When I started posting on the web on Elfwood back in 2000 we weren't allowed to have files over 100k. :D

Upping the limit to 1.5 meg is an idea, the issue is hosting costs through Amazon AWS. Storage of files is cheap, but actually serving them is very expensive: retrieving the art from storage and displaying it on DD when people click through an archive.

The thing is people are uploading 1.5 meg (and over) files that could easily be 500k with minimal compression and no visible loss of quality, which results in needless costs for DD, a slower website and a horrible experience for mobile users.

So I'm thinking education is the answer- a note on the upload page about file size and how to compress images, as well as links to free online services that do it for you.

For example this site can be used online without downloading or installing and it resizes and compresses images just like photoshop: http://www.sumopaint.com/home/#app

ozoneocean wrote:
Upping the limit to 1.5 meg is an idea, the issue is hosting costs through Amazon AWS. Storage of files is cheap, but actually serving them is very expensive: retrieving the art from storage and displaying it on DD when people click through an archive.

Amazon? I doubt this would work, but I'll throw it out here as a “wondering”. As you might know, Amazon has a feature that enables customers to designate a charity as a recipient for a tiny bit of cash from each purchase. Do you think it would be possible to have TheDuckComics presented to Amazon as a potential recipient? The site is not for profit, isn't it?

…this site can be used online without downloading or installing and it resizes and compresses images just like photoshop: http://www.sumopaint.com/home/#app

This site might be sticky-worthy in one of the tips threads?

— (haven't forgotten the wildebeest prancing—although I have forgotten rules of code)

And, hey! Hi, guys :)

bravo1102 wrote:
Please have compassion for the great unwashed who don't have great pixel width and have to scroll all over to get the image width we have now.
Personally I would rather see the detail than the epic span of double page spreads.

That's one of the reasons I suggested a page layout that auto-resizes the image by default. A low-rez screen is never going to be ideal for webcomics of any reasonable detail, but if it starts at full screen size with the option to zoom in further if you need it, then you can control how big it needs to be.

What platform are you using, by the way? Is it a mobile/tablet platform with pinch-to-zoom, or something else?

HippieVan wrote:

ozoneocean wrote:
@Irrevenant- I will look into larger pages. It would be good to have the option of doing something bigger occasionally.
Mobile support is something I would love simply because it would help us with our Google rank. I hate mobile versions of websites, especially when you're forced into them and they have half the functionality of the real version, but that doesn't help us if no one comes to the site because Google downranks us :(
It will be one of those things on the wish list after easier stuff is tackled.
@Genejoke- yes. Email alerts And alert boxes in your browser. Both of which will be able to be switched on or off. Alerts will be on by default, emails off by default.
And in future you'll be able to get some sort of alerts for comments and for threads in the forums that you follow.

If we have a mobile version, I demand that it have a button for switching to the desktop version. ;) (No, really though.)

I second HippieVan. A well-implemented mobile site can have all the same functionality as the regular site but there are always times when the full version is more convenient.

ayesinback wrote:

ozoneocean wrote:
Upping the limit to 1.5 meg is an idea, the issue is hosting costs through Amazon AWS. Storage of files is cheap, but actually serving them is very expensive: retrieving the art from storage and displaying it on DD when people click through an archive.

Amazon? I doubt this would work, but I'll throw it out here as a “wondering”. As you might know, Amazon has a feature that enables customers to designate a charity as a recipient for a tiny bit of cash from each purchase. Do you think it would be possible to have TheDuckComics presented to Amazon as a potential recipient? The site is not for profit, isn't it?

…this site can be used online without downloading or installing and it resizes and compresses images just like photoshop: http://www.sumopaint.com/home/#app

This site might be sticky-worthy in one of the tips threads?

— (haven't forgotten the wildebeest prancing—although I have forgotten rules of code)

And, hey! Hi, guys :)

Hey ayes! ^_^

Those are both really good ideas. When I have some spare time I'll add that link to the help site somewhere.

As for the amazon thing, I hadn't thought of that but it's definitely worth looking into! I'm 99% sure you don't have to be a charity to get those kickbacks, because a number of podcasts that I listen to have their own amazon link.

That's a fine idea Ayes.

I've asked Alexey to up the file limit to 1.5 meg.

There really does have to be limits because of our serving costs and the database load - If DD is always compressing images for people then other features directly suffer like stats and stuff like hat which is a heavy load on the server but are things people would like.

-edit-

The file size limit is off again for now so go back to business as usual.
Files above 960px wide still get recompressed though as usual as well so keep that in mind.

Would there be a way of making the size thing optional so people can do spread pages? Perhaps incorporating a file size limit if compression is off?

I don't really get the optional thing…? If we can have wider sizes why wouldn't we just stay with using the wider size option all the time?

Or are you saying “you can be limited by dimension OR file size”?
So you can have massive pages, but they have to be under 2 meg, or you can have pages limited to a max of 1000px wide and 2000px high and be almost any size, but the system will compress them if they exceed those dimensions?

I'm suggetsing that by default it does what it currently does and resizes and compresses, which helps with the costs, but if someone has a wider page they want to post they can choose not to have the automatic compression and do it them-self, but for the sake of hosting cost put a size cap on it. I'm lazy so the compression thing works for me, but as irrevenant mentioned, there are times a two page spread would be nice. Of course this could also be done via offsite hosting. Just ideas for you to mull over, I'm no coder so know jack about the practicality of it.

Wouldn't a two page spread be like a landscape versus portrait page layout?


In other news the quack cast inspired me to do an entire essay on weapon systems in the SIG universe including a page and a half putting together all the techno babble written about the Robofemoids weapons system.

bravo1102 wrote:
Wouldn't a two page spread be like a landscape versus portrait page layout?

It depends.

Sometimes a double-page spread is required because you need to fit in a lot more detail than usual. eg. If you're showing a wide shot of an epic and detailed battle with dozens of combatants.

Sometimes you're just doing a splash page for pacing reasons - this moment is important so you want to smack the reader in the face with it.

In the latter case, just turning the page sideways would do the trick. In the former it wouldn't. A double-page spread has the capacity for two pages worth of detail and sometimes you need that.

Although the proportions are also slightly different if using US paper sizes. A landscape page is 3:2 and a two page spread is 4:3. (If using the much more sensible European/Australian standard, the proportions are exactly the same for both). So when I say “a landscape page would do the trick” I probably really mean “A 4:3 page with around the same amount of pixels as a regular page”. Say 1200x900 rather than 900x1350. At least for comics that plan/hope to produce a print version.

Thank you. I understand the difference now. There have been a few times I wanted to do the double sized splash page but settled for a page top splash panel. And lost details. But I am not concerned about that right now. I have all panels saved separately and could change layouts as needed if anything ever went to print.

Wow! That sumopaint thing is fantastic!!

Thanks for that Banes! I haven't been able to find a malware free download of Paint.net for my old XP machine. I only use it for a couple of speed tasks anyway - Sumo seems better.

Paint.net… yeah it's very hard to find without malware these days. I may need to go back to using gimp before long. Cs2 is having trouble with windows 10 and no way adobe will update that, manga studio doesn't seem much use for my needs, that was a waste of a fiver.

I'm finding Manga Studio great for inking but I haven't had chance to really get to grips with it. I still use Gimp for quite a few things, but you don't always want to wait ages for your sledgehammer to load when all you want to do is crack a walnut.

Have you tried Pinta? I'll probably give that a go next - supposed to be an open source, multi platform version of Paint.net.

Well, finally found a drawing program that I can really work with.


https://docs.krita.org/Main_Page


I wish I had known about this. Only found it on random chance (I was looking up paint programs on Wikipedia). It also recognizes my non Wacom tablet enough that pressure sensitivity works. Well… I guess I can start drawing when I get home from work if only to explore what I can really do with it. :)

oh… and it's free…

Let us know how it goes with Krita. It looks pretty awesome but I havent found time to teach myself any more than the very basics yet. GIMP does the job but Krita looks more geared towards artists' needs.

For whatever reason I keep having events and whatnot on Thursday night (when I do up my newspost). Fortunately I wrote most of mine beforehand this week like a good modmin, but I'm way too sleepy to make a coherent list of bugs and stuff for the thread I made.

I just got back from Hail, Caesar! I didn't like it as much as O Brother Where Art Thou (one of my favourite films), but it was solidly enjoyable. I would go see it again.

HippieVan wrote:

I just got back from Hail, Caesar! I didn't like it as much as O Brother Where Art Thou (one of my favourite films), but it was solidly enjoyable. I would go see it again.

Exactly how I felt when I saw it. Solid and enjoyable, but not genius like O Brother, Fargo, or Raising Arizona. And I was surprised by how small Scarlett J's and Jonah H's roles are. From the trailer I thought they'd be bigger. Gotta love those trailers.

Yes. Krita is more for the artist instead of image manipulation. That makes it a great tool for comics. :)


Aaand I ticked off my coworker (the one who told me I was being childish for playing Minecraft). Basically I told him that he was acting like a child for clinging to the idea that he was more “manly” than me. I know I shouldn't care what he thinks, but he's been really getting on my nerves so I decided on the fly that shutting him up will make things better. And now he won't talk to me.


*sigh* Just another one thing that's going south for me this year…

Sooo Lonne you'd prefer if he'd jumped you and tried to kick your ass to prove his superior “manliness”? The silent treatment is wonderful.


There was another pissing contest shouting match at work the other day and a worker walked off the site because the client is a first-class douche-bag prick. And he told him so. Talk about two kids disguised as 40-50 ish year old men. But then I constantly mumble to myself and am crazy as a loon and get along well with everyone including the co-worker who seems like he is from another planet. (Space cadet? No Ed, he's admiral of the fleet.)

Sigh and say “Whatever man.”
That works :)

I had a vivid dream last night where I was taking pics of all the things that happened with my phone. SUCH a disappointment to know that none of them were going to be in my gallery after I woke up. :(

ozoneocean wrote:
Sigh and say “Whatever man.”
That works :)

I had a vivid dream last night where I was taking pics of all the things that happened with my phone. SUCH a disappointment to know that none of them were going to be in my gallery after I woke up. :(

–

• Ah! You forgot to save your dream!…

bravo1102 wrote:
Sooo Lonne you'd prefer if he'd jumped you and tried to kick your ass to prove his superior “manliness”? The silent treatment is wonderful.

Yes! So I can have him eating dirt instead. But I think he knows that. On the bright side, he's not bragging anymore so I guess I hit a raw nerve when I told him how childish he was acting. After all, one of the biggest signs of immaturity (from what I've seen) is the declaration of maturity. I probably handled that situation wrong, but I was annoyed at the time and didn't want to put up with it any longer.


Oh, great… and I get a webcomic idea based on this song. What kind of dromedy could you get from living with one? Taller than 10 feet, super strong, flies, and hard to find an apartment for…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zpawLqRJWY


I get weird dreams myself. I sometimes wonder if my brain is producing all those illegal mind altering substances sometimes when my dreams get all weird and I REMEMBER them! O_O


Oh… somehow when quoting something, the “/quote” is spelled “/qoute” somehow…

And last night in a dream I went beyond beyond. Somehow I ended up in the far future where humans were near extinct old ones having returned via their worshippers having infiltrated world leadership. There was a mass emigration of old ones in the early 21st Century where at one point I was with a UN team trying to stop them until we realized it was already too late. Somehow I went on the lamb and ended up in an abandoned government facility. There was this gate and next I know I am in an apocalyptic waste. There's this giant pink furry feathered thing and it's an old one in her last years. She recognized me as human but over exerts herself and explodes. Inside I find an intact landing ship tank with the crew frozen in time. Somehow they revive and we go off adventuring. Well actually looking for pussy and booze. I get to see old ones in all the cycles of their lives and even one of their sitcoms about one trying to live with a brood of rambunctious deep ones back in my day. I hook up with a few remaining women but while rescuing them tear my scrotum. Then we discover there are still other human civilizations in the universe who might be willing to help. The coolest thing was the old ones who were a pastel colored race of bird, dragon, furry things ranging from cute book store clerks, crazy little kids and haughty teens up to the giant bloated flying “grandma” who exploded trying to hunt me down.

Hahaha! I hope your scrotum got better Bravo XD
Sounds like one of you comics, on steroids.

@Lonne- It's the opposite. All the stuff that “illegal substances” do to the brain is actually the brain itself doing that stuff, the drugs just disrupt normal function in specific ways and that's the mess that results, they don't change the brain in any way (though it might change to adapt over time).

It's like rubbing your finder on an old calculator screen and seeing all those broken digital numbers and the funky rainbow colours- the finger didn't have anything in it to make it do that, rather you just messed it up in a way that made the screen do it to itself.

So what I'm saying is that all those strange experiences and thoughts CAN be as a result of similar mental stimuli to someone on drugs, without requiring them to cause it because the potential is always there.

It's really, really interesting to know a bit about brain function and why we think the way we do. AMAZINGLY interesting.
Did you know if if you shut of a process in the brain that you stop knowing were “YOU” begins and ends and you start thinking everything is part of you? You can do that with time sense as well so that a person is in a constant state of deja vu “this has already happened before!”, you can a make a person think they're floating outside themselves, witnessing everything as an outsider… and that's just scratching the surface.

and that knowledge just shits over so many superstitions on beliefs, which would be great if more people knew it.

And the pervasive sense of “other” could be a remnant of the bicameral mind, if you find that theory at all convincing.

Stress roller coaster is finally slowing to stop. I was offered and accepted a spring/summer position at Assateague Island National Seashore. Now I'm trying to find a place to park my RV for the season.

It occurs to me that my lifestyle and career path is not something my friends relate to. :P Fretting all winter and applying to everything to work half a year in I-have-no-idea-where. I hope something permanent comes along. In the meantime, I'm glad I bought the RV. It makes me feel like home can be anywhere.

Seems pretty heroic and adventurous to me.