Trixology

WeatherCat => WeatherCat Integration => Topic started by: jennajon on November 13, 2017, 10:40:07 AM

Title: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: jennajon on November 13, 2017, 10:40:07 AM
Here we go again....is anyone else having outage/error issues FTPing
images to their PWS on WU??

Here is information from WC log:
03:34:14 13-Nov-2017:  Wunderground: Getting web cam picture file.
 03:34:14 13-Nov-2017:  Wunderground: Wunderground image ready for FTP - added to FTP queue.
 03:34:15 13-Nov-2017:  FTP: FTP upload starting.
 03:34:15 13-Nov-2017:  FTP: Uploading image.jpg.
 03:34:15 13-Nov-2017:  FTP: curl: (28) Timeout was reached

 03:34:15 13-Nov-2017:  FTP: FTP ERROR (28) - Upload timed out.
 03:34:15 13-Nov-2017:  FTP: FTP ERROR 910: Failed to complete upload (null) - retrying in 1 second.

Of course the retry fails.

Absolutely NOTHING has changed on my end, have been uploading for YEARS from Blue Iris and that is failing with same error.

i think perhaps it might be time to kill the webcam uploads to WU permanently..... [banghead]

--jenna feeling a bit angry
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: jennajon on November 13, 2017, 11:46:24 AM
Although i may be a bit premature, it appears
that WU may be killing off FTP uploads; i set up yet another
camera as URL forwarded and that one is now showing as needing
approval.

Any of the other cams i have set up as FTP are showing as no longer active.

*facepalm*
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: Blicj11 on November 13, 2017, 03:39:36 PM
Jennajon:

The problem is on WU's end. Webcam uploads are frequently broken on my account. About every 5 or six weeks for the last year I have noticed my uploads to WU don't upload. I send their tech support an email and ask them repair the link to my camera. A couple of says later the uploads start working again. Then the process repeats itself. Although WU is by far the largest repository of backyard weather station information in the world, they don't seem to pay much attention these days to the quality of their PWS interface.
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: Weatheraardvark on November 13, 2017, 06:02:12 PM
I guess no one told any of you that WU  is no longer accepting webcam images from us.  Wedneday, Jeff Masters said an announcement should be on the sign up page that as of Dec.15 that service will be discontinued.

Many of us have had our webcams deactivated and no longer publishing.
In part, here is the message we have received from Jeff:
 thanks for all your reporting of issues with webcams over the past few months. Due to the difficulty we've had maintaining this feature, its negative ROI, and the downsizing of our staff, it has been decided to drop the webcam feature from WU on December 15. An announcement will go up on our webcam page on Wednesday

So the problem is with WU and not WC.
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: jennajon on November 13, 2017, 06:51:25 PM
Quote from: Weatheraardvark on November 13, 2017, 06:02:12 PM
I guess no one told any of you that WU  is no longer accepting webcam images from us.  Wedneday, Jeff Masters said an announcement should be on the sign up page that as of Dec.15 that service will be discontinued.

Many of us have had our webcams deactivated and no longer publishing.
In part, here is the message we have received from Jeff:
 thanks for all your reporting of issues with webcams over the past few months. Due to the difficulty we've had maintaining this feature, its negative ROI, and the downsizing of our staff, it has been decided to drop the webcam feature from WU on December 15. An announcement will go up on our webcam page on Wednesday

So the problem is with WU and not WC.


Many thanks for this information.....and i had a feeling that is what was going on. *sighs*  It is precisely why i posted the error information for discussion rather than point fingers at WC. WU has deteriorated since being bought...again. [interesting]
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: awilltx on November 13, 2017, 08:09:30 PM
Quote
WU has deteriorated since being bought...again.


Next thing you know, we will have to pay them to upload weather station info.


Sigh...again


Alan
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: xairbusdriver on November 13, 2017, 08:42:04 PM
We are already giving them one of their products for free. What kind of reverse, obtuse "logic" could lead them to charge us?! [banghead] [rolleyes2] :o I already have a site, the hosting of which I pay for, I'll never pay them a nickel to post my info.

The key reason for their dropping this feature is in the three letters: ROI. If they can't justify server space while being owned by IBM, they will never be able to with anyone else. Sounds like some one hired a bunch of ex-airline 'execs': "Lets drop all the stuff people were getting for free and charge them for it! That should cut down on those pesky, time-consuming complainers we used to call 'customers'." cmu:-)
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: Blicj11 on November 13, 2017, 09:10:13 PM
Quote from: Weatheraardvark on November 13, 2017, 06:02:12 PM
I guess no one told any of you that WU  is no longer accepting webcam images from us.  Wedneday, Jeff Masters said an announcement should be on the sign up page that as of Dec.15 that service will be discontinued.

Many of us have had our webcams deactivated and no longer publishing.
In part, here is the message we have received from Jeff:
 thanks for all your reporting of issues with webcams over the past few months. Due to the difficulty we've had maintaining this feature, its negative ROI, and the downsizing of our staff, it has been decided to drop the webcam feature from WU on December 15. An announcement will go up on our webcam page on Wednesday

So the problem is with WU and not WC.

Thanks for sharing. I had not seen that, but just noticed my webcam upload has been deactivated by WU. I remind you to go to WeatherCat Preferences and uncheck the option to Upload Webcam Image in the Wunderground PWS window to save a bit of your upload bandwidth.
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: Weatheraardvark on November 13, 2017, 09:29:09 PM
Well, we always do have our own web pages should be able to show our camera images.     [sweat2]
Title: Link to Jeff Masters announcement? (Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*)
Post by: elagache on November 13, 2017, 10:47:25 PM
Dear jennajon, Blick, Weatheraardvark, Alan, X-Air, and WeatherCat faithful who find the rest of the world decidedly less faithful,

Quote from: Weatheraardvark on November 13, 2017, 06:02:12 PM
I guess no one told any of you that WU  is no longer accepting webcam images from us.  Wedneday, Jeff Masters said an announcement should be on the sign up page that as of Dec.15 that service will be discontinued.

Definitely disappointing news.  (http://www.canebas.org/WeatherCat/Forum_support_documents/Custom_emoticons/pout.gif)  Once more as Jimmy Durante would say: "Such are da' conditions that prevail . . . . . "

Does anybody have a link to the original announcement by Jeff Masters?  I'm curious to know what else might have been announced that I should be disappointed about.

Oh well, . . . . . Edouard
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: Weatheraardvark on November 13, 2017, 11:06:30 PM
Have you ever tried to speak directly to a human at WU?  text a Human?   me neither.

Out of desperation, we contacted their active meteorlogists because we have a name and  they have given their email.   I am guessing you should do some digging . Oh helll,   jmasters@wunderground.com    go for it. lol(1)
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: Blicj11 on November 14, 2017, 01:44:08 AM
Yes, I have had several email interactions with WU tech support.

Go here and click on Contact Support in the upper right corner ==> http://help.wunderground.com/#request

They don't always reply, but sometimes they do. I suspect that as soon as they figure out that PWS owners are contacting them in this manner, they will suspend this service on the basis of low ROI. After all, if you remove enough services, you don't really need Customer Support, do you?
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: Felix on November 14, 2017, 07:28:07 PM
I got a kick out of Meteotemplate's Jachym on another forum who had the following to say about WU:


"If their goal is to shut down all services which are buggy and unreliable I think they could call it a day altogether."
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: Blicj11 on November 14, 2017, 07:54:52 PM
Hahaha. Dead on, mate. Thanks for sharing his comment.
Title: What isn't buggy? (Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*)
Post by: elagache on November 14, 2017, 11:20:36 PM
Dear Weatheraardvark, Blick, Felix, and WeatherCat faithful,

Quote from: Felix on November 14, 2017, 07:28:07 PM
"If their goal is to shut down all services which are buggy and unreliable I think they could call it a day altogether."

 [wink] . . . Hmm, if someone started to shutdown every IT service on planet earth that was buggy and unreliable - when all is said and done, would there be anything still running?  [biggrin]

Besides WeatherCat of course!  [WCSmall]  [bounce]

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]
Title: Re: What isn't buggy? (Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*)
Post by: Felix on November 15, 2017, 10:51:21 AM
I guess my answer to that, Edouard, would be that most well-respected/dependable companies answer complaints in a reasonable timeframe; maintain a section on their website where they let their users know of system problems and when things should be fixed; and certainly don't promulgate the details of a major change via an e-mail to a user with a request that they let people know.


Whoa, wait a minute, did I see some shades of Apple Inc. in what I just wrote there?
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: Blicj11 on November 15, 2017, 06:25:56 PM
Official Notice:

http://links.mail2.spopessentials2.com/servlet/MailView?ms=MTIzNjc2NTAS1&r=MTkyNTIxNTMzNTUyS0&j=MTI4MTQzMjE3OQS2&mt=1&rt=0
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: Felix on November 15, 2017, 06:35:03 PM
Thanks for the link, Blick.


Ref: "...we'll remove all incoming webcam feeds..."


Does that mean they are only disabling FTP feeds or are WU "pulls" also going bye bye?
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: xairbusdriver on November 15, 2017, 06:41:15 PM
Got my email this morning. They may be going alphabetically by the second letter of your first name. It gives their aging, over-worked servers something easy to do.
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: Weatheraardvark on November 15, 2017, 07:54:41 PM
this appears to be official.  http://help.wunderground.com/knowledgebase/articles/1821811-wu-says-goodbye-to-webcam (http://help.wunderground.com/knowledgebase/articles/1821811-wu-says-goodbye-to-webcam)s
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: jennajon on November 15, 2017, 09:46:03 PM
Here is the post that popped up today on the WU app:

WU says goodbye to Webcams
← Webcams
At Weather Underground, our mission has always been to provide ?weather for all? ? for anyone, any location, across any medium, and through any lens. We know it?s an incredible experience to witness colorful sunrises and sunsets, various cloud formations, and other awe-inspiring weather events, which is why we?ve always encouraged you to capture them with your cameras, phones, and webcams.

After 10 years of proudly displaying your webcam footage across our website and apps, we sadly have to remove this functionality as we no longer have the necessary resources to maintain it. On December 15, 2017, we?ll remove the webcam feeds from our website, mobile apps, and within our API ? meaning uploading and accessing webcam footage will no longer be available.

This wasn?t an easy decision for us and while we can no longer host your webcam feeds on our servers, we hope you?ll continue to keep your webcams running and an eye on the sky.

We?ve created this FAQ page to help address any questions you might have.
FAQ


Q: What will happen to my webcam footage between November 15th and December 15th?

Beginning on November 15th, the option to add new webcams to our system will be removed. All existing webcam feeds will remain visible; however, new feeds will not be accepted or displayed.

Q: Can I download my existing webcam footage?

Unfortunately, we do not have download functionality for webcam footage.

Q: What will happen on December 15th?

All webcam features will be removed on December 15, 2017, so you will not be able to connect or share webcam footage across any of our properties after that date.

Q: Will I still be able to see the webcam footage I have uploaded to WU after December 15th?

Unfortunately, no. All webcam footage and feeds will be removed from our website, apps, and API on December 15th.

Q: Are there other places I can share my webcam feed?

While there are other webcam communities that exist, we are not aware of any other services willing to host webcam footage free of charge. We recommend contacting your webcam manufacturer to see if they can provide information regarding alternative hosting solutions and community platforms.


Quote from: awilltx on November 13, 2017, 08:09:30 PM
Quote
WU has deteriorated since being bought...again.


Next thing you know, we will have to pay them to upload weather station info.


Sigh...again


Alan
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: xairbusdriver on November 15, 2017, 09:50:28 PM
I think the word will be getting widespread recognition. There is a link to the FAQ in the email they are sending. I think I will 'help them out' by stopping my feed from WC right now.
Title: Definitely very sad. (Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*)
Post by: elagache on November 16, 2017, 12:02:16 AM
Dear Felix, Blick, X-Air, Weatheraardvark, and WeatherCat faithful,

Thanks for digging up the additional official information.  Definitely a very sad situation where we are all being let down . . . . (http://www.canebas.org/WeatherCat/Forum_support_documents/Custom_emoticons/pout.gif)

Oh well, . . . . Edouard  :(
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: Blicj11 on November 16, 2017, 09:19:26 AM
They cut my webcam feed yesterday, 30 days before their stated service shutdown. 😡
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: Felix on November 16, 2017, 11:13:53 AM
The word is getting out quickly. On a PWS w/webcam not too far from mine, the owner has taken advantage of the "Status" field on his/her WU page to alert viewers of intent to cut all ties with WU.
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: Weatheraardvark on November 16, 2017, 06:17:48 PM
Quote from: Felix on November 16, 2017, 11:13:53 AM
The word is getting out quickly. On a PWS w/webcam not too far from mine, the owner has taken advantage of the "Status" field on his/her WU page to alert viewers of intent to cut all ties with WU.

It costs me nothing to send weather data to them.  in fact it is kind of cool being able to go to that page and see past weather, graphs, trends and that my data is out there for anyone to see .  I am going to continue to send them data until that disappears
Title: Re: WeatherCat uploads to WU *WEBCAM*
Post by: xairbusdriver on November 16, 2017, 06:56:31 PM
"is kind of cool" ;) That's the same psychological game that is raising a few eye brows from the founders of the likes of Facebook, Twitter, et all. We are given small 'hits' of dopamine as 'payment' for supplying the data used by companies. They then use our data as a way to make money selling ads (assuming they don't also sell our data).
Sean Parker unloads on Facebook "exploiting" human psychology (https://www.axios.com/sean-parker-unloads-on-facebook-2508036343.html)
The Father of the Web Confronts His Creation (http://www.thewhir.com/web-hosting-news/the-father-of-the-web-confronts-his-creation)
All I say is; remember we are not these sites "customers", we are their product. [rolleyes2]