Gallery Uploads: Sometimes..size DOES matter!

[Danee]

Hey Villagers.  As you know, we have our gallery sections to trusted members and we have noticed that the files that are being uploaded are super!  But..we are experiencing some problems and ask you to help us out.  We must ask that you do not upload any photo which is in excess of 100KB in size.  Our regrets to a few of the guys on here who will just have to take a cold shower before uploading...

Seriously, the photos are good but we have to watch the size of them as it slows down our server tremendously with photos that are very large.  So, if you can, resize them, or email them to a staffer who will do it for you, and email them back for you to put up. 

Ok? Thanks a bunch. We dont want to delete your photos, or not approve them, but will have to do so in the future if we cannot get everyone to help out on this. 

Thanks again!

[joeyn]

There's the free Photoshop online too. You can make some simple edits too!

https://www.photoshop.com/express/landing.html

Joey

[Shane_e]

Our regrets to a few of the guys on here who will just have to take a cold shower before uploading...

cheeky girl

[Dan]

Seriously, the photos are good but we have to watch the size of them as it slows down our server tremendously with photos that are very large.  So, if you can, resize them, or email them to a staffer who will do it for you, and email them back for you to put up.

Now that's a weird problem as those two things are totally unrelated. I'm not saying it's not true, weird stuff happens for the weirdest reason after all, especially when computers are involved but the weirdness makes me curious.

When does it slows down things? When the picture is uploaded or while it's there? Do we have stats on it?

I'm not trying to troubleshoot by the way, just curious.

[Danee]

Seriously, the photos are good but we have to watch the size of them as it slows down our server tremendously with photos that are very large.  So, if you can, resize them, or email them to a staffer who will do it for you, and email them back for you to put up.

Now that's a weird problem as those two things are totally unrelated. I'm not saying it's not true, weird stuff happens for the weirdest reason after all, especially when computers are involved but the weirdness makes me curious.

When does it slows down things? When the picture is uploaded or while it's there? Do we have stats on it?

I'm not trying to troubleshoot by the way, just curious.

Hi Dan. I appreciate the way you worded this.  My request back then, was as a result of advisement from our host founder, Pisco.  So, if you will please, drop him an email for further explanation/discussion?  Then you two can discuss what he meant.

Thanks!

-D

[Ash196]

Seriously, the photos are good but we have to watch the size of them as it slows down our server tremendously with photos that are very large.  So, if you can, resize them, or email them to a staffer who will do it for you, and email them back for you to put up.

Now that's a weird problem as those two things are totally unrelated. I'm not saying it's not true, weird stuff happens for the weirdest reason after all, especially when computers are involved but the weirdness makes me curious.

When does it slows down things? When the picture is uploaded or while it's there? Do we have stats on it?

I'm not trying to troubleshoot by the way, just curious.

If hard drive space on a computer goes below the allotment for virtual memory (which is recommended to be 1.5 to 2 times the amount of RAM in your computer), it can slow the computer down noticeably as there would have to be an insane amount of swapping between RAM and hard drive. Additionally, if files are stored on the outer tracks of a hard drive, they'll be slower to access than if they were on the inner tracks. Both large files, and a lack of regular defragmenting cause files to be stored more often on outer tracks rather than inner tracks.

Also, large photos consume more server bandwidth when viewed, contributing to increased server costs, as the server's connection to the Internet has to work harder to service people with large files in a timely manner. The combination of more viewers and large photos would therefore slow down the whole site.

That's the theory, but still, if photos are only allowed to be a maximum of 100KB in size, then I can't really understand how this would slow down the site, either. There aren't nearly enough photos for this to be a problem, unless the server running this site is very underpowered and under-equipped.

(EDIT: I just worked out that if all the photos in the gallery were assumed to be 100KB in size, then all photos would only take up 58,700 KB in total. That should technically not cause any problems, unless the server is vastly underpowered, as I stated above. Perhaps I will also have to contact Pisco, as this intrigues me too...)

[Nude_not_rude]

We were thinking ahead at the time when this forum started, we had no idea how popular the gallery would be, so in order to avoid any future problems, we thought it best to keep a lid on file sizes. We were also thinking about people who may not have hi-speed internet with large download limits. That's all. And besides, the size the files are, is plenty big enough to get the point across. Unless you are looking to use the gallery to collect large hi-res pics from here, that shouldn't be an issue at all.

[Pisco]

Thanks Todd for the clarification! That were the exact reasons for my fear, which turned out to be without cause. From what I've observed we're not having any performance problems. Am I wrong? But that doesn't mean that people should start uploading multi-megabyte pictures to the gallery! :-)

[Ash196]

I agree! I hope the site runs this well for a long time to come! :) Long live IYNO! :)

[Pisco]

For the curious: In January 2010 the forum had 1'689'333 hits and caused over 9 GB of traffic! That means more or less 139'122 pageviews, or 10'921 visits. And thanks to the world's best staff, everything is running smoothly!

[Dan]

Thanks Todd for the clarification! That were the exact reasons for my fear, which turned out to be without cause. From what I've observed we're not having any performance problems. Am I wrong?

I figure I'd have notice some sluggishness if we had so I suppose we don't. If it is meant as a preventive measure, it makes more sense to me. Thanks for the clarification.