Please help keep this forum accessible to the World

[Peter Snowberg]

DIYstompboxes is used by people from all over the world.   

Unfortunately, not everybody has broadband access yet , so large avatar file sizes make it harder for dial-up users to make use of this place. We want to avoid this problem. For those that don't know, you can check the size of your avatar file (on windows machines) by right-clicking the avatar and looking at the file size which is shown in bytes.

We would also like to keep DIYstompboxes in a visually streamlined state for ease of information access.

This means specifically that there are limitations on the size and content of both your avatar picture file (if used) and the sig lines at the bottom of your posts.

The specifications are available in this sticky post: http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=43235.0

The vast majority of users are within spec but there are several who are not.

I would prefer that people take care of this themselves. It always works best when we're all working together to develop our on-line community rather than just existing in it. Please help keep DIYstompboxes the special place that it is.

If you need assistance with making a smaller avatar image file, please just ask. I will be happy to re-size any image for you. Dave B has also volunteered to shrink avatar images for anyone who needs that.

Thank you,
-Peter


To review:

Avatars need to be less than 25K and must not be animated.

Signatures need to be plain text only and no more than 3 lines long (including blank lines). Any pic used here must be smaller than 40 pixels high or 300 pixels wide, it must have a total of less than 7000 pixels, it must not be animated, and it must have a very low visual impact. WE WOULD PREFER THAT SIGS DO NOT CONTAIN ANY PICTURES.

[Peter Snowberg]

One last bump and then I start with the PMs.

[gez]

Reminds me of that bit in the Life of Brian

"Right, I'm warning you!"

"I only said you had a big nose!"

[Peter Snowberg]

Stop! Stop, will you?! Stop that! Stop it! Now, look! No one is to stone anyone until I blow this whistle!

Be sure to leave no tern unstoned.

[The Tone God]

I'm telling you its starting to feel like the Spanish inquisition around here:



Andrew

[gez]

...and the best way to reduce pixels!

[R.G.]

Peter, you're being too nice.

Just invalidate access for the offenders and post the reason. Leave a contact email place for them to write you and tell you why THEY are the special ones to whom rules don't apply.

[RDV]

Nee! Nee! Nee! Nee! Give us the GRAIL! Or I shall say NEE again!

RDVee!

[The Tone God]

Peter, you're being too nice.

Just invalidate access for the offenders and post the reason. Leave a contact email place for them to write you and tell you why THEY are the special ones to whom rules don't apply.

I believe that is bit of a extreme response to a pretty minor offense. Some people may not understand or realize they are in violation for various reasons including them not being native english speaking or computer literate.

I think a properly worded PM would be sufficient.

...and the best way to reduce pixels!

Sometimes its the small pixels you have to worry about.



Andrew

[gez]

I don't know, locking out offenders might be a good idea...they could be asked three questions to be readmitted. 

[Peter Snowberg]

I believe that is bit of a extreme response to a pretty minor offense. Some people may not understand or realize they are in violation for various reasons including them not being native english speaking or computer literate.

I agree.

I did try my Hungarian phrase book, but it didn't get me anywhere..... that I wanted to be. 

[oldrocker]

Yes, one question could be (What is your favorite color?)  If he starts to say blue and quickly tries to switch it to red then he's guilty.

[R.G.]

Some people may not understand or realize they are in violation for various reasons including them not being native english speaking or computer literate.

Oh, please.

They had to be mentally competant enough, English speaking enough, and computer literate enough to put them there in the first place - right?

It's not like the avatar fairy crept in and surreptitiously put evil avatars and sigs in, now is it?

[Peter Snowberg]

Thank goodness we don't have avatar fairies. I vote that if we have some kind of surreptitious mythological avatar planting character, it should be an avatar nymph of some sort. That's my personal preference.

People do have questions and I would like to thank all the folks who sent me a PM to make sure they were in good shape as one of the specs is somewhat arbitrary.

Some have brought their avatars into spec since this thread began.

Some have not picked up on it yet. I'm just making sure every opportunity is there for those folks. 

I was once an N.P.S. Ranger managing a visitor center, a lighthouse, an intern, and over 50 volunteer & docents. These days I have an aversion to telling people what to do, even if it consists of conforming to regs. I'll get there, R.G.. 

[SuperGeo]

Well some forums have a Lofi version mode. It doesn't display formatting or signatures pictures only text and in-post images. Maybe we could use it here too

[aron]

Isn't there a setting in the PROFILE->Look and layout prefernces->Don't show users Avatars

or similarly worded??

[The Tone God]

Isn't there a setting in the PROFILE->Look and layout prefernces->Don't show users Avatars

or similarly worded??

Yes and you can also disable signatures. I take advantage of this and am quite happy.

Andrew

[Ge_Whiz]

I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition about it...

[The Tone God]

I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition about it...

NO ONE EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!!!

Put him in the chair!



Andrew

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

I for one could live with NO avatars and NO sigs (OK, an 80 char sig.. fits on one hollerith card)