Attachment of photos to thread!

[White Exec]

All that is true, but how do you feel about our Forum not having "complete posts" in perpetuity, so that old and reference posts can always be read later down the line?

It would be a real loss if, for example, Self Help posts got stripped of their diagrams and photos because either the external hosting site closed or changed, or the original contributor did some housekeeping at that end.

And do we have a policy on this?

[Ciaran]

Hi guys,

You are all quite right, the retention of externally hosted images and the 'completeness' of our technical records in the future is something John and I have discussed at length over the years.
I believe I've finally devised a solution to this, which will take some effort, but I believe will work.

Like Will, elsewhere I tend to use external hosts, for general use they have their advantages as he outlines, however they're not the best if trying to preserve an archive for the future.

Re the image failing to upload problem, I hope to completely overhaul the forum and replace the server over the next few weeks, I hope this will finally let us weed out this elusive and annoying issue!

Ciarán

[MTXM]

Many thanks for you comments and suggestions chaps and especially to Ciaran in his efforts to fix the problem. With regards, Matthew T.

[xmexclusive]

There is a serious loss of photos and diagrams, particularly in the self help, of the other XM forum.
Much of this is due to use of external hosting then leading to removal over time.
It would be a pity if this site went the same way.

It was to protect against this loss that I started the archive discussions with Ciaran.
The copyright issue is only relevant to those that are prepared to honour copyright rules.
Currently we only archive our direct posts for security reasons so we do not loose everything.
We have quite a number of BOT's visit some a number of times each day.
We have virtually no control of the extent to which these visitors archive our material.
Searching for components in the far east sometimes throws up quite large chunks of XM sites data.
The BOT's we weed out just reappear in a new form or through a new route.
To be expected as many are operated for commercial gain.

John

[White Exec]

I must support John on this, in trying to see our Forum not just as a support for day-to-day issues that current XM owners encounter, but also as an authoritative and trusted resource that builds over time. I hope that this is not just for us here today, but might be for others who will come to own, or work on, an XM in the future. It is a car of remarkable character, ability and innovation, but one which requires understanding and accurate information.

As we know, huge amounts of time and effort go into Forum contributions, with some members going to great lengths to collect, collate, rescue and publish vital detail. Members' own repairs feed into this, by posing questions - which prompt answers - and reporting fixes. Gatherings, jaunts, rallies, shows, noggins, meet-ups and media publicity are all important, too.

Many of us will have looked at and used the original .com XM site, which still contains a lot of valuable information, but, as John says, is often extensively depleted when it comes to photos, diagrams and other appended files. This makes it difficult (or even impossible) to make sense of the surviving text. Some of these posts are years old, but detailed all the same.

What I'm saying is that, while using external image hosting is often quick and convenient, it does leave our Forum vulnerable to material loss. We know we have a temporary problem with Uploading (jpg) files, but hopefully this will get sorted soon. Normally, such uploading is quick and easy. It also ensures that our Forum posts are complete, and remain complete for the future. I think this is hugely important.