Chris

Just as an extra to this - you can be assured that when the site is suffering strain, we're well aware of the issue (sometimes before you notice on the client side). We have a sufficient communication backbone between staff that allows us to quickly notify each other of problems; some of them are present within other chat mediums including members so the information gets relayed where necessary. Bringing up the Twitter and Facebook accounts presents an interesting idea. I'll look into those (particularly Twitter) for server related matters going forward.

I've just changed the avatar filesize limit to 1MB (or 1024KB) for members specifically (and not staff groups yet). Let me know if that makes it more flexible for you.

I'd like to explore this issue in more detail in the coming days. Can you guys explain to me exactly what you're doing? Does the same issue happen when you upload or when you import from URL (from a website like Imgur)? Please provide as much detail as possible - even the images you're using if you can - so that I can knock this issue out. In addition, I'd like to refrain from changing the 2MB avatar upload limit (unless it's directly the cause but that's doubtful). If you're having trouble using still images (non-GIF) due to filesize, please download software such as GIMP and reduce the resolution before uploading so you can add control to the compression.

I understand the concerns but this is not being reversed. We've had enough topics regarding the atmosphere or status of the forums which are going to go in one of two directions: 1) I leave the matter alone and any members with issues regarding that decision can leave or 2) I make a genuine attempt to weed out the issues that I have deemed to be the cause. Most members won't even be affected by this. It's an effort to make the forums a better place to be. I hear complaints about these issues consistently and people clamoring for the major offenders to be banned, so why is this such an issue now? If you have any further questions, I'd be happy to answer them via PM when I can.

I'll be reopening this topic for a short while to allow for any questions that you may have for me. This topic was a direct response to several issues that we've been dealing with and was my suggestion - Gala stepped up to the plate and addressed the issue while I had to be away. As stated, the ban involved in this is for extreme circumstances; we can take a joke just as well as you can. This is to be implemented to deal with deliberate member drama or off-site drama that spreads to our public elements (status, posts), not accidents. You will only be affected by this if you're A) trolling extensively or B) going out of your way to ruin the experience for your peers. I understand your concerns but I assure you that it won't end up as you fear.

In an ideal situation, the forum would be just as active as it used to be - but this isn't the case. The more features we add further divides the usage, much like how the status updates have gradually become an area for voicing lengthy opinions that should be in topics. When we added those, we didn't anticipate that they would be as popular as they are; I'm concerned that the PM system having a higher capacity will shift more users to exclusively using that system and not participating outside. I'm not saying that the PM system having an increased capacity will be an issue, but that it'll be one I'm monitoring going forward to ensure that it doesn't impact the forum activity in a negative manner.

This isn't a change that I'm happy to do, but I'll double the number of possible participants that can join in. I'm afraid that this change - much like adding the status updates - will take further attention away of the forum aspect and migrate it to be behind closed doors (whereas the status updates simply shifted interest). If forum activity goes down as a result, I'll be lowering it back to 10 participants per conversation. As of now, it's at 20.

This wasn't a decision that was made on our end - it's the default. Changed.

I was very impressed when he revisited his role for the game at that age. The show means a lot to me and he was just as impressive in how he cared about it - I'm sad to see him go, but he had a great run. RIP.