New layout without 155kb

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New layout without 155kb

Postby Club508 » Wed Oct 12, 2011 3:53 pm

I just got an idea of something, and I'm not sure if it's possible or not.
I assume you know how you can change the layout in your profile to see like the older blue simviation or the more modern gray one.  But why not make one where you can upload images with no limit to image size, and another that will automatically decrease the images so they meet the 155Kb limit for the users with older and/or older computers?  That way some of the people can see the much higher quality images without slowing down users on older/slower computers.

Like I said, I don't know if it's possible.
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Re: New layout without 155kb

Postby ozzy72 » Thu Oct 13, 2011 7:42 am

That'd be quite a programming job to say the least!
If you want to see why put an oversized image in as your avatar and watch what automatic compression does to the picture ;D ;D ;D
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Re: New layout without 155kb

Postby hyperpep111 » Fri Oct 14, 2011 11:54 am

I have another idea. You could put the 155 kb limit away but keep the 650kb max limit. So the more shots, the less size. It would help in retaining quality allot ;)
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Re: New layout without 155kb

Postby Club508 » Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:50 pm

I have another idea. You could put the 155 kb limit away but keep the 650kb max limit. So the more shots, the less size. It would help in retaining quality allot ;)

Now that, I must say is quite brilliant. ;)
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Re: New layout without 155kb

Postby machineman9 » Sun Oct 16, 2011 5:49 am

I have another idea. You could put the 155 kb limit away but keep the 650kb max limit. So the more shots, the less size. It would help in retaining quality allot ;)

This has come up a few times, and I think it would be a good idea. I'm not entirely sure why it wasn't taken up though. Although, in such events as the screenshot contests, it means that when the finalists are posted, there will be a large page to load. This doesn't concern most users, who are using super fast broadband, but there are some members who are probably using dial-up or pay-per-MB connections. An alternative would be to have a small and large entry (one suitable for the finalists), but then you might as well just post the small version and have a link to the larger file... Which is something that people do anyway!


An automated upload scaler isn't a new invention, but it is a bit tricky. There are plenty of websites that will automatically compress images, or produces images of varying size; Flickr does this, and produces something like 5 photo sizes, plus the original. I would imagine that there is some free forum plugin for this sort of thing, but it also means that the server memory usage will shoot up, and the memory per image (as you'd have copies) would also go up.


I guess the best thing to do would be to survey the members to see what connection is being used (this was done a while back, but a review might be in order). The automatic scaling will be largely down to finding the right software plugin, and ensuring there is enough space. But some sort of script that loads small images for members who choose it, and large images for those who want the full fat version, would be possible. It could be one of the profile options for each member. But yeah, not a simple procedure.
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Re: New layout without 155kb

Postby Slotback » Mon Oct 17, 2011 3:33 am

Newer forum software and newer browsers can automatically scale images so they do not require scrolling or mess up the forum width. Therefore, I think the screenshot width rules should be removed, except for competitions so it's fair. If people use a browser that does not resize images, are too lazy to zoom out, or use a tiny 17 inch screen, then I think that's their own problem.

I can see the need for a maximum image size though. But 155kb is too small. It's not 1998. Maybe people who are from 1998 and are using a time machine to browse the internet from the future can use opera turbo or something. It's basically a proxy but it compresses images. That, or get internet from 2011.

To save bandwidth for simv, might be smarter to use a list of allowed image hosts. Like http://imgur.com/

Then again, there's probably a reason why I'm not an admin.
Last edited by Slotback on Mon Oct 17, 2011 3:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: New layout without 155kb

Postby charlesed » Mon Oct 17, 2011 3:49 pm

Sharing from my various experiences...

Newer forum software and newer browsers can automatically scale images so they do not require scrolling or mess up the forum width. Therefore, I think the screenshot width rules should be removed, except for competitions so it's fair. If people use a browser that does not resize images, are too lazy to zoom out, or use a tiny 17 inch screen, then I think that's their own problem.


From what I've seen on dealing with images, rule number 1 is "don't let HTML/CSS resize images." It's very inefficient, requiring the full size image to be downloaded whether it's 200KiB or 20MiB. Plus it doesn't deal well with things like text and certain angled lines in the image; causing them to be blurry or just look off.
Last edited by charlesed on Mon Oct 17, 2011 9:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: New layout without 155kb

Postby JBaymore » Wed Dec 21, 2011 9:55 am


To save bandwidth for simv, might be smarter to use a list of allowed image hosts. Like http://imgur.com/


I could get behind opening up the forums to third-party image hosts and keeping only the 650KiB per thread limit.


Keeping images on our own server stops the issue of "lack of control" when an image hosted elsewhere get hacked or a file name change causes issues.  It also help us keep tabs on "inappropriate content" showing up on the SimV board.

Large image sizes cause real problems for users with slow internet connections........ and PLENTY of them still exist.

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