The elephant in the room

link

Back on Dec 11th, people started getting the error below, it's got to do with using the site photo loading process, nothing to do with using a phone to post pictures, just doing it with the sites software.

67 ski nat wrote: Keno. Are you interested in helping kieth ‘management ’ the technical aspects of a website to perform better (pics, security etc) Or take over completely

Like Hollywood said, just trying to see what it takes for improvement ( and take care of the picture posting issue that he said would be fixed over a month ago) and now there is input from from multiple people and Keith can do whatever he wants with that input. 

It's his website. 

Regarding the elephant, no doubt demographics and lack of in-person interaction has hurt online participation, but from an everyday experience standpoint, I have to believe a big issue we’re having is the underlying site/forum platform. Like everything, technology has evolved as has the way in which we use it. This site is still built on a platform designed for when we did all of this on desktop computers. The overwhelming majority of use these days is on mobile devices. I believe the reason much of our traffic has moved to Facebook and others is because the user interface of those platforms makes it so easy to comment, post pictures, etc. I know there have been many instances where I wanted to chime in on something here, but knowing the 10 minute battle it was going to take to get logged in and get the post made discouraged me from doing do. 

This is no criticism of Keith as I can only imagine the cost to upgrade all of this is very high in money, time, expertise, etc. I’m just afraid the way in which we all interact, use our devices, etc. has evolved beyond what the current CCFan infrastructure offers. There is a direct correlation between use/participation and ease of use/usability. 

Like fanofccfan  ,me and the elephant know nothing about what's involved in running the site, but I do wonder how much commitment, dedication, effort (and whatever other words you want to throw in here) Keith gives to the site these days in what's probably a busy life with plenty of other stuff going on ?

is it out of the goodness of his heart.?

Now before anybody gets all hot and bothered and says I'm picking on Keith or CCF, let's just sat it's an effort to keep our favorite "best little niche website" healthy and profitable for he who runs it.. 

I'm sure I'm not the only one with the same thoughts, just the only one maybe dumb enough to actually ask the question we may or may not want to hear the answer to   

I suppose only one person knows the answer

How about this, the first/original CCF video (tho more a collection of stills vs a video) from 2007.

Yup, changed a lot through the years. I think I've given this speech before, but to recap.  One, you gotta figure, its coming up on 20 years.  That's a pretty good run, things are bound to change.  I really miss "the gang" and the chatter, banter and ribbing from yesteryear.  Very disappointed in the shift to Facebook.  I cant stand FB.  I dont like their outward political involvement (tho quite honestly, I guess it doesnt hurt me at all, so I suppose I shouldnt care, just the principle of it, I guess) I cant stand the fact that 3/4s of my page is either "sponsored" posts, or "suggested for you" crap  that I have no interest in, only serves as click bait to keep you there longer.  Its nothing but an advertising machine.  It is ruined.  Same management didnt ruin Instagram like that (tho I dont do instagram) Not sure why they had to ruin FB, but anyway.  But, despite all that, I still go there, as that is where the discussions on Nautiques, Classic CCs,  vintage boats, skiing (waterski hub and Hows my spray) barefooting (Barefoot Buds) vintage skiing and ski photos and on and on, are, and I enjoy looking at those.  What drives me nuts, is the misinformation over there, especially regarding old CCs.  So  much knowledge that is so completely wrong. I feel bad for people asking the questions because they get so much bad information.  I used to constantly tell people over there with questions to come over here, but I got out of that habit as I tend not to participate a much.

Sadly, I used to come here all the time to verify my statements, using the diaries or brochures, but since they are gone,those not much of a resource any more.  Hard to believe all that stuff wasnt backed up somewhere, especially the brochures, but oh well.  I certainly understand the photo challenges lowering the appeal of the site.  As far as Hollywood's comment about group texting, well that's fine, I suppose if you happen to be one of the six people in the group text, but there are a lot of us out here that are still interested in hearing about the Buckethead, or seeing videos of skiing or footing, or hearing about the activities of ski clubs or teams or seeing new purchases or seeing progress on projects, all of which is pretty limited now.  

I do appreciate what has survived the test of time.  Some new members, old members offering good advice and fixes, references over on FB to come over here for the right answer, so I guess we should be grateful for that.

Today's practice picture using IMGBB..................it 's ol' Cliff Claven himself  

early911Sregistry

Boss302.com

Don't personally do FB.

Part of the allure of these small(er) sites is photos. The sharing of photo details is often more helpful and more immediately understood than a thread of a dozen textual posts. 

I would support (however I could) a simpler, more robust photo insertion process.

As so often quoted here "We love photos"....

It is hard for all traditional forums to survive in this instant gratification world. My favorite forum, FOILFORUM.com, is gone. The activity bled out to a subforum on FB. That forum then got flooded by posts from stand up foilers. No hate here. A lot of us ride a stand up foil after wearing ourselves out on the sit down foil. The worst part of that was losing the searchable data base of posts. So much awesome material and it took many years to accumulate. You see basic questions repeatedly asked on FB and most experienced foilers simply skip the whole thing. It is sad to lose that community and the information that was so kindly shared. I pop into CCF everyday. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all the members whose posts have helped me so thoroughly enjoy my Nautique. 

It is actually rather cool and rainy today in San Diego, but I want to share the video linked above from Dec 24th. My buddy T rockin it in 71 degree sunny temps at San Vicente reservoir here in SoCal. Stay classy out there :)

Well, here's todays photo practice with IMGBB

I think this might look familiar to a new old face here on CCF