Screenshot Share

[ZeroKing]

I think there's too much aggression and drama over such a thing. No need to get crazy (or start a war, worst of all) about this issue, I'm sure Dark0ne's thinking about it.

[Grayfell]

The Grayfell does not post many images ( He's not rig't good at it likes. Besides Screenarchery is hard, you ever tried to shoot a 19 inch monitor out of a longbow?)

But he watches many many images, and reads many many stories. Be those images VictoriaG, the Darkling and the Tsaritsa Berseneva with impressive photo-bedazzlery, his little Willow pimping Cabal's latest fashions, the Pineapplevision showcasing yet more ENB Sorcery, or the epic sagas woven by Benbenben and company. It matters not, he enjoys them all.

 

The Grayfell is sure his voice is worth little to this debate, but he will ask thy hallowed Nexus staffery to reconsider anyway. The Grayfell does not cherish the idea of finally having to make a Flick'r account and clogging his bookmarks folder with the multitudes that will flock there. Thy nexus will be a bleak, desolate saddening place without their prescence.

 

He hopes for brighter things,

¬The Grayfell.

[Dazaster]

Maybe just stop people from putting youtube video's in the description instead. Surely a video takes up a lot more bandwidth than a static image. Then limit the number of additional images to 5 at 900 width. Simples. Probably.

[VictoriaG]

Could be wrong but I think youtube videos stream from youtube.

[matortheeternal]

There are forum plugins to auto-resize posted images to a preset size.

 

Also, kids, use imgur. It automatically generates large/small thumbnails for images (which you can use instead of the full image, and link to the full image), allows you to share publicly available albums, etc.

 

Overall Imgur is superior (in my honest opinion, you're free to differ) to every other available image hosting service currently available on the net.

 

http://imgur.com

[VictoriaG]

This is a good free site to http://postimg.org/ and you can post adult images with the correct flag set.

[mymajestymv]

Maybe just stop people from putting youtube video's in the description instead. Surely a video takes up a lot more bandwidth than a static image. Then limit the number of additional images to 5 at 900 width. Simples. Probably.

 

Yes, 5 images, and 10 for Supporters, this limitation exists now, could it be actual for not just separate uploads, but for images in description too? Then the site will skip 50+ linked images and ppl interested in Image Share, could increase from 5 to 10, by paying fees. Seems logical to me, hope not only)

[AmadanBezerk]

@Dark One:

Sorry if this sounds massively 'Noobish',^^ :confused: but is there a way to have some kind of small, very simple specialized code on-site, possessing low resource-consumption per use, that will take any image uploaded to the 'Image Shares' here, (both 'public' and 'supporter') and automatically re/down-size it if and when needed, without cropping it, to an acceptable rez/size, say: 720 or 840, etc. whichever may be the least resource/bandwidth-hungry in the end?

Maybe paid members would be allowed and enabled to post slightly higher rez/size images? Perhaps this has been aforementioned....

 

If this is not already in effect, :confused: perhaps the images must also be of only ONE certain format: .jpg, .gif, etc... but ONLY whichever is that one with the best possible compromise for both resource/bandwidth-consumption and quality.

Is there such a thing as a format that preserves acceptable hi-rez while possessing a remarkably low size in kb?....Just a few crazy thoughts....

 

I have MASSIVELY enjoyed this site for a while now, :cool: :thumbsup: and all it's resident, wonderful Authors here, possessing exquisite creativity and imagination that I have come to GREATLY respect and admire, so PLEASE, PLEASE do not kill this feature entirely!! :ohdear:

PLEASE find a way to preserve it, with acceptable and perfectly rational restrictions on resource/bandwidth consumption, regulated as per image rez/size, and the number of images, say 10 or 12 max. per series? Maybe a limit of 1 series of images every 3 days to 'spread out' the data-load over time, and thus hopefully relieve the burden on the servers, as I fully understand your need to do so.

Sincerely.

Thank you kind Sir.

Edited June 28, 2013 by AmadanBezerk

[amoebae]

So, the bandwidth issue. This is purely about people posting images in the descriptions that are already hosted on nexus yes? Because each view of that page then calls all of those images from nexus, yes?

 

But when those images in the description are hosted at flickr, or photobucket, or imgur, then the bandwidth that is being used is flickr's, or photobucket's, or imgur's. Yes? Yes.

 

So how will instituting a small gallery - where users have to upload their 10 series images directly to nexus, to be called up by nexus' servers, to be hosted by nexus - possibly save nexus bandwidth? You would be guaranteeing that those 10 images are hosted at nexus and using nexus bandwidth, whereas previously only 1 of them would be hosted at nexus and 9 of them would be hosted elsewhere.

 

How does that make sense?

 

Really, all that needs to happen is this:

 

1) any images posted in descriptions MUST be hosted off site: people may not link to pictures already hosted at nexus in the descriptions

1.1) with that in mind, it would be a great idea to create a 'favourites' system (instead of endorsements, which are more trouble than they are worth), whereby people can add other people's images to their favourites, and then they can link to their favourites in their description, thus bringing the exposure to other people's pictures that they really like - since the majority of the pictures in descriptions that are hosted on nexus are the ones where people say 'check out these pictures from my fellow screenarchers'

 

2) impose rules about how wide these images in the description that are hosted elsewhere can be: flickr, for example, automatically makes available an 800px version of your pictures when you upload their, and you can grab the bbcode for that size right from the photo page and paste it into the description, so no tiresome manual resizing is needed. That way, there aren't 'messy' streams of images being cut off the page littered everywhere. Not that they'd be costing you bandwidth if hosted elsewhere anyway...

 

3) impose a limit on the number of pictures allowed in one description. I'd say 10 is a decent compromise. I've seen posts with more than that that look just wonderful because they are part of a story, but as was posted as an example earlier, there can be the odd one or two times someone goes overboard where it looks like crap. Again, if it's not hosted on nexus, it's not costing you bandwidth anyway...

 

--

 

I know that nexus is a modding site. And your bandwidth problems are because you are a victim of your own success, so they are a double edged sword - the more people you have here who have a great experience the more premium memberships you are likely to generate, thus being able to expand and sure up the services; the more people you have here who have a great experience, the more will keep coming back and using more bandwidth. So perhaps you have to decide once and for all what you want nexus to be.

 

Do you want it to be a faceless, soulless site where people come to download a mod, then leave?

 

Do you want it to be a thriving community of modders and players, who share their love for the game and consider nexus to be a valuable resource and somewhere they want to spend their time?

 

If it's the latter, then you simply have to realise that communities grow up around many different things, and in terms of nexus the ability to share images is a huge, huge part of that. You have to realise that so much mod downloading is generated because of the image share, as people showcase new mods, people ask 'where's that armour from?' or 'wow, what enb are you using?' or 'I just have to know what skin texture you are using!' and then pootle off to download it themselves.

 

It also drives mod creation - so many new mods have grown out of people who use the image share deciding that they want to do what the modders do, they think they can create a great enb preset too, or they think they can make a really great male skin mod... and so they start doing it, but while it's a work in progress they just post pictures to the image share, which generates interest, feedback, excitement, ideas, and then hopefully leads to a solid mod hosted on nexus for download once it's finished.

 

Creating a series of images more often than not provides the exact opposite experience to a random pic dump of any old rubbish. The majority of people consider carefully which of their pictures work together, the message they want to get across, the aesthetic totality of what a series offers instead of just one picture on its own. Screenshot taking (or screenarching - although I don't care for that name) has for many become more than just 'I killed a bear today - look I took a picture of it. Did you kill anything?' It has become an art form. Like any artist, the ability to curate your work and show it in ways that make thematic and aesthetic sense is crucial.

 

Recognising how important the different parts of the community are might involve a paradigm shift on your part, but please don't for a second underestimate it. Just because nexus wasn't originally intended to be an image sharing site doesn't mean it hasn't evolved from where it began. Communities appear in surprising ways, and they are crucial in the way they form the bedrock of a place.

 

If, however, you want it to be the former - well then your bandwidth problems will likely be solved overnight because people will leave in their droves. Perhaps that would be preferable? Then people can come here, download a mod, and disappear. If there are any decent mods still to be made once some of the avenues for creativity, ideas and sharing are limited. (I'm being flippant with this last point. I say it to make a crude point.)

 

So to summarise:

 

--The ability to post a series of images is important. Nexus might not have begun with image sharing in mind, but it has since evolved to be a place where people come to do that. It helps generate a sense of community and also innovation, and drives traffic to mods.

--The community of people who use the nexus sites are what makes the nexus sites. That should be fostered and encouraged to flourish, making nexus a truly wonderful place to for modders and players to be - not severely limited and curtailed. Its potential should be realised, even if it means redesigning certain parts of the site. Don't waste the opportunity to have this be a wonderful place.

--Bandwidth would increase from forcing people to have no choice but to upload all their images to nexus; whereas by allowing people to post pictures 2-10 of their series in the description while stating that if they do so they must be hosted elsewhere would save bandwidth.

--Having a favourites system in place that people can link to will negate the desire/need for people to post thumbnails of other people's pictures that are hosted on nexus in their descriptions, which will also save bandwidth for the site.

 

I hope the people who are making the decisions about this take the time to read my feelings and thoughts on this. I also hope they will be able to take some serious time to consider just what the image share parts of the nexus sites do for the site and for modding as a whole, and what a wonderful thing a thriving, colourful, varied community can be.

[Oubliette]

..I also hope they will be able to take some serious time to consider just what the image share parts of the nexus sites do for the site...

Oh, I'm sure they have.