avatars yet again; please read

I've set up as Flickr account where I can put up photos for anyone who is really, really unable to figure out how to do this themselves -- or for those who, despite several requests, haven't apparently tried to resize avatars for reasons known only to them.

IMHO this is very inconsiderate towards fellow board users because -- as I have explained and as the board generally has discussed and confirmed -- not everybody has a large screen on their computer or broadband.

Oversize avatars stretch the board to accommodate that one oversize image and can make it very hard or at best, uncomfortable for people with smaller screens to read. In addition, they take longer to download and not everyone is on broadband. Also, board members themselves expressed a desire to have avatars within a size limit and to keep pictures out of signatures.

So: PLEASE keep avatars within the right size. If you don't, I will resize them myself or delete them completely and wait for you to get the right size. I am happy to help anyone having difficulties, just ask me.

This is one of the *only* requests I make of board users for a resource I provide, manage with the kind voluntary help of your moderators, and pay for out of my own pocket, so please show me, mods and and other board members a little kindness and respect on this one. The reason the request is made is to benefit all and for the comfort of all, not because I try to endlessly nag at people on this issue.

I'd also like to put out an offer to anyone needing help in resizing pictures for avatars, to help lighten Karlin's load.

You can email your picture to me at: [email protected], and I would be happy to resize (and optimize) it for you.

In addition to all the reasons Karlin mentioned, I can also attest that super-large avatars use an excessive amount of bandwidth, which costs money.

You do a fantastic job here, Karlin. Thanks for providing us a wonderful service! 8)

Does that mean all the pictures we post cost you money Karlin? :shock: Sorry, I post the right size but lots of pics. I'll delete them if it is costing money?

Sorry - I'm pretty thick where computers are concerned - so unless I'm told otherwise, I'm assuming mine are okay. If they're not, its not because I'm being selfish - just that I didn't know :?

I hope my avatar is OK in size. If not, please do tell me, and thank you for all that you do on here, because I love this forum!

I'm guessing mine is the right size, since it's small, but honestly I don't know. Maybe the people who are exceeding the size limit do not know they are. I only recently went to DSL and though I'm not thrilled with it, I'm at least able to surf the net. It was getting to the point that I'd visit websites, only to leave while I waited and waited for pages to load, unable to find what I was looking for.

Thanks again everyone for your help here.

If anyone is in doubt about the size of their avatar, you can check it easily. Just right click on your photo and then click on properties. In the pop up box, look at the dimensions and that is the size of the photo.

The first number is the width and the second is the height. Here is the maximum size for this board: 240 pixels wide and approx 180 tall .

If yours is too big, you can resize it easily. Holler if you need help!

According to your info, mine is too large. I don't know how to make it smaller. Can you help?

Thanks

Thanks Molly. Yet again.

Hi Shay

the simplest way to resize your picture is to open it in MS Paint. Click on Image in the menu and select the "Stretch/Skew" option. You should be able to reduce it by whatever percentage makes it look right and then host it again.

When Karlin Posted about avatars prior to this thread, I understood in her post that she was concerned with the width of the avatar not the height.
Karlin is the height okay ?????

Here is the link.

http://www.cavaliertalk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5088&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15

Karlin said:

Flickr is very, very cool -- has a huge range of features and allows you to resize before uploading, which reduces the space you take up and makes uploading faster. Then it offers 5 or 6 automatic sizes, making it very easy to get a nice consistent size without guesswork. I use a Photobucket.com account too, but Flickr.com is the main place I keep photos as it is so easy and versatile.

Anything the width of my avatar or narrower is fine. I have waited and waited for a kind programmer to fix the auto-resize add-on to this board software for more current versions but no one has done it.

Click to expand...

I have been fooling with this all morning and can't figure out how to make it smaller. I'll get my hubby try when he gets home.

Shay, I resized it for you. If you give me your email address I can send it to you.

Pauline x

Sorry, Karlin! I think I'm finally :sl*p: catching on how to resize correctly. I re-did mine today and I think it's right now! icon_whistling

Thank You, Thank You!!!!!.....will PM you with my e-mail address.

You are right, height variations are fine; it is width that causes problems with stretching out the board. All the avatars on this thread are fine.

There are two easy ways to check if the size is too big, aside from right-clicking and checking properties. Just use the small size for a pic on a flickr.com account, which automatically creates a range of sizes for every picture, and you can then choose the right size for any post you make too.

Or, just check it against the width of my avatar in a thread that I'v posted too. Mine is the small Flickr size and the max width.

Please remember that by board agreement we also do not allow signature pictures, which also create a lot of visual 'noise' and make it hard or at least distracting for many people to read the board; that's why I set up avatars for everyone.