International
  • U.S.
 
 
Log In
Log Out
 
CNN
 
Set Edition

Flickr accidentally nukes user's 4,000 photos

By Laurie Segall, staff reporter February 2, 2011: 3:15 PM ET


NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- It's every Flickr addict's worst nightmare: One day, the vast photo archive you've uploaded and annotated for years suddenly vanishes. It happened this week to Mirco Wilhelm, when a Flickr staff member accidentally deleted his five-year old account, wiping out 4,000 photos.

Wilhelm had e-mailed Flickr customer service about another user's account which seemed to be packed with stolen photos -- a violation of the site's policies. In trying to delete that errant account, the Flickr employee accidentally nuked Wilhelm's.

  • Email
  • Print

"Unfortunately, I have mixed up the accounts and accidentally deleted yours. I am terribly sorry for this grave error," the Flickr staff member wrote in an e-mail response to Wilhelm's inquiry about his vanished account. "I can restore your account, although we will not be able to retrieve your photos."

Wilhelm posted the story to his blog, where it drew attention from Flickr users incredulous that the seven-year-old site doesn't have a way to retrieve accidentally deleted data.

A representative of Yahoo, Flickr's parent company, confirmed the accident and said that that Wilhelm would receive 25 years of free Flickr Pro membership.

"Our teams are in touch with the member and are currently working hard to try to restore the contents of his account," Yahoo's spokesman said. "We are also actively working on a process that will allow us to easily restore deleted accounts and will roll this functionality out soon."

Wilhelm told CNNMoney that issues over deleted Flickr accounts and data are nothing new, but his case was unique.

"The issues with deleted account and content have been popping up frequently over the years, mostly based on complaints about content or copyright topics," he wrote in an e-mail.

But he's never before heard of a user account being completely wiped out by mistake.

"Single support staff members being able to delete all account data without review and chance to undo actions is pretty scary for anyone," he said.

The Flickr debacle comes amid growth scrutiny of Yahoo's stewardship of the photo sharing site it acquired in 2005. The site is one of the largest photo archives on the Web, with 50 million members uploading more than 4 million photos each day, according to Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500).

But Yahoo has been trimming its product portfolio and shaving its staff. The company cut it's global workforce by 4% recently and killed Buzz, an experimental community-driven news curation site. A leaked internal webcast from Yahoo Chief Product Officer Blake Irving in December displayed a list of services set for "sunset." The roster included some cult favorites AltaVista, Yahoo Bookmarks and Delicious.

So when it comes to Flickr, some are questioning Yahoo's commitment to the site and whether it will continue to expand. A recent discussion thread on Silicon Valley Q&A site Quora directly asked: "Has Yahoo driven Flickr into the ground?"

Ex-Flickr employee Cris Stoddard chimed in with a mixed view. The site has benefited from Yahoo's resources, but its development has lagged, he said.

"The development cycle may be more slow or more stagnant than members (and staff) might care for due to the way things work at Yahoo," he wrote. "But there is a roadmap, their numbers are growing, they continue to innovate and -- as far as photo sharing goes -- they have more features than any other site."  spacer

  • Print
  • Email
Yahoo targets Buzz, AltaVista, Delicious for death

Yahoo layoffs: 600 jobs cut in long-rumored move

Yahoo's Bartz: I love being a public company CEO
First Published: February 2, 2011: 1:41 PM ET
spacer
Right Now
  • IPHONE IS BIGGER THAN...
  • Stocks: Decision time for the Fed and Europe
  • Jobs report may force Bernanke's hand

Hot List
spacer
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
spacer
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
spacer
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Original Shows
spacer
Key to NBA's success? Embracing tech
NBA Commissioner David Stern says the basketball league is looking to expand its use of technology to improve gameplay and increase its audience. Play
spacer
Unique Homes
Selling Roy Rogers' former ranch
With 67 acres of land and room for 150 horses, the former ranch of the 'King of the Cowboys' sold at auction for $640,000. Play
spacer
Help Desk
Track testing tires to find the best
Find out how TireRack tests and reviews tires and why choosing the right ones for your car is so important. Play
  • All CNNMoney.com Original Shows
  • Ask the Expert
  • Best Advice
  • Bing!
  • Business of Green
  • The Buzz
  • CNNMoney NOW
  • CNNMoney Reports
  • Conscious Capitalism
  • Corner Office
  • Leadership
  • Disruptors
  • Energy Fix
  • Help Desk
  • Home Work
  • How We Got Started
  • Innovation Nation
  • My Biz Playbook
  • Kids & Money
  • Life at the Top
  • Look Ahead
  • Money Tips
  • My Biz Playbook
  • New Money
  • Rules of Retirement
  • Road Warriors
  • The Score
  • Small & Global
  • Small Biz Tips
  • Street Life
  • Strategy Sessions
  • Small Biz Makeover
  • The Stream
  • Tech Transformation
  • Techmate
  • The Turnaround
  • Visionaries
Markets
  • US Indexes
  • Market Movers
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 13,306.64 14.64 0.11%
Nasdaq 3,136.42 0.61 0.02%
S&P 500 1,437.92 5.80 0.40%
Treasuries 1.66 -0.01 -0.72%
Data as of 12:24am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Bank of America Corp... 8.80 0.45 5.39%
Intel Corp 24.19 -0.90 -3.61%
Micron Technology In... 6.42 -0.26 -3.82%
Sprint Nextel Corp 5.03 0.07 1.41%
Ford Motor Co 10.14 0.22 2.27%
Data as of Sep 7
Sponsors

Sections
COMPANIES
Fastest-Growing superstars

These companies are on a roll, appearing on our list three years or more. More

Jay Leno takes a 50% pay cut
Intel slashes outlook as PC demand weakens
ECONOMY
Jobs report likely to force Bernanke's hand

Another month of weak jobs growth may mean that the Federal Reserve will have to announce QE3 as soon as next week's meeting. More

CNNMoney economy blog
Tax battle: Obama vs. Romney
TECHNOLOGY
iPhone is bigger than all of Microsoft

As the iPhone 5 launch date approaches, here's a look at just how critical the iPhone is to Apple's success. More

Will new iPhone be China Mobile compatible?
Mobile and social profits: Like chasing purple unicorns
SMALL BUSINESS
Zappos' silent founder

Behind the scenes, Nick Swinmurn quietly built a retail giant named Zappos. More

7 deadly sins of business growth
Reinventing the backyard BBQ through chemistry
PERSONAL FINANCE
Fall break travel bargains

Between the summer crowds and the winter rush, there's a sweet spot for outdoor adventure -- and savings. More

Seniors: Beware the sales pitch
Living in a pyramid atop a tower
spacer spacer
gipoco.com is neither affiliated with the authors of this page nor responsible for its contents. This is a safe-cache copy of the original web site.