Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0
Guest taloula

gallery

38 posts in this topic

There is but there isn't - there are a couple places that people post shots but usually it is in the events follow ups by region or the sighting areas. As far as specific gallery areas - that has some challenges - first is space - pictures can take up a lot of room! Second is in administering the gallery - who makes the call on what goes it - how it gets dropped as it ages etc. with out having to get the UN involved in Peacekeeping.If there is enough interest in having a gallery section we can discuss it at the BOD and see if it can be made to work.Cheers,Cameron

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't see what's wrong with the current system of adorning our threads with relevant pics.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Second is in administering the gallery - who makes the call on what goes it - how it gets dropped as it ages etc. with out having to get the UN involved in Peacekeeping.

Eh? :huh:

The person who "makes the call what goes in it" would presumably be the same person who decides what photos are "allowed" to be attached to threads - that is, the person who took the photo adds it to the gallery (and thread). Why would a gallery be any different from the forum threads in this respect?

Photos would age the same way threads age - newer ones go first, older ones go after; it's how most user-generated content works.

I believe most people who suggest a gallery feature would like the most common type of community gallery - the open type where CsC members can upload their photos to the gallery, not the closed type where only one person can add photos.

I don't see what's wrong with the current system of adorning our threads with relevant pics.

There's nothing wrong with it per se, but it makes it much more difficult if people just want to look at cool photos of Smart cars without scrolling through a whole bunch of different threads hoping that there's lots of images in them.

A gallery wouldn't replace the system of people adding photos to threads, it would augment it by allowing people to just look through photos if they want to.

I'm actually quite confused by the CsC community's opposition toward the idea of a gallery every time it comes up. :huh:

Why?

I'm honestly not seeing how adding a feature that would benefit some community members, that doesn't take away from current methods or features that other members enjoy is a bad thing. :blink:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

By the way, how does one get the "large thumbnails" to show up when posting photos? I get the microfilm-sized ones and would rather have the larger ones as it makes the thread easier for readers to follow.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

By the way, how does one get the "large thumbnails" to show up when posting photos? ...

Yeah, I was wondering that, too.Alberta

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

By the way, how does one get the "large thumbnails" to show up when posting photos? I get the microfilm-sized ones and would rather have the larger ones as it makes the thread easier for readers to follow.

Edit: Yup, it works. Upload the image elsewhere and use the IMG tags to get the large thumbnails, and use the Attachments feature to get the small thumbnails.

Here's a test:

This should show up as a "large thumbnail":

Posted Image

The image is in my Photobucket account, and I used the BBcode [ img] [ /img] tags to display it here.

This will be a small thumbnail:

I used the Attachments feature on the forum for this one.

post-4897-1219201922_thumb.jpg

Edited by Kitty

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So there is no way to do it with the photos hosted here. I knew that it could be remotely hosted, but that can be bad for the future, when those sites shut down or purge old accounts.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So there is no way to do it with the photos hosted here. I knew that it could be remotely hosted, but that can be bad for the future, when those sites shut down or purge old accounts.

I'd worry about people deleting the photos from their Photobucket/Flickr accounts before I'd worry about those sites closing down. ;)As for doing it with photos hosted here, it's certainly possible but the Admin would have to decide how big to make the thumbnails. It's a setting in the admin section of IPB (ACP > tools and settings > Topics, Posts and Polls)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Right, let me suggest then that the size of our own photos is too small and they should be resized for easy viewing.Remote hosting is not good, as I've seen many broken links in our forum and its predecessor due to purged accounts over the years.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Right, let me suggest then that the size of our own photos is too small and they should be resized for easy viewing.

Larger than 100x100 would be great, though the 600x480 size of the offsite images is kinda on the large side for a thumbnail.

Remote hosting is not good, as I've seen many broken links in our forum and its predecessor due to purged accounts over the years.

Sounds like an excellent point in favour of having a proper CsC gallery to me! :D

Then images could be hosted here, and easily placed in appropriate threads as required. ^_^

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Can our server afford the bandwidth and storage required by that? The text posts alone start taking up space, including the pics already stored in threads. If we start running a gallery with large size (and some folks don't resize at all) pics, will that start eating up hard drive space and slogging down the bandwidth? Gotta consider that, after all, the host is very generous to host us for free. Note the lack of ads or membership fees...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Can our server afford the bandwidth and storage required by that? The text posts alone start taking up space, including the pics already stored in threads. If we start running a gallery with large size (and some folks don't resize at all) pics, will that start eating up hard drive space and slogging down the bandwidth? Gotta consider that, after all, the host is very generous to host us for free. Note the lack of ads or membership fees...

Most gallery software will resize images that are uploaded to it, and the size is generally controlled by the Admin. It not only allows the huge photos to be more easily viewed, but it cuts down on the file size (saving both disk space and bandwidth). ^_^

Is outgrowing our hosting an immediate concern? What are the current site stats (database size, monthly bandwidth usage, disk storage size, etc)?

This one could even work here, as there's an integration with IPB (CsC members would not have to create yet another account just to post photos). ^_^

There's also the official IP Gallery, written by the same people who wrote the forum software we use, that's designed to work with it together. ^_^ I don't know if it's any good though, while I moderate an IPB forum, all my Admin work is done in vBulletin, so I've never seen the back-end of IP Gallery.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think we should be OK for space and bandwidth for a while according to the limits on the account, but SmartieParts will be able to confirm this.The other possible issue with this is keeping it updated, but I hope that isn't a big issue with the potential amount of contributors. :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So what does everyone think about making a specific-purpose appeal so we can buy and install something like the integrated IP Gallery?

Donations go into a PayPal account and out to pay for the costs... :dunno::scratch:

Decide what the prog will cost and- what? 2-3 hours? - programming time to install it. Shouldn't be hard to raise a few hundred bucks.

Bil :sun:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So what does everyone think about making a specific-purpose appeal so we can buy and install something like the integrated IP Gallery?

Donations go into a PayPal account and out to pay for the costs... :dunno::scratch:

I'm the one who won't STFU about it, so of course I'll donate to the cause. ;) Edited by Kitty

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Okay - we will add it to the agenda for the BOD - but we have to get some other stuff going first - like back to where you can get to the regions in a reasonable # of clicks.Kitty - you are tagged with being the builder and admin of the gallery - if that is okay - contact Awesys and come up with a plan that will work - for presentation to the BOD so we can present to the members for okay.Cheers,Cameron

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

As the one hosting the site on DONATED space (ie. I'm paying for it). I would prefer there not be a gallery here. Gallery's tend to be resource hogs for a very minority of membership. Use a service like photobucket and link?Or switch serversOr give it a try and we'll see - Steven

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yep - we don't want to clobber the rest of the site when someone is doing a honking big upload or be a disk hog when it is being provided so generously! - so that should be part of the consideration for the firm proposal - how we deal with the space constraints.Cheers,Cameron

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well you want the gallery - :) - feel free to recruit the other advocates.Doesn't have to be fancy - just what you see as being a good solution - how you plan to do it - any costs/impact so that the members etc. can make a decision on it.Cheers,Cameron

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

For your consideration... an Open Source PHP Gallery

Simple Picture Gallery Manager

SPGM is a PHP script that displays picture galleries on the web. It is intended to provide a very simple way to set up online photo albums: creating directories, filling them with pictures and uploading to your website... That is what it's all about !

It is massively configurable though, and you can tune the layout just as much as you want to match your exact website's design. Several cool features are also included, while keeping in mind that the program aims to be as lightweight, simple and portable as possible.

B :sun:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

pst - presentation format - not product listings - there are lots of ideas - but they need to be cemented down to what how and why.Cheers,Cameron

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

pst - presentation format - not product listings - there are lots of ideas - but they need to be cemented down to what how and why.

OK... Yeah... just wanted to make the presenter(s) aware of another no-cost option. Well, no cost but programming.:sun:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!


Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.


Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0

    Chatbox
    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More