Too many photos with CD-Media?

[miketwalker]

I've noticed in a few conversations with friends and teammates that the behavior of members with photo uploads has changed quite a bit since the new CD-Media system was implemented. Personally, I'd like to thank Brandon for putting together such an awesome system, because it's allowed for incredible ease to try to find things (especially historic items to show newer team members for a different perspective).

I'd like to open this up to other members for input, what are your thoughts on the way the system has changed and grown? I'll start off with that I feel certain things (Sorry Tytus, but that burn photo really made my heart jump a beat at first) should be filtered. Also, I've noticed that with the new system you can now comment on Who Am I photos, which I think is interesting and kinda neat, but what do you think?

I'm curious what other people who have been around for both the CD-Bot/CD-Media eras think. So, here's a list of a few questions to see what you think just to start a discussion... If you do agree with things like filtering photos, what would you do to fix it? Would you sacrifice the instant-upload features in trade for having moderators review photos as in the old style, or is that a non-issue? If so, what should/shouldn't be filtered? etc. etc.

[JohnBoucher]

IMHO unfiltered photos are an invitation to getting this system shut off. I like the instant posting, but I hope it is rules based. There are many rules that can be used, based on number of posts, age, an approved list, etc.

I would allow the Tytus pic of his hand. It is a hard lesson, but a necessary one.

[KathieK]

Having the tags on the photos makes it easier to find photos that you are looking for, and that's great. ChiefDelphi has made it so easy for us to post photos online that we don't give it much thought (I know I'm guilty of it, too.) It also enables potential employers (or sponsors or teammates or school system) to search for you online, and they ARE doing it. Think about that before you post your next photo. This isn't MySpace, it's a forum to discuss robotics. I guess we need to remember, "Act as though your grandmother were watching" each time we go to post a thread or a photo. Does this meet the rules criteria? Do I need another WAI photo? Do I need to publish ten photos of the last off-season event, or will three do? Is this a photo I might not want everyone to see once I'm in college or searching for a new job?

[Steve W]

I am in the belief that the photos should be filtered. There are too many photos being posted and a lot of "so what" photos. It would be good if members were allowed 5 photos a year max. This would make people think a bit more before posting.

[David55]

Originally Posted by Steve W

I am in the belief that the photos should be filtered. There are too many photos being posted and a lot of "so what" photos. It would be good if members were allowed 5 photos a year max. This would make people think a bit more before posting.

I don't think there should be a limit to the amount of photos you can upload. Many users have lots of pictures that are helpful and the CD community can benefit from. You don't want them to stop posting pictures just because a few people posted pictures that don't belong in CD.

Brandon, I don't know if it's possible but it might be a good idea to not have WAI pictures show up on the new photos in the portal.

[Brandon Martus]

Originally Posted by David55

I don't think there should be a limit to the amount of photos you can upload. Many users have lots of pictures that are helpful and the CD community can benefit from. You don't want them to stop posting pictures just because a few people posted pictures that don't belong in CD.

Brandon, I don't know if it's possible but it might be a good idea to not have WAI pictures show up on the new photos in the portal.

I was thinking of adding a 'photos I dont want to see' option to the portal. You could put in a list of tags (or even users) that you wouldn't want showing up on the portal ("who am i", "off-season competition", etc)

I was also thinking about Who Am I .. I could have the system look at the WAI tagged photos, and if you have more than X in the system, it could warn you via a message up top by the countdown for Y days, and then delete an older one (that isn't currently set as your WAI).

I really don't know that there is a serious problem with too many photos (or too many 'who cares' photos) being uploaded .. they just are taking center stage because there aren't many competitions or new robot photos coming in, like during the regular season. The same thing happens with the foums and off-topic discussion come late July or August -- too many silly threads and not enough robot talk. It all works itself out by the time the season comes around again.

[David55]

Originally Posted by Brandon Martus

I was thinking of adding a 'photos I dont want to see' option to the portal. You could put in a list of tags (or even users) that you wouldn't want showing up on the portal ("who am i", "off-season competition", etc)

I was also thinking about Who Am I .. I could have the system look at the WAI tagged photos, and if you have more than X in the system, it could warn you via a message up top by the countdown for Y days, and then delete an older one (that isn't currently set as your WAI).

Great idea!

Another thing I thought about. People take lots of pictures at events, and then when they upload a few pictures, it fills up a large part of the new pictures in the portal. Maybe you can add an option to upload an event "album", which will have a bunch of pictures from that event, and the user can choose one picture that will show up in the new pictures, just to make people aware that an album from that event was uploaded. Of course it all depends if CD has a space problem, and then you really would want to cut down the number of pictures uploaded.

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by Brandon Martus

I was thinking of adding a 'photos I dont want to see' option to the portal. You could put in a list of tags (or even users) that you wouldn't want showing up on the portal ("who am i", "off-season competition", etc)

Ouch.. can I be notified if I get on someone's ignore list then? That's kind of harsh and I would like to know why I made that list of outcasts for that person..

Originally Posted by Brandon Martus

I was also thinking about Who Am I .. I could have the system look at the WAI tagged photos, and if you have more than X in the system, it could warn you via a message up top by the countdown for Y days, and then delete an older one (that isn't currently set as your WAI).

Reading this whole thread, I think this is the only thing I actually agree on. You don't need a million archived WAI pics on CD. 5-10 max should be sufficient for most people. Once you upload a new WAI, and then upload another one, you hardly go back to the old ones. (As I have noticed in my 5 years on CD so far anyways.)

Also, maybe if you didn't want to delete the pics completely, maybe after a certain while just allow thumbs to show up, and if you really want to see a person's WAI from a long time ago that badly, PM them and request it.

I know I have gone back and looked at multiple WAI's of people to see what people looked like years ago after I have met them sometimes, and it's pretty cool to see how people changed over the years..

[Ken Leung]

Originally Posted by Brandon Martus

I was thinking of adding a 'photos I dont want to see' option to the portal. You could put in a list of tags (or even users) that you wouldn't want showing up on the portal ("who am i", "off-season competition", etc)

That might be a pretty cool feature. Kind of like the ability to config your portal page to only show threads from a certain section of the forum. I know I use that all the time to help me filter out a lot of junk when it comes to the build period. I would love to use this feature if there is one for the gallery.

My only other concern is, there may be some picture too graphic or too violent for this forum to be posted here. I haven't seen any so far that makes me want to ask them to be deleted, but some did make me think that some where along the line there is going to be a picture or two that crosses the line. There are younger kids browsing the forum since there are FLL and VEX discusss here too.

Other than that, I agree this is just the off-seasons, and people will have their focus back on robot and competition pictures once it get serious again.

[Tytus Gerrish]

I was unsure about the burn picture too thats why i Pm'ed Brandon and actually asked if it would be a problem if i posted it. If infact somone abuses there privliges of posting media then it, or there account will be deactivated untill the individual can show some responsibilty. I can name two people off the top of my head where that same action has been taken against and both of them are today Very High-posting productive indivudals on the fourms both with 11 Green dots

[Matt Krass]

I love CD-Media, and as Brandon can tell you, I was one of the first offenders of the “instant upload”. Speaking from my experience with that, and the kind of photos I’ve seen, I would recommend turning the approval system back on. Unfortunately it seems the community hasn’t learned yet what constitutes an “appropriate” or “useful” image. Pictures of robots, mechanisms, events, designs, diagrams, technical things like that all have a place in here. The Who Am I gallery also has a purpose. But some of the pictures I see being posted have no business up here, and some are just outright far too personal for my tastes. I think perhaps a system where a person needs to be approved for picture uploads, that after a certain trust is gained, such as X approved uploads, or a good ratio of approved to disapproved uploads, they can upload without moderation. These pictures slow down portal loading, and I would appreciate at least waiting for pictures that belong up here, instead of seeing several different shots of the same person doing something that they probably shouldn’t be advertising on CD anyway.

[Madison]

I don't mind that there is no longer an approval process in place for photos, though I can see where that might be problematic should someone consciously decide to abuse the system. Rather, I think that there are perhaps a handful of users that make improper use of the system to excess -- posting inconsequential, inappropriate and, ultimately, unneeded photos to satisfy their own vanity.

If you've uploaded more Who Am I?-type pictures than all other pictures combined, you're abusing the system. Consider seeking attention by contributing to the forums in more useful, productive ways.

When people start to cut down on the overall number of irrelevant pictures they're posting, the quality of the photos will improve and many of the reservations that have been expressed about the content of those photos will be addressed. Particularly, I'm of the admittedly old-fashioned opinion that photos depicting displays of affection and activities or dress that would be inappropriate in school are similarly inappropriate for this website.

[Greg Marra]

I would be a big supporter of filtering by tags.

[Travis Hoffman]

A decision on the approved posting rules for the Photoshop contest pictures would also be good. That is a gray area, because the pictures obviously aren't of a technical nature, but they support a contest that has been adopted by part of the community. Should those be posted to CD-Media, or instead should they only be embedded within the post? Or perhaps should they be hosted offsite and not posted to CD at all?

[Kim Masi]

although I have been guilty of just browsing CD media for countless hours, I do have to agree that things are getting out of hand.

pretty much everything that Kathie said sums it up. This isn't myspace. This is a forum that has been so graciously provided to all of us to share. I think if we all just took a moment to really consider what we post, then everything will be fine.

Just remember what you post reflects you, your team, and FIRST.