TrueBMX.com (formerly GotSnap.net) has been a photo repository for the Utah BMX community since 2007. During that time, some 70,000 + photos have been taken at local and national BMX races and posted for consumption. The site has seen several iterations of user permissions. At first, registration was done by private invitation, which then turned into public registration. Feedback from the community moved the site into open viewing (no registration required). More recently, the site transitioned to verified registration of riders and family. It was this more recent transition caused stir and confusion, and in the end a, significant amount of administrative work.
While joining the ABA requires consent of taking photos, it is my belief that the world we live in requires good stewardship, especially when it comes to protecting the younger riders. It was this principle that moved me to take action and change who could view all photos from the site. The action was swift, and in many respects, a hatchet approach was taken that I knew would require refinement.
Unfortunately, adding to the mess, while at the track on February 7th my camera reached its end of life. Some meager efforts were made to secure donations for replacing the camera. Although several donors contributed a fair amount of funds, the experiment was shut down shortly after it began. The decision to shut down and refund all donations was twofold. On one side, I needed to replace the camera and doing so without donations to cover the full amount would require some juggling on my part. And as such, I did not want to be obligated to those that contributed should future donations not cover the full expense. Essentially, if the camera broke after only a few months or I was no longer able to participate, I did not want any hurt feelings. The other factor was the number of people that contributed or expressed an interest in contributing, was small in relation to the number of people that were consumers of the site. It would have been better to have many contribute a small amount than to have a few pledge as much as they did.
This all leads up to where the site currently stands, which is closed to all but a few. As for the future, I do not see the site returning to the 500 – 1000 shots per race of the past, nor do I see photos of younger riders made public unless some type of release or other agreement is worked out. I will take some select shots of older riders and publish them for public consumption. I will also take photos for friends and place them in a protected portion of the site for private viewing. Also, other services, such as printing of pictures and posters, will be offered to those that are interested in contributing. I think this approach will still help promote the sport and give everyone an avenue to get the photos they desire.
I hope this all makes sense, and that it helps the Utah BMX community understand why the drastic changes in such a short period of time.