>>Yes, dropbox works similar. I used to have this feature enabled (automatic sharing) on old computer. But I didn't enable it on the new computer because I was concerned that it was taking resources that could be used by other applications.
>>For me automatic sharing is not that important (for this particular need of sharing photos).
>>As far as having the files in two locations, you are right. I will continue having the files on my computer but also in the cloud (whichever one I choose)
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>Two reasons I didn't install the sharing app is 1) not sure they have a version for linux (and I intentionally keep the W7 VM clean and minimal), 2) the feature which you are concerned with - if I delete something on the cloud, deletion rains down on each shared folder. The latter goes against the first law of digital archiving, that the best method of preservation is dissemination of copies. Now if this synchronization feature disseminates deletions as well, then it's just a new way of keeping all eggs in one basket - even if it's multiple shadows of the same basket.
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>So one daughter keeps hers synchronized, while the other two download manually from time to time. For that one I'll just have to announce deletions ("move anything up to June to a safe location and let me know when you're done"), simple as that, and still within the freebie range.

I just looked up and see that I am paying ($100 per year) for 1TB storage on dropbox. So I decided that I will create a folder (e.g. family photos) and share it with my daughters and the wife. Then I will start copying files from my computer to that folder. This way, if they want to, they can view the photos or download them to their PCs/Macs. And I will tell them that if for some reason I stop paying for the dropbox (e.g. I win a big lottery and run away with a young model to some remote island), they will have ample time (till end of the year period) to copy the files from dropbox to their computers. This will give me a peace of mind.