Suggestions to Reduce Space and For the Site

[joe_347V]

I actually had this topic in mind for a few months now but the recent space crunch made me I think I should share some suggestions I had for the site. I also had a few suggestions to improve the functionality of the site too.

As the file number limit will eventually get used up as the site takes on more users I suggest renegotiating the terms on the hosting plan or changing to the different host that dosen't have a limit. Doing both will probably cost more money unless the current host is overpriced so we'll have to either: start charging users with excess pics, create bonus features to entice users to donate, or have ads on the site to offset the added costs. 

Gallery:

Add a replace this file feature to lessen the amount of updated pic uploads and to allow us to replace some pics with collages to save space.

Remove all the non english languages in the gallery section as no one ever uses them. If you don't know what I'm talking about there's a dropdown list at the bottom of the gallery section to select the language the site appears in. As this site is geared towards English speakers I suggest removing the other languages to lower the file count.

Add a search comments feature to the gallery. I'm not sure if a mod is a available for Coppermine or not though. Comment search would be great since the comments often had good info in them.

Subalbums, might or might not be possible but it would be a nice feature to have. IE (album My Streetlight Collection with subalbums Powerlite B2217 and GE M-400)

I know some members might not like this but how about restricting uploading blurry and out of focus pics, pics of the same light but at different angles (a collage style pic would work fine for that), eBay screenshots (I suggest starting a thread in the forum with the pic linked to or uploaded somewhere else if you want to discuss about the item), pics with a common light or your own lights (since you can easily retake that shot) at weird angles or not centered.

The site/forum:

Remove any unused features/themes/headers on the site.

Not sure anyone wants to do this, but removing any inactive users on the site. With that I mean users who have registered for the site for at least a year but have never posted or uploaded anything. Users who have made posts and/or uploads should be exempt from this imo. If I were to delete users I would send them a PM explaining this and give them say a week to respond before deleting their account.

Deleting the accounts of known spammers and trolls. Now I know this site dosen't give either often though.

A Wiki for users, could be a good place where we could put restoration tips, ballast info, lamp construction details, date codes etc. The more sensitive info like date codes should be only made visible to registered user who have posted or uploaded pics though.

Anyone else have any comments, suggestions..etc?

[Mike]

you have some good information and suggestions and i agree with you mostly. i thinks ads are an okay answer to lessen the running cost of the site. I think having users pay could shut out some people. For instance, I'm 15 so i don't have credit cards or anything nor do i have an income (i get $5 a week in allowance but that's not really an income) so therefore i wouldn't be able to pay so i'd probably get kicked off the site... i'm sure there are others that way too, though i know that sounds awfully cruel to say that when Ian has graciously funded this site for the past few years.

I totally agree with deleting member who have been inactive for over a year and have under 50 posts in the fourm or have less than 50 pics in the gallery or a combination. if they have been registered over a year and have fewer than 50 posts and fewer than 50 pics then i don't think they're really active enough on the site and that's just taking space away from other members who are more active. Of course if they have many pics and are inactive due to other issues (college, etc) then obviously they should be exempt from this targeting.

Subalbums sound like a GREAT idea since my gallery is flooded with all albums for my light fixtures. And it's only the street lights, RMA, and signal that have their own albums. the fluorescents are just under the generic "my collection" along with ballasts and stuff.

A wiki would be nice but let's not have one person write the whole thing. I think all the frequently active members should have an opportunity to pitch in. Of course Ian and Jace have the final say since they own and run the site, respectively.

I remember Vince saying that he has access to hard drives or something so maybe the GoL could run independantly without any hosting service at one point down the road? This would be an excellent solution and if we have a good computer programmer the capabilities of the site are endless! anyways, I'd love to have the issue resolved and hear what others have to say as well.

[A_lights]

i wouldn't mind a small ad if it was lighting related and at the bottom of the page, and yeah people who can afford should donate ..i mean even a small gift of $5 would help i assume?

[GEsoftwhite100watts]

I would be okay with ads...
Also deleting accounts of users who registered but never posted anything as a first step, then users w/ less than 50 forum posts and no pics, and finally users with only a few pics (IF space is continually an issue)
I like the "replace this file" feature idea...
Also I did (and I suggest fellow users do as well) delete pics you've had up for awhile w/ no comments (excluding lamp etches, etc.) I also deleted some of my older, blurrier pics.
Also since I'm assuming LG doesn't have a space problem right now in the interim is it okay to upload our pics there (I upload the same pics there at the same time anyway) and link to them in comments of our pics or a designated "Pic links" thread in the Forum?
Just my two cents, what do you guys think?

[joe_347V]

Hmm, it seems most comments here seem to be ok with ads, I'm ok with them too if they're static ads. I think moving GIF ads and flash ads (with or without sound) would be too obstructive on the site. 

Before users are deleted I think it would be fair to send a warning PM to them first and them only delete after there's no reply in a week. I know some users are busy with their lives and it would be unfair to delete them without giving them a heads up.

I also think people who use the site often should chip in, I think if we all chip in something like $5 or $10 a year it would help a lot and would probably be enough to switch to a less restrictive host.

I think the site should have some basic picture quality requirements until the file cap is removed. For instance, no blurry, grainy or dimly lit pics if possible. Also I think we should upload less per session as if more than one person uploads more than 10 pics per session the pics that were there before often gets missed by others. I think we should also limit the amount of movie stills, screen shots and similar stuff we upload and link to the content for now just to save space.



As for now, here's what I recommend:

Browse though the existing pics for now...there's probably pics you missed at one point or another that you might find interesting.

Upload your stuff on LG(since we're all signed up there) and optionally start a thread in the general discussion section with the links to your page. Please only start one thread (per person) and update it when you upload new pics so the forum dosen't get cluttered up.


Aside: Jace, Vince, and Ian, if you see this you have any comments on this?

[Mike]

I think we could get rid of the "Lights, Camera, Action!" album on the main page (and the pics in it) since there doesn't seem to be any trend going on with it and many of the pics are grainy and don't focus on the light anyways.

I agree that people who use the site often should chip in and pay maybe a dollar a month (or 12 annually). I'd love to help out but right now it's difficult since i don't have my own means of paying online but in a few years i should be able to.

[GEsoftwhite100watts]

How about getting rid of the "American Streetlights" and "European Streetlights" categories and replacing that with "Streetlights'?

[Vince]

I would suggest deleting the pics with little value first (in terms of comments or general knowledge). Pics with dates of manufacture, etches or lighting products are worth keeping since they provide information.

I wouldn't mind ads as long as it's not those annoying pop-ups. Even GIFs and flash ads don't bother me.

How about creating a forum section or sub-section for our external galleries? There would be one thread per user. If you guys like the idea I'll make it! Since all pics are remote-hosted they won't use our server space.

As of deleting accounts, first I don't think it would create much space. Secondly I would only delete accounts with no posts, no pics and no activity (i.e. no logins) for over a year, and after a warning through PM, and eventually by the account's email address.

[joe_347V]

@Mike, yeah the "Lights, Camera, Action!" gallery isn't really popular and active (only one member regularly uses it) and like you said the pics are all mostly just grainy movie stills that don't really focus on the light so I think it would be fair to get rid of it. After all, the site mostly focuses on lighting...

I also agree with chipping in one or two bucks a month if you use this site often, and I'm willing to pay since I'm usually on at least once per day. Hopefully with more money we could change to a more reliable host with more space.

@Andy, I personally would like to keep it separate since it lets the user filter the pics more easily.

@Vince, I mostly deleted pics with low/no comments and common pics of streetlights. Some other pics were deleted too but they found new homes on my dropbox which is linked on a related pic. I don't mind static ads but gif and flash ads are sorta distracting. I don't like the flash ads that have sound though.

I think creating a forum (until the gallery is fixed) where we could start threads with our latest pics and scores would be a good idea...In fact I think I'll make a subforum in the general discussion section where we could post links to pics.

[rjluna2]

I think we could get rid of the "Lights, Camera, Action!" album on the main page (and the pics in it) since there doesn't seem to be any trend going on with it and many of the pics are grainy and don't focus on the light anyways.

Hi Mike.  Here is my problem I have been using the "Lights, Camera, Action!" folder for posting lighting related in the movie/TV shows and I have frequently link them at the Internet Movie Car Database to here.  I'll take a look to see if there is an option to move the folder to another folder before deleting this what you call useless folder

[rjluna2]

I think creating a forum (until the gallery is fixed) where we could start threads with our latest pics and scores would be a good idea...In fact I think I'll make a subforum in the general discussion section where we could post links to pics.

That's sounds like a good idea.  Until we resolve the file limit issues, we can use the forum here to post picture by using outside picture hosting site and link it here with the additional prearranged light information save as .txt file.  Reuse the .txt file, but copy/paste it at the forum here.

Any further idea are always welcome here

[joe_347V]

Why not just upload them to your so called "Internet Movie Car Database" or a Photobucket? I don't think others will appreciate you trying to circumvent the rules by moving the pics to another album and keeping them on here... 

The "Lights, Camera, Action!" album is pretty unpopular and wastes space (in terms of file count) for several reasons. 
1. It's filled with screenshots that don't really feature lighting as the main point
2. The most popular pic in there got only 12 comments and 55 views and most pics in there have no comments or only one of two comments.
3. The pictures in there are mostly low res stills that are sometimes blurry.
4. I'm not quite sure of your linking these pic to another site, it uses up our space and bandwidth (which is limited) so people at some other can see the pics. Why not ask the admin there if they could start a section for lighting in movies and upload them there?

[rjluna2]

Hi Joe,

It is the existing link association that I may have to deal with.  These link I have it associate to these movies/TV shows that I use.  I even used the thumbnails for these shows that I have it link it here.  For example:

Matlock: "The Seduction" (1.05) where I linked the thumbnail picture to here.
Matlock: "Santa Claus" (1.12) where I linked the album page to here.
Here is the archive page that I cannot edit here: Archived comments - Page 1/3 of Emergency!.
1970 Chevrolet Suburban [C-10] in Emergency!, TV Series, 1972-1978 with the picture thumbnail.

And so on...

I could make some change at the site for the Light Gallery website if I can move those files there.
I could also delete some of the pictures for the album, but the album remains here.  Somehow, I'll try to make it work when I can find time

[joe_347V]

Here's what I would do:

1. Transfer all unlinked pictures to your Photobucket as well as upload any future similar pictures there.
2. Edit the links in the posts that you can edit and transfer those pics over to your Photobucket too.
3. If you can get a hold of a mod on admin on the other site and ask them to edit your links so you could transfer those pics too.

Try to at least delete some pics as I think all of us have been deleting old and unpopular pics to free up file slots.

[rjluna2]

Hi Joe,

I really wanted to hear what the other administrator has to say and their thought if we can find a better host or not.  Thanks for the suggestion