when my bot is ready I want to show it off online.   

anyone have ideas on web hosting for bots?    I was thinking of google app engine, but my bot is coded in Perl.  No support for Perl right now on google app engine.  Of course, i could just run a webserver in my basement !!  anyone with other suggestions ?

For The Sake of Conversation:

Shared Linux webhosting with perl cgi-bin is usually the best value.
One thing missing from shared hosting is you do not have root access.
So you can upload your perl scripts fine and connect to MySQL, but you
can not install whatever packages you want onto the server.

This is understandable, because if you bring down a shared webhost inadvertantly, you also bring down a lot of people at once sharing the webhost.  The cost is usually the most affordable for shared hosting compared to the other options like VPS and Dedicated Server.  (Usually… Not always if you know how to build a low end VPS.)

Running a webserver in your basement is always an interesting topic.
You need to be running DSL at home. How are you going to get your
static IP address and then there is DNS?  It may be worth it to do that
just for the fun of it!

I webhost bots all the time.  Here is one I am designing now:

chatbotcontest.com/System/8bot.php?chat=What is a robot?

chatbotcontest.com/System/8bot.php?chat=What are androids?

chatbotcontest.com/System/8bot.php?chat=Who is Isaac Asimov?

chatbotcontest.com/System/8bot.php?chat=Hello. How are you?

chatbotcontest.com/System/8bot.php?chat=Your input here

⇒ Hit your back button to return to this forum when done.

I’ve temporarily restricted its responses in design mode so that it can not be tricked into repeating curse words online.  It is more capable internally than its responses let it appear, as a prototypical work in progress.

Both my website (Geek Cave Creations) and Morti are hosted through GoDaddy, and I’m very happy with the quality of service I receive. Their economy plan runs about $5.00 USD per month, and has a wide range of scripting support, including PERL. (Yes, I know this sounds like an ad, but I’m not getting paid to say this, so it’s not. )

There are also a wide range of other hosting providers out there with PERL support whose quality is pretty decent for the money they charge. Try googling “web hosting providers” for a fairly large list of candidates.

Here is a tip to save money on webhosting:  You do NOT, repeat: do not have to get your domain name through the same company you get your webhosting from.  You can pick the lowest priced domain name and from a completely different company pick the lowest priced webhosting and they work together in a normal standard manner.

You simply get your domain name from one company and in the domain name profile,  configure the name servers to point to the webhosting from another company. This is not a hack, it is just normal nameserver configuration that is easy to do to save money.  In fact, I have found that each company has tech support that will help you do it, because it is allowed.  You don’t need help because it is so easy to do.  But just to emphasize that there is nothing shady about it.  For some reason, most people don’t want to be bothered configuring the name servers, but it can be done to save money and get more FREE services.

For example: One webhost may offer lower priced domain names, with FREE privacy and FREE 2GB web-based email, while the another is offering high price domain, and is CHARGING EXTRA for privacy, with only 25MB web-based email.  Then on the other hand, one webhosting company may offer lower cost webhosting with more bandwidth than the others, but not such a good deal on domain names.  You can choose the best deals from each separate company and they work together just fine, and you get the best that both companies have to offer!

OK… Moving in an entirely different direction, away from the previous discussion, is low end VPS, which is an entirely different webhosting option that is also fun to discuss… Setting up a low end VPS with root access can be only a few bucks a month.  I do not know if I would recommend a low end VPS for serious sites because, it involves you setting up everything yourself light-duty to conserve memory usage on Linux, but it is certainly totally cool to experiment with for a hobby with root access installing your own linux packages.

While that is entirely true, 8pla, it’s often better to look into “package deals”. My hosting package, by itself, would be the $5.00 per month I mentioned earlier. And, also, purchasing the domain name through GoDaddy varies around the mid-range of pricing schemes, when compared to others. But I ordered a package, and in doing so, got $1.00 off per month with the hosting, and the domain name costs me $1.99 for 2 years. Something to consider.

Thanks for all the input everyone.  Dave, your goDaddy 5$/month idea really seems great, I will check that out thanks.

Glad I could help. That is, after all, the biggest reason for me to participate.

@8Pla: We’ve registered our domains with YourHosting in the Netherlands and more of our hosting is done at HostGator in the US. Great service. (Not sure about chatbot hosting)