The gallery data usage is getting a bit out of hand so I have overhauled the settings.

What has been done so far:
-Have reduced maximum file upload allowed from 500k to 120k
-Have reduced maximum disk space for all users: Registered Users now have 2megs of space available, Subscribers have 4megs of space
-Leech protection so we are not being used as a file server outside of apug (part1 was disabing right click in the galleries and has been activated, part2 is to disable leeching from the server level and that is in progress)

Next week we may start pruning the Standard and Critique galleries removing photos older than 60 days. I am waiting a week on this to give people a chance to move images if they like.

Thanks! Sean

Just looked in on the Galleries and was met by a blank wall. Picture I clicked on came up blank too. Still tinkering?

I just got called a leech! :p

Hi it should be ok now. We now have leeching protection on the galleries data directory. Let me know if anything doesn't seem right. Thanks!

ok, i've had to disable it, for somereason it doesn't like working with our gallery, will have to look into it later..

What has been done so far:
-Have reduced maximum file upload allowed from 500k to 120k
-Have reduced maximum disk space for all users: Registered Users now have 2megs of space available, Subscribers have 4megs of space
-Leech protection so we are not being used as a file server outside of apug (part1 was disabing right click in the galleries and has been activated, part2 is to disable leeching from the server level and that is in progress)

I don't have a problem with the file sizes, or restrictions, but removing the right click function is irritating. I normally use a right click to navigate among pages.

What about internal "leeching"? Sometimes I post an example in the galleries and link the image to a post so that it appears embedded in the post instead of as an attachment to the post.

Is there a quick way to delete images from personal galleries instead of going into each individual image (quite a slow process on dial-up)

The gallery data usage is getting a bit out of hand so I have overhauled the settings.[...]


Sean,

What is considered "in hand"? Was the amount of storage used by the gallery considered inappropriate? How much space are the galleries taking as compared to the messages?

Personally, I'd much rather that the lounge be "drained" every thirty to sixty days to make room to keep the gallery images. If there were a way to make the galleries as permanent as the message base, I'm for it.

Is some sort of subscriber or advertising drive called for? Maybe a splash page asking people to subscribe or continue before going into the meat of apug?

Seems like a great shame to turn the galleries into temporary galleries. I think the gallery images are sometimes every bit as much of a reference as are messages in the message base.

-KwM-

Actually , it makes sense for critique images to expire after a period. Assuming that the poster has received all the criticism that he desired or is likely to get, there really is no reason for the photo to hang around taking up space.

How the standard gallery is handled requires a bit more consideration since there is no natural expiration period. I would hate to lose some of the wonderful representations of the talent here on APUG that exist in the standard gallery. It is amazing how quickly the gallery has filled up just in the few month since changing hosts. I'm sure that a fair and logical method of keeping the size of the galleries within the capabilities of the website can be reached.

Hi,

Well, disk space is not an issue. It's the bandwidth that can be an issue. For example a new member goes into the gallery and opens 2-300 images, when that happens a few times a day it gives us a big hit. So far I see no need to prune gallery images after my first changes. It looks like not allowing guests to open the thumbnails has reduced us enough :)

Looking into the other issues mentioned above as well..

its astonishing the number of members that have dozens even hundreds of posts and arent subscribers yet. i'm sure these members could contribute to a bandwidth and space increase. Sean have you factored in a salary for yourself for the time you spend develping this site. If you dont you certainly should.

The main priority is to have a decent financial cushion for the site to operate on. If it looks like there is a little left over I'll 'pay' myself, but it probably comes out to $1-2 dollars an hour or so. I'd love for it to be a full time gig one day, but doubt that will happen anytime in the near future..

Well I hope it does too Sean, you deserve it. I think you should sell upgraded subscrptions and give more gallery space with a url like apug.org/"nickname" pointing to the gallery [say $50]

Maybe throw up some templates sometime in the future for some ready made websites. Shopping cart sometime after that. Now you're talking fulltime.

Sounds cool :) baby steps I guess..

Sean,
Please disregard my private message. This thread explains it all. I have paid my subscription fee and look forward to a long relationship with APUG. Keep up the great work!

For those interested, an update on how the gallery changes have affected our bandwidth usage..

Before I made the recent changes we were hitting upwards of 3.4gig a day peak. After the changes this has been steady around 1.8 to 2.1 gig a day peak. So it looks like we've had a good drop in bandwidth without impacting usability all that much.

Sean that's a huge improvement and I've not noticed any impact on the usability (can you use easier words to type next time please) of the system. Many thanks :D