As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Whether it's school, sports or some other related activity, you will most likely be asked to sign a photo or video waiver. Otherwise, you child will end up on the sidelines as a result. Since what's to keep some other parent with a phone, camera or video from posting something with your child in the background or even foreground?
So am I just living in the last century here? Do you post pictures and videos of your kids on sites like Facebook and Flicker? What precautions do you take on these and other sites? After all, as a teen they can just start their own accounts. So should I just sign and hope for the best?
It's one I struggle with, too.
I usually sign the release, because I generally trust the sponsoring organization. Our school and Girl Scouts, for example, are pretty good about not using last names if a photo is used.
Truth be told, I'm more worried about a picture where my daughter is identified, than I am about her appearing in an anonymous photo. So the appearing in the background isn't my biggest concern. And I'm going to get classmates in the shot if I photograph my daughter at her 2d grade concert, so I'm pretty sure other folks will get my kid in their shots too.
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Carolyn
Last edited by Carousel96; 05-29-2012 at 08:06 PM..
I,for one,am against Facebook. There are many reasons,but I won't bore you all with those. Many people do post videos,and pictures they have no business posting,no matter if it's their family,kids,or even themselves. When FB dies,there will be other sites like it,and other opportunities.
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"Life can be as easy as a fall,it's all so easy once you just let go."
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Well, my son is all over the internet, as we have a blog. But, we're not on FB.
A part of my job is to make sure parents who have asked that their child not get photographed get exactly as they have requested, as I work in a school. When media come with either film or still cameras, they have me check their shots to make sure they haven't captured any child who isn't supposed to be photographed, so it can be done. As for other parents not getting your kid--good luck with that. I don't know what you can do to control that one.
I don't have a facebook account, so I'm not posting photos of my kids on the internet. But, yes, I sign the waiver. I do not live in a very ethically diverse state and our small town isn't ethnically diverse at all. In order to put forth a different impression of this part of the country, my kids get photographed a lot, and we've just accepted that. For whatever reason, people seem to think that it's a better impression if their photos have children of various ethneticities. My son was featured in a candidate's run for governor, my daughter was photographed for an Enron promotion when they tested some sort of promotion here. Both children were photographed with Presidential candidates when they came campaigning, they have both been featured on the town's website. I don't think it's a big deal. Their names were never mentioned, so I don't see the problem.
There are so many kids pictures on facebook I suppose it is a bit paranoid to worry about these pictures, and yes chances are good your child will be all over the internet (anonymously) anyway being in the background or being part of a group performing that some parent will think is youtube worthy. I think it is annoying, but just part of our society at this point and I agree with the other poster that mentioned if a child is not tagged it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. I personally just don't like other people posting pictures of my kids if they are identified. I guess I am a control freak, but I would like to be made aware of pictures anyone can see of my children before they are put online. I would also like to be able to control what pictures of me are online as well, but that doesn't seem to happen either....
As someone who's worked in PR, promoting the good work my old workplace used to do involving kids, I have a different perspective. I'll say now I don't have kids, so I can't help from that side of things. However, I have seen in my time kids really disappointed when they're not allowed to be in photos while everyone else is and, as I say, it's always good stuff I was doing - maybe sports sessions with kids, that sort of thing. Sometimes there were really good reasons for a kid not to be in a photo - some kids were in the system and couldn't be identified for that reason, which is perfectly understandable, but I just wanted to put the other side... hope it's helpful.
As someone who's worked in PR, promoting the good work my old workplace used to do involving kids, I have a different perspective. I'll say now I don't have kids, so I can't help from that side of things. However, I have seen in my time kids really disappointed when they're not allowed to be in photos while everyone else is and, as I say, it's always good stuff I was doing - maybe sports sessions with kids, that sort of thing. Sometimes there were really good reasons for a kid not to be in a photo - some kids were in the system and couldn't be identified for that reason, which is perfectly understandable, but I just wanted to put the other side... hope it's helpful.
That being said, if they're in the background and not the subject - legally the photographer does not need anyone's permission to post it. Only if you're easily identifiable, and even then it's a very grey area.
Thanks everyone for your insight. I realize it's inevitable with technology being what it is but some things like FB tagging and EXIF data on photos, etc. probably worries me the most. (I know you can turn off these functions but not everyone takes the same precautions to do so.) It's still nice to know I'm not the only one with concerns and I can appreciate other perspectives.
My kids are adults and I still turn off all the EXIF Location functions! It also makes me crazy when my sisters "tag" me for being at "places" with them, even though the only place they do so is Disney!! Personally I do not like everyone knowing where I am on a global map! As for kids being in pictures, I remember my picture being in the newspaper when I was a kid after I won a poetry writing contest. My mom had to sign a waiver so they could print it. I was so proud of having my picture in print! One of the mother's would not sign and that kid was not allowed in the picture and to this day I can still see him standing off to the side while the rest of us had our picture taken. His face was so sad and forlorn! I know in this day and age is it much more dangerous. All you can do is try and spread the word to everyone you know to please not tag you and your family without your consent and you block all GPS location type data implants from their phones when taking pictures.
Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with it. I have friends and family all over the place, so facebook is where we all catch up. My account is private, and I know that nothing is truly private online, but I know that no one is on Facebook looking specifically for me to get to my kids.
As for pictures in the paper and such, I always sign the waiver. I honestly don't think someone is going to search out my kids just because they see their pictures in the paper.
I think people worry for nothing about their kids pictures being posted online or in the paper. I'm honestly much more worried that some sicko might live near me (I just checked, there is a level 3 sex offender that lives 3 streets away) and see my kids while they are in the yard playing.
I think people worry for nothing about their kids pictures being posted online or in the paper. I'm honestly much more worried that some sicko might live near me (I just checked, there is a level 3 sex offender that lives 3 streets away) and see my kids while they are in the yard playing.
I wouldn't say for nothing, but I think the level of fear is extremely high, like you said - it's the danger in your neighborhood that gets overlooked and is much more dangerous.
Poor wording on my behalf, but I feel my kids are safer in pictures online then they are outside my own house.
Back in late 1997, there was a missing 10 year old from the Boston area. The investigation ended up reaching into New Hampshire and Maine. When all was said and done, the culprit (one of) was a neighbor who actually handed out missing flyers with the boys family.
I guess I just don't think it's a big deal. My daughter plays hockey and her team is online, and at tournaments, her picture is in the booklets that are handed out.
I understand everyone's comfort level is different. If you aren't comfortable, don't sign any waiver.
I sign the waivers, but I usually put in something to the effect that the parents must be notified and give individual permission BEFORE release of any photo featuring my children. I have given permission for a couple, but not many.
I don't post photos of my kids myself. I've started to loosen up a little about it, but that's more because they are older (14, 19, and the other 3 are in their late 20s and mid-30s) and not because I trust the web more!!
I do not identify on FB where we live - I use the nearest city. I think my profile here even says Indianapolis, and not the town we actually live in. I have disabled the GPS identifier thing for my phone and camera - no-one needs to know where I am or where I've taken photos at!
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