Dropbox' Public/ folders will be phased out soon • Hacker News Board

Re: Dropbox' Public/ folders will be phased out soon

#91

Post by simonbrown » Fri, Jun 15, 2012, 5:08 PM UTC

SoftwareMaven wrote: post #78

villagefool wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> - put media specific folders in the public folder (maybe at different price tiers) and turn it into a flickr/soundcloud/youtube competitor! Is it really a good idea to open multiple fronts against services which are 'pro' at what they do?

I would LOVE it if DB became a YouTube competitor. I don't share many videos on YT because it is so annoying to upload them. If I could just fling them in a DB folder and know my online video library was growing, my family and I would be posting many, many more. However, I'd understand why DB would stay far away from that (too distracting from the core mission). They have to find somewhere new to grow into, though. I…

Even though there's an upload limit, it might still be possible to create an app that plays back uploaded files by getting a /media link and embedding the URL in a flash/HTML5 player.

A browser extension/desktop program could possibly add a "get video link" option to the Dropbox interface.

Re: Dropbox' Public/ folders will be phased out soon

#92

Post by protospork » Fri, Jun 15, 2012, 5:14 PM UTC

derefr wrote: post #75

Here's a question (that probably only Dropbox themselves can answer, until this change comes down the pipe)--the email said this: > After July 31, we will no longer create Public folders in any new Dropbox accounts. Now, I've deleted my Public folder before, and it seems that recreating a folder named Public in the Dropbox root and restarting the sync daemon was all that was needed to convert it back into "the" Publi…

From what's been said in the forums and implied in that email they sent to API users, they're leaving the functionality in and just no longer creating the folder on install.

My question is: How long is that functionality going to stick around for legacy users after it's been hidden by default?

EDIT: Indefinitely. I wonder if that's according to the modern usage or the dictionary one... http://forums.dropbox.com/topic.php?id=62424&replies=8#p...

And to answer your original question, I was wrong and new users won't get access at all: http://forums.dropbox.com/topic.php?page=2&id=62381&...

Re: Dropbox' Public/ folders will be phased out soon

#93

Post by soupboy » Fri, Jun 15, 2012, 5:19 PM UTC

reneherse wrote: post #90

Houston, we have a problem. Just about the only thing I use Dropbox for is the public folder. I've gotten many of my friends and collaborators to sign up for the service, based on the recommendation of this very feature. It's been a real boon for rapidly iterating front end mock ups. Dropping support for what Dropbox evidently regards as "edge use cases" is not how you "build the next Apple or Google". The Public fol…

I think you are overreacting. Are you serious about using the public folder for "rapidly iterating front end mock ups"? Why would you want to put sensitive and confidential data for everyone in the world to see?

Re: Dropbox' Public/ folders will be phased out soon

#94

Post by sixbrx » Fri, Jun 15, 2012, 5:22 PM UTC

barik wrote: post #67

antihero wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok so say you're bashing out a HTML site with some other frontend people, so you throw it up on your Public folder, and they can access it at /u/8798798/whatever/index.html, and their browsers can access associated content (html, css). This is used a LOT in the web design industry, and taking this out is going to piss a lot of people off.

From my perspective, it seems like these customers are not the target market for Dropbox. As such, I hope that Dropbox continues to cater to people like myself, who use Dropbox for synchronization across machines instead of as a substitute for hosting services as other people are trying to do. It's nice that they were able to do so, but I'm not sure it was ever advertised as such. To me, Dropbox sharing is a substitu…

I don't think allowing direct access to your files, within the limits of your data plan, is trying to offer everything to everyone. That is specializing in doing one thing well, allowing access to files. Trying to second guess what the purpose of the access is, and allowing some accesses and not others, on the other hand is invasive and trying to put the smarts in the middle instead of at the edges where it belongs.

Re: Dropbox' Public/ folders will be phased out soon

#95

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Jun 15, 2012, 5:47 PM UTC

protospork wrote: post #92

derefr wrote: post #75

Here's a question (that probably only Dropbox themselves can answer, until this change comes down the pipe)--the email said this: > After July 31, we will no longer create Public folders in any new Dropbox accounts. Now, I've deleted my Public folder before, and it seems that recreating a folder named Public in the Dropbox root and restarting the sync daemon was all that was needed to convert it back into "the" Publi…

From what's been said in the forums and implied in that email they sent to API users, they're leaving the functionality in and just no longer creating the folder on install. My question is: How long is that functionality going to stick around for legacy users after it's been hidden by default? EDIT: Indefinitely. I wonder if that's according to the modern usage or the dictionary one... http://forums.dropbox.com/topic…

[deleted]

Re: Dropbox' Public/ folders will be phased out soon

#96

Post by TillE » Fri, Jun 15, 2012, 5:51 PM UTC

protospork wrote: post #92

derefr wrote: post #75

Here's a question (that probably only Dropbox themselves can answer, until this change comes down the pipe)--the email said this: > After July 31, we will no longer create Public folders in any new Dropbox accounts. Now, I've deleted my Public folder before, and it seems that recreating a folder named Public in the Dropbox root and restarting the sync daemon was all that was needed to convert it back into "the" Publi…

From what's been said in the forums and implied in that email they sent to API users, they're leaving the functionality in and just no longer creating the folder on install. My question is: How long is that functionality going to stick around for legacy users after it's been hidden by default? EDIT: Indefinitely. I wonder if that's according to the modern usage or the dictionary one... http://forums.dropbox.com/topic…

Nope.

> Unfortunately, new users will not be able to get the functionality just by creating a new Public folder.

http://forums.dropbox.com/topic.php?page=2&id=62381&...

For whatever reason, they seem intent on killing the feature. Extremely disappointing.

Re: Dropbox' Public/ folders will be phased out soon

#97

Post by picklefish » Fri, Jun 15, 2012, 5:59 PM UTC

My Honor's thesis has been in my Public folder for several years now and is even referenced in a paper. While I realize this probably isn't the most ideal location, it's served me well. If I understand this correctly I'm grandfathered in and won't lose this functionality, correct?

I also use the public folder daily for sharing screenshots and other files. It really has solved the filesharing problem for me and I'm disappointed they are adding to the complexity to such an easy and great filesharing method.

EDIT: Also the only reason I'm still with dropbox is the public folder, I moved all my other data to Google Drive when it was released...

Re: Dropbox' Public/ folders will be phased out soon

#98

Post by Florin_Andrei » Fri, Jun 15, 2012, 6:07 PM UTC

bane wrote: post #22

This is a move absolutely in the wrong direction. I'm sure the idea is to push more eyeballs across the DB logo and grow the userbase. But to those users, DB will look like yet another fileshare a la megaupload/filefront/whatever and not something particularly special. Here's some better ideas: - harden up the way users want to use the public folder and make it more like a CDN - Add another price tier if they must to…

I, for one, will keep my Public folder and only make the files within it public.

Re: Dropbox' Public/ folders will be phased out soon

#99

Post by Florin_Andrei » Fri, Jun 15, 2012, 6:11 PM UTC

euroclydon wrote: post #51

What I find disappointing is their focus on photo uploads. I think users really just want to pick a best of breed provider for major features like this in their lives, and Facebook has photos sharing locked up. Dropbox has brought simple file synchronization between machines that are not necessarily on the same network, to the masses, but they need to do it in away that doesn't make you want to drop Dropbox when it g…

I thought the recent update for their iPhone app, when they enabled auto-upload of photos, was the greatest thing ever. I don't use the iCloud or whatever it's called, but I do use Dropbox all the time.

Auto-upload solves all sorts of issues I had, or things nagging me in the back of my mind, from realistic ones like transferring photos to computers, all the way to paranoid fantasies like "I wish I could snap a picture of this police officer and then laugh in his face - go ahead, beat me up and take the phone from me, it's too late now". :)

Re: Dropbox' Public/ folders will be phased out soon

#100

Post by AgentConundrum » Fri, Jun 15, 2012, 6:26 PM UTC

glesica wrote: post #52

bane wrote: post #22

This is a move absolutely in the wrong direction. I'm sure the idea is to push more eyeballs across the DB logo and grow the userbase. But to those users, DB will look like yet another fileshare a la megaupload/filefront/whatever and not something particularly special. Here's some better ideas: - harden up the way users want to use the public folder and make it more like a CDN - Add another price tier if they must to…

A staffer (?) mentions further down that almost no one was using their Public folder, so I really doubt that the average Dropbox user wants any of the things you listed. Dropbox is a file storage and sharing service, not a CDN or web host. Just because it could be hacked to make it a CDN or web host doesn't mean those things are highly desirable to customers or good for their actual business.

> almost no one was using their Public folder

I almost exclusively use my public folder. I mean, I keep things in other folders as well, but my main use case is typically "I want to send this file to $friend, so I'll just save it in my public folder and send them the link."