Avatar overload?

Below is the Forumosa.com rule on avatars (emphasis added):

As a sample, here are the top 20 posters and the information on their avatars as of today.
[ul][li]sandman: 9.3KB, 80 x 107 pixels [/li]
[li]tigerman: 81KB, 168 x 168 pixels [/li]
[li]hexuan: 9.3KB, 144 x 144 pixels[/li]
[li]blueface666: 9.4KB, 102 x 99 pixels [/li]
[li]Rascal: 9.7KB, 140 x 120 pixels[/li]
[li]Alien: 163KB, 141 x 106 pixels[/li]
[li]wolf reinhold: 4.8KB, 40 x 46 pixels[/li]
[li]Maoman: 8.5KB, 80 x 56 pixels[/li]
[li]HakkaSonic: 16KB, 72 x 59 pixels[/li]
[li]formosa: (none)[/li]
[li]fred smith: 6.7KB, 137 x 144 pixels[/li]
[li]Bu Lai En: 12KB, 120 x 80 pixels[/li]
[li]Mr He: 25KB, 100 x 100 pixels[/li]
[li]Big Fluffy Matthew: 2.2KB, 80 x 68 pixels [/li]
[li]Alleycat: (none)[/li]
[li]Bassman: 11KB, 80 x 120 pixels [/li]
[li]Hartzell: 2.9KB, 85 x 116 pixels [/li]
[li]cranky laowai: 5.1KB, 78 x 77 pixels [/li]
[li]amos: 28KB, 60 x 106 pixels[/li]
[li]ironlady: (none)[/li][/ul]
Setting aside those who have no avatars, that leaves only 3 out of 17 whose avatars fit within regulations. So it may well be that the rules are too strict. Nonetheless, I think we do need rules on this and that these rules need to be followed a bit more closely. Some avatars take up simply too much bandwidth. (I think ImaniOU holds the current record, with 197KB. :shock:)

I pity those who would look at this site on a modem (and, yes, such people do exist and should not be shunted aside).

I think they could be made wider without affecting anything, there is some empty space to the right of the avatar.
I did pay attention to those rules when I sized my avatar.

I need to consult with Gus on this one, as it’s technical. I like the animated gif avatars - I think they add a little pizzazz to one’s posting profile. Maybe we could just increase the parameters to 10 or even 15KB, and then enforce them more strictly.

I am a naughty boy

Well the record hasn’t finished yet, so the wee dancin’ felly stays. I’ll be happy to make him smaller if someone can tell me how.

Isn’t ya wee little fella small enough?

[quote=“Maoman”]I need to consult with Gus on this one, as it’s technical. I like the animated gif avatars - I think they add a little pizzazz to one’s posting profile. Maybe we could just increase the parameters to 10 or even 15KB, and then enforce them more strictly.[/quote]The problem is that the avatars are offsite, they are downloaded directly into your browser completely bypassing Forumosa, there’s no way to enforce them from a technical perspective. If you’re using a modem and your browser is too slow, get one that lets you control what images are downloaded.
Some avatars are a little too big, pixel-wise. They take up too much room, leaving a big ugly gap, just like that over there on the right ------->

OK. I got my new, much smaller avatar from a site that has this to say:

[quote=“Highbastard”]Is weed about The Grateful Dead, black lights, and an apathy towards the establishment? Well…yes. But as we get older, we yearn for the finer things - leather chairs from Crate & Barrel, artifacts from Restoration Hardware and imported SUV’s. At HighBastard.com we want to attract all those who enjoy not only a good joint…but full time jobs as well.

[/quote]

:laughing:

I’ve whipped myself into line on this one. I miss my bassman though. His groove really was rockin’, oh well, I guess I’ll start changing avatars more and add some spice to my posts that way…

Geez, this snow is ridiculous… I have to leave now while I can still see.

OK, tigerman’s off my ignore list now – not that it worked anyway.

I like them, too (fred smith’s is probably my favorite at the moment) – just not when they top 25KB or so and start slowing down the site.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t other means of enforcement. Admins have that sort of power.

But I don’t think most people use such large images on purpose. Generally, a polite reminder should be enough.

That tends to be an all-or-nothing approach, which would detract from the site’s usability.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t other means of enforcement. Admins have that sort of power. [/quote]True, I meant that there isn’t a option that Maoman can use to set avatar size and to automatically give an “Your avatar is too big” Error.

[quote]But I don’t think most people use such large images on purpose. Generally, a polite reminder should be enough.

That tends to be an all-or-nothing approach, which would detract from the site’s usability.[/quote]You’re right, people shouldn’t have to block images, or be otherwise inconvenienced because of Forumosa.

Go to this page to resize an animated gif online:
gifworks.com

In the toolbar, click on File, and then File Open. The rest should be fairly straight forward. Of course, this is assuming you are able to host the resized image somewhere.

Squeeze my lemon till the juice runs down my leg… that’s a way cool avatar Scomargo, I used to have that drawn on my schoolbag in highschool. Thanks for the link. Now I suppose I have to find a hosting page.

[quote=“sandman”]Squeeze my lemon till the juice runs down my leg… that’s a way cool avatar Scomargo, and thanks for the link. Now I suppose I have to find a hosting page.[/quote]Where is your wee chappy hosted now ? Maybe you could ask them to upload a different version for you?

Great Scott! Well Holmes, the dancing scatster would appear to be hosted by none other than Segue! Confusinger and confusinger.

Thanks, I figured I may as well follow the regulations since my old avatar was over 50kB.

If you have a geocities account, or anything similar, you can host it there. If not, I can do it for you if you’d like. Just let me know.

I’m pretty sure Gus resized the avatar for you once before because it used to be even larger. He had to host the new image somewhere, so he put it on the segue server.

Maoman wrote:

Yes, and mine is within the limits too.
Just delete the avatar of those who are over limit. Like Fluffy, I did not even consider avatars that were too big, stupidly it seems, thinking that rules meant something here (Forumosa must be a reflection of Taiwan).

[quote=“Big Fluffy Matthew”]I think they could be made wider without affecting anything, there is some empty space to the right of the avatar.
I did pay attention to those rules when I sized my avatar.[/quote]
Depends what size your monitor is so what text size you select. I often get great big blank chunks at the left of the screen and have to use my scroll wheel a lot more than should be necessary because;
a) One poster’s avatar’s too wide
b) One or more posters’ lines of chops, flags etc. are too wide.

[Edit: there is a recurring bird pattern as a background. Currently it is appearing on this page. Before it was on another one. It makes text very hard to read.]

Love to help if I can. Can anyone trim down Bart’s butt?