A plea on behalf of those with limited bandwidth.

[Gregorian]

I'm running into members who have HUGE unoptimized gifs in their sig lines. As much as I love these members, I now have finally started ignoring them because I simply do not have the bandwidth to download 2 megs every time I encounter their posts. 2 megs being the largest I've seen so far.

I've contacted admin over this, and have gotten no reply. Many forums limit the size of images that can be placed in avatars and sig lines.

Please think of those who don't have unlimited internet use. Either optimize or eliminate these images.

[Mr. David]

1. I think the limit is there..

Just report it under signature line is inappropriate.

They'll figure it out fast enough.

[MADem]

6. Then they'll just add it on to each individual post.

It won't be a "sig" line, it'll be an addendum to the post.

People don't do well with 'blockage' here, I've found.

There was a dust-up about this a long while ago on the Old DU.

Far better to just block the images (as suggested below) and solve the problem that way, rather than demanding that everyone run a 1995 system because just a very few here are in that boat.

[dogknob]

16. Yeah... Just report everything that isn't tailored especially to you.

Ick.

Try AdBlock for your browser before becoming one of those people, please.

[trotsky]

2. What browser do you use?

Firefox has an add-in called Ad-Block. Not only does it block ads, but you can right-click any image and have it block that image (or even any content from the site it comes from), preventing you from having to see/download it again. I have a high speed link but I do this often with large images or annoying animated graphics in siglines.

[Gregorian]

12. I use adblock. But for some reason when I adblock it also blocks out crucial forum buttons.

I can't use adblock on DU without losing function. I can't figure it out, and for years I've been researching what's going on. I may be an idiot, and just don't know how to use adblock. It blocks the ads, or I'd never even come to this site. So that works.

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

[trotsky]

17. When you right-click and block...

there are multiple options. Make sure you only tick the first (top) dot - that only blocks the specific image, not all others on the site.

Keep in mind that some of the images you see may be on the DU servers, but many are not - they are instead hosted from photobucket or some other photo site, or loaded from another site entirely.

[emulatorloo]

3. Thank you, agreed. Admins need to step up and automatically

resize these monster graphics if members are not going to be courteous enough to do it themselves.

[MADem]

4. I think there is a way to turn that stuff off.

In Old DU, I seem to recall we could do it through the site, but even without that, I think there's some way that you can make that stuff disappear.

Hopefully someone with skill will weigh in here and tell you what to do--they'll probably want to know what OS you are running.

It's unreasonable to insist that everyone race to the bottom, particularly if there are ways for those with slower systems to optimize their experience by shutting off features.

I do think it's polite to say "Warning - Pic Heavy" if there are to be a lot of photos.

[TreasonousBastard]

8. I don't think this is a race to the bottom...

while limiting actual information would be problematic, am I the only one who has a low tolerance for those huge pictures of Homer Simpson some people love to post at the drop of a hat?

And there are some really, really, large sigs out there with no point at all.

[MADem]

9. If you have a problem with that, there's a way for you to fix it, that's all I am saying.

I don't care for some sigs, I think some are childish, some are occasionally insulting, some are just "dumbass," but who am I to limit someone's self-expression? I think that avatars and sig lines reveal a lot about people, and that is why I don't mind them, even if I might not "like" this one or that one.

For people who have problems with them because of, say epilepsy, where flashing stuff bothers them, or a simple hyper-nervousness that makes them over-sensitive to moving stuff, or they are in a low-bandwidth situation, they can--and should--block those images and solve their problem, not make EVERYONE suffer with a dull, blank, FreakRepubblikk type board just because they don't have the "goose" to accommodate the images.

There is a way to fix the problem without forcing everyone to toe your line--that's my point, and I think it is entirely valid. If everyone can be made happy without inconveniencing most, why not do it that way?

[TreasonousBastard]

5. Didn't there used to be a limit on sig line images? Now I just...

see a 400 character limit.

(Even with the bandwidth, though, some of them are just annoying)

[cbayer]

7. Am I one of them?

[MADem]

10. See--I really LIKE your sig line. It identifies you, I can "see you coming" as it were.

I'd never know you by your avatar, sorry to say!

[cbayer]

13. I like it too, but am concerned that I have one of the gif's he is talking about.

FWIW, I have a very slow connection, so I sympathize with him.

[MADem]

20. It is possible for people with slow connections to turn that stuff off.

They have to do a little work to make it happen, but if it improves their internet experience, well, it should be worth it.

Most people don't have an awfully slow connection. I travel often, and I go from dial up to blazing, depending on where I'm at. I can relate to the issue raised, but I also know that it can be mitigated. How that happens depends on OS/browser. I imagine people in the Computer Group here could help people if they would speak with them.

[cbayer]

22. We are pretty exclusively tied to our cell phone connection

and the speed can vary dramatically.

Summer weekends are the worst, because we spend most of our time where the population can increase 10 fold on the weekends.

Demand can make all the difference.

[MADem]

23. Yes, I can relate.

I am in a summer locale right now and relying on the grace and favour of a neighbor for a connection. Fortunately, they've got some good goose going!

[RedCappedBandit]

11. Adblock plus is available for firefox and chrome

You can right click any image and block it. Simple and easy.

[Gregorian]

14. Every time I do that I lose all of the functions of DU

And I've been trying to figure out why for at least three years!

Adblock blocks the ads just fine.

Any other help on adblock would be greatly appreciated. I guess I'm just an idiot and don't know how to use adblock.

Maybe I should have posted a "how do you use adblock" thread.

Now I'm getting a little embarrassed about this whole thing.

[RedCappedBandit]

15. There are options on what you're actually blocking

When you right click an image and choose to block it, you have to select the option to block THAT image only. On my firefox browser, it's not automatically selected. It's the first choice out of four, though. Otherwise you may block, for instance, everybody's avatar, when you're only trying to block one. Or you may end up blocking the entire site.

And don't be embarrassed. I broke many sites when I first started using it, lol.

[Gregorian]

19. Help. I just realized that I can't use adblock since I already broke DU and can't figure out how to

unbreak it.

I actually need someone to work with me to figure out what I did. And I don't think that's going to happen. I simply adblocked an image once, and for the life of me couldn't figure out how to just go back to what I had before.

So as much as I appreciate your help, I'm out of luck. Also, it's good to know someone else has had this issue. I can't afford to spend any more time on it unless someone knows how to deal with it.

[RedCappedBandit]

24. Hmm. I'm not positive

on how to unblock an individual image. Sorry. You could try deactivating the addon and reactivating it to start over.

[Dash87]

18. You can turn off sigs in the options, I think.

[quinnox]

21. Yep. There should be an option to turn signatures off (there was before the move to DU 3), and

there should be hard coded limits to the size of sigs. (There was a rule like this before DU 3 too)

And then if people try to cheat around those limits by posting their sig in every post manually, they should be given a warning and have to remove it.

It is very obnoxious and rude to have huge sigs. I have always thought that, and that goes for any internet forums.