Consider removing 16MB limit to Upload Quota/attachments?

[Al Navas]

Question: WHY do I bring up this issue at this time?

ANSWER: Because several of the searches (Customer Images, etc.) I conducted recently yielded hits without the (original) attachments! The results of the searches were of little value to me - BUT they could have been VERY valuable had the attachments been available.

The value of a forum such as this one IS the fact that a newbie such as myself can (or should...) be able to search the forum and get relevant hits, including all attachments.

To do less than this results in a system that ultimately serves its users less than it should. I know that attachments can and will eat valuable disk space resources. However, large, VERY large disk drives and other media are cheap today, compared to just a few years ago.

I wonder if this could be reconsidered by the owners? Thanks!

[Michael Yeargain]

Al,

This would be a great thing to do, because I have had to remove so much of my own uploads just to post some pictures when someone needs a hand. I could imagine many of the post you searched were Dan's Kerry's or mine to name a few... Infact Dans number of posts are so high I have a hard time doing a search for something he posted and, I have cable ISP. at my home and dialup at the shop.

[Al Navas]

You are correct, Mike. It seems that many, if not most, of the Wizard contributors' attachments are GONE! This includes your attachments, Dan's, and Kerry's, for sure.

To the Forum Admins: PLEASE consider removing the limits on attachments. By applying these limits, the forum becomes less user-friendly as the expert users try to help newbies like myself.

Venting and ranting finished...

Thank-you for your attention.


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[Leo Graywacz]

You don't have to remove the limits. Just make a permanent archive of the most useful information. On a wood forum I frequent they do this often. They ask if they can have permission to use your photo and you give it to them and then it goes into their permanent archives. This way you can remove your photos out of your allotment and use it for more recent information uploads.

[Al Navas]

Leo,

Doing as you suggest, are the archives also searched and displayed when a user conducts a regular search?

I would not want to have to search two different locations to get relevant hits. But I may have misunderstood your explanation.

[Leo Graywacz]

In my other foruns one search does it all. I don't know how it would work here.

[Al Navas]

You don't have to remove the limits. Just make a permanent archive of the most useful information...

Therein lies the problem, Leo. Who would decide what is "the most useful information" ?

What is important to me may not be to you, or vice versa! The true value of this forum is that the information is (should be???) here for all to see, search, and share at any time.

I believe that Thermwood has gone the way of production sharing for very, very, VERY good reasons: The power it gives the community making stuff out on the machines, even though only a relatively small number of the members actually have the machines.

I believe that giving the users of the forum ALL the shared information is similar to production sharing. The users of the forum should be able to share ALL the information on the forum for a similar, good reason. The dissemination of ideas tends to stop if the information is not readily available and on hand when needed or desired.

I repeat the example I cited earlier:

A list of posts from a search is useless to me if only the text is available; the text refers to attachments much / most of the time. With only the text in front of me, and a reference to an attachment within that text, does not help me, as a user, since I cannot see the attachment or illustration.



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[Dean Fehribach]

<snip>...large, VERY large disk drives and other media are cheap today, compared to just a few years ago.<snip>

This statement is true for a non-redundant, non-server system. Storage space in the server arena is still quite expensive for mainly two reasons:

• 1.) RAID Arrays, and
  2.) Tape Storage

Let's say I want 500GB of storage on my personal PC. All I've gotta do is go out and buy a 500GB SATA or ATA drive and slap it in there at a cost of about $150. But a server, there's a different story.

For reliable uptime, RAID-5 with high MTBF, hot-pluggable SCSI drives is the minimum. This means at least FOUR 250GB drives (three for the array + 1 cold or hot spare) must be purchased. Each of these drives will cost around $620. Now, to provide disaster recovery (can't lose all those postings), we have to archive to tape and store off-site. Tape drives with 400GB native capacity will cost around $3,700 plus about $1,000 for media.

Suddenly, we're up to about $7,200 to bring a server up to 500GB of storage. I'm not trying to create a hyperbole here, but I am trying to explain that the server world is still quite expensive.

But, there is some good news coming. phpBB Version 3.0 (we're on phpBB Version 2.0.22) is due out soon, which will have a lot of great features. Also, the server that runs this forum is scheduled for replacemement sometime in the second half of this year. When that happens, it's likely that the Attachment quota will increase.

All of this is funded through the support of the software in purchasing through the software and through our online store, including design sharing purchases and the rental of carvings.

[Al Navas]

Thanks for the wonderful economics of the issue, Dean! I always seem to forget about the network behind my screen .

But I AM truly glad that the quota will increase some time in the foreseeable future. I was getting ready to ask whether Thermwood would match dollar for dollar a \"donation\" type of system to which interested individuals would contribute to the best of their ability. I would then suggest that it should be called the Al Navas Fund .

All kidding aside, thanks again for the wonderful explanation! I can see that there is truly no payback, unless a part of the network provides additional resources without requiring significant outlays. And with the new server coming in... well, that will do it nicely.

I will stand by looking innocent, and eagerly awaiting the new stuff, Dean.


THANKS!!!


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