CIHA Founding Member Package

01 What CIHA Is

CIHA is an informal alliance of small, independently owned hosting and infrastructure providers operating in Canada. We help each other out with hardware group buys, vendor intel, customer referrals, and colo negotiations. No fees, no contracts, no hierarchy. Just operators who run their own gear talking to each other instead of doing everything alone.

02 What Members Agree To

This isn't a legal contract. It's a handshake. If you're in the alliance, you're agreeing to this stuff in good faith:

You are independently owned — not a subsidiary, brand, or division of a major telecom or ISP
You operate real infrastructure in a Canadian datacenter, or have a Canadian entity that does
You'll participate where it makes sense — group buys, referrals, knowledge sharing, whatever comes up
You won't share member-only pricing, vendor quotes, or internal discussions outside the group
You won't use the CIHA badge or branding if you leave the alliance
You can leave anytime — no obligations, no penalties, no drama

We're not lawyers and this isn't a legal document. If something needs to be formalized later as we grow, we'll figure that out together.

03 What You Get

CIHA alliance seal and verified member badge (SVG files) to display on your website
Listed as a founding member on the CIHA members page
Access to the private members group for vendor intel, ops discussion, and coordination
Hardware group buy participation — when someone needs gear, we pool orders for volume pricing
Customer referrals — send customers to each other instead of losing them to OVH or a telecom
Colo rate negotiation as a group at shared facilities
Cross-connect and peering coordination at facilities where multiple members are present

04 Founding Members

Company	ASN	Location	Primary DC
Sucura Networks	AS398999	Ontario, Canada	Toronto, ON
Four Seasons Hosting	AS214206	Bowmanville, ON	Toronto, ON

Sucura Networks organizes CIHA for now — maintains the page, reviews applications, handles the assets. It's not a hierarchy though. If we grow, we'll figure out governance together.

05 Alliance Rules

These aren't suggestions. If you're in CIHA, you follow these. Break them and you're out.

Don't compete dirty. You don't poach each other's customers. You don't undercut a member's quote that was shared in the group. We compete in the market, not inside the alliance.
Keep member info private. Vendor quotes, pricing, infrastructure details, internal discussions — anything shared in the group stays in the group. No exceptions.
Don't misrepresent the alliance. The CIHA badge means you're a vetted independent operator. Don't use it to imply capabilities you don't have, and don't speak on behalf of the alliance without agreement.
Operate honestly. Don't run services that make the rest of us look bad. Ignoring abuse reports, hosting illegal content, or running scams gets you removed immediately.
Pay your bills. If you participate in a group buy, you pay your share. If you owe a member for remote hands, cross-connects, or anything else — you pay. No deadbeats.
Stay independent. If you get acquired by a telecom, VC rollup, or any entity that wouldn't qualify for membership — your membership ends. No hard feelings.

06 Enforcement & Removal

Someone's going to do something stupid eventually. Here's how we handle it:

How Removal Works

Founding members have removal authority. Right now that's Sucura Networks and Four Seasons Hosting. Both founding members must agree on a removal.
The person gets told why. No behind-the-back removals. You'll be told what rule you broke and given a chance to respond.
If both founders agree it's serious or repeated, you're out. Removal means your listing comes down, badge access is revoked, and you stop using CIHA branding immediately.
Immediate removal for egregious stuff. Sharing confidential member info, fraud, illegal activity, or poaching customers doesn't get a warning. You're gone same day.

What Happens After Removal

Your listing is removed from the CIHA members page
You must remove the CIHA badge and seal from your website within 48 hours
You lose access to the private members group
Any outstanding group buy or financial commitments still need to be honoured
You don't get to use "former CIHA member" as a credential — if you're out, you're out

As We Grow

When CIHA has 5+ members, removal moves to a majority vote of all members, with founding members holding veto power. We'll formalize this when we get there. For now, two founders keeping each other honest is enough.

The goal isn't to kick people out. The goal is to make it clear that there are consequences so nobody tests it in the first place.

07 Your Assets

These are yours to use on your website, proposals, invoices, or anywhere you represent your business. Right-click to save, or use the download buttons.

Full Member Kit (.zip)

Seal + badge in SVG and PNG (128px to 1024px), embed code snippets, and a quick-start guide. Everything in one download.

Download Kit (373 KB)

Alliance Seal

ciha-logo.svg

Download SVG

Member Badge

ciha-badge.svg

Download SVG

08 Embed Code

Paste this into your website footer, sidebar, or partners page. It displays the member badge and links to your CIHA verification page where customers can confirm your membership is real.

Replace YOUR-SLUG with your company slug (e.g. sucura-networks or four-seasons-hosting).

Badge Embed (recommended for footers)

<a href="https://ciha.sucura.ca/verify/YOUR-SLUG/"
   target="_blank"
   rel="noopener"
   title="CIHA Verified Member">
  <img src="https://sucuranetworks.ca/ciha-badge.svg"
       alt="Canadian Independent Hosting Alliance - Verified Member"
       style="max-width: 300px; height: auto;">
</a>

Seal Embed (for about/partner pages)

<a href="https://ciha.sucura.ca/verify/YOUR-SLUG/"
   target="_blank"
   rel="noopener"
   title="CIHA Member">
  <img src="https://sucuranetworks.ca/ciha-logo.svg"
       alt="Canadian Independent Hosting Alliance"
       style="max-width: 200px; height: auto;">
</a>

The badge links to your verification page on ciha.sucura.ca/verify/your-slug/ where customers can confirm your membership is active. You can also host the SVG files on your own server if you prefer.