First off, let's get to the real questions...

• Web space for Archive members? Why?
  A couple of reasons. First, I'm just a nice guy. Second, I like poking around with computers, and I'm a heckuva lot better at it than I am with armour, so this is a way for me to contribute something. Third, and really, fairly important, I got sick and tired of archive members being unable to post images, just because the web space they had didn't allow image-linking by other sites. I understand the reasoning of these sites, but it didn't make me any happier to be unable to see a neat armour picture directly, or (worse yet) get told that "too much traffic has occurred on this site." This is a solution.
  
  
• What are the catches?
  I think (hope) that the rules and catches are reasonable.
  Rule 1 - Don't abuse this. Don't throw pirated software on your page. Don't throw porn on your page. Don't throw viruses on your page. Don't sell or give away your page to another person (i.e. don't give out or sell off your account information).
  Rule 2 - Don't expect me to drop everything to figure out your problem. You're getting this for free.
  Rule 3 - There is no rule three.
  Rule 4 - I may add a rule 3, if it seems that I have to.
  
  
• So, can I only put up armour-related stuff?
  No. Certainly, I hope that you will put up armour-related pages or images, but there is no requirement for this,
  
  
• I just want to put up armour pictures and link to them in the discussion boards... I don't want to make a whole site.
  That's not a question. However, it's fine by me. That's one of the reasons I created the server.
  
  

Okay. Now that we've got the real questions out of the way, let's talk about who, and how, people can get accounts and web space on the Archive@Home.

• Who can get an account?
  I reserve the right to say "no" to anyone, but in general, any Archive Member (50+ posts on the discussion boards) can get an account. I decided to set this limit because I want it to be a benefit for Archive Members. I don't want to get one-post wonders who set up web sites.
  
  
• How do I get an account?
  Send me an e-mail from your discussion-profile's e-mail account. If your profile has the wrong e-mail, fix it. (There's a link on most of the forum pages for editing your profile.) Tell me who you are (Archive Member name), what name you'd like to use (4-8 characters long, lower-case alpha, and numeric only -- start w/ a letter), and a simple statement that you'll follow the rules (above). I'll assign your Archive password if it seems secure enough; I'll assign a password of my own if it's not; I'll take your suggestions, if you know that your Archive password is insecure, or known by others.
  
  
• Once I have an account, how can I upload my files?
  If you have an FTP client, you can use it to connect to "home.armourarchive.org" and upload your files. Unlike some of the free websites which wrap your site up in advertising, I don't have a handy-dandy web page for uploading your files. However, if you don't have an FTP client, but do have Internet Explorer, you should be able to access it by using the URL "ftp://userName@home.armourarchive.org" and typing in your password in the popup prompt-box.
  Be aware that ftp is a non-secure protocol. People may be able to see your password. Until I have something better though... I'll use the same thing that 99% of the web sites use.

  A handy-dandy essay's been written on using a particular FTP client. Check it out here.
  
  

• How much disk space will I be getting?
  I don't want to say "unlimited," but I haven't set a limit. I've currently got 1/2 a Terabyte of space available. That's roughly 500 thousand Megabytes. Most free servers let you have five, or ten, of fifty megabytes. Frankly, I don't expect to have ten thousand users, though, so the space per person is that much more.
  
  
• Where do I put my files? What is the URL to them?
  There is a folder/directory "public_html" where all your files (and any subdirectories you need) should go. The web server can't see files anywhere but there. (I can, though, so don't put stuff that shouldn't be on your site up there.) The URL for the files will be something like "http://home.armourarchive.org/members/userName/myFile.html" -- the "public_html" is not part of the path.
  
  
• Can I run CGI-scripts?
  Not yet. Maybe later.
  
  
• Can I log in with telnet or ssh?
  Not unless you convince me that you have a legitimate need to do so, and that you know how to work with a "real" O/S (Linux), and I feel I can trust you with that sort of access to my network.
  
  
• If I just want to include pictures in my Archive discussion posts, how would I do this?
  First, get the account on the ArmourArchive@Home. Then, use FTP to put a picture (say, "xyz.jpg") up in the public_html folder of your account. Finally, in your post, use the UBB-format text [img http://home.armourarchive.org/members/userName/xyz.jpg] or the HTML-format text <img src="http://home.armourarchive.org/members/userName/xyz.jpg"> substituting your account name for "userName".

  There's a really good step-by-step explanation in the Essays area. Check it out here.