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The Demise Of Forums


slotmadmac

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Heya Ember,

 

I was using FB image copies when I had no server space. Some seemed to work okay permanently, and others seemed to get bowled after a week or so. Never did get to the bottom of what they blocked.

But I am back to running my own server now, so all good going forward.

 

We look forward to news of Hopetoun - I can always host pics for you if needed.

Recovering Lapsed Slot Addict :ph34r:  *  Custodian of many used screws (mostly loose :rolleyes:)  *  Total kidder  *  Companion of other delusional slot addicts :lol:  

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I agree FB has it’s place but I prefer this forum to keep up to date with all things slot. SFI and the vintage F1 site are just too difficult to use on a mobile and because there is just too much stuff to wade through when you want to find something. Auslot makes this easy.

Re Photobucket - I know many have issues but I’ve not run into them. I only use it to store images I post here, and am careful to keep those reasonably up to date. If anybody wants one of my old images they can contact me and I’ll see if I can still find it.

At the end of the day - this kind of forum is ideal for the back and forth banter in a structured (by subject etc) way. FB is good for point in time connections to people, events etc; but you cannot relocate historical posts easily (the algorithm keeps changing for a start).

Please keep Auslot going as us. Works just fine for me.

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I agree with Difinity.

2019 NZ RTR Nationals Gt 3rd

2017 NZ RTR Nationals NSR Classic 2nd

2017 NZ RTR Nationals Group C 3rd

2017 NSR Classic Challenge 3rd

2015 NSR Classic Challenge 2nd

2014 NSR Classic Challenge 3rd

2015 Garden City Invitation Overall Champion

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There is no reason why the popularity of FB has to mean the death of the forum. They meet different needs. FB is the 'wow look at me' and the forum for more in depth discussion and knowledge sharing.

 

But it takes input from all to succeed. (I feel like I've written this same thing on here a few years ago.) The forum is a social media and like any of the others requires YOU to contribute. Content is key to making people want to participate. I stopped using SFI long before I dropped off the radar here. Why? Because every day I'd go through the topics list and it was the same people telling new people that with a digital track the lane changers shouldn't be directly after a corner. Or else someone asking advice about a track layout they had created in UR3.

 

Image posting is always going to be a problem for the forum format. Not everyone can get a handle on it. Not everyone is able to edit their photos. Not everyone is aware that they can change settings in their camera (come on... how many of you guys read manuals?). Not everyone even uses a standalone camera anymore.

 

Even on an official company forum for a high tech device, people don't post pictures because they can't work their way around the size restrictions and they expect to be able to post images straight from their phone like they can on FB. You're not alone in your struggle.

Computers. They'll never catch on.

 

_AM_sig_zps00cdfd1a.jpg

 

Tiny Tyers Targa - The build saga continues - Aging wood - A recipe for staining wood - Don't take a fence - Step by step paling fence - An old shed for my new cars - Wooden garage under construction

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Hi,

 

Just thought I'd add my 2c worth here.

 

I think we need to remember that the current image hosting issue is not Auslot's fault, it's been caused by PhotoBucket changing their rules on its members in an attempt to get money out of subscribers to their "free photo hosting service" and which is funded through advertising revenue anyway. I'm not going to bag them though, as I still (and will continue to) have thousands of photos stored on their site, for use by my own website and as an online backup. I now just use one of the other free sites (PostImage I think) just to host the photos I want to post on Auslot and other forums.

 

I think this is a wonderful forum, and my thanks go out to the founders especially, and also to all the moderators who help keep this free forum running so successfully. I hope this will continue to be a free forum, as I think that is the best way to attract new contributors and keep everyone coming back for more.

 

Having said that though, if the forum owners are considering how they could offer (and be subsidised for) photo hosting within the forum, I for one would be happy to pay a fee for that particular optional service, particularly if it could be based on the amount of space I consume, so I can control my costs by managing how many photos (and how big) I load and leave up there. Providing of course that it doesn't become a burden on the operators/moderators trying to maintain that sort of a hosting model? Regardless of the photo hosting issues, maybe even offer up some sort of means of people making donations when they feel like it, to help out those who are funding this forum? Through paypal maybe?

 

I agree with most of you in regards to how forums like this are a better method of engaging with other like minded people about a common subject of interest. I too have a FB account, but only because the rest of the family does, and I only go on every now and then, and post things very rarely.

 

I too have noticed a bit of a decline in general interest types of posts, as opposed to club and race results posts, but then, I too have been a bit slack in creating posts myself, simply because I am not sure others would be interested in what I'm doing, and let's face it, life kinda does get in the way of this marvelous little hobby we all enjoy so immensely. :rolleyes:

 

Maybe that's a message to all of us on the forum, members and guests alike, that posting stuff that may not seem (or even be) very interesting to others is still a hellova lot better than not posting anything at all????

 

So I say, stop thinking about if you should post, and just start thinking about what you can post, regardless of whether or not you have (or can post) pictures! That's what this forum is all about, after all.

 

Cheers,

  • Upvote 1

Graeme

~~~~~~

 

(Life is like a sewer....................What you get out of it depends on what you put into it!)

https://gtoutweb.com/index.htm

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I like your comments Graeme,

 

I think a lot of free webmail providers including hotmail and gmail account holders get limited image storage space and permissions can be arranged to show certain images or folders publicly and the images can be easily weblinked. It seems hard for those not already familiar with such services, but there are a number of ways to link to images without having to pay for server space for forums. I guess its just something one has to get used to if they use forums.

 

One other thing, I think people are reluctant to join new things if they have to pay to get started.

 

S.

Edited by Slotspeed
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One of the reasons I’ve slowed down posting on Auslot is probably because I get double or triple the response on other forums per view. As some of you might know I specialise in digital development and there is simply more appreciation for digital in Europe. USA, NZ and Aust seem very slow to take up digital compared to places like UK, Germany, France, Spain, Holland and Scandinavia.

I draw more traffic than the Carrera, SCX, Ninco and Slot.it Oxigen digital sub forums on a certain large international forum beaten only by Scalextric but bugger all interest from my fellow countrymen so it makes sense to keep posting there. Scorpius I dare say is the most advanced slot system released so I find it strange. I would certainly post here more if there was more response to justify my time.

 

You can’t beat a forum for tracking and finding topics but there is an amazing amount of postings on FB for slot cars and there has to be a good reason for this. If you don’t use FB you are missing out on a hell of a lot of amazing tracks and cars.

 

Rick

Edited by aussieslotter

Smoke, mirrors and obsolescence. It’s a jungle out there.

www.scorpiuswireless.com

 

 

 

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Mac has summed it up well, and I agree with Pat, Charles and others, the photo bucket issue is one more obstacle we didn't need, and as Pat said, it's a bit cold in the sheds - in your corner of the globe. Feel for us, we're now running aircon units 24/7.

 

Just for the record, when I "go dark", we are usually traveling. We arrived back from Ireland Monday night, and I was on forum the next morning. When traveling I am limited to the I-phone and a fairly limited Surface II tablet, which makes it so much harder to work with the forums.

 

We all get pleasure from seeing other people's builds, we're all always learning, so I echo what Mac & Pat said, no one should feel afraid to post. Hopefully we don't have too many hyper-critical rivet counters here. It's community.

 

Hosting doesn't really have much to do with moderators or moderation, we don't necessarily know any more, - or as much as some of the techie fellas here; it is simply a technical issue, and I suspect the best choice is not the same for everyone.

 

Some are easier to use, some give more space etc.

 

We already have several options posted.

 

Dropbox - plenty of space as they give 5GB free, but the code for linking is a bit cumbersome, really needs you to do the cut and paste as I and SR? gave

Imgur -

Facebook - the "right click, copy image location" thing allows you to copy from FB into the image thing here quite easily. I have been using that for about a year, but do fear a change from FB that takes down those images.

 

What are the others, we can summarise them all here, and on the photo-bucket thread

You’re dreaming if you think these hosting sites won’t start charging soon and doing a “photo bucket” .

 

Smoke, mirrors and obsolescence. It’s a jungle out there.

www.scorpiuswireless.com

 

 

 

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Scorpius I dare say is the most advanced slot system released so I find it strange. I would certainly post here more if there was more response to justify my time.

 

 

confident statement

 

Definitely. Proudly Aussie invented and developed.

Edited by aussieslotter

Smoke, mirrors and obsolescence. It’s a jungle out there.

www.scorpiuswireless.com

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Interesting thread, still enjoying it. Facebook is a lot of things to a lot of people but I suppose for some it is really just another platform for companies to promote their products. A massive market of stimulation hungry consumers. So in a sense its also full of junk but with some gold nuggets hidden in amongst the rubble!

 

Another thought I had is that a certain online storage facility (that also allows hosting photos) that I was using for free gave me an opportunity to expand my storage at a very small fee. I didn't mind this at all since I had gone all the way up to the maximum available free storage. As a consumer of the (un-named) service I didn't feel like I was being ripped off, it was more of an extension of what was freely available rather than holding an existing media account out for ransom.

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Hope you're not calling me a flower there munter . . . . . . :lol:

 

Where have all the young men gone?

Long time passing

Gone to old men every one

when will they ever learn

 

I could put up threads on some of the car builds I am doing/have done recently, but the blurring of the lines between hobby and dirty commercial interests make me a bit reluctant

 

I enjoy seeing build threads by others . . . where's the one by munter on that blue falcoooon.....

Recovering Lapsed Slot Addict :ph34r:  *  Custodian of many used screws (mostly loose :rolleyes:)  *  Total kidder  *  Companion of other delusional slot addicts :lol:  

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When you look at say Slotforum there are only so many sites on that that get regular inputs and similar on Auslot , no offence to anyone but slot cars has turned into a older persons hobby , as i have said on the thread A nail in the coffin, mainly i suppose because of the amount of things available now to do as a past time , crickey i remember the advent of radio control sweeping slot car racing practically away at the time in the 70,s , and there only being the stalwarts left .

Same with forums other media outlets in use but there is something differant about these two forums especially Auslot it has that feel of a friend something you feel comfy with and the people who contribute are not a bad bunch you know, unlike a lot of the vitriol you get on the internet one's, so long may Auslot be with us but perhaps we could all contribute a bit more to it , i could write on most tags but i can't do pictures not on any thing like bucket which i feel are needed to show how things are done as well as talk about doing them, hmmm i seem to be in a reflective mood today :rolleyes:

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Tend to agree that most Forums are going through a sticky period at the moment, what with Facebook and the Photobucket fiasco, but there are Forums who appear to be thriving.

One example is Harry's Home Racing World....the format they are using in the US put other US based Forums to shame. Perhaps this is the way forward?.

Regards

Alan

(No connection with running any Forum!)

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Checked it out, and was impressed with the reviews in particular. Seems to use Youtube clips rather than Photobucket-type still images.

 

Could this be the answer to the issues most [including me] have with posting pics on Auslot - use Youtube video instead?

 

I'm not Youtube literate, might be more difficult than PhotoBucket, but please comment.

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Checked it out, and was impressed with the reviews in particular. Seems to use Youtube clips rather than Photobucket-type still images.

 

Could this be the answer to the issues most [including me] have with posting pics on Auslot - use Youtube video instead?

 

I'm not Youtube literate, might be more difficult than PhotoBucket, but please comment.

 

Fairly easy actually, just requires a bit more thought and planning to make a single chunk video.

But once done, loading up to a Youtube account and linking is pretty straight forward.

 

But the best videos are usually taken in chunks, nicely edited, and have some captions - and that is very time consuming.

So you want some cuts, fading, maybe some music, and usually some captions to explain what is going on.

And if you want to get fancy, interlacing it with some stills for a few seconds, and perhaps some slo mo video of action

For anyone wanting to have a go at that. "Movie Maker" is a free add on from Microsoft, you just have to download from their site if your PC didn't have it already installed.

It is easy to learn the basics - fairly well menued and intuitive. Not as powerful as the flash editing software, but will do all most of us want.

Recovering Lapsed Slot Addict :ph34r:  *  Custodian of many used screws (mostly loose :rolleyes:)  *  Total kidder  *  Companion of other delusional slot addicts :lol:  

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