Get rid of images

June 13, 2002 3:19 PM

Images in Threads... They're annoying, they kill modem users, there's only a few times I can think of that they had any relation to the thread topic, and most often they're unneccessary to the discussion at hand and could just as easily be represented intelligently in prose. Please, make it stop!
posted by SpecialK to etiquette/policy at 3:19 PM (33 comments total)

...not to mention that images could just be LINKED to to give people the option of seeing them.
posted by SpecialK at 3:21 PM on June 13, 2002

I posit that all images should be rendered in ASCII/HTML from now on.
posted by Succa at 3:37 PM on June 13, 2002

I don't mind them, really. I use dial-up, and they don't really seem to slow me down. Except for the huge ones, anyway.
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 3:41 PM on June 13, 2002

Also, here.
posted by brittney at 3:48 PM on June 13, 2002

I'm buzzing along here at the blistering speeds of 3K - 5K a second, and I love images in posts -- if they make me laugh or explain a complicated theoretical physics equation that would become entangled in a lengthy verbal description. Metafilter is by far the fastest loading website I visit daily, so I would be hard pressed to be annoyed by a random image or two.

That being said, unfunny images should be digitally burned and the member posting such images summarily electrocuted with the special MeTaTaser.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 3:55 PM on June 13, 2002

Another discussion about this.

The thread that brittney pointed out has more images than any other thread I've even seen. It's one thing to post an image, but to post one in a thread specifically asking people not to do it borders on asinine.
posted by jaden at 4:21 PM on June 13, 2002

...must...resist temptation....must...not border....on...asinine....
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:41 PM on June 13, 2002

What's a modem?
posted by adampsyche at 6:19 PM on June 13, 2002

So - we have no problem linking to stories on yahoo or nytimes which include literally dozens of seperate images that 'kill modem users', but one or two images in a thread must be stopped? The internet, just like life, is full of things that annoy me and don't matter to you, and vice versa. If every thing that annoyed me on the internet had a metatalk thread devoted to it, there wouldn't be a server large enough to handle the load. Perhaps we should all follow this two step process when encountering something that - although it annoys us - is still completely benign.

#1 - Roll eyes
#2 - Move on
posted by GriffX at 6:21 PM on June 13, 2002

You know what else? Those fast food ketchup packets are too small! Why not make them bigger?

Why I ask you?

Give me more ketchup you fascists!
posted by Kafkaesque at 7:57 PM on June 13, 2002

Griffx, there's a tremendous difference between an offsite link that contains images and serving up your images in a thread everyone has to read.

Simply put, I can choose whether or not I want to go to any other sites and I can't if someone is putting images in threads (most images are going to be 30-40kb or so which is much, much greater than plain text they could write, or create an offsite link to.

Another major problem is that of expectation. I come to metafilter to read about sites on the web, and I read comments on posts to read people's reactions to the post. I expect to see text, and seeing an image is visually jarring, usually not funny when it is meant to be (rarely images are used to illustrate a point and you would never hear a complaint if perfectly good maps and charts were displayed inline (or linked) whenever appropriate). The use of images is mildly annoying for all, because someone has chosen to do something no one expected, and it is usually with mixed results.

All the previous discussions have concluded that a few images here and there are tolerable, but once they become too great, it's hard to read the text and download all the data, especially on slow connections, and at that point they're just plain annoying.

I hate to be the angry parent, but seriously, for the benefit of all, if people continue to abuse the privilege of posting inline images, if they keep posting stupid images that aren't funny and take up tons of screenspace and user bandwidth, the image tag is going away completely for everyone.

Remember when people used blaring red fonts on the home page and were unapologetic about it? I had to turn that off because users chose to abuse it, and the same thing is happening with images.
posted by mathowie at 8:11 PM on June 13, 2002

At one time I thought about posting a thread here just asking what the community's attitudes were about posting inline images (I never did it myself, knowing it eats bandwidth and not sure just how "acceptable" everyone else found it).
Thanks, Matt.
posted by StOne at 8:55 PM on June 13, 2002

Posting inline images is a lot like using HOLY SHIT as the description of your post. Instead of explaining the post or simply making descriptive link to the image you're more or less forcing it on people through sensationalism or through HTML.

I've done it before and in retrospect it was stupid. A link would have done just as well, but it would not have had as many views. I wonder if this is the true motivation when we decide to type in img src instead of href=
posted by skallas at 11:26 PM on June 13, 2002

When comments like these are made by Matt, it would be good to let the general population know about it, since not everyone reads MetaTalk. How about a link on the MetaFilter sidebar?
posted by cyniczny at 11:55 PM on June 13, 2002

How about a link on the MetaFilter sidebar?

Does everyone really need to read my hissyfit? I think it's clear that 99% of the people here Get It and understand they can post an image in any thread, but they choose not to. My problem is with the 1% that don't see the harm in making a lame joke and posting a goofy picture.

We're in a community here, and it'd be nice if people were more considerate of others.
posted by mathowie at 1:10 AM on June 14, 2002

If, as has been mentioned before, it's an infrequent thing, I personally can't see where the actual harm might be in "making a lame joke and posting a goofy picture."

But you're the boss.

Based on your last comment, though, Matt, I don't see why you don't just bar <img> tags, because after that, dollars-to-donuts, the next person who does post an inline image is going to be dragged over the barrelhead for it.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:38 AM on June 14, 2002

(See, now I'm trying to remember if "dragged over the barrelhead" is a real idiom, or if I just made it up. And hoping I don't get smoted for backtalking to mathowie.)
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:27 AM on June 14, 2002

'hauled over the coals' works better for me.
posted by Frasermoo at 6:38 AM on June 14, 2002

Matt, it was just a suggestion. I mentioned it because I can see the first person who posts an image is going to get a smack on the bottom by others who will assume they have read this thread and are breaking the 'rules', as opposed to not knowing them.

Just as a side note, since when is a site owner sharing their opinion and/or preferences for behaviour construed as a "hissyfit"?? Your post was an explanation of your reasons behind not wanting images posted in threads. It was clear and concise. I doubt anyone took it as you spewing and quite frankly, people have mentioned time and time again that they would prefer to hear more of your guiding thoughts.
posted by cyniczny at 6:41 AM on June 14, 2002

cash on the barrellhead
keelhauled
raked over the coals

-- from Idioms "R" Us
posted by luser at 6:52 AM on June 14, 2002

"they would prefer to hear more of your guiding thoughts"

Sadly, I'm not quite an operant thetan yet.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:54 AM on June 14, 2002

Matt - fair enough.
posted by GriffX at 7:41 AM on June 14, 2002

sure! i'll be the asshole here!


posted by jcterminal at 7:47 AM on June 14, 2002

That's eerily reminiscent of the Exorcist, jcterminal.
posted by insomnyuk at 8:07 AM on June 14, 2002

You know what else? Those fast food ketchup packets are too small! Why not make them bigger?

How much bigger, Kafkaesque?


posted by kebab at 8:23 AM on June 14, 2002

Finally, matt ditches all this ColdFusion crap and switches over to UBB. Now, where's the page with the 500K animated gif avatars?
posted by dhartung at 9:46 AM on June 14, 2002

stavrosthewonderchicken: Thanks for controlling your urge to use the ever-so-tempting <img> tag. Bravo.

(By only using positive reinforcement and not mentioning the image, jcterminal will now crave approval. Manipulative psychology isn't my strong point, but it's worth a shot.)
posted by jaden at 10:22 AM on June 14, 2002

Images in Threads... They're annoying, they kill modem users ...

Every time you post an image in a thread, God kills a modem user. Please, won't someone think of the modem users?
posted by kindall at 11:11 AM on June 14, 2002

Damnit, now that I am back in Vermont and languishing at 40k on a good day, how about if you just think of me, personally and knock off the inline images? Or maybe Matt can start a MeFiLite where dialup chuckleheads like myself can view the page in B&W with all the type set to 12 point times?
posted by jessamyn at 3:08 PM on June 14, 2002

MeFiLite : All the messages, half the content.
posted by crunchland at 3:13 PM on June 14, 2002

Damnit, now that I am back in Vermont and languishing at 40k on a good day, how about if you just think of me, personally and knock off the inline images? Or maybe Matt can start a MeFiLite where dialup chuckleheads like myself can view the page in B&W with all the type set to 12 point times?

that'd be a sweet feature if the lo-fi mefi ever gets extended to the threads (oh please oh please oh please.)

(how many people use lofi, actually? i'm pretty curious. i now only occasionally look at the "proper" index.)
posted by fishfucker at 4:31 PM on June 14, 2002

My modem says 56k on the outside of it, but it runs at about 26k out here in Beavercreek.

*single, solitary tear*
posted by insomnyuk at 4:32 PM on June 14, 2002

I'd actually been reading Met4Filter lately, but since the link dropped off the sidebar I can't find it anymore.
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 3:32 PM on June 16, 2002