[old] New Signature and Avatar Restrictions
 

Dear Initiates,

In order to reduce the clutter, improve the flow, and better the readability of the forum, we have decided to limit avatar and signature dimensions and file sizes. We have been very loose with avatar and sig sizes, and some people have abused this freedom by taking them to extreme sizes. We decided to implement a clearly defined set of rules for the sigs and avatars so that there won't be any question about what is too big.

Avatars will be no larger than 180x250 pixels, and 100KB is the maximum file size. We strongly encourage you to use as small of a size as possible. Avatars with huge widths are particularly causing problems.

For signatures we recommend a size of 527x200 or smaller, but 527x350 pixels is the maximum size allowed. The maximum file size 150KB.

Please remember that everyone has a different connection speed and uses different screen resolutions so what might seem insignificant on a Cable modem connection at 1600x1200 screen resolution will take a long time to load for 56K users, and everything will look much bigger on a resolution like 800x600.

These restrictions are here to allow initiates to browse AHS more easily, so you'll be helping everyone if you could co-operate. Also keep in mind that you can always disable the display of sigs and/or avatars in the forum by changing a setting in your user control panel if you wish. If you have any questions about the new sig/avatar restrictions or anything else feel free to contact the staff anytime. If you need help resizing your signature or avatar the staff can help you with that as well.

Summary of New Restrictions:
Signature: 527x350, 150kb
Avatar: 180x250, 100kb

Thank you.

AHS Staff

Thanks for the warning, I don't want to get in trouble. I can live with this restriction. :thumbsup

yay im in restrictions so its all good :shimmy

Well, my images are 170X210, and 550X190 so I'll just have to make my sigs a LITTLE smaller, but that's good. I like small sigs. :)

*checks* yep. my avatars tiny.

actually, I only make my avs 120X120 now, but the sig's a little too big >< by only a tiny bit. oh well: shrug

527 x 350 is FREAKIN HUGE O_O open a new image on Photoshop, thats HUGE!

I'm happy with the restrictions. Since I'm using 800x600 resolution, side scrolling all the time can get annoying!

goodbye ayu-mi-x ava... :weep

shéna ringööööööö

I think the restrictions are well-made; though my connection is pretty fast and loading times don't bother me, it gets difficult looking for the actual text in the post through a sea of huge pictures.

i juss noticed ima have to change all my old sigs and avas :weep

man what a nightmare that;; be... 92 avas and 98 sigs :dead :bawl

it loads well 4 me....but i'd prolly have trouble using my ancient computer.....but i doubt anyone here still uses Pentium I-________-

I love you, Skal. :inlove


:thumbsup

It was a decision made by all of the staff members based on initiate feedback.

is mine too big?

If it doesn't fit in this box, it's too big.

Felipe - the size includes any text etc... so it's big as one image, but not really if it's image + text.. etc.

Ashley

That's huge. :conhuh

My new sig is 510X190 so im good :cool

These new restrictions are good for us 56k users. Things will load much faster for me now :)

ahh i gotcha, i was gunna say, lol... i mean i know im bad at math but that kinda freaked me out.. i thought i was down from bad to horrible :weep

I mean no insult or argument (Seriously), as I agree with the new standards - 600k avatars are just rude - but what about how fonts are different on different computers? Or will that be given some slack due to possible differences?

Dun worry, I'm not here to mock you or upset you. I rather have a banner about the size mine is now, and will eventually get to cutting a few frames from my avatar or using another one.

When do these standards begin to be enforced?

I love your avatar. *Gawks at it*

I want to make an animated .gif, but I'm too inane. O_o

We intended to give everyone about a week to get used to the idea before enforcing the limits. Expect implementation to begin this weekend.

Btw, in case it wasn't clear, 'signature' means everything in your signature, including bunchies, text, etc. It's not only the banner.

I thought the sig standard already was, since I noticed my sig a few days ago was a bit less longer.

same here O_o;

Correct, but that trial is only effective in one layout. Most of the initiates have not been affected by it.

Oh ok. I see now :)

if u dont mind me asking.. what do u mean by layout? :shrug im dumb like that :weep

uh yeah...im with felipe..o.o

She means a style (like ekko or Rainbow). I use ekko, so I suppose that's the style that it was tested on so far.

air is the best style. :thumbsup

Thanks for the info. :) But my question was considering on different computers, the text size can be different, will there be leway for those who might be a bit larger via the text? I'm not worried, I think your standards are pretty generous, I'm just trying to help avoid problems.

I think that you can specify the size of your flash in the HTML. It is indeed cut off, but maybe there's a way you can make it squish it a bit?

I did edit the html to 525... does it show up ok in other styles? To me, it looks ok (altho slightly reduced), but I'm not sure what you mean by that when I see it fine... :think

The limit is 527x350 for everyone. Making exceptions would get too complicated and would be unfair.

You didn't really seem to answer my question, and seem to have missed the point the last two times I asked. I'm just trying to help avoid possible problems by bringing up something I see that could arise from this.

My Question:
From computer to computer, the size of text can be different. Are you going to take that into account, and give people some leway, because the text size may be different when figuring out if their banner + text is within limits?

No. The restrictions are the same for everyone.

The sigs will be limited automatically by VB. It uses the HTML/VB codes you input as your sig and determines how much space a sig takes up. Regardless of how your computer displays text, the sigs are limited based on what you put in the HTML/VB codes themselves.

527x350 will look different depending on what screen resolution you have, but it's still the same 527x350 pixels. If you decide to use huge text you can't fit as much if you decided to use small text.

Luna... im not entiruely sure what u mean either. "From computer to computer, the size of text can be different." yeah we are going to take that into account - the size of text is relative to the screen resolution, just like pics are. i hope that solves the problem here :shrug

Thanks to both of you for your answers! ^_^ That's actually really cool how the forum software can figure that out with the text, too! I do understand different screen resolutions, so I dun mean the physical size of the text on the screen, but how different people's settings can make the text a different size could affect the rule.

I'm a geek, so the tech answer still fascinates me. ^_^ Dun worry, I'm not planning on pushing it. I rather like my banner size anyway. Arigatou ne!

Luckly u warn or i ll make stupid thing again. Anyway i didnt use avatar anymore coz dont have my own Av.

if i can get some time to myself i can always make u one :think

Thanks U :wave :thumbsup