6 ms·

Likely bad news and writing on the wall for the open-but-competitive culture at Packet. Equinix has been historically turning every single acquisition into a cl

by q3k 7y ago

Likely bad news and writing on the wall for the open-but-competitive culture at Packet. Equinix has been historically turning every single acquisition into a closed-off enterprise-only product/service, especially in the IXP space.

hetspookjee 7y ago
I didn't know how fast to turn around when I tried to register an account and they insisted I needed to provide a copy of my passport or drivers license. I don't know why I need to provide such information for a hosting provider as I've never had to do so before at any of their competitors. or perhaps you mean something else with open?
- ianhawes 7y ago
  They obviously wanted to verify who you were which is why they requested a government issued photo ID. Good on them for being proactive about it instead of waiting until you had created a server. Could you imagine a production server being frozen while they wait for you to verify your identity? Fraud is incredibly prevalent in the hosting space. Spammers, CC fraud, hackers, etc.. all stand to benefit from servers not obtained in their own name.
  - ryanlol 7y ago
    > Fraud is incredibly prevalent in the hosting space. Spammers, CC fraud, hackers, etc.. all stand to benefit from servers not obtained in their own name. All of those can get fake id scans for a couple of dollars each.
  - ryacko 7y ago
    An affidavit doesn't cost much and requires presenting government ID. There would be no fraud if affidavits were required.
- chucky_z 7y ago
  When I worked for a web host the drivers license/passport was normal. It sounds weird but stops some fraction of scammers.
- GhettoMaestro 7y ago
  > I didn't know how fast to turn around when I tried to register an account and they insisted I needed to provide a copy of my passport or drivers license. Hosting / pay for remote virtual stuff is notorious for abuse. I'm surprised AWS doesn't require an ID to get started these days. I understand why smaller player do, though.

by q3k 7y ago

hetspookjee 7y ago

I didn't know how fast to turn around when I tried to register an account and they insisted I needed to provide a copy of my passport or drivers license. I don't know why I need to provide such information for a hosting provider as I've never had to do so before at any of their competitors. or perhaps you mean something else with open?

ianhawes 7y ago
They obviously wanted to verify who you were which is why they requested a government issued photo ID. Good on them for being proactive about it instead of waiting until you had created a server. Could you imagine a production server being frozen while they wait for you to verify your identity? Fraud is incredibly prevalent in the hosting space. Spammers, CC fraud, hackers, etc.. all stand to benefit from servers not obtained in their own name.
- ryanlol 7y ago
  > Fraud is incredibly prevalent in the hosting space. Spammers, CC fraud, hackers, etc.. all stand to benefit from servers not obtained in their own name. All of those can get fake id scans for a couple of dollars each.
- ryacko 7y ago
  An affidavit doesn't cost much and requires presenting government ID. There would be no fraud if affidavits were required.
chucky_z 7y ago
When I worked for a web host the drivers license/passport was normal. It sounds weird but stops some fraction of scammers.
GhettoMaestro 7y ago
> I didn't know how fast to turn around when I tried to register an account and they insisted I needed to provide a copy of my passport or drivers license. Hosting / pay for remote virtual stuff is notorious for abuse. I'm surprised AWS doesn't require an ID to get started these days. I understand why smaller player do, though.