This is more of a list than an actual article, compiled from picks and conversations about The Screencap Situation. Thank you to everyone who contributed a point that's been used here - even if you didn't know this would get posted. You're the ones who wrote this. I'm just the dummy who thought it was necessary to post in article form. Desperate times, friends.
Why Fanpop Needs Screencaps
-Screencaps have been added since before there was a screencap category. Now that there's definitely a demand for them here, they'll still get posted - in the photos section. It's already happening. Actual photos are getting buried, and will never be seen again. It's a mess.
-Fanpop is the only place on the web (that any of us could find) that allows any user to post screencaps to any club. Most other fan sites are geared toward something specific (actor, television show) and only allow administrators to share screencaps. This makes Fanpop unique, because they allow(ed) anyone to participate.
-Fanpop screencaps are usually in the top results for any web search for screencaps. Try it. The title of anything or the name of an actor or character + "screencaps" - how many Fanpop results did you get?
-Several of us have dedicated YEARS of our lives (and spent money on things to capture), building up galleries of screencaps that can't be found anywhere else on the web. Does this mean everything we've done for this site, was all for nothing?
-Have you ever had a person sign up for this site just to thank you for something you posted? At least three of us have. Multiple times. For screencaps.
-Getting screencaps elsewhere is a nice idea, but unless you're looking for something popular like Twilight or The Vampire Diaries, you might have issues finding them. I can truthfully say that more than half the spots I'm a part of have screencaps that really cannot be found anywhere else.
-Some of the smaller spots only have screencaps and a handful of other content, because sometimes that's all that exists of a particular subject. If screencaps get removed, those spots will be empty. Why would anyone want to visit a spot with 3 pictures?
-Screencaps allowed people who were not particularly creative to feel like they were contributing by enabling others to make the things they can't.
-Lots of Fanpoppers who make icons & fan art used this site for their screencaps. I always thought that was nice - a completely Fanpop-based creation. From Fanpop to Fanpop. Fanpop creations are likely to take a nose-dive, which means more stolen art from LiveJournal & Tumblr... who have also been known to use Fanpop screencaps to make the art they post on those sites. It's a vicious cycle.
-According to a recent link, the screencap section was the one that Fanpoppers spent the most time in.
-Another link shows that the loss of screencaps will greatly impact the way most of us participate - and if we don't have anything to do, why would we want to stick around as much as we used to?
Picking Apart Fanpop's Response (sorry, Dave)
-"the sheer volume of screencaps being uploaded were using up a lot of our servers that could be used for other more popular features" - If screencaps aren't one of Fanpop's most popular features, what is? They're used for everything - icons, fan art, gifs, wallpaper, picks.
-"we found that the screencaps weren't actually getting many pageviews" - Maybe not immediately, but I'm guessing link weren't very popular at first either.
-"we understand that this decision impacts a small handful of our users that actively used the feature" - According to link pick, it's a liiiittle more than a handful.
Space-Saving Alternatives
-Crack down on duplicate spots. There are still plenty of those out there with the exact same thousands of images that have been posted already.
-Limit screencap uploads for users to a certain number per day or week. It would be a pain for some users, but it would probably reduce the overall amount and taking longer to fill up a new server. That would be better than no screencaps at all.
Questions
-Why werent users notified of this major change?
-If screencaps aren't "popular features", what are?
-What are these new features and when should we expect them?
-What will happen to the screencaps that are already here?
-Is there ANYTHING that Fanpop users can do to get the F4 to reconsider their decision on screencaps? Begging? Bribery? Anything at all?
Why Fanpop Needs Screencaps
-Screencaps have been added since before there was a screencap category. Now that there's definitely a demand for them here, they'll still get posted - in the photos section. It's already happening. Actual photos are getting buried, and will never be seen again. It's a mess.
-Fanpop is the only place on the web (that any of us could find) that allows any user to post screencaps to any club. Most other fan sites are geared toward something specific (actor, television show) and only allow administrators to share screencaps. This makes Fanpop unique, because they allow(ed) anyone to participate.
-Fanpop screencaps are usually in the top results for any web search for screencaps. Try it. The title of anything or the name of an actor or character + "screencaps" - how many Fanpop results did you get?
-Several of us have dedicated YEARS of our lives (and spent money on things to capture), building up galleries of screencaps that can't be found anywhere else on the web. Does this mean everything we've done for this site, was all for nothing?
-Have you ever had a person sign up for this site just to thank you for something you posted? At least three of us have. Multiple times. For screencaps.
-Getting screencaps elsewhere is a nice idea, but unless you're looking for something popular like Twilight or The Vampire Diaries, you might have issues finding them. I can truthfully say that more than half the spots I'm a part of have screencaps that really cannot be found anywhere else.
-Some of the smaller spots only have screencaps and a handful of other content, because sometimes that's all that exists of a particular subject. If screencaps get removed, those spots will be empty. Why would anyone want to visit a spot with 3 pictures?
-Screencaps allowed people who were not particularly creative to feel like they were contributing by enabling others to make the things they can't.
-Lots of Fanpoppers who make icons & fan art used this site for their screencaps. I always thought that was nice - a completely Fanpop-based creation. From Fanpop to Fanpop. Fanpop creations are likely to take a nose-dive, which means more stolen art from LiveJournal & Tumblr... who have also been known to use Fanpop screencaps to make the art they post on those sites. It's a vicious cycle.
-According to a recent link, the screencap section was the one that Fanpoppers spent the most time in.
-Another link shows that the loss of screencaps will greatly impact the way most of us participate - and if we don't have anything to do, why would we want to stick around as much as we used to?
Picking Apart Fanpop's Response (sorry, Dave)
-"the sheer volume of screencaps being uploaded were using up a lot of our servers that could be used for other more popular features" - If screencaps aren't one of Fanpop's most popular features, what is? They're used for everything - icons, fan art, gifs, wallpaper, picks.
-"we found that the screencaps weren't actually getting many pageviews" - Maybe not immediately, but I'm guessing link weren't very popular at first either.
-"we understand that this decision impacts a small handful of our users that actively used the feature" - According to link pick, it's a liiiittle more than a handful.
Space-Saving Alternatives
-Crack down on duplicate spots. There are still plenty of those out there with the exact same thousands of images that have been posted already.
-Limit screencap uploads for users to a certain number per day or week. It would be a pain for some users, but it would probably reduce the overall amount and taking longer to fill up a new server. That would be better than no screencaps at all.
Questions
-Why werent users notified of this major change?
-If screencaps aren't "popular features", what are?
-What are these new features and when should we expect them?
-What will happen to the screencaps that are already here?
-Is there ANYTHING that Fanpop users can do to get the F4 to reconsider their decision on screencaps? Begging? Bribery? Anything at all?