28 replies to this topic

[link3505]

well, I guess I can't have any avatar I wanted anymore sorry if I was one of the offending users that made you make this switch. but I don't think I made any avatars that were so huge that it would significantly slow down the site

guess I'm gonna go back to my animated sprite avatars again

also, how big is the limit for uploaded avatars?

[Wild Bill]

also, how big is the limit for uploaded avatars?

You weren't doing anything wrong. And the limit is 20 KB.

You can do a lot with 20 KB. If it's an animation and it's too big, try optimizing it (Gimp has an automatic animation optimization filter, dunno about Photoshop).

[Sparkrulean]

How about this:

In order for my web browser to load the image (your avatar), and display it in my browser window, it must know where your avatar is located.  Because my browser must obtain the information concerning the location of your avatar, it is able to provide that information when I request it.  I'm quite sure even the lowest of browsers (i.e. IE, har har) can perform that simple task.

Oh, I see... I was kinda confused there for a moment.

[Guildenstern]

My current avatar is stored on my personal webspace, but should I ever need to change it, and remote-linked avatars being disabled, is there a place where I can upload it to the PureZC server?

[Matt]

My current avatar is stored on my personal webspace, but should I ever need to change it, and remote-linked avatars being disabled, is there a place where I can upload it to the PureZC server?

Yes, in your avatar settings there is an option called "Upload an avatar." It should allow you to upload your avatar directly to PureZC's server.

[link3505]

You weren't doing anything wrong.

You can do a lot with 20 KB. If it's an animation and it's too big, try optimizing it (Gimp has an automatic animation optimization filter, dunno about Photoshop).

ah, that's good to know

and as for optimizing, I use Gif Animation Gear. it can optimize very well, so no problems there

[Sparkrulean]

whoa! I was using the URL avatar, and so I deleted the avatar from my uploadr, and I went to go change it, (upload it onto the PZC server) and It showed my current avatar as the one I have now.. It is stillon even though it is disabled..

[Matt]

whoa! I was using the URL avatar, and so I deleted the avatar from my uploadr, and I went to go change it, (upload it onto the PZC server) and It showed my current avatar as the one I have now.. It is stillon even though it is disabled..

The image was most likely cached locally. Try refreshing the page to see if it fixes it.

[Ielen]

How about reducing the dimensions of everyone's avatar? Remote URL of avatars don't cause the board to slow down.
What really causes the board to slow down is the server that your board runs on. If the server's slow, your board will be slow.

Besides that, it will help if everyone reduces their signature size as that slows my board down and I have to wait like 3 minutes once for everyone's signature to load, even though I use cable modem connection.

[Matt]

How about reducing the dimensions of everyone's avatar? Remote URL of avatars don't cause the board to slow down.
What really causes the board to slow down is the server that your board runs on. If the server's slow, your board will be slow.

Besides that, it will help if everyone reduces their signature size as that slows my board down and I have to wait like 3 minutes once for everyone's signature to load, even though I use cable modem connection.

Reducing the dimensions of the remote avatars would not help. The browser would still be downloading the full image, and then adjusting the size locally.

And remote avatars can cause pages to load more slowly. The browser has to download the avatar from the remote server, and that server may have a poor connection, or there may be a problem between the server and the computer downloading the avatar.

Yes, the board's own server plays the largest part in the speed of which each page's data is sent out, but it actually depends on multiple factors. The connection the server has, the connection the user requesting pages from the server has, and then any issues between the user and the server. Even if the pages are received quickly, by the user, the user's browser may still be hung up waiting for the remotely linked avatars to download.

If Wild Bill disabled remote linking to avatars, then the possibility of other servers affecting the efficiency of this site is reduced.

[Ielen]

Actually, the board still slows down, even though remote linking of avatars has been disabled. I logged in with a dialup & some pages were taking very long to load. The page that takes the longest time to load is SOTW & that is due to the image host used for the [IMG].
When I logged back to cable, it took me 30 seconds to load for normal pages, the delay is due to signatures.

Edited by Ielen, 08 January 2004 - 04:36 AM.

[Matt]

Actually, the board still slows down, even though remote linking of avatars has been disabled. I logged in with a dialup & some pages were taking very long to load. The page that takes the longest time to load is SOTW & that is due to the image host used for the [IMG].
When I logged back to cable, it took me 30 seconds to load for normal pages, the delay is due to signatures.

As I said in my previous post, disabling "remote URL avatars" was only one step in reducing loading times. I also listed a number of other causes for slow loading of pages. The reason the Screenshot of the Week threads take the longest to load, is probably because many of the images are hosted on low-quality, free servers such as GeoCities, and they are also sent through an anonymous proxy to trick GeoCities into allowing the images to be "hotlinked."

The 30-second load times you claim to be experiencing could be due to any combination of the causes that I listed in my previous post. Yes, the delay is likely to be in part due to signatures containing large amounts of text, and remote images. Signatures still allow for remotely stored images to be posted frequently, but still, removing them from avatars was a step in the right direction.

However, if you strongly believe that signatures are the cause of your horrible load times, then please do this:

Click on the link labeled "My Controls," near the top of the forums, and navigate to the "Board Settings" section. There you should find an option with the name, "Do you wish to view members signatures when reading threads?" Change this setting to "No," and you should no longer see members' signatures while browsing the forums.

[Hunter P Brown]

Good bye, Nightmare! I guess I'll have to load one. Works for me, and It'll be nightmare as well...hopefully.

[Exate]

Well, I don't need to worry about anything. All my AVs are loaded directly from my computer. Fell sorry for those who lost their's though...