Let's talk about embedding pics in threads

[Fenris]

There's been some discussion in the mod forum and in other forums as well. No-one seems to be entirely sure (including the mods! ) what our standard practice should be.

After some discussion we mods felt that the following would be a good rule:

• All pics should be relevant to the subject of the thread. You wanna start a LOLCat thread, post all the lolcats you want. You want to do a "food porn" thread, link to pics of all the yummy food you want. That knitting thread--please, show your work! It's cool and it means those "how to" threads aren't limited just to food any more. Just make sure the pics are relevant to the topic.
  
• ALL NSFW pics should be limited to threads labeled NSFW even if the pic is relevant to the thread.

We'd also suggest that this would mean that, in a pit thread say, you shouldn't link to a picture of a cross-eyed guy sticking his finger up his nose and saying "Oh yeah? Well this is YOU."

The concern is that the more pics in threads, the less comfortable people are with browsing from work--and we want to encourage browsing!

Another thought: what do you think of simply putting the phrase "with pics!" in the title of the thread? So "Let's talk about knitting-With Pics!" or "Favorite Albums-with pics"?

Any thoughts on this as a general policy?

[Solfy]

Pardon me if the answer to this is obvious and I'm having a blonde moment: can't people turn pics off the way they can turn avatars off?

ETA: I like the suggested rules

[Uthrecht]

I have a nonspecific sense of deja vu about this.

I'm fine with the OP guiding the picture content of their threads by just having a [Pictures] at the end of the thread title, like [NSFW] and such. If the OP doesn't put that in, then be courteous and don't put 'em in. If folks change the OP's mind, they can always ask a mod to edit the title. And then you just follow along with the rest of your rules. Good stuff.

[Fenris]

Originally Posted by Solfy

Pardon me if the answer to this is obvious and I'm having a blonde moment: can't people turn pics off the way they can turn avatars off?

ETA: I like the suggested rules

I believe they can. But, speaking for myself, I'd rather trust everyone to use good judgment when posting pics and get to see 'em. We can always set the default to "off" so noobs have to turn it on to see 'em.

[Lord Blackmore]

Originally Posted by Solfy

Pardon me if the answer to this is obvious and I'm having a blonde moment: can't people turn pics off the way they can turn avatars off?

ETA: I like the suggested rules

Yep. There's an option in your user CP to turn off images:

Show Images (including attached images and images in [IMG] code)

Oh and the rules seem fine to me.

[Fenris]

Originally Posted by Uthrecht

I have a nonspecific sense of deja vu about this.

I'm fine with the OP guiding the picture content of their threads by just having a [Pictures] at the end of the thread title, like [NSFW] and such. If the OP doesn't put that in, then be courteous and don't put 'em in. If folks change the OP's mind, they can always ask a mod to edit the title. And then you just follow along with the rest of your rules. Good stuff.

Which we'll be happy to do.

I got deja vu writing about it--possibly we're remembering Dumbodrama regarding pics?

With us, though pics have been enabled in many forums for almost a year and we've had no probs--just some confusion on what's ok and we'd like to make it as open as possible while not driving off readers.

[Uthrecht]

My apologies if my comment about deja vu sounded like any kind of dismissal. I think it's good to make sure folks are clear on what's what, so no worries. Which is why I like just demarking threads with the title, and have pictures follow along with the overall concept of, if the OP has a point, try and stick to it..

[Dazzling White Diamonds]

Originally Posted by Uthrecht

I'm fine with the OP guiding the picture content of their threads by just having a [Pictures] at the end of the thread title, like [NSFW] and such. If the OP doesn't put that in, then be courteous and don't put 'em in. If folks change the OP's mind, they can always ask a mod to edit the title. And then you just follow along with the rest of your rules. Good stuff.

+1.

I try to avoid picture threads at work. Yes, I could turn it off in the User CP settings, but that does become cumbersome after a while.

I have a question that may have already been answered: Is there a way to create a skin that doesn't allow embedded pictures? If there is and one was made available, that would be fabulous. (I currently use the Fakebook skin at work, as it is compact and doesn't have too many frills. )

[Taur]

Originally Posted by Fenris

• All pics should be relevant to the subject of the thread. You wanna start a LOLCat thread, post all the lolcats you want. You want to do a "food porn" thread, link to pics of all the yummy food you want. That knitting thread--please, show your work! It's cool and it means those "how to" threads aren't limited just to food any more. Just make sure the pics are relevant to the topic.
  
• ALL NSFW pics should be limited to threads labeled NSFW even if the pic is relevant to the thread.

That's entirely reasonable, so YES to that.

We'd also suggest that this would mean that, in a pit thread say, you shouldn't link to a picture of a cross-eyed guy sticking his finger up his nose and saying "Oh yeah? Well this is YOU."

Yes, relevancy in all forums/threads.

The concern is that the more pics in threads, the less comfortable people are with browsing from work--and we want to encourage browsing!

Dazzy's suggestion is quite good and I get the annoyance about having to revisit your User CP. Failing that, setting the default to NO PICTURES solves that issue.

Another thought: what do you think of simply putting the phrase "with pics!" in the title of the thread? So "Let's talk about knitting-With Pics!" or "Favorite Albums-with pics"?

I don't think that's necessary if pictures are enabled in all the forums.

[Fenris]

Currently pics aren't enabled in all forums. Only about half of them.

[Turing Complete]

I would like to see pictures enabled in all forums.
I think we should have [Pictures] and [NSFW] in the titles.
People who post irrelevant pictures should be executed. Just put it in the board registration agreement so everyone has fair warning.
A "work" skin without pictures would be great if possible.

[Taur]

Originally Posted by Fenris

Currently pics aren't enabled in all forums. Only about half of them.

Right, I know that!

I'd say the easiest way would be to require annotation of thread titles with [PICS], just as [NSFW] is added. In that way, anyone surfing at work can simply avoid that thread.

[Uthrecht]

I think Taurus' [PICS] is better than my [Pictures].

[whirlingbladesofkick]

I'm good with content-related pics, or threads that are specifically for pics (special games or whatever) but I was getting confused when people were using pics in a Getting Started thread to respond to the thread. That's the kind of thing that makes me LESS desirous of pics, and would even be willing to give up the ability to have them at all if that wasn't strictly regulated.

That's just my taste.

[Fenris]

Yeah, using pics to respond to the subject of a thread would be off-limits.

Not to pick on my buddy Punha, but to use him as a specific example, his use of the "Don't tread on me" (or whatever it was) emblem in the Roo thread would be a no-no going forward.

[Lord Blackmore]

Originally Posted by Fenris

Yeah, using pics to respond to the subject of a thread would be off-limits.

Not to pick on my buddy Punha, but to use him as a specific example, his use of the "Don't tread on me" (or whatever it was) emblem in the Roo thread would be a no-no going forward.

Damn. That means I can't post a picture of an Internet Tough Guy or Tin Foil Hat wearer.

[SmartAleq]

Originally Posted by tacoloco

Damn. That means I can't post a picture of an Internet Tough Guy or Tin Foil Hat wearer.

_{Pssst, you could just attach it to the post so it shows up as a teeny tiny thumbnail at the bottom, right?}

Sounding good here, I'm for it. I like pictures, I have broadband, I ain't a-skeered!

[Zeener Diode]

Originally Posted by Turing Complete

I would like to see pictures enabled in all forums.
I think we should have [Pictures] and [NSFW] in the titles.
People who post irrelevant pictures should be executed. Just put it in the board registration agreement so everyone has fair warning.
A "work" skin without pictures would be great if possible.

I like the bolded part. Would it be an effrontery if the mods went ahead and added those tags to every pertinent thread? Even if the OP didn't intend to include them, but just to let others know what content lies inside? Let's say I begin a thread about boats; along the way someone posts a pic of a fancy yacht, so a mod sees this and adds [PICS] to the thread title. Same if someone posts a pic of a topless babe, sitting on the bow of a yacht: the mod adds [NSFW] to the title. If I don't like it, I can ask the mod to remove the pics.

The underscored part is, I know, over the top, but to clarify: I don't think it needs to be added into the rules and subject to warnings. If someone innocently adds a pic the mods/OP think hijacks the thread, inform the poster and move on. (If someone persists in posting in this fashion, deal with them as you would any other unrepentant troll.)

Originally Posted by Fenris

Yeah, using pics to respond to the subject of a thread would be off-limits.

Not to pick on my buddy Punha, but to use him as a specific example, his use of the "Don't tread on me" (or whatever it was) emblem in the Roo thread would be a no-no going forward.

Thanks for the example. And again, I think it fair to tell the infractor that you are removing the pic for lack of continuity, or such. Don't be assholish and slap them with a warning or Boxxing, unless the infractions persist.

(And, as always, mods/admin can conduct an exercise in group participation with joke Boxxings, as long as it's spelled out ahead.)

[Zeener Diode]

Originally Posted by tacoloco

Damn. That means I can't post a picture of an Internet Tough Guy or Tin Foil Hat wearer.

I can see this leading to a 4Chan-like atmosphere.

[SmartAleq]

Originally Posted by Zeener Diode

I can see this leading to a 4Chan-like atmosphere.

You say that like it's a bad thing...

[Zeener Diode]

Originally Posted by SmartAleq

You say that like it's a bad thing...

No, but if I want to read 4Chan I know where to go.

[Borborygmi]

To a good pharmacy?

[Uthrecht]

Originally Posted by Zeener Diode

I like the bolded part. Would it be an effrontery if the mods went ahead and added those tags to every pertinent thread? Even if the OP didn't intend to include them, but just to let others know what content lies inside? Let's say I begin a thread about boats; along the way someone posts a pic of a fancy yacht, so a mod sees this and adds [PICS] to the thread title. Same if someone posts a pic of a topless babe, sitting on the bow of a yacht: the mod adds [NSFW] to the title. If I don't like it, I can ask the mod to remove the pics.

I'm torn on this concept. I've considered it, but if we're making it so that some threads will have pictures as an opt-in tag for the title, I would think that the OP's expectation is that they not be included if it's not in the title.

That is to say, if someone doesn't put [PICS] in the title and someone slaps a picture in, the default mod action should be to pull it. If someone says, "Hey, can I put a picture in", and the OP says, "Oh yeah, go for it", then the mods put the tag in the title and we roll on.

Of course, if a month from now ALL threads are starting out with [PICS] in them, maybe we revisit the concept.

[Zeener Diode]

Personally, I would not have a problem with someone adding pics that flowed with the content; I feel strongly about letting threads organically grow. And likewise, if a pic was obscure but somehow relative to the thread content (or drift, even), I would not object to leaving it. But that's me. It's the blatant pics which hijack or attempt to confuse the intent that would bother me.

[Giraffe]

Originally Posted by Zeener Diode

I can see this leading to a 4Chan-like atmosphere.

Yes, exactly. Let's keep image dueling confined to specific threads, ideally just in Photo Safari, and leave the rest of the board as mostly text.

As for labeling threads with pictures, I personally don't think this is a big deal either way, so long as the pictures are topical -- if there's a discussion on building patios and you find a perfect example of what you're talking about on Google image search, I think it should be fine to img-link it into the thread even if the OP didn't explicitly allow images. So I'd say we follow the guidelines people are spelling out as a courtesy where we can, but no one's going to jump down anyone's throat if an illustrative pictures is dropped into a non-pic thread. As Zeener said, threads often grow organically into directions the OP may not have guessed.

NSFW pictures, on the other hand, are a big deal -- anything that's remotely borderline that's not in a thread labeled NSFW in the title, please hide in spoiler tags or just put a link (labeled NSFW) instead of an embedded image.

[Zeener Diode]

I hate to kick this thing to death, but do you (mods) see a difference between posting a pic and posting a link to a pic? I'm treating this thread as pertaining to actual pictures posted, not linked.

[Giraffe]

Originally Posted by Zeener Diode

I hate to kick this thing to death, but do you (mods) see a difference between posting a pic and posting a link to a pic? I'm treating this thread as pertaining to actual pictures posted, not linked.

Yes, this is only about embedded photos -- links to pictures can be posted anywhere, any time, provided NSFW or generally gross/upsetting stuff is clearly labeled.

[Mbossa]

Originally Posted by Giraffe

NSFW pictures, on the other hand, are a big deal -- anything that's remotely borderline that's not in a thread labeled NSFW in the title, please hide in spoiler tags or just put a link (labeled NSFW) instead of an embedded image.

I'd argue that even embedded images wrapped in spoiler tags can be unsafe. The browser still loads images that are displayed in spoiler and nsfw tags, even if it never displays them, so people browsing at work might have the fact that they loaded the image at that URL logged somewhere.

[Thrustin]

Let there be pics.

[Falcon]

Another vote for putting [PICS] in the thread title. My connection is such that when I am in photo safari, it takes a ridiculous amount of time to load threads with pictures. And you can't just scroll down to the non-picture posts to skim through the thread, because as pictures in other posts load, it pushes the posts down.

I don't mind this in photo safari, because I'm there to look at pictures. But I browse that forum only when I have time. So I'd like to be able to easily identify and skip [PICS] threads when I want to.

[Jeff]

I'm not overjoyed about having pics enabled everywhere, but if they are can we limit the size to 800x600 or 640x480 or something?

[Giraffe]

Originally Posted by Jeff

I'm not overjoyed about having pics enabled everywhere, but if they are can we limit the size to 800x600 or 640x480 or something?

They're still going to be off in GBB, Y2C, the Pit, PPR, JTF, and (I believe) The Game Room. Only GS (for smilie voting), A&E, BLTP and of course Photo Safari have them on, I believe.

Edit: and the maximum image size is 1024x1024, I believe, for images which are uploaded using the Manage Attachment option. Images which are hotlinked with the [img] tags can't be limited by size, although I think basic etiquette dictates not linking to huge, table-breaking images. (And if a person does this on accident, please report the post so we can break the link.)

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by Giraffe

They're still going to be off in GBB, Y2C, the Pit, PPR, JTF, and (I believe) The Game Room.

If that's the case, I don't understand the point of this thread.

[Parthenokinesis]

Originally Posted by Fenris

Yeah, using pics to respond to the subject of a thread would be off-limits.

Boo!

Originally Posted by Giraffe

Yes, exactly. Let's keep image dueling confined to specific threads, ideally just in Photo Safari, and leave the rest of the board as mostly text.

BOO!

Originally Posted by Turing Complete

People who post irrelevant pictures should be executed. Just put it in the board registration agreement so everyone has fair warning.

[IMG]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-Z8uoRk--YI/R8jkhxFBVwI/AAAAAAAAACg/prXiTgpcUhA/s400/princess_bride_boo.jpg[/IMG]

BOOOOO!!!!!!







Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

[Giraffe]

Originally Posted by Jeff

If that's the case, I don't understand the point of this thread.

Because we realized that not everyone even knew you could post photos anywhere outside of Photo Safari, or that once they could, they shouldn't just go hog wild with them ala 4chan. We had ideas about how restrictive to be with images outside of PS, but figured we'd talk with you guys about it before stamping our repressive boot on your necks.

[Jeff]

Sorry, I'm too busy to sort through this sort of nonsense today. Just bring me the papers and I'll sign them.

[Giraffe]

OK. Ignore the parts that say "butt boy", that's just lawyer talk.

[rayh]

You might want to consider allowing pics/clips in the game room. It's the kind of forum that cries out for clips, especially for sports or video games.

[Parthenokinesis]

Originally Posted by Giraffe

Broke irrelevant image link

Originally Posted by Giraffe

We had ideas about how restrictive to be with images outside of PS, but figured we'd talk with you guys about it before stamping our repressive boot on your necks.

Your sarcasm knows no bounds.

[Jeff]

We go off topic enough without going off topic with pictures to boot.

I think the current enforcement and use of pictures is fine, I don't see anyone jumping into Fenris' BBQ threads with lolcats or failblog pictures.

[Sleeps With Butterflies]

*graphjam*

[Thrustin]

Isn't there something around here that says "life is cooler with less rules", or "no rules, just right".

[Chacoguy]

Originally Posted by Thrustin

Isn't there something around here that says "life is cooler with less rules", or "no rules, just right".

See HERE.