Photos gone from old threads

[California]

I've noticed several cases where photos in a post are no longer present.

Here's an example. Everybody discusses the photos - but they aren't there.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/227548-putting-drain-pipe-underground-middle.html

After some research I could also find examples in my own old posts where I'm sure I didn't delete the photo.


Is anyone else encountering this?

 

[Muhammad]

We don't delete any of the photos... it's possible that they were referenced from another site, like a file hosting site, and removed by that site or the user. In that case, there isn't anything we can do about it as the images were never uploaded to our server, only linked.

 

[Bigfoot62]

I used a photo hosting site for years. Then, it shut down. So, every pic, thumbnail, even every link was lost. ):

 

[bumperm]

Happened to me too, but it was my own fault!

I reorganized the files of photos I have at Photobucket. Oops, that screwed up the links from my posts here. At Photobucket, I moved a picture back to it's original position, but the link numbers were still not as original so the posted links here no longer work.

I can't find any way to edit my posts here with new link information. I sent a post to Admin (I thought) questioning if there is a way to edit older posts to get the photo links to work again . . . no answer yet. Muhammad, please advise?

bumper

 

[Muhammad]

Right now you can only edit a post in the first 24 hours after you submit it. I suppose that we might reconsider that in light of all of these issues that have come up now but weren't an issue in the past (everything from legal issues with the content of posts to image links being broken). The potential downside of changing it is that people could change the content of their posts at any time, possibly changing the value of the post (for better or for worse).

 

[RDrancher]

It's annoying, but I see photos missing on forums all the time that were linked to photo hosting sites. That's the main reason I upload photos from my computer. Sure would be nice if the bulk uploader still worked here at TBN...wink wink.

 

[dfkrug]

We don't delete any of the photos... it's possible that they were referenced from another
site, like a file hosting site, and removed by that site or the user. In that case, there isn't anything we can do about it
as the images were never uploaded to our server, only linked.

I can not overstate how important this is. Many TBN members who use photo hosting services do so at their
peril. Most often the member does not use the paid premium service, so the free postings can be eliminated
by the host at any time. (Check those end-user agreements.) Not to mention if the host goes out of biz.

I can see using a hosting service for a bunch of vacation photos you want friends/relatives to see, but for
pix on TBN, why not upload them here, then link to TBN?

Anyway, I am prob in the top 10 of TBN users as measured by how many photos I have uploaded. I expect
TBN to be around for a long time. (Thx, Muhammad.)

 

[mjw357]

I think with photobucket, if you don't log in every few months, your pictures won't show up until you log in again.

 

[kennyd]

Yup, that's a problem on all forums. I agree that extending the post edit timer will just bring many other problems, and they're are many users (probably most) who wouldn't go back and edit old posts even if they still had the pictures to upload.

 

[California]

Agree, I don't think its a good idea to extend the edit window beyond 24 hours. 24 hours is just right to edit an obvious error when you next notice it.