Announcement: All lockers will no longer be accessible on or after July 20, 2007
 

Just in case some members don't look up above the page, there is an announcement about the lockers that you should be aware of. Here is the Announcement. Thought I would call your attention to it if you had not seen it yet. Thanks

Thanks Earl.

...you mean...ill FINALLY have a working locker?



SWEEEET!!!

Does that mean after July 20th all thread posts that had photo's linked to our lockers will lose those links?
Gene

Yes.......

Is there anyway to leave those files there, but non editable. There's going to be alot of technical posts and how to's that will no longer make sense or be helpful.

I'm sure some of them were done by members that aren't active so they won't be updated with the new photos.

yikes! 123

From what I can tell, the answer is no.

However, if you guys can compile a list of threads that are affected by this, we can build offline how to's or even update the relevant pointers to the pictures as needed.

I will be rebuilding the How-To Locker like it is now, but it will be different addresses, so the links from past posts will not work. I will also work on a table of contents for it so that someone can see what is there so they just have to click on the list and it will take them to the How-To that they want.

The lockers will be different than now. Every one will get locker space, but more storage space and other perks will be available for different levels of membership. There will also be rules of what can and what can not be put into the lockers. It will be covered in the rules which will be posted when this new system starts. Much more later. There will be changes, and they will be to enhance the speed and operation of the network. :)

Might I suggest that you (Earl) and Chris change the subjects to be just a little more descriptive. E.g., "Announcement: All lockers will be deleted on July 20, 2007." More people may take heed.

This even warrants blasting an e-mail or PM to every user who has >0 pictures in his locker. [EDIT: I see you've already done this.]

I agree with Dave — there are probably thousands of posts that point to pictures in the lockers. Not only have some users disappeared, but some others who are still active may not take the time to download their pics by the deadline (and then re-upload them after the changeover).

While I understand and applaud the need to upgrade to a saner locker system, and even to weed out useless or off-topic pictures, it will be a real shame to lose any technical, SVX-related diagrams, pictures, and documents.

Are you guys at least going to archive the entire locker directory tree offline, so we can request that important files be recovered whenever we run across old posts that reference them?

Could you code some kind of placeholder, so that after the change, any reference to a picture in the old locker scheme will display a default "picture missing" image? That way, people will see that something is missing and know to ask about it. (In many cases where people embed a picture, because of the way vBulletin works it's not immediately obvious that something is missing if the picture is not displayed).

Us "normal" users doing this manually will be excruciatingly difficult. If the "search" function permitted searching for embedded URLs (such as "subaru-svx.net/photos"), this would be more doable.

It would help greatly if you mods could run a search of all threads which contain at least one link into a locker. Generate a list of thread topics (with thread links), plus whatever other information is easy to include — author, post number(s), locker user(s).

Perhaps gather a select group of volunteers who could divide up that list and identify the posts which contain pictures that are worth transplanting to the new lockers. I'd be happy to be one of the volunteers.

Alternatively, you could run a similar query for each user ('all threads containing a post by user X that contains a pointer into user X's locker) and send the list to each user. Those of us who are still around and active will hopefully fix our own posts.

Either way, the list of thread topics alone would help us more quickly find the posts likely to need links updated (for example, we'll look at a thread that talks about 'A/C repair' before bothering with one that talks about 'stupid hamster tricks').

Also, don't you think it would be a good idea to prevent new uploads into the lockers starting now? Since you know you're going to switch, it will only compound the problem to continue allowing people to add new files.

Since messages permit attachments, that should cover any urgent needs in the short term.

I dont have access to query the database for such links... Chris will most likely not have the time.

I was hoping that the posts composers wpuld be able to do this (if they are still around... merely asking for help, not for it to just be done

Done...........

The problem is that the photos/lockers system was a quick and dirty cobbled up set of coding put together by an assistant administrator that has sold his SVX and has not been around for a long time. I am working 2 jobs, and Jim works as an engineer at Fiberpipe with a full load on his table as well as dealing with the preparations of Jr. #2 to his family. We have A LOT of work to do in accomplishing the server migration and implementation of new features. The old lockers system would take many hours/days of custom code to "easily" migrate the system over. It uses a front end PHP code system that is not going to move to the new server. We already have to export and re-import over 4 gigs of database because our version of mysql (database server) is not compatible with the code upgrades and version revisions of 3.6.7 PL1. Rest assured that we will do everything possible to prevent from loosing important data. Please understand that between Jim and I we have much to accomplish and we had to prioritize. Even the IRC chat system will be down for a bit after the migration. But it will return, and might be even more user friendly. The new photos area will include a button on peoples name/icon area of every post that hotlinks directly to that persons gallery. This will be a direct improvement.

Some of the problems that exist are as follows.

• 2/3rds of all the bandwidth used for the SVXWN is lockers
• 3/4 of all the lockers bandwidth is not SVXWN related. We have people that have stored illegal MP3s, business documents, general file store, ebay auction images, etc. The strain on the system is mostly NON-SVXWN related. A few people have made it difficult for everyone else (as is always the case).

There is a possibility of extending the life of the current system to allow for people to have more time, but I will need to discuss the logistics of this with Jim tomorrow.

I hope this allows for a little more understanding from the inside.:cool: