Author Topic: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...  (Read 2729 times)

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Offline rrwcf

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WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« on: February 26, 2020, 07:44:27 PM »
I've been contributing excellent data to WU for over 10 years.  I've dropped a lot of $$ getting it "right" (gear, phone pole, time spent, perseverance, even a dedicated PC).

In the last three weeks I've written to "them" asking, "Why can't I have the new phone apps for free without paying for a subscription?"
A couple of the new apps are nice but WHY SHOULD I PAY A SUBSCRIPTION?  The PWS network is the backbone of their service, right?

I get no responses from "them."

Even the wunderground.com site keeps logging me off - and I HATE their ads.  (btw, I also hate their fake science diatribes.)

As someone else said on this forum, "It's like a drug..."  But I'm ready to quit WU. 

I've been using Weatherlink, and I like it.  The improvements to it are excellent.

If I left WU, none of "them" would ever even know it.

UNLESS... a bunch of dissatisfied PWS providers organized a coordinated two-week long BOYCOTT.

Also, wasn't there a "Topic" thread here on WXForum entitled something like "Complaints about WU" and wasn't there a WU rep on the thread trying to answer complaints?

Finally, I don't complain about a lot of things but WU left me, I didn't leave "them" - but I could easily see that as a possibility.




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Offline DaleReid

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2020, 08:04:55 PM »
I cannot share bad experiences since I have never contributed to WU nor look at their stuff except when a kind soul gives me their address and I go look.  Some I've saved (up in Alaska and a few other places) but in general have no experience with being a 'sharer' of my data.

As you point out, they get a lot of data from the scattered users.

While those data are not enough to pay for they should provide some degree of reimbursement, in kind, for that immediate data stream from each user.  And you have footed the bill for some stuff, including the station (which you'd have otherwise) and the communications to get it to them.  I'm not sure everyone has unlmited data service, and know I've read in the last year some of the more remotely living forum members who select their upload times and amount shared to keep data charges low.

I participate in a time of arrival lightning detection network.  I love knowing the most precise location of a strike, and several years ago was chosen to provide the data to that company.  They shipped me (but retained ownership of ) a box, two antennas, a couple big hunks of cables and I furnished the support tower, the router connection, the uninterruptable power supply and did a little upgrading to my capabilities in order to ship them the data.  In return I get one access to their data from my location which I can slew around some.  My back is scratched while I scratch theirs.

Why can't  WU do this for their contributors?  I know from a couple of software and template programs that the authors mince no words in saying they aren't cooperating with WU.

The questions remain, then, as to why they don't treat their data sources better, and secondly, why is it taking so long to tell them to take a hike?
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Offline davidmc36

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #2 on: February 27, 2020, 05:20:57 AM »
Who can get in on the lightning network?

Offline DaleReid

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2020, 07:20:07 AM »
dave, I'm not sure if they still need stations or not.  They had some criteria for location and I don't recall their specs.

I'll look for contact info and PM you later with it.  It may not be today but will get to it before the weekend.
Dale
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Offline davidmc36

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #4 on: February 27, 2020, 08:06:40 AM »
Thanks

Offline DaleReid

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #5 on: February 27, 2020, 09:55:10 PM »
Dave (and others interested in hosting a lightning sensor for TOA,

I found this on their web site.  They are looking for locations that would help them fill in their network, so I take it that they may say they have enough coverage in an area, or be happy to add you.

Doesn't hurt to give them a note saying you are interested.

http://toasystems.com/contact-us/host-a-sensor/

I'm hoping that if they expand their sensors and you are chosen, that perhaps a quick note so the rest of us have some idea about our participation may be of interest.

Dale

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Offline ambientweather

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #6 on: February 27, 2020, 10:11:56 PM »

Offline OldAlaskaGuy

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #7 on: February 29, 2020, 12:56:50 PM »
For those of us who do not have individual weather web pages there have been some changes, Aeris (PWS Weather), and Ambient Weather are the new playgrounds with maps, forecasting and other added functionality, Weathercloud and Ecowitt (no mapping as of yet for Ecowitt) are also alternatives. Will they completely replace WU, I think not, WU will always be the Grand Dame abet with the fading beauty of a once-great lady.
 Yes, I am one of those who take a daily peek at my dashboard at WeatherUnderground to see if my station is still there, to see if the coveted gold star is present, the webcam is showing. I have given up hope that one day we will see WU in its former glory.
« Last Edit: February 29, 2020, 01:12:31 PM by Weatheroger »

Offline davidmc36

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #8 on: February 29, 2020, 03:02:22 PM »
If my camera would come back, WU would be adequate. It was a one stop shop to share my status. Show me alternate to that and I might even pay a few ching for it.

Offline ixlr8

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #9 on: February 29, 2020, 03:19:22 PM »
OP- All the good weather sites seem to head down hill sooner or later. When Weather Channel first came online, it had all the info I wanted, including marine and aviation weather. Over time, marine and then aviation weather moved to the back ground and then disappeared. Then the regular weather got less and less detailed with more and more fluff pieces. Eventually it became useless and I moved to Weather Underground and Intellicast. When WC took over WU, WU began it's downward spiral and now that IBM has taken over, there always seems to be something broken with no interest in fixing it. When WC started to nose dive, I started using Intellicast, it wasn't the most user friendly, but I could find what I wanted. Now that WC/WU/IBM has taken over Intellicast, it has begun the down hill spiral. Where can one go now for quality weather forecast that doesn't take a degree to sort thru??

Offline ocala

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #10 on: February 29, 2020, 04:59:42 PM »
If it's forecasts you're looking for then might I suggest weather.us. Lots of forecasts over there that you can personalize as you like.
As for WU, I think you said it best. IBM. They are in charge now. It's WU in name only. That ship sailed years ago when TWC bought them.
I admit I still do use them for Rapid Fire while that option is working, but if it should one day be gone, so will I.
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Offline galfert

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #11 on: February 29, 2020, 09:53:57 PM »
OP - You are not the first to mention a boycott of WU. I mentioned this last year.

https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=36609.msg385192#msg385192

And I was probably not the first either to say it. My point is that nothing gets accomplished by just saying, "hey let's boycott." What has to happen is that this idea would need to be well organized for it to pan out. I'm not interested being the one that organizes that.
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Offline rrwcf

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #12 on: March 01, 2020, 07:59:21 AM »
Galfert-

Thanks for your response.  I had been thinking (with my limited understanding of the world of PWS) that if there was ANYplace where PWS owners congregated, this would be it.
Others bring insight but it's apparent that there is no interest in sending a message to WU.

Remember when we could email them directly on their site?  I guess someone tried to bring an organized message that way and they dumped the feature.
I used their "comments" tab - but that's only a passive way to communicate and nobody digs into it.

As someone else said, (quoting loosely) "WU is a faded grand dame."

I no longer recommend WU to friends (the opposite for those who use it because of my former recommendations).  I no longer care to put any effort into them.  I no longer have hope that they will return to their former quality.  I always hated their ads and I definitely hate their political agenda wrapped in fake "science".

...and not to put too fine a point on it, but they're in California, so what do you expect?

 :grin:


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Offline WSWeather

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #13 on: March 01, 2020, 07:56:53 PM »
Others bring insight but it's apparent that there is no interest in sending a message to WU.
There may be interest, but anyone who has been paying attention to how IBM responds knows there's no point.  They simply do not care what we think.
Quote
Remember when we could email them directly on their site?  I guess someone tried to bring an organized message that way and they dumped the feature.
What happened was they fired everyone who used to do "customer service". Now you've got two people--one of whom is in charge of their data services--who mostly hang out on their Facebook page or on their paid API Community forum and even they can't do anything except "pass it along to the engineers".

WU is lost.

Offline BeaverMeadow

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #14 on: March 02, 2020, 08:50:05 AM »
OP - You are not the first to mention a boycott of WU. I mentioned this last year.

https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=36609.msg385192#msg385192


How many people upload their data to WU and how many people participate in WXFORUM?
I don't think there is much chance of affecting any change by trying to organize a boycott. I will hazard a guess that the vast majority of pws sites on WU are from people that are quite content if not gleeful about having their station turn up on the maps and graphs, and for free. Only hobbyists will find and reveal and disdain the dark inner doings of WU,IBM.

And to add insult to the injuries being wrecked upon us by WU, this from the bottom of their page:

« Last Edit: March 02, 2020, 08:53:15 AM by BeaverMeadow »

Offline galfert

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #15 on: March 02, 2020, 10:04:02 AM »
How many people upload their data to WU and how many people participate in WXFORUM?
I don't think there is much chance of affecting any change by trying to organize a boycott. I will hazard a guess that the vast majority of pws sites on WU are from people that are quite content if not gleeful about having their station turn up on the maps and graphs, and for free. Only hobbyists will find and reveal and disdain the dark inner doings of WU,IBM.

I totally agree with you. The number of people in the know that WU is providing a subpar experience to hobbyists is insignificant. IBM is laughing all the way to the bank. Remember station owners providing free data are not the customer.

This is why I said that just talk about a boycott is meaningless unless done right. Just posting here on the forum, "hey let's boycott" will accomplish nothing. A proper boycott is a movement that needs more organization and effort. Many things would need to get done. I have no idea how to successfully pull this off but I think it is possible if someone organized it.

For example some of the many things that would need to be organized (and even still there is no guarantee unless all of this lights a spark and goes viral):

- many post on many social media; Facebook, Instagram, forums, YouTube, Twitter...etc.
- fund.me to raise money for more advertising of cause
- petition at change.org
- boycott of not just WU but other IBM services and likewise plaster to other IBM using communities
- organized march with picket signs at headquarters
- contact local and national media and hope they pick up the story for the news
- be creative and do all of this in a way that it creates buzz and goes viral. Like the people that said that they were going to storm Area 51. Doesn't matter that it amounted to nothing on the day of. The point is that the story got picked up by all the media. Everyone now knows the story. It went viral.
- much more that I'm unaware of because this is not what I do nor have experienced ever having done nor am I interested in doing nor saying that I will necessarily participating in.

My point is that if you are going to bring up the boycott word then mean it and do it right. Otherwise it is pointless to fantasize any of this.

I'm not trying to stir anything up. I have not said if I believe or not in the boycott idea. I'm only commenting that you can discuss the world problems around the poker table but that doesn't accomplish anything.
« Last Edit: March 02, 2020, 10:15:43 AM by galfert »
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Online Oilswell

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #16 on: April 05, 2020, 01:00:21 PM »
Well, I've had it with WU and will uninstall all apps and deleted my account. As far as I'm concerned they've hit rock bottom and it's only getting worse. I don't believe the tide will shift back enough for them to produce an app or functional interface that I'd ever return for.

Not that they care but they're no longer getting my data. I now feel some sense of contentment now in this regard.

I hope I'm wrong and that things will change again for the better but I doubt it.
End of rant.

Offline crahen

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #17 on: April 08, 2020, 11:51:32 AM »
Just wanted to share feedback I got back from WU on this topic of not getting Premium App Access as a PWS data donater:

First, let me thank you for being a loyal part of the Weather Underground community.  We appreciate your interest in staying on top of weather events in your local area and elsewhere.

Because we, too, care deeply about providing this information as broadly as possible, we have separated web and mobile ad-free subscriptions.  Each of these platforms is an important path for delivering this information to users worldwide, and we need to find a way to support the ongoing development of each. 

We must develop these data architectures if we are to maintain excellent service for users today and into the future.

I hope you understand that these are not steps we take lightly, but they are essential to ensuring that the site and apps have a long and healthy future.

Weather station owners have enjoyed complimentary access to all Weather Underground services for a long time.  However, those services are not without cost -- for anyone.  Providing support for users and stations, the infrastructure for the data, all comes with a cost, as does, I’m sure, maintaining your instrument.  In order for us to have the resources to continue to develop the apps, they need to have some kind of income commensurate with their use.  PWS owners will continue to receive complimentary access to ad-free use on the web, including the mobile web on your phone.

Again, thank you for your commitment to Weather Underground.  I hope you will be able to continue into the future with us.

Offline galfert

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #18 on: April 08, 2020, 01:13:21 PM »
The WU current situation is a function of its own success. When WU was young it needed to become popular and needed everyone to provide them with free data. Now that WU has become universally associated with just about any weather station purchased, even of those found in Costco, they have reached a saturation point. There are so many stations in WU that they really aren't clamoring and asking for people to join them any more. At this point in the game they have more data than they really need and as they continue to grow they have added costs that don't translate to more value to their existing data. There is no reason to keep all station owners happy...because now it is becoming burdensome and costly to maintain such a huge online service...they have real infrastructure costs. Advertising that they have 300,000 stations, a number that is probably close to what it is now, isn't going to make a difference with their customers that they sell data to if that number grows to 500,000, all it will do is cost WU more to maintain for little to no benefit. Of course they will never admit it.

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« Last Edit: April 08, 2020, 02:32:31 PM by galfert »
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Offline crahen

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #19 on: April 08, 2020, 01:22:26 PM »
Galfert, I think you are correct. After a short bit of research and seeing what is natively available in my already installed WeeWX I just disabled my WU upload (after 12 years of donating that data) and setup PWSWeather, looks good so far. Thanks.

Offline WSWeather

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #20 on: April 08, 2020, 07:10:55 PM »
Quote
Weather station owners have enjoyed complimentary access to all Weather Underground services for a long time.  However, those services are not without cost -- for anyone.

Translation:  Thanks for making us what we are with your data, for free.  Now piss off.

For what they charge their commercial customers to access that data they can certainly afford to fund the infrastructure which enables the product. 

WU is done.  Stick a long, sharp fork in it.

Offline rrwcf

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #21 on: October 08, 2022, 08:26:46 AM »
I don't check into this forum very often -- but is my "Go To" place whenever I have a problem with my station, software, or data delivery issues. 

I started this thread two years ago - I was looking for a groundswell of support to send a message to WU.  But as most of the (non rabbit-trail) responses prove, that is not likely.  There's just no way to coordinate a singular message from numerous PWS contributors who are on this forum.

As one response said (loosely quoting), "...now I just check into WU every once in a while to make sure the data is still being sent..."  I just don't care as much as I used to.

QUESTION: Does anyone know a way to get 10 or 12 years of my PWS daily data out of the WU database?  I know I can use a laborious copy/paste process... but I'd like to get it all in a single "report" (xls or csv or similar).

Any Ideas?

Once I get my data... I won't worry about WU at all.


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For therein is reve

Offline wvdkuil

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #22 on: October 08, 2022, 08:59:10 AM »
I don't check into this forum very often -- but is my "Go To" place whenever I have a problem with my station, software, or data delivery issues. 

I started this thread two years ago - I was looking for a groundswell of support to send a message to WU.  But as most of the (non rabbit-trail) responses prove, that is not likely.  There's just no way to coordinate a singular message from numerous PWS contributors who are on this forum.

As one response said (loosely quoting), "...now I just check into WU every once in a while to make sure the data is still being sent..."  I just don't care as much as I used to.

QUESTION: Does anyone know a way to get 10 or 12 years of my PWS daily data out of the WU database?  I know I can use a laborious copy/paste process... but I'd like to get it all in a single "report" (xls or csv or similar).

Any Ideas?

Once I get my data... I won't worry about WU at all.

You could install the Ken True adapted script https://github.com/ktrue/WU-History
This script allows you to browse all your data at WU and will load the not already loaded data in the cache at your own server.
 
You have to generate the free API-key at your Wunderground => Profile => Member settings.

Succes, Wim

P.S. From the readme:
Quote
In May, 2019, WeatherUnderground intermittently discontinued the WXDailyHistory.asp page operation, rendering this original script set non-functional. In April, 2020, they also discontinued the graphic chart display so that has been removed in 3.4f version.

I've written a WXDailyHistory.php page to use the WU/TWC API to api.weather.com requests for JSON data, and return the CSV formatted data the script set expects. Due to the limitations with the WU/TWC API, the WXDailyHistory.php script now stores monthly cache files of the returned JSON to speed up processing, and enable full-year queries which do not exist in the WU/TWC API.


Offline chief-david

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Re: WU is not meeting my expectations... so...
« Reply #23 on: October 08, 2022, 09:32:33 AM »
I quit sending data when then ended the maps sequence.



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