aFrInaTi0n Posted January 29 Posted January 29 Ok, nice to know - then excuse my wrong / outdated knowledge! Quote
R0Sch Posted January 29 Posted January 29 This is indeed a sad news for old-school Brickshelf users like me. Even if I have all my files locally, all my posts with links to images and .io files would lead to nirvana. I'll ask some of the local LEGO blogs if they have an interest in acquiring the site. Quote
JesseNight Posted January 29 Posted January 29 (edited) 1 hour ago, R0Sch said: This is indeed a sad news for old-school Brickshelf users like me. Even if I have all my files locally, all my posts with links to images and .io files would lead to nirvana. I'll ask some of the local LEGO blogs if they have an interest in acquiring the site. There's .io files on BS? I'm pretty old school myself but until recently wasn't even aware of this site, and I'm finding it rather difficult to navigate when not having specific terms that I'm looking for. So far only seen picture galleries. Edited January 29 by JesseNight Quote
Toastie Posted January 29 Posted January 29 3 minutes ago, JesseNight said: There's .io files on BS? There are all sorts of files on BS. There is an easy way out of the "allowed file type" upload restriction - you need to tell your target audience, e.g. in a txt.file or picture though. BS is a true marvel - 2 decades of LEGO ideas. Best, Thorsten Quote
JesseNight Posted January 29 Posted January 29 Oh wow... And that happened to be 2 decades I was busy with other stuff than Lego in life ;) There's some good stuff on it indeed. Quote
Vandor Posted January 30 Posted January 30 I only discovered this in the last few weeks and now it will be gone, hardly had enough time to marvel at all the creations. Quote
KotZ Posted January 30 Posted January 30 It is funny, going back and looking at just how hard it is/was to find things on the site. I remember back in 2004 and 2005 going on at school and knowing the exact word to type in to see a MOC I had seen before, remembering the tags. Now there are either too many or the creator pulled them offline. Quote
allanp Posted January 30 Posted January 30 This is indeed sad news. My first file upload to the site was in 2001, and I didn't really stop using it. Quote
Lipko Posted January 30 Posted January 30 I use it as an image hosting site, but I remember that it was that very site that pulled me back into Lego. Somehow Google indexed it pretty good back then. Anyway, this is the curse of "free" internet. You can never know when the sites you use are gone. I still don't know where I should migrate my files, I don't have that many, maybe Blogger can handle it, though it's a real pain in the bottom to upload and use pictures there, but my portfolio site is also there. Sometimes I think it would worth it to buy a domain name and a host service and at least I will be in control, so even if the provider would be gone, the whole shebang could be uploaded to a different provider in a few cliks. No shitting with different interfaces and templates. Quote
zinnn Posted January 30 Posted January 30 Someone should contact Internet Archive team at https://archive.org/archive.org to help preserve it Quote
idlemarvel Posted January 30 Posted January 30 4 hours ago, Lipko said: I use it as an image hosting site, but I remember that it was that very site that pulled me back into Lego. Somehow Google indexed it pretty good back then. Anyway, this is the curse of "free" internet. You can never know when the sites you use are gone. I still don't know where I should migrate my files, I don't have that many, maybe Blogger can handle it, though it's a real pain in the bottom to upload and use pictures there, but my portfolio site is also there. Sometimes I think it would worth it to buy a domain name and a host service and at least I will be in control, so even if the provider would be gone, the whole shebang could be uploaded to a different provider in a few cliks. No shitting with different interfaces and templates. Running your own web site it a PITA trying to protect it from hackers and such. If you don't have that many and it's just for photo archive I would have thought any of the mega IT providers would be a safe bet. I mean MS or Google or Amazon. They all have free storage, amounts and Ts & Cs vary. If you're worried about one if them going under or pulling out use rwo of them. All my photos are on Google drive and Amazon photos. Quote
aFrInaTi0n Posted January 30 Posted January 30 What would be a nice thing for users to have: A service inbetween which just would just do allow for update mappings of original files with whatever picked / used backend being used, may it be Google, MS or any other of the big ones cloudedrives or via URLs (for brickshelf, bricksafe or such) and create fixed URLs via the service which can be changed to other "backends". With such service any user could easily move his contents to another platform and just use the service to configure the links to the changed backend-system. Also such service would create not much costs at all, as those URL-Mapping-Rewrites cost basically nothing in comparison to huge pictures.. Quote
Lipko Posted January 30 Posted January 30 (edited) 1 hour ago, idlemarvel said: Running your own web site it a PITA trying to protect it from hackers and such. If you don't have that many and it's just for photo archive I would have thought any of the mega IT providers would be a safe bet. I mean MS or Google or Amazon. They all have free storage, amounts and Ts & Cs vary. If you're worried about one if them going under or pulling out use rwo of them. All my photos are on Google drive and Amazon photos. I cannot setup Drive properly. Sometimes images get blocked, sometimes pdf instructions ask my permission to be shared no matter how I set it, maybe it forgets the setting or automatically switches of sharing after some months, dunno, it is a real PITA for me. For some providers it's nőt so obvious how to deeplink pictures, soe providers make horrible long code filenames, etc. I certainly want to avoid an owned website, so I'll look into it. Maybe this thread could include some tips. 1 hour ago, aFrInaTi0n said: What would be a nice thing for users to have: A service inbetween which just would just do allow for update mappings of original files with whatever picked / used backend being used, may it be Google, MS or any other of the big ones cloudedrives or via URLs (for brickshelf, bricksafe or such) and create fixed URLs via the service which can be changed to other "backends". With such service any user could easily move his contents to another platform and just use the service to configure the links to the changed backend-system. Also such service would create not much costs at all, as those URL-Mapping-Rewrites cost basically nothing in comparison to huge pictures.. Redirects can be rendered in a normal <img> or background-image property? How you redirect a .jpg? EDIT: maybe I'll go with some tool like this one, or better, or make my own tool (so the mapping table doesn't have to be manually filled, it could be in a simple tab/comma delimeter text): https://www.joydeepdeb.com/tools/find-replace.html Basically I will regenerate the codes with the mass search+ replace function. I have a protfolio site, and that's only some 10 pages to generate the HTML for, and some Eurobricks topics to do the same. Shouldn't be too much manual work, though I'm pretty sure Eurobricks formatting will totally fall apart, so maybe I'd better go manual... Edited January 30 by Lipko Quote
aFrInaTi0n Posted January 30 Posted January 30 3 hours ago, Lipko said: Redirects can be rendered in a normal <img> or background-image property? How you redirect a .jpg? I am an IT guy, I'll trz to explain as best as I can.. basically the service would create some link with a crafted token, like https://imagemapping.service/?=[very long cryptic token] If this link would be included in a forum like Eurobricks & a user opens the topic, the browser will try to load from the cryptic URL, but instead of directly getting the image contents sent back, the service will give a redirect "sorry my browser friend, the image is nbot really here, you need to do a knock knock on the following URL: https://original.domain.com/link/to/your/shared/picture.png" the browser will say "ah nice dude, thanks will do so" and the picture will then just be loaded from the original URL. such redirects can happening in milliseconds.. As I never dived into this topic before, I just asked ChatGPT: Quote Yes, there are several services that allow users to create persistent redirecting links (HTTP 302 or similar) for images. These services act as intermediaries, ensuring that the original image URLs can be updated without breaking existing links. Here are some options: 1. URL Shorteners with Redirection Capabilities Many URL shorteners allow you to create links that can be updated later, effectively allowing persistent links to images: Bit.ly (paid feature) – Allows users to change the destination URL of a shortened link. Rebrandly – Provides branded short links with the ability to edit destinations. TinyURL (Pro) – Offers editable links. T2M.io – A URL shortener with redirection editing features. 2. Redirect Services Specifically for Images Imgur Proxy Links – If you upload images to Imgur, it provides URLs that remain constant even if the image is rehosted internally. Cloudflare Workers – Can be used to create redirecting URLs for images. Redirect.pizza – A service specifically designed for managed URL redirection. YOURLS (self-hosted) – If you set up your own YOURLS instance, you can create redirect links that persist. 3. Dynamic DNS or Self-Hosted Redirectors If you're comfortable hosting your own service, you can: Use a custom domain with a redirect script (e.g., PHP or Nginx). Use a Google Drive direct link generator that provides persistent URLs. Set up a GitHub Pages or Netlify redirect system. Would you like help setting up a self-hosted option, or are you looking for a free ready-made service? Quote
Lipko Posted January 30 Posted January 30 I won't say I understand everything, but would be off anyway. Thanks for the reply Quote
aFrInaTi0n Posted January 30 Posted January 30 I set up some open source project what allows for exactly what I was explaining. An example, the same picture: 1. with the shortening service (https://yourls.reum.it/9ri3f): 2. Without the shortening service (original picture URL https://bricksafe.com/cache/aFrInaTi0n/temp/propellers-difference.png/250x250.png): So "using such would make no difference at all for the browsers". Quote
JeffBuilds Posted January 31 Posted January 31 On 1/27/2025 at 9:31 AM, aFrInaTi0n said: For people using MAC to get their stuff from brickshelf via a script: https://github.com/timcourtney/brickshelf_downloader I guess Nathan had underestimated the costs for storage/acces for his 10gb/bricksafe-user - I mean Amazon S3 storage may be cheap, even with their auto-tiering - but it still costs. And basically there is no benefit for doing so - so huge kudos to Nathan for hosting bricksafe for us till now for free! .. I can understand this may easily sum up with the 7 million files being stored there & them possibly being in average huge in filesize.. (I guess you are also not caring and just uploading your images in the best quality, as the site offers the automatic resizing anyways, right?! :D) Anything you would recommend for PC Users, or are you still developing the script? Will you let us know when/if it is available? Quote
Lipko Posted January 31 Posted January 31 8 hours ago, aFrInaTi0n said: I set up some open source project what allows for exactly what I was explaining. An example, the same picture: 1. with the shortening service (https://yourls.reum.it/9ri3f): 2. Without the shortening service (original picture URL https://bricksafe.com/cache/aFrInaTi0n/temp/propellers-difference.png/250x250.png): So "using such would make no difference at all for the browsers". I don't know what is the company's policy, but the 1. image is blocked duo to the website being blocked. Misc or unknown category, dunno if it's some general rule, or the fact that it is somehow redirecting. I'm not an IT guy, just a hobby code messer. Quote
aFrInaTi0n Posted January 31 Posted January 31 21 hours ago, JeffBuilds said: Anything you would recommend for PC Users, or are you still developing the script? Will you let us know when/if it is available? I wasn't thinking of releasing something. :D But nevertheless, the question is: What would you need? Delivering your username and the script downloading everything beneath which is available to the public? @Lipko Thanks will have a look, I just played around with it yesterday, but still interesting it may not work out as expected to everybody :D Quote
Jack Sassy Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Sad to hear about the passing of Kevin Loch, Brickshelf is truly a time capsule of another time. I tried to set up an account some five years ago but to no avail, I suppose a lot of good material will be lost. Quote
EWay Posted January 31 Posted January 31 1 hour ago, Jack Sassy said: Sad to hear about the passing of Kevin Loch, Brickshelf is truly a time capsule of another time. I tried to set up an account some five years ago but to no avail, I suppose a lot of good material will be lost. I'm very hopeful that nothing will be lost, as some here are downloading all the content, others have contacted the estate about buying the site and it sounds like they're responsive... Also per this Reddit post, it sounds like it's all being added to the wayback machine. Quote
iragm Posted February 1 Posted February 1 I heard from the developer of Bricksafe, he has no intention of buying Brickshelf. Bricksafe will remain available for existing users, but he is focusing on developing Rebrickable and has no plans to develop Bricksafe further. Quote
technicmad Posted February 1 Posted February 1 Hi, Nathan here from Bricksafe and Rebrickable, thought I'd clarify some things. Bricksafe is not shutting down, but I did disable new registrations. It will remain available for anyone currently registered, and I have no plans to decommission it. I did this because I have no interest in developing Bricksafe any further, and haven't touched it in years. I guess I was pretty naive when I built it and offered free storage, figuring I could monetise it later if needed. Well, the costs are significant (about $1k/month for those curious) but Rebrickable allows me to leave it as a completely free and ad-free site, and that's still the plan. I am 100% focused on Rebrickable. If you have any MOCs there that reference Brickshelf files you can upload them to Rebrickable itself now to keep them online - this wasn't the case until a few years ago. Quote
aFrInaTi0n Posted February 1 Posted February 1 Thanks for the headsup for bricksafe, Nathan! And thanks again for your earlier you creating bricksafe. I am grateful since years as I was guessing you are cross-financing it from rebrickable. Thanks for all your wonderful service (even if discontinued, but I think we all understand the reasons)! Quote
SpacePolice89 Posted February 1 Posted February 1 13 hours ago, technicmad said: Hi, Nathan here from Bricksafe and Rebrickable, thought I'd clarify some things. Bricksafe is not shutting down, but I did disable new registrations. It will remain available for anyone currently registered, and I have no plans to decommission it. I did this because I have no interest in developing Bricksafe any further, and haven't touched it in years. I guess I was pretty naive when I built it and offered free storage, figuring I could monetise it later if needed. Well, the costs are significant (about $1k/month for those curious) but Rebrickable allows me to leave it as a completely free and ad-free site, and that's still the plan. I am 100% focused on Rebrickable. If you have any MOCs there that reference Brickshelf files you can upload them to Rebrickable itself now to keep them online - this wasn't the case until a few years ago. I totally understand. Thanks for keeping Bricksafe available for us with existing accounts! Quote
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