Ideas and thoughts for Cadyou.
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Hi all,
I have been reluctant to make a post like this because i don't want to be seen as spamming or anything but i genuinely would like everyones input and i can't think of a friendlier place to post!
So, a tiny bit of backstory.. basically i have just graduated from an Architecture degree but have always had a strong interest in programming on various platforms... I thought while i was studying that there was a niche for essentially a moderated version of cben and 3d warehouse, these places are great but me and my fellow course mates all agreed that trauling through the rubbish was a pain, thumbnails were far too small and the search (on cben anyway) was lacking. So i spent three months developing a site from scratch which went online at the start of November as cadyou.
Anyway, the site is doing ok.. we have nearly 300 great files on their now (many contributed by members here after i have hassled them
) but i am wondering what i can do to make it as useful as possible?You may not have much of a say in 3d warehouse... and cben seems to be basically abandoned nowadays, but i am actively looking for things to add, and to create value and features for the design community...
Thanks a lot,
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Thats looks pretty good, is their a batch uploader by any chance? i dont really fancy doing all my components one by one.
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Well, your site looks very profesional, thumbs up for that
Things to improve:
Separate ads from content, makes it easier to navigate your site
Get a php database running so that you can easily order search results and such.Other than that I can't think of anything to improve your site [well, not now anyway
]Keep it up!
*edit
skip the last one, did some more clicking on your site and the search options in the database are pretty good.
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remus:
That's a good idea! there isn't currently a batch uploader however if you would like to make a larger contribution feel free to put the models in one zip file and upload that to the correct category and i will organise it for you.. or you can email them: tom[at]cadyou.com
If you do email any models i would suggest you quickly create an account and put the username in the email so that you get proper credit!
HFM
Thanks for the compliments, really appreciated, which ads do you feel are intruding on the content?
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Cheers decipher, i'll try and clean them up a bit first and email them off tomorrow.
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just had another thought, do you prefer SU 6 or SU 7 format for the models? Im guessing 6 where possible?
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The lowest you dare export them at, so 5 or 6 if they aren't dynamic!
You will find a lot of the models on the site are actually saved down to Sketchup 5, i guess it doesn't matter so much as it does with CAD files though as there is always a free version available..
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honoluludesktop sent me a pm suggesting a Ruby script to allow searching of the site from within Sketchup. I have quickly knocked one up which adds a 'Search cadyou.com' option to the plugins menu, and it is available here:
http://www.cadyou.com/plugins/cadyou.rb
I will add it to the site for official download soon
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Thanks, it's always great to have another resource.
Question: Are your people downloads copyright free?DE.
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Good site, nice simple style.
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Double espresso, when i was trying out uploading stuff to the site it gave a choice of licenses for the content. The default is a cc attribution, so i imagine the majority of models will be under that license. If in doubt there is licensing info on the left of every component.
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@remus said:
Double espresso, when i was trying out uploading stuff to the site it gave a choice of licenses for the content. The default is a cc attribution, so i imagine the majority of models will be under that license. If in doubt there is licensing info on the left of every component.
Thx,remus. I go through the copyright/public domain legal rangling all the time and never use anything except bona fide cleared images where they might wind up in public view. There is no such thing as public domain where a recognizable image is posted unless all the rights are solely owned.
DE -
DE:
It's a difficult one definitely, and we have already had a share of issues in terms of copyrighted content ending up on the site. The short answer, as with anything user contributed is that its difficult to ever be 100% sure, and we take uploads on good faith that the file is the users work and that the user has the right to grant a public domain / cc license for the work.
So, if its a big public rendering for a high profile client or something then that is where a bit of money spent on 3d models from the many sites that offer them for a fee is probably a good idea.
Would it be useful to add a contact function so that you can email the model owner through the website, so you can double check this kind of thing should you want to use one of the files in a commercial environment?
Cheers
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@decipher said:
DE:
It's a difficult one definitely, and we have already had a share of issues in terms of copyrighted content ending up on the site. The short answer, as with anything user contributed is that its difficult to ever be 100% sure, and we take uploads on good faith that the file is the users work and that the user has the right to grant a public domain / cc license for the work.
So, if its a big public rendering for a high profile client or something then that is where a bit of money spent on 3d models from the many sites that offer them for a fee is probably a good idea.
Would it be useful to add a contact function so that you can email the model owner through the website, so you can double check this kind of thing should you want to use one of the files in a commercial environment?
Cheers
Your issues are if you post an image on your site and it is of a recognizable person, copyrighted product or logo etc., you can be sued. This is rare, unless it's a celebrity or well known product etc. The risk you run, is that someone downloads an image and uses it as part of a commercial venture, or perhaps, in some disparaging way. If I was you, I would definitely include some kind of disclaimer. I don't want to blow this out of proportion, but I assume this a test run and you are looking at the commercial potential of this venture... so why not cover yourself.
Good luck.
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DE, im not entirely sure, but i think a lot of cad models/photographs can be considered artistic works, and so can be used.
It is certainly quite a grey area though, so worth erring on the side of caution where possible.
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Remus,
DE is correct on this one.. and its not quite as 'grey' as you might think in terms of photographs of people anyway. If somebody is recognisable in an image and it is to be used for commercial use you must get a model release form and whatnot.
I think for now i am going to keep photographs of people off the site.
p.s. Remus, i have uploaded several of the models you sent.
Many thanks. -
you learn something new every day, as they say
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@remus said:
DE, im not entirely sure, but i think a lot of cad models/photographs can be considered artistic works, and so can be used.
It is certainly quite a grey area though, so worth erring on the side of caution where possible.
Artistic works? No such thing, my friend. Lets say you want to use a poster of Jimi Hendrix you found on the web in a room you are designing and that room then appears in an architectural magazine. You need to get permission from the poster company, possibly the photographer and for sure the estate of Jimi Hendrix. Next time you are watching a reality-type tv show, something like where cops are arresting gang members, pay attention to designs on shirts and jackets that have been blurred in post production. No can show without permission. If you design a street scene and include a Starbucks, then put it on public display, by the letter of the law you need their permission. It is a tangled and dangerous web to enter.
DE. -
Does this relate mostly to pictures and other exact reproductions then? rather than models/paintings?
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Anyway,
Just to revive this thread before it dies forever. Thanks for everyones input so far, i have done some work on improving the search experience the last few days and wanted to throw up here the list of things i am thinking of adding over the next few months and get some feedback as to whether they are worthwhile or not..
- Move file storage to Amazon S3 (speed and cost)
- Bulk upload of files like flickr
- Community features like top uploaders, most popular user etc
- The ability to subscribe to a user (RSS) and get notified when they upload
- The ability to send users messages from their profile page
- The ability for users to have icons/avatars
- ...or scrap the three above and use facebook connect/google friend connect
- More file formats (collada /3ds/ dwg) for every download
Any thoughts on the above features appreciated, i will judge which ones to work on by the response here
Cheers.
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