN, we are in the process of moving to a new data centre, and a number of our operations are incompatible with it, including the free hosting service. At this time we regretfully are not in a position to carry out the additional work needed to make the hosting service compatible.
We are all extremely grateful for you having chosen us as your site's host, and as such want to do all that we can to make your transition to a new hosting provider as easy and seamless as possible. We will maintain the hosting service, with full technical support, up until 11.59 PM, 31st August 2009 (“Cut-Off Date”), giving you several months in order to organize a migration. Please note however that the Cut-Off Date is hard and fast - there will be no extension of the service after this date and backups of your databases and content etc. will not be maintained. Anything that you want to keep MUST be downloaded to your computer before the Cut-Off Date. Please note: if you don’t migrate your files and database by the Cut-Off Date, you will no longer have access or right to access or use any aspect of your site that IGN was hosting and IGN will have the right to delete and remove from our servers all aspects of your site.
In order to assist you, we have prepared a detailed information website (see link below), which provides information such as a sample list of possible replacement web hosts you could transition to, instructions on migrating your files and database(s), in addition to FAQs about the discontinuation of our services. We strongly recommend that you read the entire document if you intend to continue operating your site at another host:
http://hosting.ign.com/faq.php
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*3. Continuing Services*
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It is not all bad news however. Some of the services we made available to hosted sites will still be available to you after August 31st, specifically:
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*(i) Free File Hosting at FilePlanet.com*
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You will still be able to use FilePlanet's free uploading tools to post your files and share them with your community. This tool can be accessed at http://www.fileplanet.com/publicsubmission.aspx. No registration needed to download your files. If you have a really large file, contact us directly at Submit@FilePlanet.com.
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*(ii) Direct2Drive Affiliate Program*
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As a former Hosted Site owner, you will be eligible for a special deal on the Direct2Drive affiliate program. Earn 8% commission (the regular commission rate is 7%) by driving sales to the leading digital download retail store, Direct2Drive. To learn more click here (http://www.direct2drive.com/staticpage. ... affiliates).
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*To summarize:*
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The Hosting Services will end on 11.59 PM, August 31st, 2009. No backups or snapshots will be maintained after that date (download everything you wish to keep). You will no longer have access to your site or any aspects of it (content, assets, files etc.) after that date and we will remove/delete all such files from our servers. There is a number of alternative free webhosts you could investigate here: http://hosting.ign.com/faq.php. FAQs and guidance for migrating sites is available here: http://hosting.ign.com/faq.php. We are keen to help your migration go as smoothly as possible; contact us if you require any further information in connection with you site migration at: techsupport@gamespynetwork.com. File hosting at FilePlanet and Direct2Drive referral programs may continue (with the latter including a commission bonus).We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for contributing to the world's greatest network of independently owned gaming sites, and wish you all the best of luck should your site(s) continue at another host. Please, contact us (techsupport@gamespynetwork.com) if you have any questions in connection with the migration of your site.
Many thanks,
The IGN Hosting Team
