Attaching images to posts

[zuhnc]

Ladies and Gentlemen: Please have some mercy on us poor folks that have a maximum of 600Kbs download speed and limited data packages from our internet provider. The "full size" images take forever to load, and use an inordinate amount of data allowance. And, each time we read a thread, ALL the images reload from the site. There are two selections for image size; please use the thumbnails unless you have a specific issue (crack, burnt item, etc.) that needs some serious eyes on it. The thumbnails are perfectly useful for general images. Thank you for your consideration.

For example, matthewsx recently posted some very nice (I think, I can't download them without waiting about 15 minutes for them to actually download) pictures of bending a part on his lathe. Alas, I have not been able to view any of them , but I am sure they are quite informative.

I am not singling the poster out, but just using that as one example of us network-speed-challenged individuals. There are many more examples, not only on this forum, but quite a few others I frequent.

For those of you wonder why I have such a slow speed, I do not have any wired telephone or cable; cell service is all I have where I live. I have only Verizon in my area, and they limit my download speed after the first 15MB of data. So, large high-resolution images really take a toll on my data limits. zuhnc

 

[MrWhoopee]

My apologies, I thought my 1.1 Mb was as slow as it went. You wouldn't be a Frontier victim, would you?

 

[zuhnc]

No, I have heard about them. No Frontier here, no anything. No Spectrum, Charter, or anything else. Only Verizon via cell tower. No plans from any of the cable companies to get high-speed here. Electric company might provide their own cable, but that appears to be a few years down the road. A few years ago (maybe 5 or so), there used to be cable and wired phone to the house. Lines got damaged and the providers determined they couldn't make enough money off the customers (a few more than just me) to warrant repair. So, in the 21st century we are stuck with 19th century technology. zuhnc

 

[pontiac428]

You should configure your browser to not load images, or to load them individually. If we're aiming for the middle of the bell curve, a couple of photos on a page aren't a problem. You are six standard deviations from the mean when it comes to data rates, the whole population of the site should not have to change their behavior for that. Granted, I had no idea that the least common denominator was so abysmal. Hey, at least you're not on 57.6k.

 

[hman]

Arf! Gotta be a real pain to be without decent communications.

I do what I can to not be a bandwidth or storage hog. The "Preview" app on my Mac is a great way to massage/crop photos, reduce the size, and store them with reduced file size. I try to keep them around 60KB. I know this reduces resolution, but I've not heard any complaints from folks on the forum who've looked at them. So I'll continue on.

 

[middle.road]

I try to reduce mine to under 200KB before posting, unless going for detail. We have several posts on here on 'How-To'
I've also tried to hide my picture heavy posts using the 'Spoiler' function of this board.
The resolution of current cameras can be over the top for posting photos on forums.

The few times I've had to use a cell hot-spot the last few years is always frustrating.

 

[hman]

The resolution of current cameras can be over the top for posting photos on forums.

Agreed! It seems that megapixel and/or gigapixel numbers are now just a selling point. Little or no added benefit to the user, unless you're a pro taking photos for billboards. My digital camera is old, reliable, and not overly burdened with "excess" resolution.

 

[zuhnc]

Pontiac: What is this board without images of the fine products produced? A couple of very high resolution photos on a page ARE a problem, for me. High-res photos are only needed, in my opinion, if one wants critical eyes on an issue with machining, or a casting, or some such thing. High-res photos of ones shop, or mill, or lathe, serve no useful purpose. I am on the short end of the bell curve, and make no apologies for that. I work with what I have, and am not asking all the forum members to change their behavior.
I am working diligently to increase my data speeds to a certain level, full time. I am stymied by Verizon, however. They treat ANY data-only device as a "hot-spot", even strictly modems, and throttle speed after a certain GB of data download. 1.5-2Mb/s before throttling, and 500-600Kb/s after. I have no control over that, and there are NO other service providers, other than satellite. Verizons' limits are 15GB, 30GB, and 40GB. A few high-res photos eat up a lot of that.
As middle.road stated, 200K is plenty of resolution for general things. I try to attach my photos as thumbnails, then, if one wants to download the full, high resolution image, feel free. To "force" a participant to download a 5 or 10 megapixel image on a regular basis seems irresponsible, to me.
At my former residence in Norfolk, VA, I had ADSL to start with, and even it was much faster than my current offering. Upgraded to cable (Cox) for internet and phone, and was well pleased. Not FibreOptic, but quite speedy. Moving to my current location in Missouri was quite a step backwards. I have no hope of getting any type of wired telephone or cable to my current home for at least two to three years. I could use satellite, but my expense for just internet would go up 5x what it is now, with Verizon wireless.
I appreciate all the comments here; I hope we can make this forum enjoyable for all of us. I enjoy it, even with limited access. zuhnc

 

[Kinhod55]

Are there any line of site towers around you? We have a company called back 40 here, we get unlimited data for 60bucks a month and it’s plenty fast.

 

[rabler]

Thumbnails can also be opened (clicked) for the full resolution version, so its not like anyone is getting deprived of the full glory of high resolution if they really want to see the detail.