Q: How is the Gallery organized?
A: All photographs are in "Albums" which act just like folders or directories. Photos are first organized by Flock Prefix (the Album name), then by first letter of the sheep's common name.
Q: My sheep are already registered with the OFP. Can I upload pictures of my sheep myself?
A: Yes you can, and we hope you will.
Q: How?
A: First you have to register with the system. Click on "Register" at the upper right and do as you're told. You will receive an email containing a link that you simply click to verify your registration. The process is very much like that used by Yahoo and other similar sites,
Q: Why the need for Registration? Isn't the OFP supposed to be "Open"?
A: It was wide open at first, but we realized that we had no protection against bad people filling our gallery with bad pictures. Even with this minimal registration, it's still pretty much open, just not anonymous.
Q: OK, I'm registered, and logged on. What next?
A: It's pretty easy.
Q: What should I enter in the "Caption" box?
A: The full name (Flock Prefix plus Name) of each animal in the picture. For photos for two or more animals, indicate L and R to assure proper identification. There is a sample picture in the New Submissions album illustrating what information we need.
Q: Is there any other information I can include about the picture in the caption box?
A: Yes. The date the picture was taken, or the animal's age when the picture was taken, will be particularly helpful. If there are two animals and they are related (e.g., one is the lamb and the other is its mother, or the two lambs in the picture are twins), it will save us time looking up that sort of thing if you include this information in your description. Please indicate who took the picture and on what farm.
Q: How can I tell whether it worked?
A: You should see your picture and caption in the New Submissions album.
Q: How do my pictures get moved into the proper album?
A: We should take care of that within a few days, especially if you email us at gallery@openflockbook.com to let us know there are new pictures to take care of. Also, if you let us know you have submitted pictures, we will be able to contact you if we have problems processing your pictures.
Q: Where are all these digital photos stored?
A: The server is located in a large "server farm" in Salt Lake City.
Q: Is there a limit to the number of pictures I can upload?
A: No. Not at this time, anyway. There is plenty of space for the files.
Q: Can I submit pictures of my lambs?
A: Yes, so long you have submitted the lamb's data for inclusion in the OFP flockbook.
Q: Do I need to submit the pictures as a certain size?
A: Pictures are displayed as horizontal rectangles with 4:3 proportions. The default size is 648 x 480 pixels. Larger pictures are fine, since the software handles the resizing automatically. Pictures larger than, say, 1600 x 1200 are bigger than the largest monitors, and take a long time to upload (and download). Something in the 800 x 600 range is ideal, but don't bother to edit your picture files if they are in the ballpark.
Q: How do I report errors or problems with the photos or descriptions?
A: Send an e-mail to gallery@openflockbook.com describing the problem.