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172 Questions and Answers were found:
My question isn't on here. How can I get help?  
Send email to support@martnet.com - maybe we can add your question to this site, too.


Are there any hidden charges associated with your "unlimited internet access?" 
Absolutely not.


Are you an ISP that will let me to use the 'shotgunning' dial-up technique, I.E. Hyperlink? 
Our dial-ups are limited to one simultaneous login (shotgunning requires 2) and we have no way to increase that number or support shotgunning at this time.


ARGH! I need help with my game server, what should I do? 

In addition to checking these support pages, which you are, which is good, you should post atThe MartNet Support Forums. Other admins with the exact same hardware and software setup will be there, as well as the MartNet support staff, who can post answers for everyone to read.



Can I run pingbooster (or other add-ons of this ilk)? 

Pingbooster was written assuming you have your own box to run hlds on and it don't care how much CPU you take up. As such, we've decided not to explicitly disallow pingbooster, but we don't recommend or support it. Every account has resource quotas for memory and cpu usage; bumping up against those is worse than running at slightly fewer FPS (think of "popping" on a sound file when the wave exceeds the frequency range). If you run pingbooster, their script may tell you a high server FPS, but you may also run against your (pretty generous) quota 'cause it likes to suck up cpu. Add to this your anticheating software, your sounds plugins, your 24 player server full of dialup customers, etc., and you may experience lag anyway. A well-configured server shouldn't need pingbooster - we're using the hlds_beta provided by the linux guys at valve which is designed to eliminate the frame-timing problem that pingbooster is supposed to fix. But LPBs just like to see those numbers, even if the human eye can't tell a difference... :) Go ahead and try it: if things don't work out, you can always take it off. Isn't having this much control over your server fun?



Can I run the Windows server of [insert game here]? 
Sorry, no. If you absolutely must have a game that currently has no linux version of the server software, bug 'em to make one. Due to various and assorted security and stability issues, all our machines are strictly Linux only. If you still want to know why, se habla Code Red?


Can I set our server's client rate to anything I want?  
No, we have a rate limit of 8,000 bytes per connection on public servers and password protected servers. This means that a public 16 player server for example has over 1mbps of available average bandwidth available to it (16 * 8000 = 128,000 bytes * 8 = 1,024,000 bits). Different games use different methods of specifying the rate of the client connections, however, they are still subject to the same formula. We believe that setting your game server to a higher rate than this is NOT to your benefit as no game is currently written load balanced and will effect the smoothness of your game server. We can authorize you for higher rates at an additional charge should you still desire a rate increase ($1 per 1,000 bytes per player - for example a 9,000 rate on a 16 player server would be: 1,000 * 16 = 16,000 [16] * $1 = $16 more, discounts available on high rate limits).


Could you give me a brief explanation what I have to do to implement secure web server (I have Virtual Hosting account)?   
Inside you public_html directory, there is a directory called 'secure_pages'. This is basically a seperate public_html directory inside your public_html directory where you can put secure files. To call these files you have to use https://www.yourdomian.com/ instead of http://www.yourdomain.com/ you have to use absolute address (full http:// address) to call these files from the other pages. So.. if you type in http://www.yourdomian.com/text.html it would take you to the file /public_html/text.html but if you type https://www.yourdomian.com/text.html it would take you to the file /public_html/secure_pages/text.html


Counter-Strike 1.4: wassap widat? 

Find what thou seek right here.



Counter-Strike: How can I tell if VAC (Valve Anti Cheat) is running on my server? 
The server will start using VAC if you set the following cvar: secure "1" This will start the communication between Valve's (experimental) central server, and your own. To actually see if it's working, when you connect, via the client, do a 'stat' or 'status'. To the right of the version it will say secure (VAC is running) or insecure (VAC isn't running).


Counter-Strike: HOW the HECK do I get my 1.4 server to run in secure mode? Help! 

For that, o seeker, point thy browser right here. It's just 2 cvars that need to be set.



D00D! I want to PLAY some of the games you host! What's the IP and port for (insert game name here)? 
Check out http://www.martnet.com/services/gameserverlisting.shtml for our auto-magically generated list of games, IPs, and ports we are currently hosting.


Do I need a seprate program for chatting? Is it possible to chat to other people on the Internet? 
Yes, you can chat using the IRC (Internet Relay Chat), or any of the chat pages that seem to spring up on larger web pages (like yahoo.com). There are Instant Messenger programs available through a variety of software companies, see our section on Using Instant Messenger programs for brief descriptions of each. For IRC, you will need to use a seprate program such as IRCII (on the Unix server) or Netscape chat. We currently have a copy of IRCII on all Martnet servers. For our Windows 3.11, 95, 98, NT, 2000, ME, XP, etc. users, the MIRC program is recommended.


Do you have a MySQL client installed that I can use to add and manipulate data in my MartNet Hosted MySQL database?   
We have a Web based MySQL client installed for your use at http://www.YOURDOMAINNAME.com/mysql-administration (where YOURDOMAINNAME is any domain you have hosted here at MartNet.) When prompted for your username and password, be sure to use the MySQL username and MySQL password you chose when setting up your database - this login and password is seperate from your system account login and password!


Do you offer DSL? No? Why don't you offer DSL anymore? 

Sorry, MartNet does not offer DSL or Cable Modem access. If you need something faster than v.90 56K dial-up, unfortunately you will have to choose another provider.

Due to several of them fouling up horribly, dropping connections frequently, and even occassionally going out of BUSINESS (this happened to us), we no longer offer any DSL service. We are however looking for a reliable DSL provider we can recommend.

That said, look for cable access in your area. The cable companies have the infrastructure already going right to your house... it's faster (usually, check stats) than DSL, more stable, and the modems look cooler =8).

Comcast and Time/Warner/AOL are busy buying up the cable world... go to www.home.com or www.roadrunner.comand see if your area's covered, or call your cable provider. Because of so many parallel techologies now offered (dialups, DSL, cable, wireless, and multiple providers of each), hunt about for what sort of specials they're having - they're going crazy trying to get subscribers. No contract, the cost is added to the comcast cable bill (if you have Comcast, which in the greater Philly area you probably do by now).

Some of our staff recently got @home and managed to wrangle free installation, 3 months free including free modem rental, and $40 bucks a month after that. Testing the connection at random times shows an average connection of 1.1Mbps. Yes, 1100k. Downloads clock in around 100-300k sustained transfer (so much depends on the remote system with downloads, of course).



Do you support MS FrontPage extensions?  
We do NOT support MS FrontPage extensions for several reasons. First, security: you have to give it root permission, and it has to be able to modify everyone's files. Second, we *do not* run software on our servers for which we do not have the source code. Microsoft does not hand out source code for their software, even to license-holders, and therefore we will not allow it to run on our system.


Do you support my favorite operating system?  
We distribute software packages for MacOS and have detailed instructions available for Windows95. If you use one of those three operating systems, we can support you in getting connected to us. If you use Linux or some other flavor of Unix, we will certainly be happy to offer helpful hints, but we don't have any preconfigured software to hand out.


Does Martnet support FDML files, or is that for Mac hosting only?    
.fdml (Form Data Markup Language) files are commonly used by NetCloak. NetCloak is a MacOS-only Application Hosting Solution. We run Linux on all of our shared hosting servers (and there is no planned Linux port of NetCloak.) So no, we don't support it, and yes, it is for Mac Hosting only.


Everytime I check my email I keep getting the same messages over and over again. Why is that? 
It's probably caused by a stuck temporary mail "lock file". It is sometimes caused when your connection is dropped in the midddle of checking your email. Usually it will clear up after after a few minutes. It could also be caused by filling up your mail spool and going over quota. If it doesn't clear up, give us call or email us at support@martnet.com and we'll try to clear it up for you.

It may also not be clearing up because your are over your disk quota. See this page for more details about your disk quota.


FTP doesn't work anymore! what happened??? I need to update my html files RIGHT AWAY!!! 
Before contacting your friendly neighborhood tech support for this problem, please check the error message in your terminal window of the ftp software you use, or try to ftp to the host in question from your shell account so you can see the specific error message generated by your attempt. Sometimes there will be an error message, or an explanatory message from us in the login banner. If after checking into this, *and* reading martnet.announce, you can't figure it out, feel free to email support@martnet.com or give us a call at the office.


Global Ops: How does it work? What do I do? What the heck is it? 

Our Game Hosting Page will always list our currently supported games. As for the lowdown on Global Ops itself, check here:

Global Ops Offical Site



Hey man, we're a l33t clan that plays [whatever], can we test your servers and get free stuff?  
See details on our Referral Program. You can offset or eliminate the cost of your own private server by getting your friends (and enemies!) to sign up with MartNet.


HLTV: I'd like to run this in Counter-Strike / other supported games. What port number should I use?  

Use a port number 2 higher than your server's port number. For instance, if your server is on 27016, use 27018 for HLDS.

All the instructions you need to run HLTV are included in its documentation. If they're over your head, you shouldn't risk messing with it until you have a little more experience under your belt. Be warned that as with other addons, if HLTV pushes your user resource usage over quota, your server's performance will be degraded.



How can I collect my email when I am not at home? are there any websites that would allow me to connect to Martnet? and then to my messages? 
We have an online mail service at http://www.martnet.com/webmail Just enter your username and password there and you can read your mail from any computer that has a web browser.


How can I get my gameserver to restart automagically after a reboot?  

For that, you should look right over here.



How do I address an email in Netscape using the address book? 
  • From any Netscape Communicator window, click on the File menu, select New, and then select Message.
  • Click on the Address button to open the address book.
  • Highlight the address of the recipient, click on the To: button, and then click on OK.

Note: If you included a nickname for the recipient in the address book, you need only type the nickname at the To prompt and then press Enter. The complete e-mail address of the recipient will appear in the address box.



How do I avoid Internet Traffic Jams while downloading?
Most popular sites that offer free or trail software downloads will usually supply links to multiple locations from which you can download the file in question. It's usually wise to select the location nearest your city. If the download seems slow, it's probably Internet rush hour in your area. Try downloading the file from an area with a different time zone than yours, where it's likely you'll run into less of an internet traffic jam.


How do I book mark a site I haven't been to? 
Want to bookmark a webpage before you get there? Here's a neat and rarely used trick. If you see a link and think you may want to bookmark before you even visit it, right-click on the link, and select Add Bookmark in Netscape or Add to Favorites in Internet Explorer. Don't believe it? Try it and check for yourself.


How do I cancel my MartNet account? 
Send an email from the martnet account to support@martnet.com requesting account cancellation. To avoid possible confusion regarding the date of cancellation, we cannot accept termination requests in advance of the date of cancellation. Please notify us on the day you would like your account to be terminated. If this presents a problem, feel free to explain your extenuating circumstances. Include a telephone number where we can reach you to confirm your identification.


How do I change my dail-up number? 
How to change your dial-up Number:

In MacOS:

  • Open the Remote Access Control Panel (in the Apple Menu, in the Control Panels folder.) The phone number should be right there.
  • Change the phone number. Close the control panel to save the changes. (it's that simple!)

In Windows (95, 98, NT, 2000)

  • Open My Computer (on the desktop)
  • Open the "Dial up Networking" folder.
  • Right click ONCE on the Connection Icon for MartNet (hopefully named "MartNet" or something descriptive like that.) Select "Properties" from the menu that pops up.
  • The Phone Number should be right there. Change it to one of the numbers listed above. Close the control panel to save the changes.


How do I change the reply to address in Outlook Express? 
First, go into tools, then accounts. Select the 'MAIL' tab, then 'properties' This will bring up your Martnet mail settings. In the box labeled "Reply Address" simply enter the email address you wish to be replied to. Select 'Apply' then 'Okay' and you're finished!


How do I check my MartNet Website statistics? 
Just type http://www.YOURDOMAIN.com/stats (replace YOURDOMAIN with, well.. your domain name.)


How do I compress email to save space? 
Save valuable disk space by compressing your email folders. If your mail client doesn't do this automatically, execute these steps. In Netscape Messenger, click the File menu and select Compress Folders. In Outlook Express, highlight your folder(s), click File, select Folder then Compact. Most email software includes this feature. Check the Help file for instructions if you use a different client.


How do I correctly call a cgi script from within a secure form?  
Please use: https://www1.martnet.com/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/your_user_name/YOUR-SCRIPT.cgi Make sure to replace where it says your_user_name with the name of your account and YOUR-SCRIPT.cgi with the name of your script.


How do i create meta tags?  

An easy way to help increase the number of hits you get to your site is to use keyword meta tags in your HTML.

Here's an example:

< meta NAME="keywords"
CONTENT="Jane Doe's free tips and tricks on grooming your
cat" > 

Most search engines will look for the key words and phrases you specify in your meta tags and index your site and pages accordingly. It's always wise to select words that you think people will use in search engines when looking for your site.



How do I delete an address book entry in Netscape? 
  • Go to the Communicator menu and select Address Book.
  • Highlight the entry you want to delete and then click on the Delete button.


How do I download and use files from the Internet? 
While attempting to download files from the Internet, you may click on a link and be faced with a message from Netscape telling you that it has founda file it can't read. You can either pick an application, get more information, or save the file to disk. In most cases, you'll want to save the file to your hard drive. Then, you'll be able to see the file on your computer as either an executable file (.exe), a zip file (.zip), or a MAC compacted file (.sit, .hqx). If you don't have an uncompacting utility, you'll need to get one in order to install the files. Otherwise, you can simply unpack the files onto the hard drive and use them from there.


How do I edit an address book entry in Netscape? 

To edit an address book entry:

  • Go to the Communicator menu and select Address Book.
  • Double-click on the entry that you want to edit. The Card for Name window, where Name is the name of the person, will appear.
  • Edit the address card and then click on OK.


How do I filter email? Can I stop getting mail from luser@lamesite.com?  
The easiest way is to turn on your MartNet SpamAssassin Mial filters and use the "blacklist" function to block email from address that that you don't want to receive mail from. Click this link for more information on the Spam Filters


How do I find exact phrases in a search engine? 
One of the biggest complaints about search engines is that they often return too many irrelevant sites. One of the better search engines is HotBot (www.hotbot.com). It allows you to search for exact phrases with deadly accuracy. Try it. Go to HotBot, select the 'Exact Phrase' option, type in your phrase, begin the search and you should get dead-on results - or at least a good selection of links with much more relevance.


How do I get a MartNet account? 
You can sign up via the Web. For more info, see Our Signup Form. I recommend that you then send an email to support@martnet.com telling us the username you used, so we may expedite your account setup process.


How do I get a secure form to send encrypted email?  
You would use PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) for that. Please see:http://web.mit.edu/network/pgp.html


How do I get AdminMod running with my Half-Life engine server (cs, dod, tfc)? 

You should already be aware of how to log in and start your server. If not, you need to look here first.

Having done that, you should type "0" (zero) then ENTER to exit the menu system. Now you're at the actual shell. Type "ls" and ENTER (that's "El Ess," not "one ess") and see the

halflife
directory. Inside is the
Admin
directory, within which is the
install_admin
script. You need to run that script first. So, type "cd halflife/Admin" to get there. Enter "ls" again to see many files and directories. You'll be coming back here if you need to compile plugins. In green, you should see a file called
install_admin
. Enter "./install_admin MODNAME" where MODNAME is either cstrike for counter-strike, dod for Day of Defeat, or tfc for Team Fortress Classic.

Important: when it asks where your HLDS engine is, you need to tell it the full absolute path to hlds_run. Huh? This means enter

/home/USERNAME/halflife/hlds_l
and it'll be fine. That's a lowercase "L", not a "one." As in, "Half-Life Dedicated Server _ Linux." Don't forget the first slash!

If you have .ini files from elsewhere, you can upload them to your

cstrike
directory and go on your merry way.

For tech support issues, general questions, the INSTRUCTIONS, and anything else specific to AdminMod, go to their website. The online docs are great, and there's a public forum if even that doesn't help.



How do I get my messages in Martnet Webmail to come up in Outlook? 
In the webmail interface, click the "options" button from the menu after you log un, and make sure the first check box, titled "Remove from server:" is unchecked.. Once unchecked, click the 'save key' in order to make the changes permanent. What that will allow you to do is view the messages in webmail, and also download them via outlook. For the messages already in webmail that aren't being downloaded by outlook, you might have to forward them to yourself in order for them to move back into your mail spool.


How do I get my SOF2 server to write log files? 
The default server.cfg file that was included in your installation was already set to compile a log file at the end of each server run. In case it got overwritten, here's the relevant part of the server.cfg: // Logs seta g_log "logs/sof_logs.log" seta logfile "3" seta g_logsync "1" The logs, however, are stored in a strange place. In the top level of your home directory, there's a folder in there called '.sof2/' the logs reside at the following destination in that folder: /.sof2/base/logs/


How do I get rid of the AOL auto-start pop-up when I connect to Martnet? 
This is a common problem for users who convert to Martnet from AOL. If you still have an AOL account active, and you try to connect with Martnet, a pop-up will open that reads: -- Your computer is connected to the Internet. Would you like to start AOL now? Yes No TIP: To turn off this message, select Auto Start Options from the AOL tray on the Windows taskbar. -- Unfortunately, there is usually no such item in the taskbar. Here's how to get rid of it. 1. Click on Start 2. Go to Settings 3. Click on Taskbar 4. Click on Start Menu Programs 5. Click the Remove button 6. Go down the list to STARTUP 7. Click the + on the left 8. Click on AOL TRAY Icon under STARTUP (should be indented here) 9. Click Remove 10. Click Close 11. Click OK 12. Click START, the ShutDown, then restart That should do the trick. AOL implemented this pop-up in version 5.0, so anything later will probably do the same.


How do I have my domain name that I registered elsewhere pointed at my MartNet hosted web site?  

You need to tell the registrar what our nameservers are. Everything you need to know can be found right here.



How do I include multiple attachments in an email? (Outlook) 

Start a new message, then drag and drop a file from Windows Explorer into the mail composition window.

Using this method, you can highlight multiple files, and drag and drop in one operation.



How do I know how much space I have left on my account?   

You can check your quota using the quota tool in the MartNet WebAdmin control panel.

or

You can check it via the shell by typing:
server:~$ quota -v



How do I log in to my MartNet WebAdmin control panel? 
Go to http://webadmin.martnet.com/ and select either WebAdmin for Dial up Customers or WebAdmin for Virtual Hosting Customers. Then log in with your username and password. Note: account names do not include "@martnet.com" or "@YOURDOMAIN.com:"


How do I pay for my MartNet account? 
We accept checks, money orders, gold bullion, and credit cards. Users paying by credit card should be automatically billed on a monthly or yearly basis. Users paying by check need to send checks in on a monthly or yearly basis. Please include a note with the check listing the username of the account for which you are paying. If you need an invoice for business purposes, please send your invoice request to support@martnet.com. We do plan to implement an automatic email invoicing system at some point, but it isn't in place at this time.


How do I pick the best CGI? 
1) Pick good, well written, easy to use scripts in the first place (Form Mail is one) 2) READ the documentation that comes with the script. 3) When you ask MartNet Support a question, and you get back a detailed response, TRY AND DO WHAT WE SUGGEST and if you have problems, let us know and BE AS DETAILED AS POSSIBLE.


How do I ping a server? (Win95/98/NT) 

While connected to the Internet or if you're connected to any networked system, open a MS-DOS window and type 'ping' then the address you wish to check.

ping martnet.com

This will show you how fast the connection is to the address. The measurement is usually in milliseconds (1000 milliseconds= 1 second). A ping time of 100ms to 300ms is really fast.



How do I register www.schmoop.com?  
Well, technically, you aren't going to be registering www.schmoop.com at all. www.schmoop.com is a hostname, and you can only register a domain name - that's the schmoop.com part. If you are interested in domain name services, I suggest you check out the MartNet hosting page and then, once you have decided which service you prefer, you can call or email us (sales@martnet.com) and we'll register it for you.. That simple.


How do I renew my account? Why was I billed for another year? 
All annually billed accounts are renewed automatically on the anniversary date, unless we are notified of cancellation in advance of the anniversary date. This is stated in our Usage Agreement in the policy sections of the affected accounts.


How do I save the results of a search? 
It's taken you dozens of queries in various engines, but you've finally found what you're looking for. To save you the time and frustration in repeating the process next time, just add the results of your search to your Bookmark or Favorite file. Some engines give you the option to save your search right on the results page. Study the page carefully to look for this option.


How do I set up an autoresponder? 
We've changed the way our auto responder works, so please read carefully

Autoresponder can now be activated at the MartNet WebAdmin control panel.

-Log in with your username and password to the WebAdmin interface.
-In the "Mail" section, click on the button that's labeled "Email-Auto Responder". Enter the subject, the From address and the message and click "Enable Vacation" to turn it on. To Turn it off, just log back in and click "Disable Vacation"


How do I stream Wave files? (.wav) 
If you normally download large wave files, wait to store them on your harddrive, then finally play them, try this: The next time you see a wave file on the Net, right-click it, select the Preview tab, and play it. Doing this, the sound is opened instantly, streaming the sound from the hard drive. The best thing about this is that no reconfiguration of any devices is needed.


How do I update my domain name registration information? 
There are two ways. Most of our customers call our customer care center by phone. We can then change and update any information you want. The other way is to call us and have a username and password set up for the the domains you have registered with us. Then you can log on to our Domain Manager and change the information through a web page.


How do I use frames with SSL?  
When using frames with ssl, a new window must be created otherwise ssl will not work.


How do I use SSL?    

All accounts include a secureweb directory. Your secure web directory is named:

~username/public_html/secure_pages

where "username" isyour login, or account name.

If this directory does not exist, you can create it by either FTP'ing a directory called secure_pages into your public_html folder, or Secure Shell to www.martnet.com, OR www.yourdomain.com if you have a Virtually Hosted Web Site with us, log in with your username and password, and type:

mkdir public_html/secure_pages


Yoursecure web URL is:

https://www.yourdomain.com/~acctname

where "servername"is the name of the server your account is on. An example secureweb URL might be:

https://www1.martnet.com/~nicks


How does my "catch all" (or wildcard) email alias work? 
By default, the main account on a Martnet Virtual Hosting account is set up to recieve any email that's addressed to any non-specified email address at your domain. For example: if your main hosting account is "you@yoursite.com", mail addressed to ANYTHING@yoursite.com ("support@yoursite.com", "feedback@yoursite.com", "random@yoursite.com", etc) will go to the "you" mailbox. You can also set up a program like Outlook or Eudora to let you appear as any of these name when you send email. You just set up an account with the same exact configuration as your main email account, but just change the "email address" to whichever address you want to use.


How I can query my mySQL database directly for debugging purposes?    
SSH to the server and log in using your account name and password. It will be the password that you chose when the mySQL database was created. Then invoke the mySQL monitor with the following command:

/usr/bin/mysql --user=youracct -p youracct

Where youracct is your account name.



How long can I remain online when I am connected through your dial up? 
The Max idle time-out set on our dial up network is 10 minutes. The Max session time-out set on our dial up network is 8 hours.


How long would it take to get an account set up?  
It's only as long as it takes to put your information into the database, and then run the scripts to set the new account. Don't forget to get the tech support number and the modem number before you get off the phone..


How much space do I get with my Game Server account? 
There is a quota of 1.5GB for all GameServer Hosting accounts (which is enough for a LOT of maps, etc.)


How to I get my page seen in a search engine? 
As you are well aware, there is an art to finding things on the Web. If you or your company have a website, and you want to increase the chances of being found, be sure to use Page Titles. The majority of search engines index and rate your site using the home page's title as the starting point. The best way to be noticed and get indexed is to make your page's title between 5 and 15 words in length. It should include your company and/or product names and a short phrase describing yourself and/or your company.


I am interested in trying some new things using PHP & mySQL on According to some random tutorial I was reading on MySQL, I need to either use ssh (or telnet) to log into the host and use the MySQL client programs (mysql, mysqladmin, mysqldump, etc.) installed there to interact with the MySQL server directly, or install those client programs on my own computer and have them connect to the MySQL server. Which of these methods do you support? Do I need to acquire a separate separate set of login & password info to access MySQL server?    
You can use the mysql clients on OUR server (use secure shell to connect. MartNet does not support TELNET - it is NOT secure!...) For security reasons we restrict remote client connections. Note that most web developers choose to use some other middleware system (PHP, perl, java, C, python) for MySQL database operations, though you are also free to use the command line client as well.

You DO need to call the office to get a MySQL database set up. The database name and database user name will be the same as your MartNet user name but you will need to pick a password - MySQL stores it's user/password info internally, so the password is seperate (and can be different from) your existing account password.


I am using PHP on my website and can't get it to write or delete files. I have double-checked the permissions for the file and directory, and they both have "rwx" privileges set. Why can't I write / delete files with PHP?    
PHP by default runs as the web user (www-data) and not as the user that owns a particular file. In short, PHP can't modify files owned by you. You can also run php scripts as a CGI (through CGI-Wrap; just change the first line of the script to:
#!/usr/local/bin/php, ala perl CGI's...) so the script runs as you, and will have full read/write access to anything in your home directory. PHP does run slower as a CGI, but it is the only way to securely write files (or delete them) in your home directory. You may want to consider writing a simple PHP script as a CGI (or perl or even a shell script) that only does file writes and deletes (and pass file names as a variable to that script) and call that CGI from your other PHP scripts using the "virtual" directive.


I called information to get your voice number, and they gave me a number which makes screechy sounds when I call! What happened??  
Well, you were given one of our data numbers, and a modem answered. We pay an extra fee every month so that all of our data numbers are unlisted, and only our voice number is to be given out. Sorry for any inconvenience or temporary hearing loss.


I can receive mail from my MartNet virtual hosted email account, but when I try to send I get a "server not found" error message. I am connecting though another ISP (DSL, dial up or otherwise) and not a MartNet dial up account. Why can't I send mail? 
The problem could be that your ISP blocks traffic on port 25, which is the port that email is sent out on. Many ISP's block traffic on port 25 to stop spammers from abusing their mail servers. NetZero, Comcat, Earthlink, At&T and many other large ISP's do this. If you are unable to send, but can receive, you may want to contact the ISP that provides your connection to the internet and ask them if they block port 25 and how you can send your mail. Most of the time it's just a matter of changing your "outgoing" or SMTP server to the SMTP server of your ISP. For example, instead of having your outgoing mail server be set to POSTOFFICE.YOUDOMAIN.COM, you would set it to smtp.comcast.net or smtp.netzero.net (depending on your ISP).
UPDATE: It appears AOL is blocking port 25 traffic now too. See this page for more details: http://support.martnet.com/content.php?get=194


I don't want my real name on my account, can you change it for me?  
The full name associated with a username is a user configurable option. To change the full name, eg, the part that shows up as "in real life" when your account is fingered, and on your email, and on our list of users with web pages, if you have one, you will type chfn at the unix prompt, as shown in this example: merv:~$ chfn Changing finger information for user on merv.martnet.com. Default values are printed inside of '[]'. To accept the default, type To have a blank entry, type the word 'none'. Name [user]: your name here Here, user changed her full name to "your name here," resulting in: merv:~$ finger user Login name: someguy In real life: your name here Directory: /home/user Shell: /usr/local/bin/bash It's easy to change your full name, and some people have a lot of fun with it. Go ahead. Try it. You'll like it.


I forgot my password. What should I do? 
Call us at 215 551-3552. We'll ask some questions to make sure you really are who you say you are, and assign a new password for you.


I got a busy signal when I tried dialing up just now. What's up with that?? 
If you *ever* get busy signals dialing into one of our locations, please call or email us (support@martnet.com) immediately and let us know. We outsource out numbers from another company, who is responsible for maintaining those numbers and making sure that their are enough for everyone. If we get things like busy-signal complaints, we immediately take them to the company, and have them fix it ASAP..


I got Windows95, and now I can't connect to MartNet. What do I do 
Well, if removing the Micro$oft virus from your hard drive is not an option, I suggest you refer to MartNet's Windows 95 PPP Instructions.


I had files in my directory and they are missing. Can you restore them?  
*ouch* that hurts. Well, if the files are missing due to a MartNet system error - eg, if it is our fault - you can write to support@martnet.com and ask us to restore them from our backups, and we may be able to do that. If you typed rm * by accident, no. We can't restore all the files that users accidentally delete, much as we feel your pain and would like to help. Sorry.


I have a shell account on home.martnet.com. My email froze, so I logged out, rebooted, and logged back on. Now my Inbox folder is "READ ONLY". I can't delete any messages from it. This has happened before and usually corrects itself within 5-10 minutes. But it has now been almost 20 minutes and it's still "read only". What's the reason for this?   
Use the 'ps' command to list any processes running (you may need to use 'ps -aux | grep USERNAME' to see processes still running in the old shell). There's probably still a copy of pine running, and the 'ps' command will show you this process, plus the ID of the process(es). Use the 'kill' command ('kill -9 IDNUMBER') to kill the old processes. You may also want to look into running 'screen' which creates a virtual terminal on top of your shell. If your connection drops for whatever reason, you can SSH back in and resume your screen session ('screen -r') and just pick up where you left off.


I have been reading online about Verizon's new email policy: "Verizon e-mail servers will not deliver any mail originated by Verizon customers unless they have an e-mail address that ends in verizon.net, bellatlantic.net, or a ''domain name'' corresponding to a World Wide Web domain hosted by Verizon." I have Verizon DSL. What's up with this?    
You can still use MartNet Hosting Services and your Virtually Hosted E-Mail to send mail which appears to come from your MartNet account (ie. YOURNAME@YOURDOMAIN.com ) with Verizon DSL or most other ISP's.
FIrst, make sure your OUTGOING MAILSERVER is set to YOURDOMAIN.COM (where YOURDOMAIN.COM is any domain of yours hosted here at MartNet.) You must check your email account first, then you can send your outgoing email. You will only be able to send mail for a short while after checking your mail.

NOTE: If you get an error such as "YOURDOMAIN.COM" (or whatever your outgoing mailserver is set to) COULD NOT BE CONTACTED; THE SERVER MAY BE DOWN or some similar medssage, Your ISP may be blocking ALL mail traffic to foreign mail servers (including ours.) Our mail server isn't down - you're ISP is blocking your access to it. Some ISP's do this in an attempt to slow the spread of spam (this method DOES NOT work...), or to force their ISP customers to also subscribe to their own Web Hosting Services. We recommend that you contact your ISP for assistance and/or to complain about this.


I have been receiving increasing amounts of spam mail recently, and I was wondering if there are any particular settings on the shell account, or webmail or otherwise that would enable me to filter out junk mail. 
We offer SpamAssassin for all of our users email accounts to help them block spam. Check out our SPAM FAQ page at http://www.martnet.com/spam for more information on how you can stop spam.


I have created some files that I want to use on my web site. The files work great until I upload them to my site at Martnet and a .bin is added to the end of the file name, and the files don't work. What gives?  
Sounds like you're using a Mac, and you have your FTP client (Fetch?) set up to automatically encode the file in MacBinary format before uploading. Find this option somewhere in your FTP program's preferences and disable it. Be sure to upload any binary files (ie: .jpg, .gif, .swf, .mp3, etc.) as raw data. You may be given the option at the time of upload.


I have NO idea how to run a Linux server. I do know how to use rcon though. Will this server be easy to run and type commands? 

Um... no. That's the short answer. I don't know what your general computer experience outside of running a game is; however, learning an entirely new operating environment "on the fly" would be rather difficult if you've never done so before. It does't look or run or work anything like Windows; if that's your only experience, i have to tell you honestly, you're going to be frustrated trying to learn Linux while you're trying to get your server running that you're paying for. Set up a machine yourself, install a simple Linux distro, practice using the commandline (not X windows), install and run some software, etc., and see how you feel about it...



I keep getting spammed (spam is unsolicited junk mail)! Why do you let people send me this junk?? Can't you stop it? 
Check out our SPAM FAQ page at http://www.martnet.com/spam for more information on how you can stop spam.


I keep getting the message "Error 629: Port disconnected by the remote computer" 
This may or may not be a symptom of something bigger on the system. Please take check your settings to make sure that everything is correct. If they are, and you're still getting this message, try changing the phone number, and let us know immediately what number you were dialing into, and what time this happened.


I never leave my computer. How can I find out what's going on in the world? 
Online newspapers, man. Check out the Philadelphia Inquirer and the New York Times. Another good site is CNN.


I think I can MAKE MONEY FAST!!! on the Internet. Why don't more people take advantage of this exciting opportunity? 
These "exciting opportunities" are usually illegal and highly frowned upon. The most common scheme involves sending $1.00 to each of five people on the list, and you instruct them to add your name to the list and send it out to many different people. That way, the people who are on the list get to collect all sorts of money from all sorts of people who get copies of the original mail with their names on it. Please understand that this is illegal, and will be cause for the immediate suspension or termination of your account. And in case you're wondering, the Justice Department says that recent versions of the scam that feature recipe services, mailing lists, etc, are not any more legal than their predecessors, no matter what the authors of these messages might claim.


I try to get to webmail via my domain, and I get a '404 page not found' error. What's wrong? 
The link yourdomain.com/webmail is case sensitive. "webmail" must be typed in lower case, or you will get an error message.


I use Outlook to check my mail via IMAP and all of the sudden my mail has disappeared! Where did it go?!  
Outlook often does Goofy Things to your mail spool file and corrupts it. The easiest way we found to correct it, is to go into "Tools/Accoounts" in Outlook and delete your current account settings and then recreate it. It's not the most elegant fix, but it is the quickest.


I want to add an option, such as "-zone 8192" to the start command for my HalfLife server. How do I do this?   
At the top level of your home directory is a file called customer_server_settings. Open this file in your favorite text editor and find the following option (it's near the bottom):

## User-Defined Command Line Opions
## USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!! MISUSE WILL BREAK YOUR SERVER!!!
## Enter any command line options here, and keep them WITHIN the quotes...
## They will be appended EXACTLY AS
## TYPED to the hlds_run command. You probably don't need to put anything
## here, and if you do, you should already know exactly what you need...
## If you don't, then leave this option blank...
##

USER_COMMANDLINE_OPTIONS="-option1 value1 -option2 value2"

Add your command line options (and me sure they stay within the quotes!!) and restart your server. If you do not see the USER_COMMANDLINE_OPTIONS=" " line, then add it, and the options you define will be appended at the end of hlds_run script EXACTLY as you defined them, so make sure they are correct or you could break your server!


I was curious about setting up a mailing list for my MartNet Hosted Web Site. I was wondering, what sort of mail program do you use? Do you have any kind of included scripts for handling mailing lists? If not, what would you suggest would be appropriate for setting one up?    
MartNet does not maintain any sort of mailing lists, so we have no use for nor do we recommend any particular mailing list package.

HOWEVER, A number of our virtual hosting customers do use DadaMail (http://mojo.skazat.com). It is free, open source, simple to set up, and has a very nice, intuitive, Web based management interface. Setting DadaMail up if you choose to use it is your responsibility. Be sure to read the README.txt file that comes with the package and follow all instructions. Refer to the DadaMail web site and the MartNet Support Site (using your own custom CGI's at http://support.martnet.com/content.php?get=66) if you have any questions about how to set up DadaMail or any other CGI of your choosing.

There are only 3 settings in the CONFIG.pm file you need to set, and the rest can be configured from the Web interface (be sure to set permissions properly when uploading the files!) The path to the nesessary mail program is "/usr/lib/sendmail" which is DadaMail's default, so you don't even need to set that variable.


I was reading alt.binaries.pictures.erotica.really.really.nasty, and I saw things I'd like to keep for my perusal at a later date. I should email them to my MartNet account, right?  
NO! Please do not email yourself multiple binaries. That is a lusermove of the first degree, and is frowned upon by the admins who read postmaster mail and see multiple "unable to create output" error messages because you have mailbombed yourself with binaries and gone over quota. It is *strongly* suggested that you use the save function of your newsreader to save these articles. In tin, you use the s command. Other software has other commands. If you ask us about your software, we may be able to help, or to point you in the right direction. Mailbombing yourself (and effectively mailbombing postmaster@martnet.com) with binaries is a Bad Thing!


I'd like to rent a gameserver but I'm under 18. How can I get one? 

We'll run into some legal issues charging someone underage. Especially with Dad's credit card. I'm afraid that due to past experience, we can only sell our services to someone of legal age. Fear not; have your parent(s) actually call and sign up; they will be the "customer," the responsible party for contact and billing, etc., which protects us as well as the consumer (dat's j00). There can be NO EXCEPTIONS to this rule, so please don't call to try to get service without your parents' knowledge...



I'd like to use EmbPerl scripts on my site. I tried to place them in my cgi-bin directory, but they won't run.
what file extension do I need to use?
where do I need to put the scripts?
what permissions do the scripts need?
What else do I need to do?
    
The file extension must be either .epl or .eperl to use Embedded Perl (ie: index.eperl or index.epl). The files can be anywhere EXCEPT in your cgi-bin directory, and permissions should be chmoded 644 (read/write by you, readable by everyone else. The file does NOT need to be executable.) eperl files are server parsed, just like .shtml and php scripts, and with the exception of the embeded perl code, function just like any other html document (and not like cgi scripts.) It's that simple! Of course, you still need to know perl and it's command syntax, but that's a whole different ballgame (many books and Web Sites have information about programming in perl).


I'm getting a "4.2.10 - Access denied Error" with MySQL. I KNOW I'm using the right password... What's going on?    
If you are using the "mysql" command in your Linux shell and trying to export or import data to/from external files, YOU NEED TO SPECIFICALLY ASK US TO TURN ON EXTERNAL FILE CAPABILITIES (send mail to support@martnet.com with your Domain Name, user name and MySQL database name.) We turn off external file access for security reasons, as the majority of our MySQL users use some sort of a WWW front end (ie: PHP, perl, java, etc.) to access and manage theitr databases, and when using these systems, they have their own internal mechanisms for importing and exporting data and writing files.

Also note that we have a Web based MySQL client installed for your use at http://www.YOURDOMAINNAME.com/mysql-administration (where YOURDOMAINNAME is any domain you have hosted here at MartNet.) When prompted for your username and password, be sure to use the MySQL username and MySQL password you chose when setting up your database - this login and password is seperate from your system account login and password!


I'm trying to send and attachment through Webmail and it keep bringing me back to the log on screen. What's wrong? 
This problem only occurs if you are using a Macintosh (with OS 9.x or earlier) and Internet Explorer. Try using another browser, such as Netscape Communicator, Opera, or Omni Web.


I've received notice that my domain name is about to expire, what now? 

For all those who have registered domains through, or transferred to, MartNet, you will get 3 warnings of pending expiration. At 60 days, 30 days, and one day prior to the domain expiring, notices are sent to the listed contact's email address.

This means that if you have changed, lost, added, or deleted email addresses, you should call MartNet immediately and verify that your listed contact email is one you currently have access to!

All you have to do is respond to this email with a brief "Yes, please renew that." There is no need to wait until the last minute because no time is lost: the renewal extends the registration for one year, it does not start the registration period of one year. So if your domain expires in May of 2004, and you renew it in January of 2004, the new expiration is May of 2005 - not January.

If we hear nothing in response to any of these emails, no action will be taken. The domain will expire. After that, going to www.yourdomain.whatever will result in a great big "no such website" message, even though nothing has happened to your files; the internet just won't know where they are.

Important Note

You may receive notice via email or "real" mail that your domain is about to expire, you should respond right away to renew it, send your personal information right away, appear to come from "Renewal Center" or "Domain Management" or some such. These are frauds and lies. We do not need you to send your personal information; we have it already. We will never send you anything that does not clearly identify itself as being from martnet. All we need is a response to the notices mentioned above, and we take care of the rest. Do not be tricked into transferring your domain elsewhere or sending out personal information to get added to spam lists! While misleading and unethical, if you authorize another company or individual to take your domain, there's legally nothing we can do about it. Be careful!



IExplorer: How do I save web pages so I can view them later? 
Here are two quick and simple ways to save a web page for later viewing. When you find a page you want to save, from the File menu, select Save As. Give it a name you'll remember and use the .html or .htm extension after the file name. This will allow you to view the file on your browser while off-line. Unfortunately graphics will not be saved. The alternative is to save it as a text file using the .txt file name extension. This will allow you to view the text on the web page in any word processor or text editor. If the text is a graphic image like a logo, you won't be able to view it.


If I don't check my MartNet email often, how can I forward all email going to my MartNet account to a different address, or a bunch of addresses?  

You can forward all incoming mail to as many addresses as you like in Mail Forwarding in you MartNet WebAdmin control panel.



If I'm downloading something and not surfing the web, will I be disconnected? 
Other ISPs tend to kick you off-line after a short period of inactivity on your part, kind of like a screen saver. Martnet doesn't work quite the same way; our servers are configured to keep your connection open if there's traffic coming or going from your computer. For instance, you could start downloading a file, walk away, watch TV, walk the dog, etc. and the download would still be going. The only time Martnet will disconnect you is if you have had no activity (no data traveling between you and the web) for more than an hour.


If my server crashes, will you reimburse me? 

No, but no need. Any server failure triggers an automatic restart script. If you think there's a serious problem, check the rest of the support site first. If it looks like you've been down all day, can't figure out why, checked your configs, etc., then contact us. You should also be aware of our service and usage agreement. It's your responsibility to read it and know it.



Is it possible to reserve slots, so that only members of my clan can fill them?  

Well, yes. That's usually achieved with something called AdminMod. If you asked for Adminmod when you signed up, you already have it; you just need to activate it.



Is my Computer compatible with Netscape's Smart Update? 

SmartUpdate is compatible with:

Windows 95, 98, or NT
Windows 3.1
Macintosh PowerPC



Is there a perl API for mySQL?    

The mysql perl API which comes with mysql is installed.

For more information refer to the documentation at http://support.martnet.com/mysql/

For more information about the Perl API, refer to the Mysql user documentation

Here is a quick demonstration of a generic query:

 


	use Mysql;

        if ( ! ( $gDBH = Mysql->Connect("servername",
                "database","passwd","user") ) )
        {
                die "SQL Error: $Mysql::db_errstr";
        }

        my $sth = $gDBH->query( "select * from tablename" );

        if ( ! defined $sth )
        {
                die "SQL Error: $Mysql::db_errstr";
        }

        for (;;)
        {
                my %hash;
                last if ! ( %hash = $sth->FetchHash() );

                foreach $key ( sort keys %hash )
		{
                        printf( "%16s: %sn", $key, $hash{$key} );
                }

                print "n";
        }


Is there any way that we can actually play on the server that we'll be renting from you to see if we get a CONSTANT better ping than our current server provider? 
We can do better than that. We'll give you the IP of the next machine you're account will be on. If you're not the first customer on, we'll give you the names and ports of the other accounts currently running on it. There's also a MartNet Public server running for you to check out (currently 207.19.97.116:27047). Bring your whole clan if you want. And leave the l4m3 h4x at home...


Is there anyway to speed up login time? It takes me nearly a minute to get onto the system after I've dialed up. 
There's a setting you might want to check that should clear up the problem. Open up the Dial-Up Networking folder. (Start->Programs->Accessories->Dial-Up Networking) and right click on the