Why is self-hosting frowned upon or against acceptable use policy?

[chrisrice93]

I was recently trying to set up a personal ftp server so that I could access my files remotely when I'm away from home. I had an old laptop laying around with a big enough hard drive so I put linux on it and found a good ftp and samba solution for my needs. It all works great (locally and remotely) but, after reading Comcast's AUP, I got a little scared. In there, it states

"Prohibited uses include, but are not limited to, using the Service, Customer Equipment, or the Comcast Equipment to: . . . run programs, equipment, or servers from the Premises that provide network content or any other services to anyone outside of your Premises LAN (Local Area Network), also commonly referred to as public services or servers. Examples of prohibited services and servers include, but are not limited to, e-mail, Web hosting, file sharing, and proxy services and servers;"

 

Now I'm just curious (and a little upset). Why is hosting something like a personal ftp server not allowed? I mean, I am paying for internet access, shouldn't this go both ways?

 

[ShadyHost]

I think what they mean is hosting torrents for other people to download. I think as long as you are sharing it with yourself and you are sure only you can access it you should be fine. Its like uploading files to the internet and I don't think they can really tell. 

 

I think they would have a problem if your upstream bandwidth was being maxed out 24/7 then they would get suspicious. I run a website were I record people's halo gameplays (not relevant) but I had a problem were I was uploading 20-30gb worth of video per week and Time Warner (my ISP) contacted me because they thought I was involved in some kind of botnet plot or some crap. I explained to to them and they were really cool about it and they said they made a note on my account that it was me uploading all those things.

 

TLDR; its fine don't worry about it. 

[Godlygamer23]

I would still contact Comcast to confirm.

[Maskot]

Because it uses too much of the bandwidth, more than average use, the upload is what the problem is, they lose money after a certain point, (go ahead and do it anyways, you shouldn't have a problem with just a laptop personal file transfer system)

[ShadyHost]

I would still contact Comcast to confirm.

well im not saying don't contact Comcast but it would be kinda silly for them to shut off his service because he was sharing files with himself. 

 

I guess it really depends on what kind of files are being shared. If its family photos, documents, or maybe backups it should be fine. 

But if you are using it to stream all of your torrented movies that might raise a few flags. 

[ShadyHost]

Because it uses too much of the bandwidth, more than average use, the upload is what the problem is, they lose money after a certain point, (go ahead and do it anyways, you shouldn't have a problem with just a laptop personal file transfer system)

Problem is that the customer pays for that upload speed/bandwidth. Unless they explicitly say there is a cap/throttle point then comcast shouldn't be able to do anything about it. 

[Godlygamer23]

well im not saying don't contact Comcast but it would be kinda silly for them to shut off his service because he was sharing files with himself. 

 

I guess it really depends on what kind of files are being shared. If its family photos, documents, or maybe backups it should be fine. 

But if you are using it to stream all of your torrented movies that might raise a few flags. 

If it's outside of his network, they can do something about it. But if it's within the network, they cannot do anything about it.

[Maskot]

Problem is that the customer pays for that upload speed/bandwidth. Unless they explicitly say there is a cap/throttle point then comcast shouldn't be able to do anything about it. 

"Unlimited Internet" I run a 24/7 minecraft server sometimes, with about 6 people playing on it at any one time, I never have a problem, but that's only because I pay for 60Mbps download and 10Mbps upload.

[ShadyHost]

"Unlimited Internet" I run a 24/7 minecraft server sometimes, with about 6 people playing on it at any one time, I never have a problem, but that's only because I pay for 60Mbps download and 10Mbps upload.

Ive got 50/5 from Time Warner. Seems pretty standard in North Carolina.