If you have the file then you're uploading a copy, not the original. You're never _moving_ files to Twitpic. That makes no sense.
It also wouldn't be smart because, as regular users quickly discovered, Twitpic's system often didn't work so you had to upload the same pic again. And again.
Then there's the fact that -- very, very obviously -- if you upload a 4000 x 3000 photo, Twitpic reduces it to the sort of tiny size that fits into a tweet. (Twitter does the same.)
I used Twitpic daily for many years, and I know it very well. The only thing that would be worth retrieving is the hit-counts for various pics, some of which went over 20,000. However, it's hardly a big deal if I lose those numbers. They're not of any practical value.
So, plenty of downvotes from people who presumably don't understand Twitpic and can't actually write a rational fact-based reply. Might as well have stayed on Reddit....
I didn't downvote, but I can certainly see both perspectives of this argument. They may not make rational sense to you, but they definitely do to other people. Assuming people consume a service one certain way is never a good way to design a product.
I can't speak to exactly why you're being downvoted, but your comments read as very defensive and angry.
I didn't downvote (the downvoting system on HN sucks), but I wouldn't be surprised why they did - some of your comments weren't really thought through well.
For example, not being able to imagine people wanting to save pictures from the service - people can lose their local copies from device/hard drive failure, or lost cellphones, and the digital copies are the only ones that remain. I can attest that this has happened to me.
I'd obviously disagree that my comments weren't thought through. They are factual and logical, based on many years of using the system almost every day.
Anyone who has a different view of the facts could present a counter-argument, but really, no one has.
people can lose their local copies from device/hard drive failure, or lost cellphones
Yes, this is true. But as I pointed out, Twitpic is not and never has been a storage service, and it does not keep original photos. The business was set up to post pics to Twitter, not to cater for the very small number of people who might have suffered in this way.
That said, all those photos are STILL AVAILABLE ON TWITPIC and can easily be saved from its pages. A simple browser extension would even download several of them at a time.
The only counter argument, as far as I can see, is that Twitpic should have been set up to provide a different type of service, perhaps called Storepic or whatever. But it wasn't. No amount of downvoting hides the fact that some people are simply failing to understand this simple truth.
The problem with the downvoting system on HN is that users are actively encouraged by the site staff to downvote posts that they think are bad and don't encourage creating discussion around disagreements if the users think they're worth burying.
I should also mention, I made no mention of using Twitpic as a storage service. Even getting a compressed/altered version of original photos is better than completely losing them many times.
It also wouldn't be smart because, as regular users quickly discovered, Twitpic's system often didn't work so you had to upload the same pic again. And again.
Then there's the fact that -- very, very obviously -- if you upload a 4000 x 3000 photo, Twitpic reduces it to the sort of tiny size that fits into a tweet. (Twitter does the same.)
I used Twitpic daily for many years, and I know it very well. The only thing that would be worth retrieving is the hit-counts for various pics, some of which went over 20,000. However, it's hardly a big deal if I lose those numbers. They're not of any practical value.