Seen some forums where users can choose images hosted externally as their avatar. Is this an option for dvdtalk ?

I know the issue was server space for the avatars but if they were hosted externally that wouldn't be as much of a problem

Now not sure about restrictions with the bulletin board software but if there was an 'avatar off' feature for people on modems, that would be cool

i just think avatars if used correctly , could add a lot of character to threads, especially if dvdtalkers used their real pictures as avatars

It wasn't just server space, but the hit on server performance that required us to turn this off.

And externally hosting the images wouldn't work. Everytime an avatar's hosting provider had a problem, page loading would hang.

I think they're cool too, but our forums are just too busy for that kind of individualization.

Sorry.

Hardly anyone uses their real name ... what makes you think they'd use their real photo?

You obviously don't spend my time in the Other

Blade mate, thanx for the explanation, tis cool

Avatars.... hmmmm

I for one like them, but they are a real resource hog
It's problematic for them to be remotely hosted and having them hosted here adds up.

I guess I'll put this in 'your' court. If DVD Talkers can help figure out how to help the DVD Talk Forum increase it's monthly ad revenue to cover the bandwith and load of expanded features - then we'll add them.

There are a lot of great 'extra' featutres which I'd love to be able to provide, but unfortunately it all comes down to finding a way to pay for it...

we can use randyc's webspace to host the images

btw.... I suggest a dvdtalk bake sale

users could ebay the crappy dvds they don't want and can't trade and donate the money to dvdtalk.

I've suggested this before... either a monthly, annual, or one time donation to have an avatar. If you're open to having them then that might be the best way to go. Let those who want to use them pay for them.

Not a bad idea. Seriously though, if all the pics were hosted in one site (maybe someone in the Other can volunteer?), wouldn't that be less of a problem than if each pic was hosted in a different server?

actually this is a great idea

We could have a normal dvdtalk membership

then we could have a DVDTALK PLUS membership

Just one annual fee and you get extra features which includes the option of an avatar (as well as other things like maybe longer more customisable signatures, your username in color etc). As long as there was an easy, secure way to pay online (remember i'm in Australia), i'd be in it !

Geoff what are some of the other extra features you want to experiment with ?

Anandtech does this were you pay and you get bannerless pages, and also unlimited private messages (around there this is big i can speak from experience if you are running a trade thread you will max your pm's very quick), and amybe some other things don't remember though.

maybe if you sticky one of those: "Do these things to help out DvdTalk" in Other with links to click and offers to sign up for

I'd love avatars, and I'm all for making sure DVDTalk can pay for our usage, but once you open the door to paying for membership, you can't close it. Perhaps there's a better solution.

das

Yeah, I'm not crazy about the idea of charging people for membership. Just doesn't seem to fit my idea of DVD Talk.

I haven't kept up with the latest versions of vBulletin, but can Avatars be on/off for selected forums, or just the whole thing? This could be an interesting experiment for Other. I know Other is a testing ground for other things. If we can't break it, no one can.

but the only people who will be paying are the ones who want the extra 'PLUS' features of the dvdtalk


There would be the normal as it free dvdtalk membership and a dvdtalk PLUS membership which would cost an annual fee

I understand the concept perfectly, but what I said is once you open the door, you can't close it. If you start charging some people and not others, giving certain features to some and not others, things will change around here ... and not for the better. While in theory it sounds like a good idea, in practice it could prove disasterous.

das

OK I've done some digging, and it looks like the forum is set up where avatars are infact stored on the server (even if the image originates from another server).

There are a lot of ways to control file size and such and limit the use of custom avatars by certain people.

But the issues really are:

- Load on the Server
- Bandwith and it Associated Cost
- Moderation of the images (ie more work for mods).

Not trivial things.

Again I really don't want to do a forum membership fee or anything like that, I'd rather find an advertiser who would really help support the forum in a way which could help us expand.

In terms of other features. The forum supports (but we have disabled)

- Private Messaging
- Calendar

I did however enable a feature of the forum that people have asked about.... but I'll leave it as an 'easter egg' for those of you who are looking to find

How about a "contributing member" status...where the member who contributes via paypal or otherwise gets a small symbol and the availability to have an avatar?

I'd throw in $25 a year or more to keep the site going....I do it for other forums now.

I'd also mention that the one site that has this also has the upgraded software which I know you're working on Geoff.

Keep up the good work...either way...its still a great site.

holy bump!

i have to say, one of the things i've always admired about dvdtalk, st the fact that there are no avatars. makes the site look much more professional, imo. although vBulletin has an option for users to not see avatars, i've always found them pointless.

my $.02...

What is he referring to?

I strongly agree. This site looks much sharper and more-streamlined without avatars. They really make other boards look crappy. Who want's to see the same avatars over and over again?

What about DVDtalk Gear? Tshirts, hats, cups, mousepads.... A t-shirt would be cool.


But a bake sale sounds good hmmmm a topless car wash would also be fun

Thats it. I demand an apology from Get Me Coffee!

Do you want that apology with or without the hug?

I always disable avatars on other forums I visit that use them. They're way, way too slow. However, bandwidth-wise I've heard that they really don't cause that much of an impact as long as they get cached properly on the browser side, and that there are server tweaks you can do to ensure that stuff works properly.