Heads up!

[El Fixes Things]

very strange... I would be shocked if it was unrelated.
Oddly enough... shutterfly never sent out that E-Mail to me. And there was nothing on my account to suggest my pictures would all vanish Feb 1st if I didn't do something about it.

-Ellie

[smokey1]

Does this look familiar? Wonder if Shutterfly and Wal-Mart are partners

Bring your photos into 2023! My account See All Prints Cards Wall Art Home Décor Photo Books Bring your photos into 2023 In case you missed our last email, we thought you'd want to know that free photo storage will only be available to those who made a purchase in the last 18 months. To keep your photos, place an order before January 31, 2023 – there's no minimum and prints are only 12¢ each! We hope we can help you make the most of your favorite memories!

[palallin]

The economics of running one of these boards are not trivial (speking here from experieince).  The "other" site is much larger, and one of the reasons is that they do host their own pics/vids, BUT it costs them money to do so, so asking for some kind of support--subscription or being a supporting member--is reasonable on their part.  I didn't mind it.

I don't post pics here because I gave up on web hosting services because of cost in serious inconvenience.  I would like to see hosting here.  Given the wide range of interests among the Kalmbach sites, I would think that they could consider a minimal level of archive support, amortizing the costs across the boards.  But I cannot know they could.  All I know is that I wish they would.  And I am a subscriber, but I would also pay a nominal fee for membership here if I needed to.

[Flintlock76]

mersenne6

I may have misunderstood but I thought it was stated that "the other site" is no longer free to individuals who just want to show up and post.  As I understand it, as of the first of last year anyone who was not already a member of the site and who wishes to post must have a subscription.

 

If that's the case it's understandable, "Nobody rides free!"  I'm not on that site but if it does everything it's supposed to do and does it well then it's probably worth it as long as they're not charging past the subscription cost.

[mersenne6]

I may have misunderstood but I thought it was stated that "the other site" is no longer free to individuals who just want to show up and post.  As I understand it, as of the first of last year anyone who was not already a member of the site and who wishes to post must have a subscription.

[Swiss-Colorado-Lines]

Well,

  it was fun while it lasted....

 when it's gone, it's gone

Paul

[Flintlock76]

Michael6268

Other sites including the "other 3 rail site" let you post pictures directly from your device. No outside service is needed. Just go to your photos, pick one, and attach it. Easy peasy. 

Uh huh.  

Let's get something straight, in NO WAY do I blame the staffs of the magazines in the Kalmbach family, but "the other 3 rail site" and another rail-centric mag company seem to be doing everything right and whoever's in the Kalmbach "C Suites" seem to be doing everything wrong and to make matters worse not learning from their mistakes.  Are they deliberately trying to lose customers?  I doubt it but the way they're going that's what's going to happen.

I can't help but think the people at "the other 3-rail site" and the other "rail centric" publishing outfit understand the business and the clientele but the Kalmbach "C Suite" people don't. 

[philo426]

Yes many of the other forums that I visit regularly have that option and it certainly is more convenient!

[Michael6268]

philo426

Explain Mike!

 

Other sites including the "other 3 rail site" let you post pictures directly from your device. No outside service is needed. Just go to your photos, pick one, and attach it. Easy peasy. 

If this forum had that option there would be a lot more people including myself posting pictures.

[mersenne6]

I decided to pay for something to get 18 months to think about this and then make a decision - I found an item for $5.00 which arrived today and which promply went into the garbage so I'm good to go until June of next year. 

  As for losing the photos I have on that site - the only thing I've used it for is to post pictures on this forum so if I decide to close the account all that will be lost is what I've posted here.

[smokey1]

If you don't have your pictures elsewere also. you can only retrack them one by one from there also.

[pennytrains]

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for technological advances to the forum server.  By volume, message boards get in one week less than 1% of the traffic that the Facebook groups covering the same interests bring in in a single hour.

[El Fixes Things]

What a pain... I'm not sure if I want to keep using it or not...

on the one hand, I got used to using it, and I can't even re-link all the pictures I'd need to, because they're in posts made with my old account that I can't access anymore. On the otherhand, I don't want to worry about remembering to make payments... I dunno. I guess the grace period, in theory, is already over, so I need to figure out what to do soon.

-Ellie

[smokey1]

I got that about 3 months ago, all you have to do is make a purchase every 18 months, no matter how small.

[philo426]

Explain Mike!

[Michael6268]

If this site would finally get into the 21st century, people wouldn't have to go to off site apps to download pictures. A lot more people would post photos also.

[philo426]

Pulling a Photobucket I see.I use Postimages and I hope they don't try to pull that crap on me!

[pennytrains]

Shutterfly is not going to allow free image hosting starting this year:

You are receiving this email because you are a valued Shutterfly customer, and we want to let you know that we’re making some changes to our service offerings in 2023.

We recommend that you read our policies and notices carefully, to make sure you fully understand what is changing.

At a glance, here’s what our updates mean for you:

We updated our Privacy  Notice to ensure compliance with new consumer data privacy laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut and Virginia.

We also updated  our  Terms of Use to explain how either of us may initiate an arbitration proceeding in the event of a dispute, how that dispute will be handled, and what laws govern our relationship.

We updated our Photo Storage policy. Shutterfly now requires Active Participation in our service in order to continue to benefit from unlimited storage of your photos. Active Participation means making a purchase – however small – at least once in any 18-month rolling period.

If you are a user of Shutterfly Share Sites, please be aware that Shutterfly will be discontinuing the Share Sites service in March, and more information will be made available soon.

Last but not least, Shutterfly added language to its terms discussing its commitment to protecting copyrights and trademarks, and describing how Shutterfly will consider takedown requests.

These updates will take effect on January 5, 2023 and no further action is required by you. By continuing to use our websites and/or mobile applications after January 5, 2023, you accept and agree to these updated terms and policies. If you disagree with the updated Terms of Use or Privacy Policy, you may terminate your agreement with Shutterfly at any time by deleting your account.

Thank you for being a valued Shutterfly customer.

Sincerely,
The Shutterfly Team