tjkendonJun 17, 2023
Dave Anderson

Google just emailed me to let me know that "Album Archive" is going away and my data will be deleted in a month.

Album Archive is apparently the dumping ground for images that were in _other_ products Google has already killed, such as Google+ and Hangouts.

They're killing the place where images from killed products went. It's just beyond parody, incredible.

Jun 16, 2023 at 8:22pmWeb
Show threadoliveJun 16, 2023
@danderson just one day after announcing they ditch their registrar operations... I wonder if they want to celebrate Reader's 10 years death by shutting down one service every day until July 1st?
Show threadDave AndersonJun 16, 2023
@olive Cynical explanation: the shareholder earnings call is coming up, Bard is still shit, they need something to show them. "Look how much we cut costs" is a thing.
Show threadyawnboxJun 16, 2023
@danderson i read this too and to me reads like people will no longer be able to download an archive (aka export) of their media, which is much worse
Show threadNicolás AlvarezJun 17, 2023
@danderson @yawnbox I think Takeout still works?
Show threadMatt PalmerJun 17, 2023
@danderson @sleevi Google services are just an endless parade of Lucy-with-the-football.
Show threadStvenxKlɱmelJun 17, 2023
@womble @danderson @sleevi
They lost me when Panoramio was killed.
Show threadClaudine C Jun 17, 2023
@danderson @mattcen Wow it really is the month/week/day for services going down the drain. I had no idea about Album Archive either.
Show threadBo LingenJun 17, 2023
@danderson Google's messaging in this email was terrible, it doesn't explain what it even is or why I should care. I still don't know ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯
Show threadmk30Jun 17, 2023

@danderson @ceejbot i got the same announcement and i was wondering what the heck album archive was. i figured it was some kind of spam or some random service i tried out many years ago.

on a related note, why does it feel like so many things are just sort of getting phoned in at this point... or maybe it's just me?

Show threadGarrett WollmanJun 17, 2023
@mk30 @danderson @ceejbot It's Federal Funds at 5%. Companies that rode the wave of nearly-free capital are now finding that the market is demanding real returns on their investments.
Show threadMike CohenJun 17, 2023
@danderson @martlund I just got that email
Show threadCarighan MaconarJun 17, 2023
@danderson I was also utterly confused what that even was. For example the only place I've ever seen Hangouts-pictures archived was in the Hangouts-archive you could/can (no clue >.>) see at the bottom of GMail. Weird to kill products you never even introduced your audience to.
Show threaddr 🛠️🛰️📡🎧Jun 17, 2023
@danderson I got this same email and I'm like...I have something in Albums? If so, it was done against my will.
Show threadNate Bowling (نيت بولينج)Jun 17, 2023

@danderson

I got that same notification and that's how I learned my old circa 2004 blogger banner had a typo "portests" 🤣🤣🤣

Show threadDogzillaJun 17, 2023
@danderson I think it’s best to think of all Google products as only temporary solutions
Show threadJ. BlakeJun 17, 2023
@danderson I got the same notice and had no idea what it was. Thanks for doing the research.
Show threadChris GascoigneJun 17, 2023
@danderson I also got this and was totally confused about what the heck “album archive” is.
Show threadFelixJun 17, 2023
@danderson I discarded that message as spam 🤣 #notSpamButStillSpam
Show threadFelixJun 17, 2023
@danderson it seems they run out of storage space +1 😂
Show threadBrian PerryJun 17, 2023
@danderson These companies invited us in as guests into their home to share a few laughs, but now it’s 2 a.m. and suddenly the house is a bar with a cover charge and we’ll need to pay them to find us amusing. I am starting to think high interest rates are going to bring a rude end to so many previously fun parties.
Show threadKen BruckerJun 17, 2023
@danderson Saw that and hadn’t taken the time to understand what it meant. Beyond never trusting Google for the long term in anything.
Show threadJames S. AaronJun 17, 2023
@danderson The email reminded me that Picasa used to exist as a competitor for iPhoto, so that was a bit of nostalgia I hadn’t felt yet
Show threadCandy Apples Annie 🎄Jun 17, 2023

@danderson ooooh is that what that was? I put it in spam because it was a no-context email that made me suspicious—I had literally never heard of “album archive” before, way to go google

@tylersticka

Show threadRonanJun 17, 2023
@danderson got this too. My reaction was much the same, "oh, you have 5 of my pictures, which I sent from, and still have, elsewhere? Great"
Show threadHanJun 17, 2023
@danderson Google dropped support for their product graveyard.
Show threadendeavorance 🕊️Jun 17, 2023
@danderson I got that too and had no idea what they were talking about, but was again reminded why I dont depend on google services anymore. Inbox and Google Music still are open wounds for me.
Show threadNonya Bidniss 🥥🌴Jun 17, 2023
@danderson I got the email & had never heard of it. I discovered all my pics from a long ago blog were there. 🤷 I requested the download...still waiting.
Show threadspinnerter 🇺🇦Fetter Tanzbär🇺🇦Jun 17, 2023
@danderson Only trust in your own Backup Hardisk and your CD Burner. I never stored pictures and other datas in a cloud. This is one of the reasons.
Show threadSliotarJun 18, 2023

@Tanzbaer @danderson

How often do you refresh that hard-drive and burn new CDs/DVD?

I got my first half-way decent digital camera about 20 years ago, and I know that most of the CDs that I burned back then have long since decayed beyond usability, and I'm not sure that I could easily access a hard-drive from that era if I could lay my hands on it.

Show threadSliotarJun 18, 2023

@Tanzbaer @danderson

I still have most of the photos that I took back then because the collection was small enough to copy over each time I upgraded my computer over the years, but it's hard to imagine that future generations will ever flick their way through any of these images, even if there was an obvious long term storage mechanism available.

I probably wouldn't even look at them if it wasn't for the occasional prompt from an "On This Day" popup from the copy that exists on the cloud.

Show threadJadeJun 17, 2023

@danderson I'm just glad this time they didn't kill something well liked that I used and has no real alternative available. You know, like Reader or Picasa.

I still miss Google Reader. *sigh*

Show threadn3wjackJun 17, 2023
@danderson same here, and I had to check what was in there before I knew wtf it was. Never heard of that before. 😂
Show threadSamantaz FoxJun 17, 2023
@danderson Wait until they announce the end of life of "Archivium", the dumping ground for all the deleted data of "Album Archive" xD
Show threadSean 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️🤷Jun 17, 2023
@danderson Sweet geebus. I had no idea that email meant what you clued me into. I had saw it, and kind of did a real life 🤷‍♂️​
Show threadPete WrightJun 17, 2023
@seanwbruno @danderson yea same with me too - lol
Show threadSean 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️🤷Jun 17, 2023
@pete_wright @danderson I'll have to put it in my "dead internet" folder, next to my birdsite and fbook exports. Thankfully no reddit archive here.
Show threadJessamynJun 17, 2023
@danderson Yeah I looked at what was in mine, a place I'd never heard of, and it looks like it was images that I'd used for... Blogger. Which is apparently still alive.
Show threadDavid MichaelsJun 17, 2023
@jessamyn @danderson Ooofffff there really aren't many consumer friendly places/ways to store photos out there. This really is peak Google
Show threadJessamynJun 17, 2023
@vwampage @danderson Part of my work at Flickr is getting more cultural heritage organizations onboarded (and working with existing ones who maybe haven't been active) and let them know we have a long-term plan and not just a short term money grab one. Speaking of, any idea who runs this? I just sent them a message saying "Hey we can switch you to a pro-level account" They've been dormant., probably because NYPL itself has great options, but still would be nice to say hi. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nypl/
New York Public Library

Explore New York Public Library’s 2,525 photos on Flickr!

Flickr
Show threadSean RedmondJun 17, 2023
@jessamyn @vwampage @danderson I'll ask around. Since there are links to old *Cold Fusion* pages, the signs are not good
Show threadJessamynJun 17, 2023
@rdmond @vwampage @danderson Oy, and thanks -- if there's no one currently involved in that account, we'd also be delighted if someone would like to take it over. Not a lot of responsibilities but it's just another neat discovery angle which could be mostly automated (or not) and be part of some of the stuff we've got going on. Happy to be a contact person for it. Stay in touch,
Show threadCarl MalamudJun 17, 2023
@jessamyn I can help. Send me email.
Show threadJessamynJun 17, 2023
@carlmalamud Done.
Show threadAsahi Scarlett (朝日すかーれっと) 🔥🌸Jun 17, 2023
@danderson yeah i got that email
Show threadMarcusJun 17, 2023
@danderson @jwildeboer I told it to export mine to my google drive and then emailed me this morning that my drive was full so it failed.
Show threadLance, Enjoying Copious PollenJun 17, 2023
@danderson I got the same notification. There were two folders at the link they sent; both were empty.
Show threadTomi the Slav and 1024 othersJun 17, 2023
@danderson I'm a bit nervous about that, because all images from my blogs(blogger) seem to be there.
Does this mean they will dissapear from the blog too?
Time to setup own bloging platform.
Show threadExtinction (our fate)Jun 17, 2023

@danderson

They're just large enough to afford a thousand cuts.

Show threadJon JenningsJun 17, 2023
@danderson thank you for the explanation. I got the email, read it through three times and still had zero understanding about what they were talking away, if I used it and if I should care.
Show threadMark EichinJun 17, 2023
@danderson
Oh is *that* what it is. (I haven't gotten it directly, just some "misspelled recovery address" copies of it...)
Show threadDarrenJun 18, 2023
@danderson @epixoip google graveyard is being discontinued ..
Show threadCenobyte Jun 18, 2023
@danderson I would never trust google with anything important.
Show thread Why Not Zoidberg? 🦑Jun 18, 2023

@danderson So far they haven't touched Photos or Gmail. Those are the only two I care about but I do have an external drive ready to dump a lot of photos onto if necessary.

If they ever threatened to close down Gmail I think you would see a Simpsons style riot.

Show threadJan ☕🎼🎹☁️🏋️‍♂️Jun 18, 2023

@danderson and when you ask for your data, you get a mail saying "However, we were unable to create a copy of all your files.".

So it's dead already.

Show threadRobin CapperJun 18, 2023
@danderson They've cancelled so much even they can't afford to store the stuff they've cancelled?
Show threadChris DrumgooleJun 18, 2023
@danderson They probably need to cut costs. Storage and maintenance costs for something that’s not core / not used much.
Show threadRussell GarnerJun 18, 2023
@danderson
@vaurora worse even than this is that Google Takeout does not seem equipped to handle the load of people getting their stuff out. It queued my download for 2 days in the future...
Show threadHeliographJun 18, 2023
@danderson also to download a copy of the archive is like summoning some pagan rituals 😬🤯
Show threadDragonFlameJun 18, 2023
@danderson I did wonder what that email was all about and whether in the dim and distant past I had signed in. But relieved I can ignore it without collapse of my phone.
Show threadKamilJun 18, 2023
@danderson also got one and couldn’t care less. after they killed their rss I do not rely on their services as essential to me.