EFnet IRC Network Forum

Well, I see you currently have the Avatar set to loading avatar's to the server, I thought it would be best just to have a gallery and offsite avatar linking. In the long run it can save on the disk space used up by the avatars.

We are not really strapped for disk space currently, so I believe that our current Avatar system is fine. I doubt that disk space will ever be a problem.

iirc, avatar size is limited to about 6k, so it's unlikely it will become a heavy burdon on the server

offsite avatars can be slight security problems/annoyances.

(1) harder to check the size (pixels/bytes) of the avatar, people dont like big avatars.
(2) possiblity of it being used for "tracking" users.

Actually, all ways to provide users with avatars has it's positive, and it's negative sides. Avatar Gallery has the positive sides that the Administrators and Moderators have complete control over what avatars are being used, and that way they also do not need to worry over how much size the images use on th servers. But then again, there is a limit to how many avatars there is, and therefore also users start using the same avatars. Again, not so good.

Avatar Uploading has the advantages that the images can be checked before uploaded to the server, and that way the server is also cleared from the "tracking" clunked mentioned. It is also easier for the user to do this, as then he/she won't have to worry about where he/she can host his/her avatar.

Off-site Linking has the advantage that it takes no diskspace off the server at all! The bad thing is that Administrators and Moderators have almost no control what so ever over what avatars is being used, the size and everything about it. The "tracking" is also problematic.

They all have their good and bad sides. No matter what you choose, it's both a good, and a bad idea. So basically, they are stuck with whatever they choose.