Dear GRM-Please start hosting photos

Aussies GRM Facebook Challenge group is a wealth of Challenge goodness that we don't get here on the forum. I think a major contributor is how much easier it is to post pictures and videos on Facebook than here. Pretty please.

Hosting photos requires lots of storage and bandwidth, and that's expensive. You can hotlink Facebook photos though, maybe linking them to an article page or forum post could be a good compromise?

Uploading photos really isn't hard anyway. Go to imgur or similar. drag photo in, add photo to post...

Posting photos here isnt easy. Ive got some of the longest photo heavy build threads on this board and it infinately harder to do here than facebook. The top challenge finishers almost all posted there but not here. Andrew, Sean, Denny, Bill, GTech, Texas AM on their own page, we got a play by play from Ed's last min efforts, etc... These are people that are driving across the country to be part of a small contest put on by this magazine yet they document it elsewhere.

In reply to GameboyRMH:

Agreed completely, but it's really a PITA to link pictures from a phone or tablet.

I hotlink from faceyspace but the images go dead after a while.

I'd be more than willing to pay GRM a $10 per month (or somewhere around there) forum fee, should they consider expanding into that realm.

Edit to show my line of thought:

I have no idea how many members are on here but I assume there are at least a few thousand. If each of us coughed up $10 per month that would be a decent chunk of change.

Yeah Imgur gives you the link to copy and paste directly (HTML link) into the forum

From my own imgur account:

There are other factors beyond the simple costs of storage (which can be pretty massive given a community of this size)

1. Massive uploads have to down downscaled even before they're saved. Todays multi-monster-megapixel cameras and phones simply create files that are way to big to use on the web. So you need processing power.
2. Then you need more processing power (and storage) to create the thumbnails, and you'll need at least two thumbs for every image uploaded. Probably more.
3. A page chock-full of massive images sucks giant balls for people on slow connections.
4. It's a big pain for mobile devices, too.
5. Just because you can allow uploads doesn't mean you can necessarily make it easy to do from all devices. You probably can't.
6. You have to make DB changes to upload more than one image per post, and those are not trivial changes, especially if you're concerned about backward compatibility with gazillion posts already in the system.

All that said, there are things that can be done to make the experience nicer and easier, but asking GRM to do what Imgur does every day for a living? It's just not realistic.

What Tim said. Yes, it would be killer if we could host photos. However, that is best left to the experts. (I use Flickr, for example.)

I got excited that there was an Aussie edition of the challenge... Then I realised you wére referring to aussiemg. Disappointed.

I strongly suggest imgur as well. Gives copy / paste links

Grtechguy wrote: I strongly suggest imgur as well. Gives copy / paste links

Says team who flooded facebook with updates but not GRM.

Edit-my apologies, guessing from location you are not currently a member of the team.

I am aware of photohosting sites abilities and may change from photobucket to imguar-but still several extra steps.

There was a very similar thread to this 5 years ago. It's now closing in on 3,000 pages and the OP was posthumously renamed 'Unintended Victim ' after he departed.

Interesting request. I find this to be a pretty easy place to post pictures. I've posted literally 1000s of them with no problems.

Conversely, I don't post any on faceplace.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: There was a very similar thread to this 5 years ago. It's now closing in on 3,000 pages and the OP was posthumously renamed 'Unintended Victim ' after he departed.

He had an issue with hotlinking as theft. I have an issue with having to host elsewhere and hotlink because it adds enough steps that it makes some of our most interesting builders not post updates and pictures here.

As a new poster but long time semi lurker. I have paid dues on the original Pirate4x4 for years. Just to post pics... And support the board. I would be more than willing to throw some cash at the effort here.

Thanks Ross

In reply to MrJoshua:

I do build threads on multiple boards. GRM, Expedition Portal, Zuwharrie, and on occasion Pirate4X4. It's easier for me to dump the pictures on Photobucket and hotlink them, than it would be to upload to multiple boards.

I'm perfectly content with uploading to Picassa then linking here.

The day this becomes a pay to play site will be the day after my last ever post.

I pay for zero content on the web with the exception of Zetflix and arguably Amazon prime

Ed got his car running.

Andrew picked up a nutty drag chassis.

Someone just figured out they have a Nelson chassis thats still under budget they might bring next year.

Why does all this madness GRM inspires end up benefiting facebook instead of GRM? I post here, have for years. I'm not the person who documents stuff elsewhere. But many many others do. Facebook is easy, GRM is not. How can that be changed?

MrJoshua wrote: Why does all this madness GRM inspires end up benefiting facebook instead of GRM? I post here, have for years. I'm not the person who documents stuff elsewhere. But many many others do. Facebook is easy, GRM is not. How can that be changed?

Yes, I agree, it's easier to post and upload images to Facebook. Why? Because they have an army of engineers, unlimited storage space and whatever else they need. Facebook has approximately 11,000 employees. We have enough to field a football team.

I am humbled that there's an unofficial GRM Challenge Facebook page. I figure it's like an FB page for fans of a sports team or something. So, who here would like to cross-post stuff from there to here?

David S. Wallens wrote:

MrJoshua wrote: Why does all this madness GRM inspires end up benefiting facebook instead of GRM? I post here, have for years. I'm not the person who documents stuff elsewhere. But many many others do. Facebook is easy, GRM is not. How can that be changed?

Yes, I agree, it's easier to post and upload images to Facebook. Why? Because they have an army of engineers, unlimited storage space and whatever else they need. Facebook has approximately 11,000 employees. We have enough to field a football team. I am humbled that there's an unofficial GRM Challenge Facebook page. I figure it's like an FB page for fans of a sports team or something. So, who here would like to cross-post stuff from there to here?

I think I have a Facebook page. Dunno, hate the damn thing. I would love to have crosslinked stuff.

David S. Wallens wrote: We have enough to field a football team.

What's that, you say? GRM is starting a football team to compete with other magazines' employees?

And believe me, I hate saying no to your requests. I wish we could host photos and make everyone happy. I just know that the technical details are so far beyond our grasp right now.