A plea to Webshots users

[Tom Rankin]

I'm not a Webshots user, but lately I have noticed that when I click on the full size picture link, it tells me that "This photo may only be saved by friends". (It then shows a full screen photo that is not savable by the usual methods, but print screen still works). This must have been a global change by Webshots.

Can people who use Webshots change this setting back to the way it was? Or maybe you can all just make me your friend?

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I noticed this too, just recently. You need to be a member and then click the "make friends" link on the webshots user you want to be friends with. Try it with me: http://community.webshots.com/user/timlucia. In the message include your name and/or e-mail and/or VFTT username so I recognize you...

I could not see any way to put it back to 'the way it was', sorry. Small / one-size only images is my least-favorite part of webshots, but it is still free and I have a lot of time and links invested in it.

Tim

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Tom -

As a workaround, you could use a screen capture program to grab photos off Webshots. Usually not as good quality as doing a "File, Save As", but better than nothing.

IrfanView (a freebie) includes this function.

 

[Mark Schaefer]

I'm not a Webshots user, but lately I have noticed that when I click on the full size picture link, it tells me that "This photo may only be saved by friends". (It then shows a full screen photo that is not savable by the usual methods, but print screen still works). This must have been a global change by Webshots.

Can people who use Webshots change this setting back to the way it was? Or maybe you can all just make me your friend?

Yes, this limitation is quite new. In late July I was able to save one of Tim's photos in order to edit (rotate and crop) the photo and post it in a critique thread here on VFTT.

As Tom states, he is not currently a Webshots user. When I logged out of Webshots and tried to send a "make friends" message to my own Webshots user, I eventually ended up at a Webshots logon screen. So I believe Tom would need to signup for a free Webshots account before being able to "make friends" there.

BTW, I know from the Can VFTT Save a Fire Tower? thread, that Tom was trying to view one of my images full size. I just replied to that thread with the info that Tom was attempting to see in the photo.

 

[Waumbek]

Why not just join up? Is Webshots not saying that if you want to lift large-size photos off this basically free serice, they need your free membership support with their advertisers? Or am I missing something here?

 

[Mark Schaefer]

Why not just join up? Is Webshots not saying that if you want to lift large-size photos off this basically free serice, they need your free membership support with their advertisers? Or am I missing something here?

Yes, anyone can sign up for a free Webshots id. Then you would have to "make friends" with another Webshots user before they could save or download their friends photos, or to view the photos at the "full size" (if the image stored on Webshots is larger than their screen size).

Webshots has been recently promoting the "grand opening of the NEW Webshots online store". I had thought the store was primarily to order products made from your own photos, but perhaps you can also have products made from your "Webshots friends" photos. So this new friends procedure might be related to their new online store.

The new friends procedure may have instituted at the request of their members; out of their desire to protect their images from general downloading. Previously anybody (including non Webshots users) could save, download, or fully view any public image stored on Webshots.

I have always thought that whatever I put on the web was basically wide open to anyone lifting the content - by any of a wide variety of methods. Many dSLR users need to downsize the image resolution before uploading to Webshots as there is a size limitation. So my images stored on Webshots are not the full image quality of the original. I could add a signature or copyright verbiage into the images. That is probably a good idea, although it would be very easy for someone to photoshop it back off.

 

[roadtripper]

I don't like this new feature at all. I think I might switch photo hosts, I've had enough of webshots.

 

[imarchant]

I'm not a Webshots user, but lately I have noticed that when I click on the full size picture link, it tells me that "This photo may only be saved by friends". (It then shows a full screen photo that is not savable by the usual methods, but print screen still works). This must have been a global change by Webshots.

Can people who use Webshots change this setting back to the way it was? Or maybe you can all just make me your friend?

This just started happening recently. The other thing I don't like is when I used to do this it would make a screen size picture, I could then right click the phote and see it at true full size (usually bigger than the screen) that could be scrolled. It no longer allows this true full size.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Why not just join up? Is Webshots not saying that if you want to lift large-size photos off this basically free serice, they need your free membership support with their advertisers? Or am I missing something here?

Even if I did join, (and I am not going to, I have my own hosting site), I would still have to make friends with every user of VFTT who uses Webshots, and I know there are plenty of them. This is not to 'lift' images, just to get a better view of some of them, or like Mark said, to edit the image and repost it.

 

[WinterWarlock]

Tom -

As a workaround, you could use a screen capture program to grab photos off Webshots. Usually not as good quality as doing a "File, Save As", but better than nothing.

IrfanView (a freebie) includes this function.

Try Gadwin's PrintScreen - it's a really nice free utility.


BTW - I just tried and clicked the "Download to Webshots Desktop" option instead...this did NOT require me to a friend (not that I can't be! )

 

[Tom Rankin]

Try Gadwin's PrintScreen - it's a really nice free utility.


BTW - I just tried and clicked the "Download to Webshots Desktop" option instead...this did NOT require me to a friend (not that I can't be! )

Good to know. Is the WS Desktop software annoying in any way?

 

[WinterWarlock]

Good to know. Is the WS Desktop software annoying in any way?

A little - it does pop up in the System Tray whenever any of my "Friends" adds new pictures...but you can turn that off, so once I realized that it wasn't so bad.

 

[cbcbd]

I don't like this new feature at all. I think I might switch photo hosts, I've had enough of webshots.

I agree. Was never a big fan although it seems like many VFTTers used it so it seemed sorta convenient for here. But since I share my pics with more than VFTTers it is becoming an inconvenience when there are other better options, like Picasa.

 

[DougPaul]

I have always thought that whatever I put on the web was basically wide open to anyone lifting the content - by any of a wide variety of methods. Many dSLR users need to downsize the image resolution before uploading to Webshots as there is a size limitation. So my images stored on Webshots are not the full image quality of the original. I could add a signature or copyright verbiage into the images. That is probably a good idea, although it would be very easy for someone to photoshop it back off.

IIRC, strictly speaking you already have an implicit copyright on the image. However, as you note, such is often ignored on the web.

You could also put a copyright in the exif data too.

Doug

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Switching is a huge PITA, especially if you want all your existing / old links to work. The only truly portable solution is self-hosting. Otherwise you have to live with changes from time-to-time. Heck even my comcast "free" web site has switched around to be much less easy to use That's part of the reason I use webshots.

Tim

 

[WinterWarlock]

Switching is a huge PITA, especially if you want all your existing / old links to work. The only truly portable solution is self-hosting. Otherwise you have to live with changes from time-to-time. Heck even my comcast "free" web site has switched around to be much less easy to use That's part of the reason I use webshots.

Tim

I know SmugMug has an import tool that supposedly brings in all your photos from other hosting sites....note, I haven't used it, but I did see that they offered that option.

 

[Waumbek]

Yeah, I agree, free sites all have annoying features sooner or later. I went to my own hosting site a while ago. They're cheap enough.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I know SmugMug has an import tool that supposedly brings in all your photos from other hosting sites....note, I haven't used it, but I did see that they offered that option.

Do they redirect all the links from my posts here and on my web site that are linked to the existing webshots URLs? I doubt it And that is the biggest part of the problem.

Tim

 

[WinterWarlock]

Do they redirect all the links from my posts here and on my web site that are linked to the existing webshots URLs? I doubt it And that is the biggest part of the problem.

Tim

Good point - but if you put the link to the SmugMug page in your signature, folks would find them. Just a thought...

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Good point - but if you put the link to the SmugMug page in your signature, folks would find them. Just a thought...

Yes, true, but then I cannot do inline photos in my TRs, a feature many have said that they enjoy. Well, I can inline photos, but I am relying on the URLs not changing, which in turn relies on the hosting service not changing, ...

Self-hosting isn't that expensive, but even something that inexpensive makes the Mrs. go "Hmm... make your VFTT friends pay for it if they want to see your pictures."

Tim