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Subject: 
Re: Whiners Re: Problems with Brickshelf?
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.general
Date: 
Sun, 15 Jul 2007 17:42:11 GMT
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Hendo,

I will reply here to your post, but will try to cover everything above it as well. Please do not think that everything is pointed at you.


In lugnet.general, John P. Henderson wrote:

   First of all, many of the replies here have simply voiced frustration or concern over the possible loss to the online community - and a decade of images and links IS a loss no matter how many of us saved locally. Such replies are valid comments to share and neither attack the admins of BS nor should they be readily dismissed as “whining”.


Please not that my original post specifically said “SOME” and not “ALL” replies. I can certainly understand that there is frustration at the loss. That was my first reaction as well, as I have quite a few photos there. I probably have them all SOMEWHERE on my computer, but it is certainly going to be a pain to find and gather them all up again.



   Second, you suggest this might not have happened if only users had been willing to support BS. Posts that come below yours in the orginal thread have mixed evidence that perhaps BS was surviving financially on the ads alone. Further, I see mention that some members had indeed made donations. It seems possible the site went down for more than just financial reasons. But if finances were a factor, I for one would have been okay with it being a pay site. ...As one poster mentioned here, it’s rather amazing Lugnet is only $10 plus an ocassional donation campaign. (I’d be willing to pay more here too!)


One of my main points is that we DON’T KNOW yet what happened, It may or may not have been financial. There are any of number of other reasons it could have been taken down. Until we as a community know what happened, we should atleast give Kevin the benefit of the doubt.


   Third, you ask for people to take action rather than complain. But what action can most of us take? While most could forgo that extra $20 S@H set each year to afford a subscription to a paysite, few of us have computer servers laying around our living rooms, nor is everone who posts here savvy with the networks, hardware, or software involved. (Maybe I’m wrong about that - but I certainly don’t/am not. I can hardly manage the webspace I have for my little 100MB site! And other than being an end-user, I stopped learning new stuff about computer science when the Commodore 128 was still in use.) Further, we are spread out across the globe, and several of us lead busy lives. So other than donating money (which we are willing but no longer able), donating skills (which not all of us have), or dontating time (which not all of us have), what is this “something” you think we can do? Other than simply HOPE the community has more benevolent tech-savvy server-owners, I’m out of ideas.

Until we know what needs to be done, there really is not much direct action that can take place. But at a time like this, HOPE and positive attitudes go a long way. Just expressing a willingness to help, in whatever way you can, would go a long way to encouraging others to do the same.


I was just really upset that when a major site went down, and while I and some others were talking behind the scenes on how to fix the problem, others chose this opportunity to take pot shots at Kevin and BrickShelf. It was very discouraging to myself and the others that people were so quick to make judgements without knowing all the facts. Granted, BrickShelf may not have been perfect, and Kevin may not have been the best host, but provided a great serice for a long time, and that should not be forgotten.

As it is right now, BS is sort of working through https, so everyone can go get their photos that they did not have backed up. The main thing is that all the pictures are still there. If Kevin is no longer willing to host the site himself, I am confident that it can be transferred somewhere else.

I certainly will continue to work towards a positive solution, and I am sure that the others I have been talking to privately will as well. If everyone else could also remain positive that would certainly help as well.

As for the “No warning at all” that people keep saying, this is not true. Warning was given 2 years ago that the future of BrickShelf was in doubt and that all photos should be moved to Maj.com. That we all chose to ignore this warning for two years is our fault, not Kevins. That he managed to keep the site going for another 2 years does not negate the warning.

As for my “nasty tirade” I just call it like I see it. Some people were upset and voiced their opinions, which is fine. Some people felt the need to pick over the fresh corpse (that turned out not to be quite dead yet), and that is not fine and not helpful at all.

I found it odd and disturbing that the conversation at Lugnet, the supposed center of the AFOL universe, took on a decidedly negative tone early on before all (or any) of the facts were known. Contrast this to BrickLink, which is mainly a commerce site, where the discussion covered dismay, but also maintained a positive attitude about the situation with many people expressing their interest to help out however they could.

I guess that I was just disappointed with the reaction here, I had expected better. In fairness, I was also disappointed by the reaction at Classic-Castle as well, and voiced much the same opinions there as well.

Troy



Message has 1 Reply:
  Re: Whiners Re: Problems with Brickshelf?
 
(...) Yes, on this we agree! ...And I too was trying to look at all sides fairly. You are right though, BS hasn't been down long and we don't know all the facts yet... And I do thank you and the others who have tried for any effort toward finding a (...) (17 years ago, 15-Jul-07, to lugnet.general, FTX)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Whiners Re: Problems with Brickshelf?
 
(...) While I respect the direction you have steered this conversation, I have to say I disagree with some of your comments Troy. First of all, many of the replies here have simply voiced frustration or concern over the possible loss to the online (...) (17 years ago, 15-Jul-07, to lugnet.general, FTX)

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