Moving the pics to another hosting service will require changing all the links in all the threads O-L has ever done. So far, we have a few guys saying it can be done, but nobody straight up volunteering to get it done. Without someone volunteering to do the changeover work, the alternative hosting solutions won’t do us any good. I’m not calling you out specifically, robo819. Just quoting the latest post, which happens to be yours. 
It’s not just the storage space but the bandwidth requirement that has to be considered.
With Photobucket it’s possible to revert back to the free account but there’s a bandwidth limit.
Yes robo
If you do 2 threads and I do the same with tinypic we have two covered and backud up
Could be a nice honoring thing backing up at least one OP of OL and distribute the load of doing so.
You are right , I did not volunteer as I am considering the time and my own personal circumstances. I have a lot of health issues myself and I do not want to do this unless I know a can stay dedicated to it and know it would not be an issue again in a short time. or even a year from now
I may be fine and have a lot of time to dedicate one day and then my back or heart acting up another day and there are times I pretty much have to stay in bed for the most part for days. That being said I may not be the best candidate for the job , just sayin not trying to make excuses.
EDIT: About the bandwidth issue , here is what it says on the Postimage site about that………
Add image uploading to your forum
The Simple Image Upload mod enables image uploading on your forum. All images are stored on our fast and secure network so it won’t take up any of your bandwith. Image uploading is very simple and your images will never be removed for inactivity. This mod is perfect solution for forums where visitors are not tech savvy and don’t know how to upload image or don’t know how to use [img] bbcode.
Reposting the original posts sounds very bad to me. Sometimes the discussion in the comments that follow the post is very helpful and all that would be lost. Plus then they wouldn’t all be grouped together under OL’s account, so he loses some name recognition plus they get a lot harder to find. Not good.
The best solution right now, even though it would be difficult, is for all the photos to be moved to another host. Imgur is very popular right now, and its free. No photo service is safe from being shuttered but of all the ones going at the moment Imgur seems the most stable. Maybe OL could give access to his blf account to a trusted forum member who could oversee the migration? Others I’m sure would help move the photos to Imgur (or whatever service is chosen), then forward the new photo links to the overseer to edit the posts.
I agree this is going to be an ongoing issue, and one that every community online faces. Community members leave for all sorts of reasons. The text is safe since its hosted on the forum - it’ll last as long as the forum does. The obvious solution is for the forum to host the photos, too. That would solve the issue but creates another: cost. That’s not really an option unless sb wants to take blf in a membership-only direction which would not be a good thing, I think. Any other solution is just a temporary stopgap though, because any photo service can be shuttered at any time too.
In the meantime, we need to be backing up OLs content. Every capable member here should be archiving his posts and photos so that, even if it requires sb’s help, the content could be recreated here if lost. Some of us with programming experience could quite easily write an automated solution I’m sure, but it can be done manually too.
Hmm I thought this was for talking about possible solutions
No I will not do all
But sure will do at least 2
If 100 people do 2 we have 200 threads that can be fixed when the pics go down
Then reverting to free can help because the threads will not generate as much traffic as when they were just posted.
If OL agrees and grants temporary access of his account to selected trusted volunteers who can do the grunt work of editing the posts, editing the images links and saving the images somewhere else.
This might be a possible solution?
I will gladly do it! But i would prefer to just pay the fees for the photo sharing services and not have any one touch OL work. It will be our dedication to him.
I agree that this is only the beginning of a great problem that could only be solved by storing all BLF images in the same place. What would be the cost per year to host all the images on the BLF server or in one common location?
how about downloading the pics, integrate them in a youtube clip and add them to the OP of each thread.
YT is now known for deleting stuff that conforms to the rules and regulations.
I had a (now sold) forum for 5 years with sligthy less traffic than BLF, i made 1500€ +/month with a single google ads banner (could have made much more by selling banner slot directly to advertisers), i had ample funds to rent a bad ass 2000€/year server and host teras of pics, maybe BLF isn’t monetized optimaly.
Okay, maybe I’m missing something here, but is it really worth keeping images in old threads around, if the OP lets them lapse? I can see them being useful for a few months, or perhaps even a couple of years. But, eventually, old information becomes irrelevant, at least in the context of electronics like flashlights.
The proposals mentioned here sound like an awful lot of work just to maintain pictures in old threads.
The real solution is to allow image-hosting directly on BLF, but I presume that’s out of the question going forward. If bandwidth is the concern, why not allow people to host the image file on BLF, but not allow them to display it automatically in-line. That way, readers would have to click on the image file to see it. I expect that would save 99% of the bandwidth, compared to displaying it in-line. For those that want to display in-line, continue to use external image hosting.
You’re not wrong obviously but I think the timeframe is a lot longer than you do. There’s no way we’ll be doing things completely differently from what we’re doing now in a couple of years. Sure there may be newer emitters and hopefully some fancy new drivers, but the actual act of modding/building lights should be very consistent for many many years to come. That goes extra for brands like Maglite. The general design of a Maglite hasn’t changed in many decades and they give no indication that they’re going to change it anytime soon. No, I think what OL does around here will be relevant for a very long time.
As far as how many images? My guess would be in the thousand+ range. Three imase servers I believe and about $100 per year over the three of them, but that is an estimate.
Do we even really need to keep them? That last post was a good question. When do we let go and move on? The question of the day and worthy of discussion.
I do not think I even remember which three hosts they are. I currently use imageshack, but I think photobucket and at least one other were used over the years. I would think the photos would have to be downloaded by clicking on the photo in the thread and saving it and then posting it back into the thread by editing the post. In other words, people would need my account info here and do the editing.
Maybe it's an idea just to let it all go or only to save a few threads. I don't know, so that is why I am asking.
Maybe this is a bit thinking out of the box (my usual self as we could not afford a box).
How about forming teams like the J-team (Sharpie and The Miller) which initially will include Old-Lumens as a member.
All he has to do is (I hope ?!?) granting some people access to one or more of his threads. O-L team1, O-L team2, … etc.
If a team-member no longer can do the chores (it is raining 737’s lately), a new team-member will be asked to step in.
And so on. Like my old job: an old temp breaks-in a new temp. Shoot me.
Problem solved. Taken over by another member. All is good.
Thanks
Seriously? Wow! That’s awesome!
google photo has for norm resolution pics unlimited free storage and in high res. 20000 free
Don’t slay the golden goose. Being a member is free and SB limits the add content to maintain download speed. Most other sites trip over their own advertising.
Yea, I think you’re missing a little something. At least I hope you were unaware when commenting.
“old information becomes irrelevant, at least in the context of electronics like flashlights”
These build threads are about the work, a lot of work, hand crafting something and seeing the result, sharing it. Plus the comments and discussion. Information is not the point.
I’m trying not to be rude. But must admit, I certainly have a little urge to rude. Especially since your post comes off as rude, imho. But then again, you might be just missing something.