I've sent a strongly-worded (helpful) letter to Six Apart about this growing problem:

A LOT of web hosts are becoming anti-Movable Type, because they are ignorant and claim there are many security issues.

Of course, they refuse to elaborate on these (probably because they admit there aren't many that cause great concern), but it is indeed a growing problem.

Namely, LunarPages.com, a seemingly awesome and expansive web host.

They flat out ban MT.

Another is UplinkEarth.com. They make it extremely difficult to use Movable Type.

They also name "lack of flooding controls, lack of comment-spam controls, lack of server relay protection, etc" as their flawed logic against Movable Type.

They also make the same complaints about another great product, Coppermine Gallery.

They say that because it's so popular and extensible, it's like an open sore waiting to be picked at.

However, since a majority of other hosts are fine with Movable Type and Coppermine, it makes me wonder what on earth these small but still-growing number of idiot system administrators.

I proposed the following suggestions to Six Apart:

• Send out broadcast emails to web hosts, specifically the offending hosts, announcing the new version that addresses (and 3.1* does) these "important issues"
  
• Set up a special section on movabletype.org that addresses these concerns
  
• Set up a special section on movabletype.org that lists out all the MT-friendly or MT-enabled web hosts out there, featuring "recommended" hosting via affiliate links (to help out Six Apart) for web hosts that are committed to helping Movable Type and Six Apart grow and not shrink (read: LunarPages and UplinkEarth)
  
• Involve the BlogOn community. Since MovableType is amongst the first, we can never rule out the fact that more blogging applications are next in their sights.

So, that being said.

How many of you have experienced the same thing?

Can you recommend any good hosts (not the crappy cheap and obviously so hosts, but good, professional, full featured and well-rounded hosts) that allow MT to run on their systems with little-to-no fuss?

I'm hosted on a friend's reseller account with these guys, and they're fab.

This link is a little out of date, but there is a good list of webhosts for MT there.

I run a free blog hosting site that supports many blogging systems including MT. I think it is stupid not to support it. For those interested you can check out the site. http://sql4u.net or the direct link http://sql4u.net/site/bindex.html for those of you looking for a free option. FOr those who are looking for a paid option I know that asmallorange.com supports MT.

I was recently driven from my old host for this very reason. I have since gone to HostingMatters and they have been fabulous.

A swedish Webhosting with Support..

Loopia.se has the thing to get you goin' with MT

The following quote is off my Nexcess.net webhosts help page.I find them VERY helpful and very reasonably priced even tho they can't spell Movable Type right... ;-).

I use BlogHosts and they have been knowledgable about MT, and offered security suggestions that have been helpful. They are pretty responsive to problems. They are a bit short of staff, but are currently adding support staff.

They've been willing to work with me when I've had problems and are always courteous. There is no phone contact, which can be a disadvantage. However, their pricing is relatively low.

They are definitely blog friendly.

I've been using LivingDot.com for a while now. They fully support MovableType and offer free installation. Works beautifully... no downtimes, well priced, fast support. Couldn't wish for anything else.

If you have a web host to recommend, please be sure to fill out the Learning Movable Type Web Host Survey here.

Thanks!

Update: The survey is now closed. Will post results soon.

The Web Host Survey results are posted at: Movable Type Friendly Web Hosts.

Alas, BlogHosts just announced that they're closing down. Which is quite a bummer, since I have nearly a dozen domains with them... most quite small, but still... ack!

Wow...don't I feel foolish. Somehow that typo made it by me

I'll get it fixed up..and yes...we'll gladly host your MovableType installation with no problems at all. We're also offering free script installs right now with the purchase of an annual hosting account. Just mention "free script install" and the name of the script you'd like installed when you sign up. You can check out the MovableType and the rest of our 100+ tutorials at http://nexcess.net/hosting/support/tutorials

Thanks for the praise and pointing out the spelling error

Moveable can be spelt either way. I believe MT's site has information about this.

I recommended bloghosts earlier. They have had some sort of catatrophic server problem and are going out of business as of the first of the year. Too bad, because they were reasonable, really knew MT, and were good to work with.

Sorry to dig up an old post but I am having trouble with my webhost over this very issue. TOS violation is what they are calling it, even though I have been using MT for a year with them. They are telling me that the scripts that MT uses (especially in relation to a third party script) causes their server to be overwhelmed. I am fairly certain that it is the spammers that are doing it. I decided to turn off the comments to the older entries to see if this stops the problem (it will at least save me the work of deleting the dang things everyday). Now I am wondering (and posted in the comments forum) whethere the mere attempt at leaving a comment triggers the script to run. Gah. I would love to stuff some cialis where the sun doesn't shine, in the middle of a casino during a debt consolidation.

Anyway, I have loved my hosts (Future Quest) up to this point and hope that I do not have to move. We will see. The last thing they said in the email to me was that the writing is on the wall with MT and that they would soon be forced to outright ban it. grrrrr.

I found another MT friendly host to add to the list - A Small Orange. They are quite reasonably priced, and their tech support (which is by email or support ticket) has always responded in less than an hour - and sometimes in minutes.

I have also had very ggod response time in terms of operation.

lol, I have no idea how Greg (Nexcess.net) found my post.
But it is interesting and encouraging that webhosting people are around this forum.

We are very excited to become a member of this forum and are looking forward to helping / assisting fellow MovableType bloggers

I'd just like to remind people to make sure that their webhosts have the proper licenses to offer Movable Type hosting (pre-installation, etc). With a few hosts shut down recently, you want to be careful about who you're choosing.

I absolutely agree with maddy, very good point.

In case you are wondering about us, we partner directly with Six Apart and are able to offer Unlimited Personal Edition of Movable Type for as low as $2.95 month. Installed, of course, free

Have you tried http://www.dreamhost.com

I have FORUMESP I can sense when people are talking about us.

No, to be honest, when I'm running the live help program, I see where people are coming to our site from, and one of the places was this forum, so I make it a habit to check out the links where we're mentioned

What the hey.....I'll jump in on this one!

Let's not forget about the other MT.... Media Temple!. Geez, even Movable Type has a banner ad for them on their home page as "Hosting Partner Program."

I've used Media Temple for 2 years now. Hands down, the most awesome support I've ever encountered.

rednevednav

I am thinking of migrating to MediaTemple but can't really figure out what I get for my money. (If I go for the $ 7.95 package).

I thought they were using cPanel (which I get at my current provider) but it looks like something else. Right now, I have tons of options with cPanel but I really can't figure out what Mediatemple actually offers in terms of scripts etc.

Also, since they're running the MoveableType program as a monthly service, I am afraid that setting it up myself will be difficult.

Any thoughts?

seba,
It looks like they have a 24/7 support number so you could call them and ask. - (24/7 Toll-Free 877-578-4000). I have sites running on 2 different providers and they both use cPanel :
A Small Orange and Total Choice Hosting. Both of them have been good providers so far though neither offer phone support. Both are MT friendly but then so is MediaChannel. The one drawback with Total Choice (for me) was that they don't allow multiple domains on the same account. That may not be an issue for you however.

Setting up MT is not particularly difficult is you read the installation directions. Essentially, you are just copying the required files to the indicated directories (or folders) and setting the access rules for the cgi files.

TotalChoice has a set of instructions for loading onto their servers, which you might find helpful.

doggone,

thanks for the advice. i have already set up one mtblog without any problems whatsoever, so in a sense i am happy with my current provider - who use cPanel which is fantastic. i am merely looking for a better prize without losing some of the great options that i have now.
i pay 9 euro ($13?) for 5gb datarate/100mb space a month but mediaTemple offer more than twice as much for nearly half the prize! however, i can't really tell from their 'tours' what kind of freedom and possibilities you get (in terms of scripts).

i still have half a year of my contract left with my current provider but since i am about to start up a new mtblog i am considering making the move now in order to avoid the trouble of moving a blog/database from one provider to another in 6 months...

Seba,

Media Temple has their own custom-built control panel which is very different from cPanel. As you might know there is a feature in cPanel that lets you backup your web site and then extract it on another server - with Media Temple I suggest you copy files via FTP and then upload them to Media Temple via FTP as well, since your backup file would not work on their servers... it has to be cPanel-based.

As someone mentioned above - please give them a call or send them an email - I'm sure they'll be happy to answer all your questions

ah, i didn't even know that the backup feature would only work on cPanel based servers. thanks for the info!

Not only for them

I have another recommendation for a MT friendly host.

They are small still, so they haven't been hit with any resource issues from MT, so they aren't biased towards it yet.

They also offer Image Magick, which I know a lot of people are looking for. And, their lowest package which is 250 megs of space, and 2.5 gigs of bandwidth is only 3 bucks a month.

Check them out, their address is: www.panamix.net/order.html

I don't know if I'm allowed to blow my own trumpet but I run a small web hosting business and many of my customers use MT, as I do myself. All the necessary modules are installed on the server and I'm happy to help with installations and upgrades. You can see the packages I offer at my web site Small Packages

Shelagh

I've been with Lunar Pages a long time with another site and recently moved my MT site over, not realising that they don't allow it (in fact their policy says they don't ban any scripts).

Any chance of some how convincing them to allow the program? If not, I'll probably lose MT for the time being.

Sorry for replying to my own post, but I heard back from lunarpages.com. They said that I CAN use MT but at my own risk--if the script becomes exploited (which it won't) then they will ask me to take it down.

guru-host.com also supports and install Movable Type. They are based in UK if this matter to anyone.

I have used 1and1 for 3 years and it also support MT. I think it offer a cheap and reliable hosting service.

I've been on 1and1 for about 2.5 years and I have had the opposite experience. Cheap, yes, I got that 3 year free promo they offered. But they managed to get my IP on a spam list, they were slow to acknowledge it and clean it up.

Yes, they allow MT, but they don't really understand it or can help you if it's not working. I've found their support very lacking. It takes at least 2 days to respond to a request, and they frequently don't answer the question, so I have to ask again and wait another day or two.

But the biggie is that they have a limit on their shared hosting of 6 seconds of processor time for any given script. As your blog grows, you will begin to hit that limit. Mine is to the point that every action on the blog generates a 500 error, including comments. I'm switching to Total Choice, I think.

ziggyhost and dreamhost are both good and MT friendly

I was on total choice hosting for nearly two years. It was okay for awhile. Lately, things are not so good. I don't want to go into specifics while my site is still there (I'm here looking for tips on a new host) but I'd avoid going to TCH. They are not fond of MT.

Lunarpages.com is still very MT unfriendly. I just had my site shut down without warning or notice because of spam comments.cg usage. It took more than two days of horrendously slow and incompetent tech support to get "unsuspended".

I'm looking for a new hosting service, thinking of HostMySite. Any comments or suggestions?

I've been working with major customers like WBI (World bank Institute), API (Arab Planning Institute), Robin Good's Resources (masternewmedia.org, masterviews.com, kolabora.com) and many many more all hosted with Pair Networks Inc for over 6 years.

I trust these guys based on a fructuous working experience, and as an experienced MovableType Consultant I am offering myself a professional MovableType hosting package. Find out more here: http://www.pro-it-service.com/en/movabletype_hosting.html

Forget about:

- worries about how much would it cost to upgrade MT, even if you have a tweaked version;

- worries that you are getting Error 500;

- worries that some scripts are being killed by your server because they don't share enough resources;

What we offer is direct contact with the customer and care about assuring a cutting edge quality service.

I use both A Small Orange (ASO) and Dreamhost. ASO is very MT friendly in my experience and I have gotten a good level of support from them. Dreamhost is neither friendly nor unfriendly, but I can't find a better deal anywhere in terms of server space and bandwidth and my files require a lot of space.

I have also used Total Choice Hosting, and was they were also MT friendly. Cheaper than ASO. However, I needed multiple domains and I couldn't do that without multiple accounts at TCH.

Pair Networks now provides MovableType as an add-on, but you can always do what I did initially, which is set up MT in your account and leave it to run as-is. They don't mind, but they won't really support your installation if you do it on your own. They do support their official add-on installation though. Any account of Webmaster or above does have telephone support during normal hours.

Stefan

I used http://phpwebhosting.com for several years and they were pretty damn good with excellent support, but eventually I decided to try a new host after an extended series of very short duration but very regular downtimes, combined with an unusual lack of response to support tickets regarding the same, right at the end of my time with them.

I moved to http://www.hostmonster.com and I am regretting it now. They have an excellent deal as far as features vs pricing go, but I'm noticing more and more limitations as time goes on. If you have a smallish blog you should be happy with them, but if you have a blog that is in excess of 500 entries and use a few plugins, a full rebuild causes 'excessive' CPU usage (over 20% is excessive to them) and they temporarily shut down your entire site automatically. They also limit the duration of scripts, so a full rebuild on a sizable weblog takes enough time to cause your entire site to again be shut down (and of course you can't complete the full rebuild) - frustrating as hell. They also wont allow shell access without a copy of your passport first, and there's no way am I sending copies of my passport anywhere for obvious security reasons (university ID or other alternatives are not good enough, it must be either passport or drivers license). Even more annoying, over the last week the (shared) server has been getting hit with calls for non-existent torrid scripts to the tune of about 8 failed calls every second (yes, second) 24/7, and HostMonster don't seem to give a toss, despite several tickets about it. They rotate the server IPs every now and then, and it seems the latest IP rotation has landed our server with this torrid target IP, but HostMonster wont change it, despite the increased CPU load etc. Partly as a result of all this, I have had to remove MT and shut my weblog down. I am not impressed.

I am now looking for an alternative. I have about 12 domain names as well, so that's a factor. Maybe DreamHost? Appreciate the reviews posted here.

SixApart should get into hosting...


..later..

Tossing up between DreamHost and HostGator.. any recommendations between the two? DH don't use addons but instead give domains equal weight.. not quite sure if that means you have separate logins for each or what..

..later still..

After sending a few questions to both providers, DH responded to my initial query plus a following response query email, both within 30minutes. HostGater have yet to respond hours later.. and that made the final difference since both were pretty similar in most other respects. If I have any issues with DreamHost, I'll update.

You appear to have made your decision, but for what it's worth, HG is excellent in the technical department. Their support is abysmal. I'm happy with them (it's been a couple years, now) only because I never need support. On the (very, very) few occasions I have, I've wanted to.. er, well, let's just say latent homicidal tendencies have surfaced. =] And of course, it's really a toss-up as to whether something will occur that will require support to intervene, so if prompt, courteous and knowledgeable support is important, they wouldn't be your first choice. (Don't take my word for it, check their own forums.)

Thanks JustG.
I don't imagine needing support often at all, but if I do, I don't want to have to pull my hair out to get it. Certainly if DH don't work out, HG will be my next choice.

Just some additional advice for others re my comments on HostMonster above - it appears BlueHost and HostMonster are the same beast, so presumably the same comments apply.

Ok I'm back. DreamHost were really good at first - they still respond quickly to support, for static page hosting they're fine, and their package deals are unbeatable for price vs features, HOWEVER, performance levels have been getting progressively worse over the last few months. Today I have had no email access, and any pages supported by database or cgi scripts are down, and have been for about 6 hours. Their email (POP3) has been up and down for short bursts for weeks, until it finally collapsed completely some time this morning. MovableType has been running slower and slower too, possibly because of the increasing server load.

Recently (about a month ago) I put in a help ticket regarding the worsening server performance (I use shared hosting). They replied promptly and confirmed the server load was above normal, and that the server I was on also had stability issues they were aware of. Now over a month later they have done nothing to rectify the issues, and to make matters worse I notice they have actually added some more users on to the same shared server! Retards. Todays continuing outage was the last straw, I'm in the market for a new MT-friendly host again.

Pair Networks looks good, but too expensive for me. Media Temple's new grid server looks promising too, but again, I'm just a non-commercial relatively low-bandwidth blogger, and don't want to shell out much money for hosting - nor can I afford to, being a full-time university student again. Hostgator (mentioned in previous posts here) I've heard a few bad things about, so am dubious about trying them.

Site5.com has caught my eye. I've sent them an email (using my ISP email since DreamHost appear to have killed everything else) requesting some further info, basically just having them check off what they have against the mt-check.cgi list of modules. They look pretty good, and definitely low-priced (check out their current $5 deal - pretty sweet if their reliability is as good as they claim). Does anyone here use / have used Site5 for MT hosting? If so, are they worthwhile moving to from Dream[nightmare]Host?

demonsurfer:

I think I have been a customer of just about every shared web hosting plan out there -- more than once for some of them like DreamHost and Hosting Matters.

The problem is, simple: they are SHARED hosting.

This means that there is you and your site on a server, and depending on the company, you might be sharing that server and its resources with up to 700 other people just like you. Or worse.

You might be on a server where a few people are running IRC software and others might have some resource-intensive scripting going on.

When you started at DreamHost, you might have been put on a machine that only had a few small sites. But over time, they kept adding accounts to that server, and along with those accounts might have been some pretty bad stuff.

I just about gave up. I was tired of moving hosts every few months or so. I was totally tired of shared hosting and having to share with a whole lotta people.

I knew I couldn't afford a dedicated server, and I couldn't host a several high traffic sites on my home web server because I didn't have that kind of bandwidth.

Then I ran across Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting at Spry.com

It is a little more spendy than most of the shared hosting plans, but instead of sharing a server with a mulititude of people, you are only sharing it with no more than three other VPS accounts. You get guaranteed space and resources, with total control of your portion of the server. It is exactly like having your own private server.

If you can't afford it on your own, you can always set up a couple of hosting accounts on your server that you can generate some money to offset the cost. This is what I am doing.

I started out with the bare minimum Cpanel VPS for about $30, then created two accounts for a couple of friends who paid me $10 a month. After a while, I decided that I could easily host eight more accounts and still not over-tax my server. Now I was bringing in $100 per month. So I increased my server account to the top tier and have been running a very solid server ever since.

The support at Spry is great. You can actually call them on the phone and they will talk you through anything you need.

As far as "down time", I was down for 36 hours last May because of a Server that went bad. They would have replaced it immediately, but the brand new server they intended to use was stolen in a burglary at their corporate office.

They managed to get a new replacement flown up that night, and it was back online the next day. because of their uptime guarantee, I got my next billing cycle free. (I pay by the year, so I get an entire year for free.)

That is MY two cents.

Thanks, I was looking at VPS earlier today too, and is certainly worth considering. Do they have all the 'usual' modules found on shared hosting already on the server when you join (particularly those required for MT), or is it just a blank slate? What about MySQL etc? ..I've thougt a few times about setting up a server (or VPS) like this and reselling space specifically for MovableType users, with everything up and ready to go.. hmm.

..oh I see, you choose what you want. Debian I guess - most common. They have some really competitively priced plans there, particularly if you take up 12 months.. thanks again.

DreamHost are now moving into day 3 of their network issues. I opened a hosting account with site5.com a couple of hours ago (VPS, although reasonable, is still a bit too much $ for me atm and for what I require right now). Just dropped an install of MT4 on the new host server and it is sweeeet. MUCH faster and behaving like it should. DreamHost used to have a good reputation, but boy have they taken a big slide this year. Using perldiver and the mt-check.cgi, many of the modules on DH are outdated, and their MySQL servers.. they should be junked. If I have any issues with site5.com in the next few weeks I'll update this thread, but so far so good.