Please add a maximum filesize limt to signature images

[Tsall]

In the last days I noticed some signatures containing very large files.

The worst one: 37.5 MB GIF animation
Another bad one: 8.7 MB image

This large files are loaded on every post of this members.

Yes, I know, my browser caches this images and download them only once. And modern computers/tablets/phones can handle this easily. But it is unnecessary and should be avoided.

The TDF Rules Of Conduct are limiting a signature image to 600W x 120H pixel size (rule 7b).
Please consider to add a filesize limit to signature images. An image of 600x120 pixels fits easily in under 100 kB.

[justintime]

Yes I agree, for some reason the signatures with images are kinda getting out of hand.

[Zang]

One other alternative that I myself have been using for most of my time here at TDF is to turn signatures off. It results in much cleaner page viewing; and if I really want to see someone's signature, I can just click on the little profile button in their post.

Here's how. Click on:
-User Control Panel
--Board Preferences
---Edit display options

And you'll see an option where you can enable or disable signatures being displayed. Worth a try!

[kambui]

One other alternative that I myself have been using for most of my time here at TDF is to turn signatures off. It results in much cleaner page viewing; and if I really want to see someone's signature, I can just click on the little profile button in their post.

Here's how. Click on:
-User Control Panel
--Board Preferences
---Edit display options

And you'll see an option where you can enable or disable signatures being displayed. Worth a try!

I like this better than me adding a bunch people as "foes". Especially when I want to read their posts.. A lot of these sigs are getting out of hand. Thank you for the advice.

[BillMartin9029]

Thanks for the tip Zang. Makes for much cleaner, simpler, quicker scrolling and viewing of posts.

[Tsall]

Disabling signatures
I know of the possibility to deactivate all signatures. But I wasn't thinking about the profile pages. So thanks for the tip.

But many signatures are small and informative. Checking all profile pages to see if useful information is available or if the signature has changed is extremely time-consuming.

And it is the wrong "solution" to disable all signatures only because of a handful of signatures with such big files.


Forum Etiquette
Something else to consider, one of the Stickies under "Help Forum & Bug Reports": Forum Etiquette

Large Files

An exceptionally large file (such as some animated GIFs) in a forum post can cause older computers and those with slow internet connections to grind to a halt. As a rough guide, do not include an image file larger than 1MB in a post. Use a link instead.

This is a post from 2010. Therefore it could get an update in some cases. But why do we need a file bigger then 1 MB in a signature?

It's absolutely clear to expect large GIF animations in every Cat C photo challenge. But not in a signature.


Example to reduce filesize
An example to avoid big files in a signature. Both images are linking to the same full size image.

1.) Image from my gallery wrapped in [thumb] BBCode:

=> Every browser will download a 131.45 kB file. This could be worse because the doll album allows much bigger files.

Code: Select all

[thumb]https://www.dollalbum.com/dollgallery/albums/userpics/13132/IMG_1510.jpg[/thumb]

2.) Same image, but I use the generated thumbnail from the gallery software:

=> Every browser will download only 7.21 kB for the small thumbnail.

Code: Select all

[url=https://www.dollalbum.com/dollgallery/albums/userpics/13132/IMG_1510.jpg][img]https://www.dollalbum.com/dollgallery/albums/userpics/13132/thumb_IMG_1510.jpg[/img][/url]

Maybe I write a pm to some members and politely ask them to remove the extra large files from the signatures.

[Tybalt]

Please implement signature file size limit. I have been on different forums since 2004 and they had similar rules to streamline bandwidth. These large signatures affect my Mobile data on my phone. In addition please take away embedded YouTube clips in signatures. Only allow link address.

My signature is a great example of small foot print. It uses thumbnails and utilize horizontal space and minimize vertical space. I have even reduced my font size to 85%.

[Out_Of_Sync]

Hey, Sorry all. I didn't pay attention to the fact that my signature .gif was almost 40 MB. I switched it out for a still. I'll try to be more sensitive to everyone's bandwidth.

Cheers,

OoS

[Tsall]

Thank you.
Damn, I feel guilty now.
I should have written you a personal message before. Excuse me, please.

[Out_Of_Sync]

No worries Tsall! I'm still learning to navigate around here and best practices, etc. I'm lucky to have fast WIFI for the most part and don't generally have to give a second thought to a 40 MB file, but not everyone has that luxury and it wasn't many years ago when I would have been in the same boat.