Photobucket pulls the plug!

[Binners]

Please read and support

http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread....81#post7293481

[T 20]

I have only just read this post properly and didn't realise that our photographic bible is at risk

As soon as I went to Danny's BSA site, I saw the paypal ready made link and did a payment straight away.

I am sure our fine admin could do a New sticky with a brief explanation on what is at stake here. If that instant paypal link could be included, we could sort this in no time

I know the Mods are very busy, but this great collection of pictures and references must be saved for life...

Please look into it.

Don't worry, Peter.

I'll sort something out with Danny when I get back to Blighty tomorrow.

If Danny gives a detailed explanation with PayPal account on his site, then we can sticky a link to it from here and hopefully help save this valuable resource.





All the best Mick

[Binners]

Don't worry, Peter.

I'll sort something out with Danny when I get back to Blighty tomorrow.

If Danny gives a detailed explanation with PayPal account on his site, then we can sticky a link to it from here and hopefully help save this valuable resource.





All the best Mick

GREAT STUFF MICK

If all of it was compiled into a book, there would be queue as long as a vets bill.

[Garvin]

Thanks for your support Peter and Mick. Fantastic!

[JimmieDee]

So when is this big switch off happening? I have some photos on photobucket that are embedded in another forum and they're still showing up.

Is there any reason why embedded (if that's the turn) links to photos are not enabled on this forum? So they show up in line in posts rather than having to click on a link, but are hosted offsite like on photobucket.

[Garvin]

So when is this big switch off happening? I have some photos on photobucket that are embedded in another forum and they're still showing up.

Is there any reason why embedded (if that's the turn) links to photos are not enabled on this forum? So they show up in line in posts rather than having to click on a link, but are hosted offsite like on photobucket.

Jimmie the free accounts have already been switched off (scroll down this thread, for instance) but they have delayed with the paid-for accounts - presumably fearing a big law suit? My account has to be renewed in December.

It's important not to confuse direct links to Photobucket's website, which are smothered in ads, with embedded images like in the gallery, which have remained ad-free (and it's this bandwidth burden that the company is trying to escape, apparently).

BTW I'm still trying to chase up that factoid about M&G owning the trademark 'Tell' before Oscar Will did, but can't trace it. I wouldn't have put it ih the gallery if it didn't come from an unimpeachable source though.

[JimmieDee]

Hmm. The embedded images I am using on another forum from a recently created free account on photobucket are still visible on that forum. Maybe it's they're stopping any new free photos so legacy ones will not be affected.

[Garvin]

Hmm. The embedded images I am using on another forum from a recently created free account on photobucket are still visible on that forum. Maybe it's they're stopping any new free photos so legacy ones will not be affected.

Maybe they just haven't got around to us yet... 100 million accounts... it will take some time.

ccdjg kindly tells me that the fact about the Tell tradmark beng originally registered to MGR in 1905 is in John Atkins' Air Gunner article, November 2009.

[Garvin]

I'm about to post this in general airgun:

As BBS regulars will know, I have a free vintage airguns image gallery that uses pics donated freely by BBS members and others around the world.

It’s taken a long time to upload pics, but I’ve done it gradually, spending a few minutes most days rather than spend hours at a time.

The latest Photobucket debacle – in which they are making a ransom demand to keep embedded links alive for all but the most expensive paid-for service – has made me think it’s time to cut loose from providers that could go bust, disappear etc.

I’d rather not have to start again from scratch, but do appreciate that might be the only option.

While the Photobucket website has been an ad-entangled hell-hole for a while, embedded ‘3rd party links’ have completely escaped the ads and PB just put up with the bandwidth drain. No longer, sadly…

Unfortunately, because my galleries evolved from something quite small - starting in 2009 - incrementally over a long time, I just went with the flow and used pic hosting rather than using my own storage.

Now I need the help of BBS techies to come up with a different solution. Please only reply if you can address the specifics of the issue, in fairly simple language, rather than ‘I use xxxx provider and they’re great’. Please also don’t use this thread to whinge about how awful Photobucket has become and how you could see it coming years ago...

The problem:

To transfer the existing images to a sustainable platform independent of fickle commercial providers, with the least possible hassle, if possible maintaining the current gallery structure or near enough. (I’ve had Piwigo/Lightroom suggested for software?)

This may simply involve having the images stored in a place other than Photobucket, while keeping the Network54 web hosting (it's been going for 18 years so far), or having the entire gallery hosted elsewhere.

A desired solution:

Make the gallery periodically downloadable by visitors, ideally in a searchable, user-friendly format, to ensure the survival of the gallery intact. As it grows, I could ‘publish’ updated versions for download.

Anything that involves downloading images or ‘gallery entries’ individually is no good – it would have to be the whole gallery that is downloadable at once, or a version of it.

Objectives:

The main objectives are simplicity and future-proofing. The less time it takes me to transfer the gallery from the existing format, the better. The cost is also important – under, say, £200 a year would be manageable.

To save me time, several non-techie vintage airgun enthusiasts would ideally be enlisted to help with the transfer effort, preferably with a minimum of fuss or technical know-how required. I could forward them folders of images to be uploaded, with instructions as to where they should end up and under what heading etc.

Thanks!

[Citizen K]

Danny, I think for the long haul you might want to consider self hosting your own image gallery. You can get a managed hosted bundle Chevereto gallery from as little as $46.20 a year which includes hosting and the gallery software licence. I know it would be a monumental task to edit all your thread image links but paying PB $400 a year is a non-starter.

I setup a test site last night using their free version and it seems to work pretty well, even with castrated free version functionality: https://www.airrifle.org.za/

See above Danny. It took me less than half an hour set everything up. If you go for their hosted package they will do all the initial setting up for you. More than willing to assist you should same be required.

[JimmieDee]

Maybe they just haven't got around to us yet... 100 million accounts... it will take some time.

ccdjg kindly tells me that the fact about the Tell tradmark beng originally registered to MGR in 1905 is in John Atkins' Air Gunner article, November 2009.

Ta. I will look up the German trademark register when I get round to this article.

[Garvin]

See above Danny. It took me less than half an hour set everything up. If you go for their hosted package they will do all the initial setting up for you. More than willing to assist you should same be required.

Many thanks, Kane. I'll take a look.

[Citizen K]

Many thanks, Kane. I'll take a look.

I can provide you with an admin login if you want to look at the engine room.

[Garvin]

I can provide you with an admin login if you want to look at the engine room.

Thanks. I'll just give it a while to see if I get anything useful out of the general airgun thread.

I've stumbled upon this thread in the Chevereto support forum:

https://chevereto.com/community/thre...e-naming.8691/

I've no idea what it means, but it looks promising.

[Citizen K]

Thanks. I'll just give it a while to see if I get anything useful out of the general airgun thread.

I've stumbled upon this thread in the Chevereto support forum:

https://chevereto.com/community/thre...e-naming.8691/

I've no idea what it means, but it looks promising.

Yes, after the Imageshack disaster a few years ago I did the Postimage thing and an internal image importer script, thus, a user can upload an image directly from the editor toolbar, ten minutes later the image is imported onto my server and the image url replaced, there is effectively then an "archive" copy of the image at Postimage. Caveats, this works on Vbulletin software but will not work on the Network54 platform. You could easily integrate the Postimage uploader on your Network54 sites but the strong caveat there is that Postimage is not a gallery system at all, if lose an image url it will be gone, there is no search possibility either. The other major caveat of the Postimage system is that they too are struggling with server costs and the like , earlier this year they came within a whisker of closing down.

I do not allow image attachments as they are an unmitigated disaster on Vbulletin.

As far as I am concerned your resources are incredibly important to the airgunning community and the only way forward is to have total control over your own gallery system/server. I have looked at and setup things like Piwigo, Coppermine etc, my conclusion is that Chevereto is miles ahead technically and ease of use for the end user.