Photobucket Photo Hosting

[administrator]

There are numerous press reports that Photobucket is stopping the hosting and sharing of photos to 3rd party sites (like ours) unless users pay a $400/year subscription.
   
   I investigated the options last year and a possible way forward is that:
   
   - this Forum will be locked as an archive
   - a new Forum will be started using software that allows direct hosting
   
   All Forum users would have to re-register for the new Forum.
   
   Another option is to use a different hosting service (Flickr?) - does anyone have experience of these?  It would probably be an interim solution.
   
   Don't expect any changes until the autumn as I am away for most of the summer.

[BE774]

I think the idea of new forum software with our own hosting of pictures is a great idea. Any other solution leaves us at the mercy of the third-party hosting. We would also benefit from additional forum facilities, as this one is based on fifteen-year-old software and design.

[Exowner]

My humble opinion is that it should be the aim of the club to encourage as many members as possible to have access to, and to use, the club's forum. With our monthly magazine appearing to constantly being out of date, the forum is perfect for 'last minute' notifications etc. As many members are of an era of the printed word, word of mouth, picking up the telephone, and, god forbid - actually talking face to face, making the loading of photos onto the forum should be made as simple as possible. To some club members the word Photobucket only mean a bucket where one puts photographs!! As the club forum is financed by club members, I think it only reasonable to put a full page 'what do the members think?' in ACtion. As our Administrator has mentioned, nothing will be done, if anything, until the end of the summer, so there should be time for this to happen and the outcome taken into consideration by those who govern our club.
   What percentage of the club members use the forum? does anybody know?
   What percentage of forum users are club members?
   What percentage of the club's finances are used to maintain this forum which is open to anyone who cares to register, member or not?
   Do all members of the club's committee regularly access the forum?
   Food for thought.

[MkIV Lux]

As discussed in Devon with our Web Administrator, I am a strong advocate of direct hosting for the sake of ease and simplicity, therebey rendering our Forum more attractive and spurring its activity.
   
   My views on this have already been expressed in this thread hereunder (see my posts of 5 and 6 October 2016):
   
   http://www.acownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4432&SearchTerms=direct+hosting

[TTM]

quote:Originally posted by Pedant
   
In answer to AE 512 and  from what can be found out, virtually nobody looks at the forum but some odd believers honk it is well used. It is by non members.

   
   As an (overseas) ACOC member who reads the forum everyday I am well pleased to see there seems enough people able to offer sound advice on many technical questions, and this adds significant value to the ownership experience of a (mostly) hands-on owner like me.
   I am regularly able to find relevant information on many different topics searching through older posts, some of them even dating back a good 10 years ago, for what it's worth.

[GSouthee]

I too use the forum on a regular basis. Action is so out of date and often late anyway it should be scrapped and the money saved put to making the forum the way to go.

[MkIV Lux]

quote:Originally posted by GSouthee
   
I too use the forum on a regular basis. Action is so out of date and often late anyway it should be scrapped and the money saved put to making the forum the way to go.
   

   
   Cannot agree.
   ACtion should keep its place in the communication means of the ACOC:
   - as not all members can or want to use the Forum
   - as it is more perennial than any digital means
   - ACtion is not out of date, it bears only a time lag in relation to some events.
   
   ACtion cannot be replaced by the Forum, at best it could have a duplication on the ACOC members restricted part of the website.
   
   In any case, content still needs to be written, corrected, edited and published in a structured form, the latter two tasks incumbing to the editor. And all the tasks mentioned hereabove are not done by three or four clicks on a button.

[Old Crock]

quote:Originally posted by Pedant
   
....virtually nobody looks at the forum but some odd believers honk it is well used. It is by non members....

Well, it is an open forum, for members and non-members alike. Many other car club forums are the same (e.g. Lagonda, Riley, Austin Seven, Aston Martin – all are open for non-members' postings) so help may be on hand 'immediately' for technical and historical questions rather than waiting months through publication of ACtion. After all, the very first line on the homepage of this website says 'The ACOC exists to promote the preservation and enjoyment of all the different models built by the AC company', so I hope the forum doesn't become for members only. If a change is to be made I hope the pages of this forum can be kept as an online archive; there's a lot of information contained herein.

[MkIV Lux]

quote:Originally posted by Pedant
   
...... but hardly any body else I ask does. Find out the facts.
   

   
   Facts can only be established by means of the software that manages access to the website and Forum, i.e. and put the data into a simple speadsheet giving:
   A) Total # website accesses repectively Forum access and geographical origins
   B) Traffic by ACOC members:
   - ACOC member ident & corresponding Forum member ident / # website accesses / # member's area accesses (after login) / # Forum accesses / # Forum views / # Forum posts (after login)
   C) Traffic by NON ACOC members:
   - Forum member ident / # website accesses / # website views / # Forum accesses / # Forum views / # Forum posts (after login)
   
   As you can see, under each Forum user name the # of posts of that Forum member is displayed. Also in the # of views of a specific thread and the # of replies to that thread is displaid; I assume hence that it should not be too difficult to collect the above mentioned data from the website administration.

[Classicus]

If anyone's interested, quite happy to build the framework obviously not the content of a new forum using the same hosts and general format as on the Frua Register ?
   
   Probably take a week or two....
   
   http://acfrua428.activeboard.com/

[Old Crock]

quote: Traffic by ACOC members:
   - ACOC member ident & corresponding Forum member ident / # website accesses / # member's area accesses / # Forum accesses / # Forum views / # Forum posts
   C) Traffic by NON ACOC members:
   - Forum member ident / # website accesses / # website views / # Forum accesses / # Forum views / # Forum posts

   Surely that would mean you would have to sign in to access the forum? You couldn't view, or read, without signing in?

[TTM]

This thread is slowly taking the same shape as the "3 questions" thread. Different people with different expectations, etc. Let's keep the consensus everybody got used to instead of risking satisfying a few just to get more moaners :)

[Classicus]

quote:Originally posted by Old Crock
   

quote: Traffic by ACOC members:
   - ACOC member ident & corresponding Forum member ident / # website accesses / # member's area accesses / # Forum accesses / # Forum views / # Forum posts
   C) Traffic by NON ACOC members:
   - Forum member ident / # website accesses / # website views / # Forum accesses / # Forum views / # Forum posts

   Surely that would mean you would have to sign in to access the forum? You couldn't view, or read, without signing in?
   

   
   No anyone can read it without signing in same as the Frua register. If however you want to post you have to join same as in this forum.

[Classicus]

To give an idea of the Host's forum in action, Sparklit/ Activeboard, the link below is a typical one of many others by them, whereas I adapted the Frua forum for viewing only.
   
   Btw there is an option for a member's forum which is hidden from the general public....
   
   http://britishtennis.activeboard.com/

[MkIV Lux]

quote:Originally posted by Old Crock
   

quote: Traffic by ACOC members:
   - ACOC member ident & corresponding Forum member ident / # website accesses / # member's area accesses / # Forum accesses / # Forum views / # Forum posts
   C) Traffic by NON ACOC members:
   - Forum member ident / # website accesses / # website views / # Forum accesses / # Forum views / # Forum posts

   Surely that would mean you would have to sign in to access the forum? You couldn't view, or read, without signing in?
   

   
   No. My post of 7:44:22 today simply descibes the statistical data required to establish the facts about who does what on our website as it is shaped today. These data should be available in the web administration/hosting. The post in no way implies what and how we should do it in future.