What's New? - mid Decmeber 2013

Links to a few pages on EdinPhoto web site
Home Page + Search	Latest Updates	Index: More Pages
Edinburgh Views	Edinburgh Maps	Leith
Recollections	Clubs + Discos	Transport
Photographers	Early Photography	Edin Photog Soc
Monopoly Board	email me	Other Web Sites

This site, like many others, uses cookies. See more details here.

Please choose: 1. YES: I agree to the use of cookies. 2. NO: I do not agree.

December 11-20, 2013

If you have a Twitter account and would like to receive tweets from time to time about updates that I make to the EdinPhoto web site please follow me. Here is a link to my Twitter Account: @PeterEdinPhoto

©
Dec 19, 2013	St Stephen Street Shops No. 24, interesting names	1400 size	2 new pages
Dec 19, 2013	Edinburgh Shops, interesting names Reply 1 'Firth of Froth' page updated

©
Dec 19, 2013	Where are the Road Works? Reply 6, Ravelston Dykes Road page updated
© ©
Dec 19, 2013	Ravelston Dykes Road 1826 Map Google Street View page updated

Dec 19, 2013	St Cuthbert's Milk Deliveries Recollections 18 page updated
Dec 19, 2013	St Bernard's Primary School Recollections 3, early-1900s page updated

© © © © © © © ©
Dec 17, 2013	St Cuthbert's Milk Deliveries Recollections 17, John Tait page updated
Dec 17, 2013	St Cuthbert's Milk Horse, 'Ginger' larger photos new page

Dec 17, 2013	Gorgie Recollections 43, Cox's Glue Works new page

© ©
Dec 16, 2013	Santa's Grotto Bus Waverley Bridge, 2 photos, Dec 2013	1400 size	2 new pages

© ©
Dec 16, 2013	Buttercup Dairy Co (a) 5 lb pot and lid (b) detail page updated
Dec 16, 2013	Buttercup Dairy Co Recollections 1 + 2, Pot and Farm page updated

Dec 16, 2013	Leith Houses Recollections 7, Anderson Place page updated
Dec 16, 2013	Brown Brothers Engineers Recollections 9, Q: Ship's Wheel page updated
Dec 16, 2013	Edinburgh Words 'Wigglie' page updated

EdinPhoto Guestbook

Result of Discussions

1. Three days ago, I mentioned that I felt the EdinPhoto guestbook had served the site well for several years, but the time had come to stop posting any further messages in the guestbook.

Instead, people should send messages to me (as most people already do). Then, I'll add the messages to the appropriate page on the web site.

2. I asked for your reaction to this suggestion. Thank you for your replies. The suggestion has now been agreed.

An expansion of this note (for anybody who wishes to read more) can be found at the bottom of this page.

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: December 14, 2013

©
Dec 14, 2013	Horse & Cart outside Palace of Holyroodhouse	1024 size	2 new pages

Dec 14, 2013	Fishing boat Gratitude Q1, Answer 2, Where is she now? page updated
Dec 14, 2013	Family of JCH Balmain, Photographer Message 3 page updated
Dec 14, 2013	Canaan Lodge Reply 16, 1946-80s, May McGuinness + Children page updated
Dec 14, 2013	Greetings sent to EdinPhoto Guestbook or to EdinPhoto web site new page
Dec 14, 2013	EdinPhoto Guestbook Revised Instructions + updated stats page updated

EdinPhoto Guestbook

Suggestion

I feel that the EdinPhoto Guestbook has become more trouble than it is worth. I suggest that I leave the messages that have already been posted in it, but close it to future postings.

Instead, I would leave everybody to send their messages direct to me by email - as most people already do - rather than post more messages in the Guestbook.

I'll then add their messages to the appropriate page on the EdinPhoto web site. If there is not yet an appropriate page, I'll create one. Perhaps I'll start by creating a page for Tam McLuskey and anyone else who sends a message saying 'Happy Christmas to al!' or similar message.

If you'd like to know more about my reason for making the suggestion above, please read my Background paragraphs below . I apologise for the length of these comments!

Replies Please

Please email me to let me know if you would be comfortable with this suggestion. I look forward to reading your replies.

I realise that a small number of people would have to change how they sent messages, but I'd hope that they would accept this, and soon recognise advantages in this change.

UPDATE

Thank you for all your replies. None of the people who replied has asked to be able to continue posting messages in the guestbook. Please click on this link to read the replies that I received.

Conclusion

I'll add a note to the guestbook telling people that the guestbook will remain (for the time being, at least) so that anybody who wishes to can view old messages that have been posted in it.

However, I'll ask for no further messages to be posted in the guestbook. Please send any future messages that you might have considered posting in the guestbook to me by email.

I'll then arrange for the messages to be added to the appropriate page on the EdinPhoto web site. That way, I believe that more people who are looking for information will be likely to come across your message.

Occasionally, I receive more personal emails that I think would be more appropriately sent between individuals, rather than added to the EdinPhoto web site. When that happens, I try to find the email address of the person wo whom the message has been written and pass that on to the sender. I'll continue to do that.

Background

For several years the EdinPhoto web site has been linked to a guestbook hosted by Bravenet. I've had some reservations about the EdinPhoto Guestbook for a while.

In particular:

1. Only a very small proportion of people use the Guestbook.

2. I don't know the email addresses of many of the people who have contributed to the Guestbook so I have no easy way of contacting them.

3. Where questions are asked in the Guestbook, I feel that there is not a high chance of them being seen by people who might be able to supply answers.

So, I often copy the questions into the appropriate section of the EdinPhoto web site, but it can take a lot time for me to work my way through postings, and any recent replies to earlier postings, then transfers the messages into the EdinPhoto web site.

My time could probably be more profitably spent in catching up on my backlog of emails and adding more new photos and other content to the EdinPhoto web site.

4. There are some features of the Guestbook design that I am not happy with, but feel frustrated about because I have no control over them, e.g.

- not being able to break down replies into paragraphs, to make reading easier.

- there being no notifications sent to people who have posted messages to let them know when anybody has sent a reply to their posting.

5. The guestbook looked useful when I first set it up, but looks rather more dated to me now - especially as some other sites have found ways to let their users post messages very easily and get feedback more instantly.

6. And this was the final straw ...

I discovered, last week (without any warning, so far as I was aware) that Bravenet have now changed the way they expect people to use their Guestbooks:

- Bravenet are now displaying this message for me (and no doubt for others):

Message displayed by Bravenet

"Your Browser Does Not Support this Bravenet Service. This Bravenet Service requires javascript to be enabled and the latest Flash player to be installed ...."

- I've spent some time investigating, but:

- I've not yet been able to get the Guestbook working for myself using my normal browser, Internet Explorer.

- Using Firefox, I can get a little further and post some replies but when I try to post other replies, the Guestbook 'hangs' with the message: "Please wait, validating comments entry". I don't know why.

- I really don't feel that any of us should be spending any more time trying to overcome this week's problems with the Guestbook. Hence my suggestions above.

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: December 11, 2013: Updated December 14, 2013

__________________

Links to a few pages on EdinPhoto web site

Home Page + Search

Latest Updates

Index: More Pages

Edinburgh Views

Edinburgh Maps

Leith

Recollections

Clubs + Discos

Transport

Photographers

Early Photography

Edin Photog Soc

Monopoly Board

email me

Other Web Sites