[Belisarius]

Hi all.

Now I searched about 20 minutes for the option which allows me to use an avatar, but I couldn't find it. Are just specific users allowed to use an avatar or am I just blind? If second, then please point me to this option

Second thing is that I tried to use a little sigpic, but it doesn't get shown. Why?

I've created so nice pics:

[Shade]

Answer is behind door number one: You can't. Only admins get avatars.

[Polpolion]

Same with sigpics, except no one gets them.

[Jeff Vader]

Second thing is that I tried to use a little sigpic, but it doesn't get shown. Why?

Because.

[Belisarius]

I get the point with oversized pics in sigs and avas, but I think that's some kind of discrimination, since admins put their selves on a higher position with that. I'm moderator in a few other boards and we have clear rules for using avatars and signatures. Why not making a rule which says "...only 100 pixel avatar and only 800 x 150 pixel signature. Both pictures must not exceed the filesize of 100 KB." - Moderators could check if an user uses oversized pics and could inform the user about the rules. Either the user changes his pics to an acceptable size or the moderator removes them. It isn't necessary to allow avatar hosting on HLP directly, but at least using external uploaded avatars should be possible. This should be worth thinking about.

[StarSlayer]

HLP runs pretty lean and clean without them, it also assures that a poster is not judged by the flamboyance of their images but the content of their posts.  Plus its a rule set in the bedrock so there isn't much point in arguing about them. 

[Flipside]

This pops up occasionally as an issue, but to be honest, as StarSlayer said, it actually helps with presentation, loading speeds etc.

In some ways I'm actually glad that there aren't any, not for my sake, but I've had to stop going onto some sites because people are using flashing/blinking avatars and signatures and my wife is epileptic, there's quite a few BSG sites out there, for example where people have flak animations as their Avatar, and on a bad day, even those can make her feel queasy.

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't have a problem with small, non-animated avatars, but siggy images in particular can double or triple loading times, and the way some boards format themselves, that can make a thread jump around all over the place until all the images have loaded.

Still, it's been a rule from day one really, it saves on bandwidth and, to my mind, makes the board look much neater and more compact.

[shiv]

I guess that further discussion on avatars should be closed. There's no way they're going to be availble for us soon so let's just close this thread.

[Belisarius]

Okay, accepted, but since you say it's a fix rule since day one I have another question: Where can I find the board rules? I tried searching it with the search function, but not even with that I could find them. As I said I'm moderator in a few other boards, one with more then 250000 user registered, and a few more where I'm just a normal user, but each board provides at least one sticky with the rules. I just don't want to ask all the time what I'm allowed to do and what not, since I'd consider that as some kind of spam  

[Flipside]

http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,37583.0.html

There's the general guidelines, though, I note, there's no explanation of why avatars etc are not allowed, I suppose the simple fact you can't use them was considered explanation enough

We are, for the main part, pretty easy going round here, we enjoy a good laugh, and the older members will tease each other quite a lot sometimes

I just tend to work on the theory of 'Don't be a dick', I think I'm one of the more easy-going mods, but as long as no-one is being insulted, flamed or deliberately goaded, I'll try and leave threads open, most of the Admin work along the same lines, we don't really believe in deleting stuff, and will actually enjoy a good controversial debate so long as it doesn't become personal

[karajorma]

You can't have avatars cause time and time again users have proved through abuse of signatures etc that you can't be trusted with them.

[Galemp]

Yeah, we like to keep the content-to-crap ratio pretty high around here, and focusing more on what's actually posted instead of the user's avatar and signature helps a whole lot. It maintains a level of professionalism, just like proper spelling, grammar, punctuation and capitalization does (thanks for those.)

You'll see that most everyone here does that and as a result this place runs lean and clean.

[Belisarius]

You're right guys and I don't want to argue about that. It was just an idea, because avatars and signatures are nevertheless quite usefull for lazy people like me, since I see a picture on the left side and know who posted. That safes a few seconds of username-reading every day But okay, as I said I accept that and I don't want to get banned because of this discussion

You can't have avatars cause time and time again users have proved through abuse of signatures etc that you can't be trusted with them.

Aww, that makes me crying. I can't be trusted? I'm really trustworthy, believe me 

http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,37583.0.html

There's the general guidelines, though, I note, there's no explanation of why avatars etc are not allowed, I suppose the simple fact you can't use them was considered explanation enough

We are, for the main part, pretty easy going round here, we enjoy a good laugh, and the older members will tease each other quite a lot sometimes

I just tend to work on the theory of 'Don't be a dick', I think I'm one of the more easy-going mods, but as long as no-one is being insulted, flamed or deliberately goaded, I'll try and leave threads open, most of the Admin work along the same lines, we don't really believe in deleting stuff, and will actually enjoy a good controversial debate so long as it doesn't become personal

Thanks for the link. Looks like I've just been blind...

Enjoying a good laugh? Be prepared for laughing your *** of, since I'm master in self-pwning

[Snail]

Reason why we don't have avatars on HLP:

See my Game Warden avatar.

[tinfoil]

Just compare the boards at ModDB to these ones and you will realize how distracting it really is. I got used to the avatar and sigpicless ones here and now it just pisses me off when i see anything different. especially those goddamn sigpics.

I don't want to get banned because of this discussion

sometimes i forget how easygoing this forum is. has anyone ever actually been permabanned?

[Snail]

has anyone ever actually been permabanned?

takashi was. Colonol Dekker would have been if what he did wasn't a mistake/set-up. Jesus was, God was too, but those were one-off characters probably made by an0n... There are quite a few others, but not a lot.

[tinfoil]

what did dekker do?

[Snail]

what did dekker do?

goat

se

[karajorma]

He posted a picture from a website using the IMG tags rather than a link. Unfortunately rather than simply link to a picture saying "Don't steal our bandwidth" the website preferred to make the point by having any external links redirect to hardcore porn. It was made worse by the fact that his post just simply said something like "Here's something funny" which didn't make it obvious he wasn't doing it deliberately.

Dekker was banned until it was proved that he hadn't actually meant to link to porn.

[tinfoil]

Hah. that's actually pretty funny. sounds like something an0n might fake to see if he could get away with it.