Having Flickr problems?

spacer You aren't the only one. Go here to vent. Flickr left this message there not too long ago:

It seems that access to our image servers is being blocked for users in much of China. Our technical staff has looked into this at depth and determined this is not a technical issue from our end. We will keep an eye on the situation and update if we get any developments.

This explains why none of the images on the Shanghaiist Contribute page show up if you are in China.

Good times. Good times.

We'll let you know if we hear any updates.

Related
Flickr Shamefully Blocked in China (sophiesworld.cn)

UPDATE: Perhaps this is related? "Farm2 server is down!!!!" Thanks Jon!

Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Dan Washburn in Arts & Entertainment, Other on June 8, 2007 9:55 AM
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Comments [rss]

  • joshDubya

    Sorry to change the topic of the thread so far, but is it just me or did flickr just die in China?

    Before I installed the plugin a few days ago, I just got images blocked, but could still access flickr.com. I installed the plugin yesterday and everything worked beautifully. Today, I just get the great firewall "connection interrupted" error. UGH

  • James Creegan

    But there are rules about copyright infringement on flickr, and there are places on flickr where people criticise without restraint. So neither of those complaints are relevant

    Also, people on flickr who receive big animated smiley faces or "Great capture!!!!" as comments from their friends are aware that Magnum is not going to beat down their door, begging to licence a photo of their cat.

    Don't worry Emily, your job is safe for the time being.

  • Deus Ex Machina

    emily...cmon..are you being biten by a venus tarantula or what? its been funny to read about your war against flickr but i guess you dont dont get it at all the aim of that web project.

    Dont even mention Magnum or similar:

    thats another world, another galaxi...

    If you are looking for something pro, of course...you dont have go on flickr:

    thats another world, another galaxi...

    Honestly i have seem really good photos on fickr, and i simply enjoy watching them...

    And you know what? photography is also that.

    A flickr member.

  • T.

    Mr. Vandelay? I have need of a latex salesman, can you help me out?

  • emily

    wow everybody seems hurted by my comments... i took (And I apoligize with Mr. French) glimpse of the world as example as we can use his as a good example. he does good photos, technically speaking he knows a lot , for sure there are worste people in flickr. He is aware he is not a professional photographer u dont need to defend him.....

    My comments here : i would take them as part of my job, i believe in photography and try to promote good photographers.. and there is a big discussion among professional people about Flickr (but seems u are not aware ) so I posted here.

    I am not chinese and not english (sorry for my poor english). I just wanted to say that flickr should be only a site for sharing , not to be taken seriously otherwise we should start to put real comments on it.

    So in end what we want : you are telling me that flickr can be a place where u can also sell photos but in the same time nobody can say a word on the photos? Does not sound professional , look tricky...

    Plus other point : magazine or web site should pay if they use photos from Flickr? There is a case these days Rebekka Gudleifs a photographer from Iceland got angry and post the fact that her photos displayed in Flickr were used without her permission, she accused the fact and Flickr censored the posting

    read the thread about her ( I cannot post it here... got censored ....)

    And I know of people who sold photos for really cheap money as they were not aware of what a photo can value.

    So this is tricky and we should not take the matter in personal way, I wanted to post the fact that : whether Flickr should remain and put some rules on eventual copyright infringement or keep it as an amateur site.

    A photo , a good photos (u can find many in flickr because everybody can make a good photo....) as a value, if used for an editorial (to explain an article ) or even more if used for advertising.

    So what I am saying is that if people believe Flickr as new frontier to become a real photographer should be aware of this, flickr is tricky in the end, does not give rules for that, does not inform and this can destroy professional photography

    This is my point mr. vandelay and mr. Minime

    My best regards, dont be so offended.... i am not talking about your photography... this could be an interesting discussion ( but u took it too personally)

    I leave this thread anyway , I wish i could read more people, expecially people in the field

    emily

  • anony

    "What about you Mr. Anony, what is your profession? are u in photographic field?"

    My name is Art Vandelay, and I'm a marine biologist.

  • Minime

    Well, that's a strange understanding of research. Trolling on blogs written by (paid?) amateurs with photography contributed by amateurs.

    If you really was interested in our opinion, you would not have started a flame war in the first place. I think it's lame, it's time for you to stop making up more dumb excuses.



    If you have an open issue with "A glimpse of the world", go and handle it with him. don't troll around on the net and blame flickr or all other people using it for your inability in dealing with interpersonal issues.

    So, you wrote an uninformed, or maybe even an well informed (who knows, judging on your contributions here, I DOUBT IT), comment on one of his photos, he deleted it and you took it personally. Instead of solving it with him, you lose all your cred by trolling here and starting flame wars.

    You are trying to shame him here for censorship and amateurism, and it is not working, sorry.

    Further, it's a hypocrisy to accuse other members for posting "anonymous" posts while hiding your real identity. please post your full name.

    Finally, you seem to have a lot of time to troll on the net during working time, the business is not doing so well, eh?

  • emily

    I am not taking photos but i work as photo researcher non in china.

    Is that enough

    Howard french is a good writer , not good as photographer, this is my point of view, he might agree with that... he does good standard technical photos experimenting different cameras, not deep in projects.. then if he does exhibitions and all this award winning things i dont think are enough to make him good.....as u know to do an exhibition is quite easy if u know the right people.... as u say he has a good reputation as journalist and this introduced him in many places, he even pubblished a book but he has a standard view of photography, no style or whatofever. In china there much better people (and perhaps sad to say) not that famous as him as perhasp they are not in flickr....

    I have been working in galleries and magazines and this is my comment, u might not like it and perhaps does not sound a typical comment of flickr but perhaps he more constructive , nothing personal with mr. French as i think he is intelligent enough to switch from beeing photographer to just a journalist who loves to do photos....

    I took him as example as perhaps in flickr he is the example on how networking can influence judgments. And sorry if he takes the steps of beeing a professional by selling photos and pubblishing books he has also to face criticism. Part of the game.

    My work is to judge, I enter this conversation as I was interesting to see from china ex patx views what people think about flickr, I found the proper ground to say what i think about photography and flickr, looks like the same thing sometimes but as i repeat i hardly find good projects or deep reportage there.

    What about you Mr. Anony, what is your profession? are u in photographic field? or maybe a fan-networker who is keep adding superficial comments on photos in flickr?

    emily

  • Anony

    "I am not taking photos and i do work with photographs." "I am...quite busy in working in photography."

    I'm sorry but any legitimacy you might have had is now gone. Your points are now moot, thanks to your last post.

    "Many "glimpse of the world" will not sell at 300 dollars some ordinary photos of shanghai" You say this like his photos not selling for 300 dollars like its a bad thing. First of all, Howard French, or Glimpse of the World, as you call him, has had his photos displayed on exhibitions and published in collections. He is also senior correspondent for new york times in Asia. Besides having published an award-winning and fascinating book, he often gives lecture on photography all over the world.

  • emily

    I am not taking photos and i do work with photographs and I am not posting and "sharing" anything and mostly I am not repressed.

    I think Flickr should be a site for amateurs -fullstop- and if you want to be a professional well go into the field and start your carrier (if u have courage to do so) , doing this you will understand what means to be a photographer , eventually....

    I am not bored, quite busy in working in photography sorry dear minime. What I am saying (but i guess you dont get it...) is that there should be a sort of taste before taking flickr for what it is...

    first I would wish that flickr could host some real comments... this is will be funny... sure lots of repressed people will start to insult (like u did in your anonymous status) but why not some can say some constructive sentences....

    It could say : well this photos does not have a good feeling and the composition is not appropriate for the topic or something like that... this could represent a serious web site...

    Many "glimpse of the world" will not sell at 300 dollars some ordinary photos of shanghai.... just because he creates a network of fans or people who wants to get into a network.... how sick... what photography has to do with that???

    Minime you are agree in something : it is a place to share photos with other ....but is becoming more and more a stocksite as i heard many magazine and companies are "stealing" photos or buying them for nothing... so this is not sharing anymore....

    so post your family photos, that is great and perhaps , if u are happy, give them for free to magazines.... it is your choice as many do but let me criticize that

  • minime

    Honestly Emily,

    stop being so bitter about not getting paid for your crappy photos. If you don't get paid, and they choose others photos instead, then it's because your's were not good enough.

    Nobody is killing editorial photography by posting or using photos on flickr. Magazines which can afford paying for photos, go and pay for them. I have yet to see a flicker photo in a mainstream magazine. I don't know about china, maybe you are using a lot from flickr, and infringing on copyright for most of the time by doing so. Take some time to learn about the various licenses which the photos have on flickr. Most of the photos forbid any commercial use of the photos without the authors permission.

    As mentioned before, flickr is a place for sharing photos with others, it is not a stock photography site. You seem to be very confused about this. You should rant about the editors stealing photos from flickr users, not about flickr and its users who want to share the photos with their friends, family or strangers.

    If you really feel bored with your life emily, go to istockphoto.com and rant about them, since that website is what i feel you may have nightmares about.

  • emily

    Well as i said Flickr is a good tool for amateur, the sad things is what you confirm Anony now, people (Also professional) are using for networking.... this is sad to know that people try to get a job only through networking and not through they own qualities... this I would call it mediocrity

    The point is that is flickr it should be a great site for ametuers and not an hidden place for professional who are seeking for good compliments....

    I will considered more serious this site if it would have some critics but is impossible to have a real judgment, try to write : this photos is really bad composed and not describe any feelings... you will be out in a second

    Is all fake

    Magnum and VII as well many godo web site of professioal photographer can show u and teach u what means how to produce a good work, to work and have a style, of course there are also bad photos but u have to understand the whole work.

    yes the photo agencies are companies who sells for magazine but also they are there to filtered to give a line and choose styles.

    In Flickr there are a lot of good single photos, who cannot produce good single photos? But try to think professional, try to think : i have an assignment and I MUST produce good photos...

    Flickr is a showcase of people that put online the photos that came out good, no responsability...

    It has to remain and used for ameteur purposes , not by magazine or web sites who can save money and use photos from ametuer to make them happy

    You are killing editorial photography

    emily

  • Anony

    So Emily, you want people to not look at sites that give opportunities for people (both professional and amateur) to network, ask questions, and share their photos? What if I don't want to see photos from the "professionals" at Magnum or VII, but want to see what kind of photos people are Shanghai take? I didn't see many Shanghai photos at the two sites you mentioned. A search of Shanghai on flickr though reveals a lot more interesting sides to the city than I would have never seen from going to an uptight site like photo. Flickr provides a free service for those who want to put their photos on the net. Magnum and VII seem to be companies for a very few people who are selling products on the sites. I'll pass on those shitty sites, thank you. Flickr for me.

  • yu888

    No claim to being a photagrapher at all, but i like taking pix and posting them for friends to see is that such a crime that you see it as a vast evil to be dealt withg?

    well excuuuuse me for being so unsophisticated that I must use a web tool to host my son's photos Emily. Its been the best way i have found to do so and link to it for various blogs a write and contribute. You come across as someone who seriously seriously needs to get laid. And no, no claim to being a psycologist either, just a good observer with a big mouth.

  • emily

    well i love photography and flickr should be an ametuer site, but lately many people there get the idea they are good as they do good single photos and they becoming to think : well I am a photographer... Photography is something more serious to that, flickr is a great place for ameteur but many organization (such this one) using to have free photos.... putting down the level of photography simple as that.

    I am not from the chinese propaganda office dont worry.... read my sarcasm

    Plus have u seen in flickr neve a bad comment on a photo? how is that? Is a network place, look at the ametuer Glimpse of the world howard french... he is not a good photographer, really he is a good ametuer but he is the king there... is a subworld , is a virtual world where everybody is telling to other "Great shot!, good photos and so on... so silly.... really no critics there

    I think people should look more into magnum or VII web site rather to loose time with this . Learn what means to work on a subject or a topic for two years, go deep , go behind the scene of the facts and be close to topics, is not about a great photo taken with mobile phone or with an old rusty camera....

    so i am happy that many organization cannot use free photos from flickr (is shanghaiist will censure this now?) at this moment.. maybe is time they will buy photos as before?

    From a photography lover

    emily

  • James Creegan

    emily, you sound very bitter. How's that working out for you?

  • emily

    Well this is a great news, flickr the site of mediocrity for photographer's dreamer finally has been blocked, i hope it will last and we will enjoy to dont see anymore the networking of the mediocre photographer "A glimpse of the world" or some other single photos shooter....

    Photography is about project taken in years, about how close u get to the subject and how good u present it , not this masturbation of people who think to be a photographer just because they have a digital camera and a copy of photoshop inside the computer....

    Flickr is the end of photojournalism, is the mac donald of photography......

    emily

  • anony

    While the workaround is nice, it might be time to start looking for an alternative. smugmug dot com seems like a good one

  • Sheniferous

    +1 for the Access Flickr - Firefox extension!

  • Gary

    I installed the Firefox add-on above and it does display the photos. I''m still getting the GFW resets though.

    It works ok for me through an SSL VPN.

  • gabriel

    this is the point : a clear message from the nanny. They blocked the images only, to express that only the pictures worth a thousand words.

    Flickr, as many other web services is a victim of its popularization. It's another clear message for service providers : "self-sensor your core content, or we will do it for you in a radical way". Same as the traditionnal chinese culture where the father gives strong punishements to his bad son.

    What will happen next ? seems that the young China generations are getting more and more undisciplined. Be careful, old father !

  • minime

    it could be an late reaction to, or consequence of:

    www.danwei.org/blogs/xiamen_de...

    "The link to the Flickr.com photos of the demonstration that Feng 37 posted below in the comments has been blocked by the Net Nanny. The rest of Flickr.com seems to be unaffected."

    and maybe influenced by their server outage.

  • Dan

    Gabyu, thank you.

    I installed that add-on and Flickr works fine now.

  • i-spy

    The site has no problems outside China. YouTube is next suckers!

  • gabyu

    Access Flickr! 1.5

    Bypasses the flickr.com filter in Iran, UAE and other banned countries and places...

    addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firef...

  • Lifemage

    I'm not really surprised that "the Party" has blocked flickr. I AM surprised that flickr has yet to give any meaningful response to it's members based in China though. I'd expect better!

    Hello Mr. Lifemage, here's the rental car you've paid for, it seems it doesn't have any tires though. We've looked into this and have determined that it had tires when it was in our garage. Here's the keys, we'll let you know if we see the tires somewhere.

    Come on flickr...talk to us!

  • mianwawa

    Congratulations. MySpace, Livejournal, Youtube, Facebook and now Flickr...wow, nice way to a liberalization!

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