So I'm knocking out my RSS feeds and hit a download squad post: Flickr to require Yahoo! accounts on March 15th So I read the post and find out that beginning March 15th, flickr users will need to either quit the service or link their flickr account to a Yahoo! ID.
Flagrantdisregard posted a copy of his email notification from Flickr: Dear Old Skool Account-Holding Flickr Member
I went looking in all my email accounts and didn't see hide-nor-hair of such a notice.
So I logged into my flickr account and, yep...I was asked to go ahead and link to my Yahoo! ID account.
So I did.
Then I deleted my flickr account.
Why?
Well, I had only posted just a handful of photo's on it. maybe four tops. Then there were a series of Vista RC screencaps I had done. So I wasn't really using the service all that much. But it was handy to have and I did value its service.
But more than that, I've looked upon my Yahoo! account as a toss-away service (sorry Yahoo!...that's just the way I feel.)
That and that (gratefully honest but gratingly honest) statement on the bottom of your page "NOTICE: We collect personal information on this site. To learn more about how we use your information, see our Privacy Policy"
I've already sold my soul to "Google" so I understand how privacy and information on the net works. I'm down with that. I don't mind services and websites collecting information on my habits...if I really value the service and trust the provider....if not, I'm going to continue to give them garbage and keep on trucking.
I had been a longtime Excite user, ever since I got my very first ISP service...Excite was our family browser's start-page for years and years and years..until they changed it around and it stopped being useful...so I switched to Yahoo!
(This was back in the days when sites were trying hard to be "portals" for new and established net users.)
I still have my Yahoo! account...but I really ONLY use it to check for its TV grid. That's it. Yes, I took the time to add modules, customizing them, adding some extra "pages" to it. But, all I really ever use this portal for now is the TV grid.
So, because I had to now link my flickr account to a Yahoo! ID account I considered a toss-away, Yahoo!, instead of increasing the value of either service to me, forced it to become associated with a less-valued service...thereby lowering the value of something I did like.
I'm still keeping my Yahoo! ID for now...until I discover a new TV grid service I like better (and I am looking again!). I have a MeeVee account and have used it from time to time.
I'm not really that picky. In my perfect TV grid service world I want just three things...1) coverage of my cable service provider, 2) a grid that covers 7pm-12pm in a single view, and 3) inclusion of the AZN channel in the grid lineup!
So, good luck flickr. I know a bunch of folks love and use your service. It is really cool. I'm sure the upgrades will pan out for everyone down the road.
Just not for me.
We're probably both better off ending our relationship anyway.
--Claus
1 comment:
Yeah, I'm faced with the same problem. I'm waiting until the last minute in hopes that the public outcry will cause them to change their mind... but I don't believe that will happen.
We've known this day was coming since shortly after the Yahoo buyout. Unfortunately, I'm too deeply invested in Flickr to just walk away. My sisters and I have been using it for genealogical research, for which it's great. We can add comments or even annotate each other's photos.
What I hate is that the great user name I got when I joined Flickr is not going to be available within Yahoo, and I'll have to choose something else. So much for being an early adopter. What I want to know is why Yahoo can't allow us to keep our Flickr names, even if they're only used within Flickr. How hard can that be?
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