Ending support of public folder

[ae2rigc]

Just heard from dropbox that support for the public folder is ending.

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As a result, we’ll soon be ending support for the Public folder. Dropbox Pro users will be able to use the Public folder until
September 1, 2017. After that date the files in your Public folder will become private, and links to these files will be deactivated. Your files will remain safe in Dropbox.

If you’d like to keep sharing files in your Public folder, you can create new shared links. Just make sure to send the new URLs to your collaborators.

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It is one of the most useful features of the service for me as I use it to get links to single files that I can send to people without setting up shared folders and requiring them to have dropbox accounts.

(Save file to my public folder locally, syncs, right click, get publick link, paste. Doesn't get any easier than that.)

It's also useful for bb style forum posts where you can link to images with an easy tag.

With the public folder support being removed, is there going to be an alternative solution to allow easy public sharing of single files?

[Deide]

The public folder is what brought many people to Dropbox - what set it apart and made it differ from the competitors. Calling it a relic does it and all the people that desire the functionality an injustice.

I don't see how anyone can say that the replacement functionality is superior unless they're in the pockets of Dropbox. Only Dropbox benefits from its removal; users suffer from the increased complexity of managing both a file system and a links system (when really, the two are the same thing).

They also suffer the "indirect" removal of direct links - the main reason for this move, I'm sure. I mean, when you share something with someone, Dropbox wants some ad space or a means to generate conversions and revenue. What happened when they introduced the new links system? That's correct, you handed a link to someone that was not logged into Dropbox (or indeed did not have a Dropbox account) and they were immediately pestered to sign up before they could access the content you linked.

And with that, they suffer the consequences of increased bandwidth and resources to load the linked content, and the decreased functionality of clean, universal embedding whether you're in a terminal or on a browser.

And of course, they suffer the vanishing of the links to their content - probably the thing that stings the most for many.

In fact, you could go one step further and call the newer system and functionality relics that Dropbox initially saved many people from. Before Dropbox, most people relied on upload sites with big download buttons. Dropbox saved people from this by presenting a far simpler and more hassle-free approach that is now being slowly peeled back.

Oh well, there are better alternatives now - similar companies that offer all the same features and more; free and paid. Or people could do one better and rent their own VPS for a similar price and a vastly larger degree of control.

[ym58]

I am posting from France (it does not make much difference but let's put it this way : my contacts at DB's Zendesk were all French-speaking individuals).

When I first realized that we were going to be screwed (a few months back when DB announced the changes), I understood that DB FREE accounts only were concerned with the PUBLIC LINKS issue and not PRO accounts.

So I decided to ask this very simple question on the (French-speaking) DB Zendesk :

"Will there be any change on public links (past and future) if I upgrade my account to a PRO account ?

 In other words : will the following link : https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/29826503/fm9833e.jpg still be accessible after the upgrade from FREE to PRO WITHOUT any change in the address wording ?

I just wanted to make sure that DB would definitely "grandfather" old links so that I don't get any broken links in the (numerous) posts that I made in the past 5 years in which I used public DB links !

Here's now the sequence of the events past my "very simple" question :

#1 first answer from the Zendesk on 01-2017 (from a guy called Clovis) : "No, they will be no change, go ahead with a PRO account"

#2 I then subscribed a PRO account on 01- 2017  >>> (I am a poor and confident moron ...)

#3 I posted again the same question to the Zendesk on 02-2017 to make sure I had been well understood (those guys are French, I am French, we normally speak the same langage ... poor me !)

#4 last answer from the Zendesk 03-2017 (from a guy called Matthieu) : "No, all public links will be broken as of Sept-01 2017, no matter FREE or PRO account !"

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I think that I have been more than misled : I have been f***d !

Legally, I feel like suing those guys.

[ym58]

My last post (March 03, 2017 - 7.30pm Paris-Brussels Time) has just disappeared ... ?!?

What happened ?

Here's a copy.

[JackDemirgian]

They don't like it when you described how they lied to take your money

[Mark]

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@ym58 wrote:

My last post (March 03, 2017 - 7.30pm Paris-Brussels Time) has just disappeared ... ?!?

What happened ?

Here's a copy.

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Apologies, it got stuck inside the spam filters. 

I've unblocked it for you and it should appear shortly. 

In terms of suing, I doubt you'd get anywhere - their T&C's do state the can change the services at will, and you will have had almost a years service out of them by the time the changes happen. However, depending upon where you are you could claim a chargeback to your credit card company for the service from Sept. onwards (i.e. at a cost of $8.25 per month if paid annually) for loss of service.

[Mark]

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@JackDemirgian wrote:
They don't like it when you described how they lied to take your money

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Incorrect - the issue was the swearing within the post, that trigged the spam (which also houses the filters).

I've released the post to the thread now.

[ym58]

@JackDemirgian

Caution, you're gonna be censored as well  !

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Do you mean DB could possibly use disloyal means to shut up "discordant" voices ?

Are we in some sort of a DDR remnant ... ?

[Mark]

Not at all - after all, the post is here isnt it? As is all of the other highly critical ones (ok maybe with some of duplicated ones from the past few days removed so that it flows logically).

However, this is a family forum and as such needs to stay that way (we are all adults after all).

[ym58]

@Mark (Super User)

Are the words "screwed" and "f****d" forbidden ?

If yes, sorry about that, I'd better use misled and deluded.

[Mark]

The f-one certainly is 🙂