Lord Raven of Minoc

UPDATE 04/19/2012: Dropbox folders are no longer being used. I’ve set up domain name for the gallery and it looks like Coppermine will be the CMS I use to manage the gallery. Take a look here.

After some brief but intense thought, I’ve decided that private folders are the way to go. I told folks that during Phase I, we would be seeing what works and what doesn’t so this is the first change that I’m going to implement.

If you would like to participate in the project, here’s how it works:

1. Go here, and read about the project then fill in the sign-up form.
2. I will send a Dropbox referral link to the email you provided in the sign-up form. It’s important that you use this link as it increases the size of the DMUO Dropbox account. If you already have a Dropbox account please check the box at the bottom of the form.
3. This is a critical step: After you set up your Dropbox account, wait until I email an invite link to the private folder you will use to upload your pictures. When you receive this email you will log into your Dropbox account (on the web) and you will see a message there informing you of the invite. Click  to accept that and the DMUO_yourname_private folder will activate and show up in your Dropbox folder on your Hard Drive.
4. In your private DMUO folder (DMUO_yourname_private) you will see a file called DMUO_README_private.html – click on it and it will launch your default browser so that you can read it. (It’s an HTML file).
5. The DMUO_README_private file has a link at the bottom that takes you to an external HTML file that has detailed instructions about participating in the project. The reason I link to an external file is so I only have to make changes to a single file that everyone can read. 
6. Now you are ready to begin uploading files! Woot!

The online readme file addresses security and privacy issues so it’s important that you read it before uploading. Nothing too scary, but it will answer some questions some folks may have (and hopefully keep me from having to answer the same questions repeatedly). This document will evolve as I get more participants until it turns into the official project FAQ.

Warning, Technical Stuff!

As I point out in the Mission Statement, Dropbox may be just one of the file sharing services that folks can use. I’m open to suggestions, and you could include your preference in the comment section of the sign-up form. Dropbox offers a free account but there is a 2GB size limit. Each time someone uses the referral link, it will add 250MB to the DMUO account, so you can see how its important for folks to use the referral link I provide (step 2). Since we are talking about screen captures, they aren’t huge files so I don’t think this will become a problem right away. After folks transfer their files to the DMUO Dropbox folder I may move those files onto my local storage (HD) to keep the main Dropbox from exceeding it’s capacity. I will notify you if I have to do this. Dropbox also has pop-up notifications that inform you of activity in your folders.

As I’ve pointed out elsewhere, Phase I is a collection and testing phase. I want to find out the easiest ways for folks to send me their image files and use their feedback to make final decisions on what service(s) to use permanently. Your images won’t get posted publicly until I implement Phase II. During Phase II, I will decide what the best way to publicly share all of these (hundreds) of images is. You will get to provide your feedback on these discussions and will be informed when they are published online. Here is a link to a mind map that might help clear up any of your questions on how this process will move ahead.

I will do my best to proactively address concerns through blog posts here, but if you have a question about something I don’t address submit it as a comment to one of the blog posts, or include it in the comment section of the sign-up form. Remember that there is additional documentation that participants have access to. (Remember those HTML files I mentioned in steps 4 and 5?)

************ UPDATE (2/16) ************

I will probably announce the project on various UO forum websites this weekend. Check the links to the right for your favorite boards and look for an announcement there. If you don’t see your board listed, shoot me a note so I can set up an account. I’m currently on Stratics, Ultima Online Forums, and the Atlantic Roleplay Community Boards.

This entry was posted on February 15, 2012 at 7:00 pm and is filed under Raven's Musings with tags Digital Memories of Ultima Online, DMUO, Dropbox, images, Lord Raven, Ultima Online, UO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.