 CRT News Update, Winter 2009 (Page 2) 
THE MSN MEMBERS AREA IS MOVING As many of you are undoubtedly aware by now, MSN Groups will be shutting down on February 21, 2009. MSN has been the host of the Members Area since July, 2004. Although occasionally subject to annoying technical glitches, the service has served us fairly well. The site provided a place to post messages, and to instantly post photographs for our 267 members. From my point of view as moderator, the service was very easy to use and to keep organized. We must now decide where to move the group, and I will ultimately leave it up to the membership as to where we will move to. First of all, please consider these options before deciding. OPTION 1: FLICKR.COM This photo hosting site works a lot like YouTube, where individuals first set up a personal Flickr account and post photos. Thereafter, those photos can be added to a group, which other members can view. I have already set up a CRT web site at Flickr, where we have 18 members and 300 photos. PROS: Flickr somehow is able offer virtually unlimited photo storage free of charge. This is no small benefit, as the old MSN groups (and most of their competitors) severely restrict photo storage. The 3MB limit set by MSN was typically used up in short order, requiring members to periodically delete older photos. Also, large size photos (above 640 pixels wide) were difficult if not impossible to upload. Squeezing down to 640 pixels degrades the resolution of otherwise good quality images. But at Flickr, it is possible to upload high-quality, full size images with little difficulty. The Flicker site reduces the images for ease of browsing, but they can be easily enlarged by one mouse click. Members could instantly download desired images from the pool, alleviating the need to e-mail "high quality" copies to other members upon request, as has been the practice among many of us in the past. CONS: (1) By moving to Flickr, we will lose all previously posted messages and images at the MSN group. We would essentially be starting from scratch. This may seem bad at first, but over time will be less noticeable. A little housecleaning may do us some good. (2) Also, I have found the Flickr group difficult to organize coherently. Without the ability to organize the photos into logical groups (albums), what we have is a bunch of pictures all lumped into one big album, with the newest pictures displayed first. To find one picture, you may have to look through every picture. Unless someone else knows how to manage the Flicker layout, we would have to live with this. OPTION 2: MULTIPLY GROUPS This is the chosen successor by MSN groups, and is laid out very much the same way as MSN. PROS: Multiply offers instant migration of the old group, with all messages and photos currently posted at MSN being transferred intact to a new site. I have already moved another of my (unrelated) groups from MSN to Multiply, and was quite pleased with the ease and speed of the transition. As individuals, members would need to join Multiply. But if we choose to go here, I will make the membership unrestricted (for 90 days or so) to ease the transition. In other words, after you get a Multiply account, you could join the new group without Administrator approval. I would monitor the membership and weed out the spammers as needed during this period. CONS: (1) Multiply has the same photo space and size restrictions as on MSN Groups. (2) The Multiply groups are not visible to the public, unless they already have a Multiply username and are signed in. This is terrible for group exposure, and a major flaw. This may only be a problem with Safari and Firefox browsers; I have not tested Multiply on Windows. (3) Multiply has, in my opinion, a stupid-looking "My Space" appearance which I could do honestly do without, but I do not consider this a deal-breaker. However, the site visibility is a major drawback. Even if we wind up here, I will not hesitate to move it again if it becomes a technical nightmare. OTHER OPTIONS: If you have any suggestions other than Flickr or Multiply, you are free to write them in as well. Only options that provide free hosting service will be considered. VOTING Eligibility: Anyone who holds membership in the group as of January 4, 2009 is eligible to vote. When to Vote: Voting will commence immediately. Which ever group receives the most votes by January 31, 2009, will become the new home of our Members area. An announcement will be automatically sent to all registered members. Where to Vote: Voting will be at the MSN Message board. Follow the link below, and then post a reply message on that thread with your choice written-in. Your choice will be noted, and all votes tabulated on January 31. Members may change their votes at any time until voting ends; simply post another reply with your new choice, along with a notation such as "changing vote". This will take you to the Members area at MSN. You will need to sign-in VOTING HAS CLOSED: The Members Area will reside at Flickr Groups NOTE-The changes discussed above apply only to the MSN Members Area/Message Board This web site (classicrefusetrucks.com) will not be effected in any way Despite many problems this month, I did manage to assemble a 13th edition of the CRT Collectors Corner. You can see some interesting models which have been sold on Ebay over the past weeks, as well as a larger picture of the new First Gear Heil bucket Loader. ODDS & ENDS Also, please note that Shaun Taylor's website formerly known as the SD Fan Group has moved to Yahoo under the name Shauns Shelvoke Site Be sure to change your bookmarks. Also for SD fans is Brian Carpenter's Unnofficial Shelvoke & Drewry site which has not moved, and is a good as ever. Brian has even created a link to download the quarterly newsletter in PDF format. I've also added a short page to the albums section on Highway Trailer, who were briefly involved with the NYC conveyor project in the 1930's This concludes the Winter 2009 update at CRT. I wish you all a Happy New Year. Eric Voytko January 4, 2009
© 2009 Eric Voytko All Rights Reserved Logos shown are the trademarks of respective manufacturers Photos from factory brochures/trade advertisements except as noted |