I'm not knocking WU-hoo or the folks with a gripe against them. It's kind of a "Smith and Jones" thing, or maybe a "Hatfields and McCoys" kind f thing. Just not a lot of trust and touchy-feely between the two parties.
Yeah, WU is using user data for other purposes other than just on WU. And yeah, WU has changed a bunch of stuff that screws a lot of stuff up. And the weathercams just don't seem to work or be as reliable as they used to be. And yeah, some of us PWS owners are po'd about it all and say/infer irreverent things about WU, kind of a natural human response. And yeah (again), "reps" from WU come on the forum and say a few things about moving forward and "we're here for you" kind of things. Then some of us users here on the forum state some issues and demonstrate frustration...frustration which seems to come from a definite lack of communications from WU in the past. And yeah, the WU "reps" have too thin of a skin and once they hear the discontent they ghost the people that they have prompted a response from. Until the WU people grow some thicker skin and weather the initial firestorm of messages that follows their initial post I don't think there will be much, if any, constructive conversation here on WXForum between PWS owners and WU. It just ain't gonna happen.
I will say this, though, when I read the original un-stickied post by WonderTodd/Wut I took exception to this statement that he made...
"Any similar behavior displayed in other threads will be forwarded to moderators for their consideration." Ok, so rather than deal with the negativity he's going to be whining to the moderators? That's really manning up to the job.<sigh>
I'm been indignant a few times and stopped my feed going to WU. I'm currently uploading data to WU-hoo and have been for quiet a while now. No biggie. It might help them iron things out in their system...probably not, though, being as I think they're just using my data for marketing rather than system maintenance/repair. I stopped rapid-fire a long time ago.... They can take the data or leave. Seems, though, that my WU page works pretty well, though I don't have a weathercam uploading to them...and I honestly don't look at it but maybe...once every month or two?
I'll just let the data keep flowing...unless the threat of reporting me to a moderator rubs me raw after a while...I'm about over WU's weak presence here, so who knows?
We can discuss WU till the cows come home and it's not gonna make a whole lot of difference to WU. They're going to do what they're going to do...simple. They may dangle a carrot once in a while and it's up to us whether we try to get a bite of it, we each have that choice. What you do with your PWS and how, or if, you present it to "John Q. Public" is entirely, and I repeat, entirely up to you. You control your station. You either send data to a host site...or you don't. If you elect to send the data you can do so either happily or begrudgingly. Bottom line is that you own your PWS and control what you do or do not do with it. If you hand your data off to a third-party then you've handed it over, it's out of your hands, and the receiving entity can do with it as they wish...the cow will have gone through the gate and *isn't* coming back home. It's your PWS and your data, and your choice on what happens with both. If WU works for you, cool! If it doesn't, well, there's other options.
So WU-HOOOOO!!!! That's my deranged, discombobulated rant for the morning!!!
Now, to my meds....
(No offense intended to the PWS owners, WU, nor to the Smith and Jones, nor to the Hatfields and McCoys...or the cows.)