10 replies to this topic

[quattrokid]

I simply cannot get into/use tc photos ....HELP.

[netsmithUK]

I need more info to fix it. Browser, os, symptoms, etc etc the more the better

[quattrokid]

OK, from my tc profile admin page, i click on the tcphotos.com link, then the new page opens and says..

Sorry!

This is not a valid subscriber photo album


Please selection a section on the left to see the pictures in that section. A padlock signifies the section is locked and will require a password to access.

 

 

if i try my tc email and password  and try to log on i get...

If your name is not down

You are not getting in.

 

 

any help?

 

cheers

[OCD]

Pretty much the same deal for myself:

YOUR NAME IS NOT DOWN! 

To be honest, I haven't really spent much time trying to figure it out
because, well, I really don't care all that much.  Maybe I should
take the time to better understand what is being offered, but why do I
need another photo album? I already have other free photo hosts, is this supposed to be a favorable alternative? Can this be used as a photo-hosting
service for  eBay-etc.?  How many members use this feature?

 Personally I'd like to see more club-integrated features. 
How about a photo album that is part of my showroom? The current set-up
seems needlessly complex.  If it's non-Tamiya pictures you are
concerned with, why not just rope off a TC area for 'other' pics? 
(In addition to the 'misc.' category.) 

Sorry Chris if I'm being insensitive about this.. just a few casual
observations.  Like I said, I've never spent the time
investigating the details of it, but I have read numerous
concerns/complaints about TCphotos here in the forum. Is it worth the
effort to streamline a mostly unused feature?  I'll take my licks
if I'm wrong here, but I can think of plenty of other areas on TC that
could use some attention.  Why focus on TCphotos?

-Steve

[netsmithUK]

TCPhotos was just a quick easy hit, the main reason being to stop people posting pictures of their cats and dogs in the showroom. Or using their showroom to host pictures of cuckoo clocks and psh bikes they want to sell on ebay. Tamiyaclub is about rc models not that sort of things but I got ged up with arguing the reasons so gave people an alternative, which on the whole has worked well.

If a member is a subscriber there is a link from their details page buts thats as integrated as I want to make it. Its not really part of the club at all and the pictures in it are typically of no interest or relevence to anyone browsing the main site. Its more about private areas, subscribers can password protect to hide pictures of their kids, holidays etc and share them with only people they know. You are also welcome to use the space for ebays auctions etc.

The reasons for the complaints are because i don't really spend much time on it [] On the whole it just works but the main issue is that access get reset occasionally and I've just never got around to fixing it, so manually have to kick off an update process.

There are a surprisingly high percentage of users now taking advantage of it. Sure there are lots of things to do on Tamiyaclub, there always will be, but I do have other hobbies and interests I like to follow, this is just one of my test projects - running the club is not the only thing i do [;)]

I'f you both want to try again now you should be able to get in.

Cheers

Chris

[OCD]

Ouch - I just read my previous reply and see that maybe I was being a little harsh..



My apologies, Chris.  I guess I forgot about how much hard work
goes into every other aspect of the club. Specifically YOUR time and
effort that you've put forth for nothing more than your love of Tamiya
RC.  When you put it that way, I can clearly see why it is
important to keep some sort of line between what is site-appropriate
material and what is not.  I guess it just never bothered me
personally (cuckoo clock didn't bother me) so I never took it seriously.

  On the other hand, it sounds as though TCphotos is a
hit among members, so I'll be seeing less non-Tamiya pics on the main
site?  Forgive me for saying so, but I really enjoy the occasional
slices of life offered from around this world. Will the shoowrooms
eventually become RC only? 

-Steve

[netsmithUK]

No probs OCD - I didn't read your post as harsh, you posed fair questions which hopefully i answered.

TCPhotos has been around for ages now so its not new, and I doubt its impact on what goes in the showroom from this date will be noticeable - people generally have got the message that the showrooms and trade areas are for RC / Tamiya related images (with the occasional reference 1:1 real car) only. Its been this way since day 1. TCphotos is for everything else.

The reasons for this is the majority of our visitors come here to see RC models and that is what the club is all about. We are not a generic picture hosting site which we run the risk of becoming if we allow any pictures in. You say you don't mind it now, but thats probably because its only the occasional images that appears for a short time - I imagine it would become really annoying if you had to wade through countless pictures of none related material to find the model picture you had actually come here to look for.

TCPhotos just keeps things simple.

Cheers

Chris

[OCD]

Thanks for hearing me out, Chris.  Like I said before, there are
plenty of of things I'd like to see improved upon or added to the
already substantial list of services offered here. A good example of
this would be the 1:1 reference pics being considered an 'occasional' acception (or
is that exception?)  I would love to see another category set up
for these pictures specifically, but I feel that this is just another
frivilous request in a sea of similar needs posed by other subscribers.

 I recently had a disscussion with a few other members here in the
forum about this very idea of a 1:1 reference 'library' of sorts. 
The idea seemed well received and even a few suggestions came forth and
how to go about do such a thing.  I had actually poked around my
TCphotos album to see if maybe I could set one up there.  Well,
you can guess where that led me to...

Trouble is, I think maybe there needs to be a more productive way of
bringing members/subscribers need and concerns to the 'table' if you
will.  Chris, you do an outstanding job of addressing
every comment, question, and gripe that shows up here on the
board.  In fact, I see that you answer every question, even if it's been asked many times before. 
Same goes with the complaints that you get in here- I'm often suprised
at the composure maintained when answering to some of these sometimes
acrid remarks.  With all of that being said, you can well see how
it can be difficult to present small ideas in a quiet voice. 

I think you may have said it in the above:

"Tamiyaclub is about RC models and not that sort of thing but I got fed
up with arguing the reasons so gave people an alternative [with
TCphotos]"

Which I clearly understand, but, I think you may have traded one for
another. In effort to eliminate the 'argument' it seems that you have
created more work for yourself.

I've probably gone on long enough here, but i think you see my
point.   As the community gets bigger and people
continue to want to voice there opinions, I think some of the 
smaller voices won't be heard over all the shouting.  Sorry I
don't have a great suggestion of my own as a fix for this- I'm just off
the top of my mind here.  Lately I've been reading the forums and
it just bums me out to see so much time spent bickering about every
little infraction.  (It's no wonder why so many legit threads go
mostly unanswered..)  Is about time we start some sort of TC 'Town
Hall' to address these rants?

[netsmithUK]

I like the idea of a 1:1 reference, although that does raise a few issues with people just taking images from other sites - which is something I try and avoid if poss. Thats not to say thats a big problem.

My reference about getting fed up with arguing the case of not putting none rc things in showrooms - wasn't really an indication of it being a big request, rather a comparitively few users causing problems and taking up a disproportionate amount of my time going over the same ground with the same people. Its been debating in the club several times in the past and the general feeling with the majority was that the showrooms was no place for these sort of pictures. That coupled with the fact several members had also asked for the facility, I quite liked the idea and I had the bulk of the code already, made it a bit of an easy route to take. I now spend next to no time on it, but it runs very well. Again like the club in this forum you only really tend to see the problems not the people that are happy with it, which can give a skewed picture.( and in most cases the problem comes down to the same thing - which I've just not fixed. This thread might just give the reason to do it now - its not a big job)

TC is the main product where the effort goes, and TCPhotos was always a facility that was provided on a take it or leave it basis, which is why I don't actively promote it more.

I do agree that I need a more controlled wayof taking suggestions and rating users opinion of their importance in a fair and balanced way. Funny enough I was looking at somthing along those lines just yesterday....

 

[OCD]

Well Chris, you said it best:

"you only really tend to see the problems not the people that are happy with it, which can give a skewed picture"

This, in my eyes, may be the crux of the issue here. Without mediation,
these threads turn into more like-minded threads, and soon you have a
forum full of complaints.  Yeah, I know I'm not offering a
solution here, but maybe some of the administrators could chime in on
this?

 (I also see that this thread has taken a turn off-topic, so I'll wrap it up here)

Sorry if I'm making a too big a deal of it, but with the new forum
online I thought it may be a good time to start looking ahead to the
future.  This forum has been a tremendous resource for me and I
wouldn't want to see it falter.  Those of you that have been to
the 'other ' forums (not naming) know what I'm talking about.  TC
forums are downright the most helpful, friendly forums around!



-Steve

[OCD]

Oh yeah, BTW Chris..

Glad you like the idea of the photo reference library. Just an idea,
but if you wanted tighter control over what went into it, I suppose you
could treat it like the manuals section- every entry must meet
criteria, etc. 

As for copyright issues: Most of the ref photos I have to offer are
those I took with my own camera- you would of course have my permission
to use them...[]