Avatar Problems

Hi MoFos,

Recently, we moved from storing user avatars in the database, to storing them as local files. This has a few benefits, the primary one being that, as local files, I can pass them through a script to temporarily resize them on the fly for display on places like The Shoutbox.

Anyway, to get to the point: during the switchover, several seem to have been lost. It's hard to say why, as the switch is built into this software (which is generally extremely reliable); file format might have something to do with it. Regardless, I wanted to post this so that anyone missing their avatar would know why.

I'll see if there's a way to recover them, but I am not hopeful. It appears to have affected a very small number of users, thankfully. If you're one of the ones affected, please accept my apologies; if you have your avatar on your hard drive, please simply reupload it, and all should be fine again.

I think mine is ok, but thanks.

__________________

“The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” – Sir Richard Burton

I don't like having the avatars in the shoutbox. It feels cluttered.

They have always been there. Well, since he redid the board, anyway. He just switched them from the regular 90 x 90 size, to a 60 x 60. I think when he resized them, it turned everyone's on. They also now show up on the main page of the board. I don't believe they did that before.

Go to your edit options, and scroll to the last question. That should turn them off for you.

__________________

They have always been there? That is the first time I have ever seen an avatar in the shoutbox.

Well, like I said, since he redid the board. I have had mine turned on for quite some time now. They were 90 x 90, so if they bug you now . . . hehe
I still believe that them being on the main page is new. I can't swear though. I'm having a short term memory issue right now. Shut-up, Gummo! I'm blind because of you.

Speaking of avatar problems, I am having one. I want to load a moving picture, and it says . . . This GIF image has the incorrect file extension. . . . Do what?

Bobby: you can turn them off using the last option on the Edit Options page.

Ðèstîñy: you're right, having the one on the mainpage is new. As for the animated GIF; I'm having trouble reproducing the problem (though I've run into some other bugs trying to reproduce it, ironically enough). Can you email me the file, or attach it here? It'll help me figure out what's going on, and I may be able to just upload it through the Admin Control Panel anyway.

Sorry for the inconvenience, MoFos. I'm still learning some of the ins and outs of the new system, but in the long run this will allow me to do a lot more things with user avatars.

Thanks, but it won't even let me load it to animation shop, to mess with it. I will use this one.

Either the shoutbox doesn't like moving pictures, or I am the only one seeing this.

Actually, it's because you updated your avatar. I just programmed in an exception to display the latest revision.

Animated avatars should display, though I don't believe they'll animate when displayed slightly shrunken (IE: on The Shoutbox, and on the recent updates on the MoFo Lists page). I'll see what I can do about fixing that, but in the meantime you shouldn't see those big error images anymore.

OK, I tested it. I'm good. Thanks!

I shrink moving pictures with animation shop. Here are a few of them, if anyone wants to use them. That, or if you have one you want made to size, send it to me.

















All of these "should" work.

In case anyone hasn't noticed yet, the smaller avatars are in The Shoutbox (optional), on the forum home page (next to the most recent shout), and now, on the Who's Online page, too.

I think having the avatars in appropriate places like this really livens things up, and helps you identify users faster. If there's any uproar about their inclusion on a certain page, I'm open to creating another user toggle, naturally, so any thoughts -- positive or negative -- are certainly welcome.

Just a little thing I notice on the who's online page and maybe it is just on my computers: The Avatar and the corresponding info seemed kinda "crunched" together" very hard to read. No biggie, just letting you know.

Can you send me/post a screenshot? They're supposed to be pretty close, but they might be more crunched together than is intended for you. Also, absent a screenshot, could you tell me what resolution you're using?

Dang, I've been trying to figure out how people make these nifty moving picture avatars!

Okay, animated avatars should now stay animated even in their resized incarnations in places other than profiles/posts. Yay.

I have tried a few different resolutions: 1024 X768 and 800 x 600 and even 1200 x 1024. The 1200 setting helps some but still "crunchy"

Attachments

 

Yeah, that's definitely not supposed to look like that. I'll try a few things and see what I can do. In the meantime, is this FireFox?

That was fast. Thanks!

My page looks normal. Not sure what is up with your's, 7thson. I have 2 neat columns.

Anyway, as far as the moving avatars again, like I said, I resize moving pictures with animation shop. That ifran works real good for resizing pictures, but I haven't looked into it enough yet to know if it resizes moving pictures. This is what I mean . . .





I think they work nicely. So, if anyone else has any pictures they need resized for an avatar, I can do it if you like. Some may shrink too much, to fit the size allowed here, like this one did . . .





I can edit out a few screenshots, and maybe then it will be larger.

I still have quite a few, too . . .





Maybe I should do my own thread for these. Then again, maybe only two people care.

I'm going to start using my Plextor later, and make these from my own movie collection. Don't mind me. I'm just talking to myself.

Yup ....Only in Firefox do I have this issue...you nailed it.