Is there anything I can say to make the board admins reconsider the auto-picture resizing function? I know it was popular when introduced and I know it was annoying before when people would post ridiculously sized images but I'm finding the cure to be worse than the disease.
I'm on a 256/64 ADSL connection here. Not fast by anybody's standards but not dial-up either. My screen resolution is 1152x864.
1) The resizing algorithm being used appears to be very slow and inefficient. After I've waited for the picture to download, I then have a similar wait for it to be resized.
2) Often, the resizing algorithm fails completely and I'm left with a fully downloaded but thumbnailed sized image which is useless and no context menu options to fix it. F5 is the only solution which calls for another 5 minute wait while the whole thread is reloaded.
3) The resized images are too small.
I think we've tried it, and it was definitely a good idea and worth trying, but it's time to accept that it didn't work and that the board was faster and more reliable before. Before, you had the odd tool who would post images in 2560x1920 size, sure, but that was not the majority. Now, every single picture is loaded painfully slowly and unreliably by the resizing algorithm with no option to avoid it. On balance, I think the previous system was the lesser of two evils.
Can we please remove the compulsory image resizing?
Appeal to Beamters: the picture auto-resizing function
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C.R. Krieger
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I don't think the auto-sizer is going away, but I'll look into other solutions that might work better. For the time being, if the problem is causing much hassle you can disable JavaScript for this website on your browser. I don't think the site needs JavaScript for any other reason but the PM pop-up notification.
Do you also have a list of threads that cause the most difficulty? I do wonder if those threads have multiple 2-3mb photos being displayed and the script or browser forces a time out.
I might also suggest checking if SP1 is the latest version of IE6 for Win2k. I thought they were up to an SP2. The older versions of IE6 have always seemed to barf on certain Java scripts that are correctly programmed.
Do you also have a list of threads that cause the most difficulty? I do wonder if those threads have multiple 2-3mb photos being displayed and the script or browser forces a time out.
I might also suggest checking if SP1 is the latest version of IE6 for Win2k. I thought they were up to an SP2. The older versions of IE6 have always seemed to barf on certain Java scripts that are correctly programmed.
I have xp and firefox along with T-1 Ethernet (sp?) and I find it really annoying that the pictures go to a tiny little picture while it loads and then goes to a bigger size. In threads like where that guy redid his whole car and posted 20 pictures. Even with fast internet, I try to read some posts below the pictures and the page keeps moving down every time a new picture loads (making it impossible to read anything until every picture in the thread loads). Another forum I'm on does picture resizing, but it doesn't turn it into a tiny thumbnail first. I think thats the only problem with the system.
Thanks Justin for the tip! I'll give PopUpCop a bit of tune up and see how that goes. Appreciate it.Justin_FL wrote:I don't think the auto-sizer is going away, but I'll look into other solutions that might work better. For the time being, if the problem is causing much hassle you can disable JavaScript for this website on your browser. I don't think the site needs JavaScript for any other reason but the PM pop-up notification.
I don't, no, but yes, you're right that it is threads with multiple photos listed one after the other when the browser is trying to download maybe 20 or 30 photos simultaneously that chokes my paper straw sized connection and causes the problem. Basically any thread in the eye candy section documenting a restoration or modification project will do it.Do you also have a list of threads that cause the most difficulty? I do wonder if those threads have multiple 2-3mb photos being displayed and the script or browser forces a time out.
It is. I believe development has stopped entirely on IE6 now anyway in preference for IE7. There are only the inevitable plethora or security updates still coming out for it now.I might also suggest checking if SP1 is the latest version of IE6 for Win2k.
Well I changed to a different resizing script, yesterday. It is a little more simple, so see how it goes. It really is not very full featured, the images are only resized when viewing topics and not in private messages or post previews. But that last one might be OK as the person might notice the large image and go, "Oops, that's a pretty damn big image."
The new script also does not feature a hard coded timeout, so this alone might make the difference for you. I also made the border a little smaller. The images do not shrink to 30px width before learning the image size, either.
The new script also does not feature a hard coded timeout, so this alone might make the difference for you. I also made the border a little smaller. The images do not shrink to 30px width before learning the image size, either.
Last edited by Justin_FL on Jul 02, 2007 7:39 AM, edited 1 time in total.
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Mark 88/M5 Houston
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Thats a big improvement. Thanks!!!Justin_FL wrote:Well I changed to a different resizing script, yesterday. It is a little more simple, so see how it goes. It really is not very full featured, the images are only resized when viewing topics and not in private messages or post previews. But that last one might be OK as the person might notice the large image and go, "Oops, that's a pretty damn big image."
The new script also does not feature a hard coded timeout, so this alone might make the difference for you. I also made the border a little smaller. The images do not shrink to 30px width before learning the image size, either.
Yeah that's great thanks Justin. It seems to be an improvement here so far. Thanks also for reading and responding to my original request in the way I was hoping you guys would. If I had posted this request on every other board I can think of, the answer would have been an immediate "Get f$%ked! I'm the moderator and what I says goes!" followed by an instant non-negotiable lifetime ban 
Thanks for the suggestion Mark. I'm aware of the other browser options and their benefits. I know that IE is a very long way from being the best internet browsing experience and I'm not looking to defend it in any way whatsoever.Mark 88/M5 Houston wrote:DRP535, Try loading the Firefox or Opera browsers for Windows and see how they behave.
The reason for me not wanting to change over is twofold:
1) I have a personality problem with having two applications installed to do the exact same task. I don't like duplication. I see it as wasteful and that doesn't mesh particularly well with the way I was brought up. Being embedded in me that deeply, it isn't an easy thing to change about myself.
2) As you pointed out, there are still websites out there that insist on IE being used in order to work properly. In my experience, these are most usually the big corporation websites like banks. I need to do a lot of web banking for work, so this would be a major inconvenience for me and not one that I would welcome. It would also prevent me from switching 100% to another browser and trying to forget about the fact that IE is still there and installed yet being left unused, which returns me to the problem I have in 1) above.
Make no mistake, I hate IE just as much as the next guy. It shits me on a daily basis. It crashes regularly for no apparent reason and there appears to be no-one working on fixing this bug and I don't expect there ever will be, but it's a case of the lesser of many evils.
Could the java script resizing function please be modified so that clicking on a resized picture simply enlarges it to original size right where it is in the thread on this website instead of opening it up in a new window?
That would solve my issues nicely if it could be implemented.
Thanks
Edit: What I'm getting at with the above can be illustrated here. That's an image I uploaded to my ImageShack picture hosting page. If you read this bit "This image has been scaled down to fit your computer screen. Click on it to show it in the original size." and do what it says you can see how you can toggle the image sizing right there within the page without opening up any new windows. This would be absolutely ideal if it's possible within the phbppb or whatever the hell it is that these message boards are made with.
That would solve my issues nicely if it could be implemented.
Thanks
Edit: What I'm getting at with the above can be illustrated here. That's an image I uploaded to my ImageShack picture hosting page. If you read this bit "This image has been scaled down to fit your computer screen. Click on it to show it in the original size." and do what it says you can see how you can toggle the image sizing right there within the page without opening up any new windows. This would be absolutely ideal if it's possible within the phbppb or whatever the hell it is that these message boards are made with.
Last edited by DRP535 on Jul 05, 2007 11:57 AM, edited 1 time in total.
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C.R. Krieger
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Well, there's always that.DRP535 wrote:If I had posted this request on every other board I can think of, the answer would have been an immediate "Get f$%ked! I'm the moderator and what I says goes!" followed by an instant non-negotiable lifetime ban
How 'bout it, Beamters? 
Seriously, Dean, I'd give Firefox a shot anyway. I, too, am stuck with a few (business) apps that insist on using IE, but that doesn't keep me from using Firefox as much as possible, even though I struggle with the annoying glitch that starts autobrowsing with any special characters entered in a text box (like an apostrophe or slash in these reply boxes; for some reason, switching the 'smooth scrolling' option fixes it - temporarily). Firefox has a little plugin that lets you open & view pages in IE tabs or in an IE window, if you prefer. But the best part is, lots less crashing.
In the brief time I've been on here, I can tell you that the auto-resize has already gotten on my nerves. It's not that it resizes the images that bothers me, it's that the images get badly aliased. There are image resize tools that do not cause aliasing problems.
Looking at resized, jagged images makes me feel like I'm in 1996 or something.
Looking at resized, jagged images makes me feel like I'm in 1996 or something.
, but I dont care for it either for the same reasons. My system is an HP dv8000 wide screen 17" laptop 1440X900 res. with a linux os and opera as my browser.
The image resizing tool is for keeping the size of the picture posted from making the window so large that one has to scroll back and forth to read the text.
You can't rely on everyone to resize their pics properly to a amenable size (800x600 max) before they post. Likewise, us folks that have the access to edit posts and change large pics to links get tired of having to do so.
Therefore, we have a picture resizing utility built in. Does it make the picture look crappy? Yeah, maybe so, but you can always click on the picture to get a full size version. Actually, I think it's great, because you don't have to ask for a high-res version of a small pic if you see something cool you want to keep.
Does is slow the page loading? Maybe so. I don't find it offensive. But I guess there is always something to complain about.
You can't rely on everyone to resize their pics properly to a amenable size (800x600 max) before they post. Likewise, us folks that have the access to edit posts and change large pics to links get tired of having to do so.
Therefore, we have a picture resizing utility built in. Does it make the picture look crappy? Yeah, maybe so, but you can always click on the picture to get a full size version. Actually, I think it's great, because you don't have to ask for a high-res version of a small pic if you see something cool you want to keep.
Does is slow the page loading? Maybe so. I don't find it offensive. But I guess there is always something to complain about.
To put what Booker said in a less-delicate manner ('cause I just consumed a bottle of sake), bitch at the people who won't resize their damned pictures to something reasonable. If folks would learn that a 3000x2000 shot of _______ (insert whatever the F you please here) conveys no more than a 600x400 shot of the same thing, then the issue wouldn't be an issue.
People, you need to:
1) learn photo composition
2) crop your damned shots
3) put them into a reasonable size
I, and the sake, thank you in advance.
People, you need to:
1) learn photo composition
2) crop your damned shots
3) put them into a reasonable size
I, and the sake, thank you in advance.
Look at that! Drunk, pissed and still spot-on grammar-wise!Shawn D. wrote:To put what Booker said in a less-delicate manner ('cause I just consumed a bottle of sake), bitch at the people who won't resize their damned pictures to something reasonable. If folks would learn that a 3000x2000 shot of _______ (insert whatever the F you please here) conveys no more than a 600x400 shot of the same thing, then the issue wouldn't be an issue.
People, you need to:
1) learn photo composition
2) crop your damned shots
3) put them into a reasonable size
I, and the sake, thank you in advance.
That's fine...but why don't you implement a resize tool that doesn't cause the aliasing issues? I know my php photo gallery dynamically resizes pics as well, but it doesn't cause those types of issues, so the pics look great; just smaller.booker wrote:The image resizing tool is for keeping the size of the picture posted from making the window so large that one has to scroll back and forth to read the text.
You can't rely on everyone to resize their pics properly to a amenable size (800x600 max) before they post. Likewise, us folks that have the access to edit posts and change large pics to links get tired of having to do so.
Therefore, we have a picture resizing utility built in. Does it make the picture look crappy? Yeah, maybe so, but you can always click on the picture to get a full size version. Actually, I think it's great, because you don't have to ask for a high-res version of a small pic if you see something cool you want to keep.
Does is slow the page loading? Maybe so. I don't find it offensive. But I guess there is always something to complain about.
yeah, I suppose that is true. Then I would deem it poop.Justin_FL wrote:It's just a simple Javascript app, so it's nothing more than your web browser scaling the image. Most PHP photo galleries actually resize the photo using various image manipulation libraries ran from the web server and cache the result. That just couldn't work here as we aren't hosting the images.