Photo hosting??

[Dark_Angel_25]

I was using Imagestation to host the pics I put up on this site, I was directed there by BeeJay who also uses/iused them, and I had no problems... but yesterday when I was posting pics in the General Lizard forum, they weren't working.. so I had to select only a couple of pics and download them into my gallery here to post... but why is Imagestation not working anymore?

It is such a hassel to use this gallery because I have to delete older pics to upload new ones... does anyone else use a photo hosting site that still works with SsnakesS.com?

Any help is welcome...
Thanks,
Tracy

[Siretsap]

I use the ssnakess one. But I never post pics on here, only a few times. But I guess if you can spare the money, ssnakess is the best way to go, helps them out and eventually will give the users more benefits. ;-)

If not, just type free photo hosting in a google search or something

[Matt_K]

You could just upgrade your photohosting account so that you don't have to delete pics to make room for new ones..

[Dark_Angel_25]

Matt K.. I would donate to SsnakesS to get a larger account, but money is really tight with the BF not working.. Imagestation so far doesn't have a limit... and I on't have to delete the files form Image station to upload new ones, all my pics are there, but when i put the link between the [IMG] 's it only shows 'X'

do you know if they have stopped allowing outside linking? either SsnakesS or Imagestation? and how could I find that out? as I said it worked no problem before... last night all I would get was the red X of death...

[Matt_K]

Im not sure it's an issue of ssnakess not allowing the linking, atleast im not aware of any change there.. As for Imaginestation not allowing it, i haven't the slightest clue, i have never used anything other then my account on ssnakess.

[MouseKilla]

I've had the same problem with ImageStation... not sure why.

If not for the sales pitch I would have left this alone but I don't know why anyone would pay for a service that is commonly offered for free elsewhere. Why not have a sSnakeSs search engine that we can all pay to use instead of the free ones out there?LOL!

If the site needs money then maybe it should look at selling something you can't get free somewhere else. This site has now captured the interest of something like 4,000 (?) registered users, talk about an advertising opportunity! If there is any money to be made (or even recovered), that's where it is. What better place is there for breeders to access their potential customers? What better place for vendors to show off their products?

I know the site already sells banner ads and whatever else but when there is this constant push to buy a service from the site that can be easily acquired elsewhere for free I have to wonder if they're charging enough for their ad space. I don't know for sure that's the case but I do know that trying to support a site or anything else buy attempting to sell things that are free elsewhere will be about as successful as a business that tries to sell those AOL CDs or samples of TIDE you get in the mail.

[SerpentLust]

www.photobucket.com is friggen awesome, go there

[Cruciform]

When Ssnakess provides a service that helps keep it running (photohosting), it's in very poor taste to post ads for other companies that run similar photo hosting. It's basically telling people not to support the site.

Advertising revenue has been terrible since the "dot.bomb" crash, and very few sites can live on that alone.

I for one would like to see this site around for a long time to come.

[Lisa]

You do get free photohosting @ snakes, 1 meg worth. You want more, then pay for more.

[vanderkm]

I sort of figure that you get what you pay for - had lots of problems with free photo hosting sites collapsing or failing, or other issues with access - what they would and wouldn't let me link to.

The photohosting I have here is always reliable, easy to use and worth it to me, not only to support a great site, but to be able to count on it performing.

mary v.

[MouseKilla]

Cruciform,

I don't doubt that there is less money in selling ad space on websites than perhaps there once was, maybe not enough to keep this site or others running, I really can't say myself. What I said was that IF there is any viable source of income for a website like this one that's where it is, not in trying to sell something that isn't marketable because you can get it free elsewhere (or significantly more of it for free, to be more accurate).

It seems to me that the photohosting thing here is more of a way of soliciting donations. I find this a little confusing because either this site is a business that sells products or services to a group of customers or it's a sort of community bulletin board that isn't profit oriented and genuinely needs those who use it to support it. It's not for me to decide which of these this site is but it certainly can't be both at the same time.

Maybe I've misunderstood something here and the motives of the owners of this site aren't to sell anything or make money but to run a community site for us all to share. If that's the case then it's probably more appropriate to charge a membership fee than to hope people will buy something they don't need or wouldn't ordinarily have to pay for.

Personally I would consider buying a membership to use a site that I found useful in some way but I will never buy anything from anyone that I don't need or I if can get a better price somewhere else. I guess I just don't know where I stand here; am I customer or a member of a community? If I'm a customer I say: no thanks, I can get a better deal. If I am a member of a community then let me in on how much money is needed and be up front about asking for donations instead of hoping I'll feel guilty about not "buying" a photo account.

[Dark_Angel_25]

well imagestation changed their policy no more outside linking..

[Matt_K]

Originally posted by Cruciform
When Ssnakess provides a service that helps keep it running (photohosting), it's in very poor taste to post ads for other companies that run similar photo hosting. It's basically telling people not to support the site.

Unfortunatly it happens all to often though..

[Dark_Angel_25]

I have every intention of 'supporting' this site, but as of right now, and in the near future, I don't have the means... Believe me I totally believe in helping out someone/something that helps me out. but right now I can't. many circumstances behind it none of which I am going to get into because I don't feel it is anyone's business, but yeah so that is it.

So thanks to those who suggested some sites, and I will look around and find something eventually..

[Youkai]

It seems to me that the photohosting thing here is more of a way of soliciting donations. I find this a little confusing because either this site is a business that sells products or services to a group of customers or it's a sort of community bulletin board that isn't profit oriented and genuinely needs those who use it to support it. It's not for me to decide which of these this site is but it certainly can't be both at the same time.

Maybe I've misunderstood something here and the motives of the owners of this site aren't to sell anything or make money but to run a community site for us all to share. If that's the case then it's probably more appropriate to charge a membership fee than to hope people will buy something they don't need or wouldn't ordinarily have to pay for.

I don't think you have any idea how much money Jeff and Shane pay out of their pockets to keep this site going. You may not realize it, but keeping a site going like this is <i>expensive.</i>

I'm sure more people would complain about a membership fee (EVERYONE would NEED to purchase one) than the photo hosting.

If you know somewhere where you don't have to pay for it, then go there and don't harp on the site.

You need to understand that Bandwidth = MONEY THAT IS PAYED OUT OF THE OWNERS POCKETS. If everyone could upload as many photos as they wanted....well, I'm sure you can understand how that would be.

They've graciously allowed 1MB per member...if you want more, go elsewhere or donate to the site to get more space. But don't get mad at them for having to find a way to pay for the site so that YOU can keep using it, but don't HAVE to pay for it...

[Cruciform]

Mousekilla,

I wasn't arguing with you :) I was just pointing out that when the site that hosts a community sustains itself by offering a service, it's bad for the site when it's own forums/etc. advertise someone else's services.

Sure, it seems like a small thing, but in the 10 years I've been on the net and the 14 years before that in the BBS scene I've seen lots of good sites and bulletin boards go down because they just couldn't meet the growing requirements of the communities they supported.

ImageStation blocked images leeching for essentially the same reasons. They pay out a small fortune to serve up that many images a month, and when another site simply points to the images it costs them money, while the other site gets the traffic and possible ad revenue.

This trend of remote-blocking will increase as time goes on, and we're already starting to see more of the corporate sites require subscriptions for their services. People like free, but free still has costs for someone.

[MouseKilla]

Youkai,

You're right, I don't have any idea whether this site makes a hundred million bucks a year or is several thousand in the hole. If this site isn't viable as a business then maybe the membership should rightfully all pitch in to support it and collectively own it. All I'm saying is that I don't buy anything I don't need or want. I'm not in the market for a photohosting account so I haven't bought one, from anyone. If I were in the market though I would buy it here because this is a great site.

As for "finding a way to pay for the site so I can use it, but not HAVE to pay for it...", point taken, I think that's the only reason there are so many members. I'm not complaining about it I'm just saying it's a little bit disingenuous to try to solicit donations by calling it something else. It would be entirely different if photo accounts were given away as part of an honest fundraising effort to contribute to a non-profit sort of club or community but when you are SELLING something you are a business; businesses aren't charitable organizations or groups that depend on their members to support them. Nobody donates to a business, they buy things from them; see the difference?

So what are we dealing with here, a club of herpers that all want to get together to keep things going, or is this a business that sells advertising to other businesses to access this audience and also sells photo accounts? I would consider donating to a club or non-profit community that I enjoy but I will NEVER give money away to a business.

[Lisa]

The free ride on the internet is over. Think of it as a teaser to get you to subscribe.

[Youkai]

Mousekilla, I have to apologize - I came off sounding a lot nastier than I intended.

Basically, ssnakess.com provides certain services to us for free. But for those people who would like more, they can pay for it and thus support the site. The thing is, that money goes towards the site. I don't know if things are different now, but last I checked the site still wasn't supporting itself. Any money paid for those services go towards keeping the site going, and that is it.

The bottom line is that we all love this site, but it is unfortunately expensive to run. I like the way they raise money. The T-shirts, photo-space and banner ads...the stuff is useful, but you aren't forced to pay for it.

I think your deffinition of business and what this site is are a little too black and white. This site is not a charitable organization and I don't think they have ever claimed to be so. It is also not a retail business.

It is an online community, and that can include sales and purchases, including from the site itself. You are free to donate to the site to keep it going, or you can get something for that money. That way you get something you can use, and also help in keeping the site running.

[MouseKilla]

I have to disagree with that. The internet has an audience and audiences are always worth money. Advertising is what keeps television alive (like it or not) and I think the same thing will happen online too. The only exceptions will be specialty sites that only appeal to a small market (like some of the digital channels on TV now) those will need money either instead of or in addition to advertising revenue.