Can't we have the ability to post pictures in threads? Pleeeeeeease.

Cath

What you got Skip? Incriminating evidence of an international capitalist filthy pig coup of the United States? Exclusive insight into how the KGB is alive and kicking (more like kicking in journalist's heads until they no longer journalists but dead) in Moscow?

Pictures of Pete Docherty snogging Elton John while Kate Moss (ahhhhhhhhhhh) skins up/chops up lines?

Okay, that's just bog standard...

I've been badgering David Bruce for ages about this. I've no idea how difficult it would be, but an alternative would be to use an off-the-peg forum, like vBulletin.

Here's a sample of it in action. It allows for avatars (pics), sigs, colour and formatting.

Might be a bit to "wacky" for some of more conservative WW members

Colin M

Cath, you could put a picture on your showcase page and link to it, maybe? But you probably knew that, of course.

Ah, yeah, Colin. There's another music forum I go on and I think that must use V-Bulletin. To post pictures, you just post a link with [img] and [/img] either side. The stuff for italics, etc. is all the same as here.

Dav, I have nothing incriminating (well, not too incriminating), but sometimes even for us writers, pictures can speak louder than words!

Cath

I guess one of the issues might be bandwidth/storage. Plain text like this is a tiny tiny fraction of the size of even a relatively small picture. Go down the road aways with picture posts on a regular basis and David could be looking at doubling or tripling the storage space needed and substantially increasing the bandwidth demands on the site.

There are plenty of free sites to host photos & pictures and that's probably the best way to go if there's any real demand for it. I can't personally think of too many occasions when I've actually needed to post a photo on the board and when I have I've either used my own site or linked to an external one.

Jon

There are plenty of free sites to host photos & pictures and that's probably the best way to go if there's any real demand for it.

Which is missing the point. We can have pictures on our showcase page if we want, but that's not what avatars are about; they are they to give posts a bit of personality, flair and fun. A little something at the side. A photo or small cartoons, even a book cover would be a good way of identifying each other on forum posts (in addition to the name ) : Something extra, a bit of fun.

Colin M

p.s. I'm not supporting uploading pictures into posts; that would be OTT and would take up lots of space.

Oh. I meant being to put them in the odd post - maybe just in the lounge or something, rather than avatars. But then I have absolutely no knowledge of the technical side, how much space things take up, etc.

Cath

Oh god please no... sorry, Colin, I must be one of those conservative members you mentioned but I would weep if WW became one of those avatar-littered sites. I like that it's just words - it's so rare these days. Before you know it people will be adding tickers: '206 days till I hear from the publisher I sent my life's work to...' '120 days since an agent ripped my heart out'.

Sorry, the heat makes me grumpy.

Myrtle

Wow... Tickers!! Yeah, and animated GIFs, like a nodding kitten or a book pages flipping, or Yvette Fielding from Most Haunted getting a fright!

Haha!

I think I'm actually with Myrtle on avatars. I like them on the other music site I go on - but for this site I like the neater, slightly more professional look of it overall. It is a site where people subscribe and most seriously want to improve their writing.

I still would like to be able to post pictures just in lounge threads, though, for when we want to mess around and have a laugh.

Cath

Haha!

I think I'm actually with Myrtle on avatars. I like them on the other music site I go on - but for this site I like the neater, slightly more professional look of it overall. It is a site where people subscribe and most seriously want to improve their writing.

I still would like to be able to post pictures just in lounge threads, though, for when we want to mess around and have a laugh.

Cath

Yeah, okay, I'll go along with that, as the lounge is a members only place.

The question is, will DB go along with it?