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Application Form Eligibility Criteria and Guidance

In order to apply for Fosshost services, you first need to make sure that you are eligible. The eligibility rules are detailed below. Only apply once you have read the Application Form Guidance and Notes. If you feel that are you eligible after reading, then you can apply on our website.

If you are unsure if you are eligible, you can contact us to discuss your project or requirements. We will always be happy to learn more about your project or idea.

Important

Reading this page is mandatory before applying, to ensure that you are both eligible and prepared to answer all the questions on our application form. If we feel that you have not read this page before applying, we will reject your application.

Eligibility

  • You have an open-source project and/or related community site(s) that needs hosting
  • Your project is promoting, advancing, educating and benefiting the open-source community
  • Your project is ethical and friendly
  • You have a basic understanding of Linux/*BSD architecture (we do not provide first or second line support which means you need to be competent of managing a system, configuring and supporting any system unaided)
  • Your project is strictly non-commercial
  • You are a project which has a sustainable and long-term objective

Generally speaking, open-source refers to licences approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI), which maintains a list of approved licences on their website. Projects that release under other “open” licences that are not OSI-approved will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Our application form will capture all relevant information so that we can fairly assess and review your application. All applications are subject to manual review.

Please keep in mind that our standard processing time for new applications is 7 working days. However, if your application is urgent, please contact us. In some cases, we may need further information to process your application. Any delays in providing this information may result in longer processing times.

Our decision is final and just because you meet the eligibility criteria does not necessarily mean that you will be accepted.

Note

We appreciate projects who make the effort to contact us regarding their application before applying because it allows us to talk with you, get to know you and build what will hopefully be a long-lasting relationship.

Examples of projects we do not help

Whilst there are many projects we can and do help, there are many others we cannot help. We provide below some examples of projects we cannot help, not but limited to:

  • VPN, anonymous internet, proxy, relay and TOR exit node services
  • Discord bots of any description
  • Wiki sites
  • Game server hosting and anything remotely connected to Minecraft
  • Ad-revenue scripts
  • Political or religious topics
  • Bitcoin mining, nodes, or anything remotely connected to digital currencies
  • Websites that condone, advertise, publish or recirculate unfriendly or potentially harmful information
  • Commercial / and or e-commerce websites

Application Form Guidance

We have put together a guide to help those looking to apply. This covers frequently asked questions and general guidance. We look at applications fairly and holistically to form an opinion. We always try to say yes, but ignorance and not reading the application guidance page will only delay your application and result in us taking a more formal review of it.

Things to keep in mind when applying:

  • Please provide your full name, not a nickname or pseudonym. We will not approve applications using fake names or made-up names;
  • Please apply in English. Any applications not in English will be declined.
  • We will need your email address in order to process your application. This is for two reasons: firstly, so that we can contact you to request any further information and to communicate our decision; finally, to verify your association with your project (e.g. Debian developers may apply using their *@debian.net email address).
  • Write down this sentence as you will need it later: it is cold in Siberia.
  • We understand that not every project has a domain that is related to their project, or may use a free email service provider instead, but please do not make an email address up just for the purpose of applying. We will know and will carry out checks to make sure that your application is genuine;
  • Be honest in your application form. When we ask for a public repository page or that of a website, please do not create one just so you can say you have it; it's fine if you do not have a public repository page or website. We will respect you more if you are honest in your application (you would be surprised how many people sign up and panic when they see the question about the public repository/web page). We ask this so that we can look at work/project to get a better understanding of activity, followers, languages used, licence and to make sure that you have a genuine application;
  • Provide a brief summary of your project. The following is an acceptable example: “I have created a python IRC bot that provides automation within a channel. The bot supports over 100 commands and is used by various IRC networks including Freenode”. The next example is an unacceptable one: “I help people”.