What About Moderators in the New Forum?

This more like it. This image is 4K 72pdi and slightly over 1x1"



Of course its so small There is almost fine detail.

I have to side with Kath, Phil...

You really do need to spend some more time experimenting with and comparing quality::file-size results for the various "Save For Web" image compression schemes, if you expect to be taken seriously about your opinions in these matters.

That avatar you displayed ( and it was earlier in this thread) wouldn't have to be anywhere near 20KB to look good. 2.5 - 3.0 KB would serve nicely.

Please, everyone, pardon these digressions. I apologize.

> With 85k per avatar, that would be a download of 4.25MB. On my old 56k modem that would have been 15 mins just to see the avatars and no useful content.

I've just taken a look at a sample Jive Clearspace forum ( http://www.jivesoftware.com/clearstep/thread/1049), and checked the size of five avatars at random. They ranged in size from 1.97KB to 5.73KB. The biggest was a colour photo of the participant, so anything larger than that is unlikely. If all avatars were the same as the largest, you would be down to 286KB - a far cry from 4.25MB.

But that's assuming there are 50 unique avatars. Ever seen a thread containing 50 posts where no one participates more than once? What's more, browsers store images in their cache. A large part of the time, you won't even download the avatar. It will be on your hard disk.

That's not to say I want avatars. In fact, I don't. And if they're there, I would like the option to turn them off. But when discussing issues like this, there's no point bandying around unrealistic statistics. It detracts from the strength of your argument.

>It's really not a self-imposed affectation....

I realise that now. It needs explaining to people though, I think, so they don't get the wrong idea.

Sorry Phil, I think you're hopelessly confused about file types and sizes.

> Whoa! 85k is not a large image, but I have the forums set to display 50 topics and messages. With 85k per avatar, that would be a download of 4.25MB. On my old 56k modem that would have been 15 mins just to see the avatars and no useful content. I consider that to be a lot of extra wasted download time and waste of bandwidth. If I have an option to turn off avatars as I have suggested, then I have no problem for those that want them. A lot of the arguments are coming down to preferences and I have already expressed mine.

The avatar I displayed in one of the thread here was about 20K and was a Jpg image. Had I used and equiv gif image it would been half the size.

In the MS Office furums (NNTP based) they have various people with the title MVP (most Valuable Persons) they are required to use in their signature file and on the MS website. There is a Page show a Picture in most cases of the person and a brief background showing why that person is designated a MVP in a given area. (word or Excel or PowerPoint).

There person designated doesn't mention th title. unless someone ask. (like people use to ask what the designation CET after my name represented.) Usually the answer is brief but enough to let the person that asked know what it represent. None of the MVP except one who stays on the Excel group is even a Microsoft employee.

I see the ACE designation no different that MVP. Its just a Title bestowed upon a Person by MS or Adobe to show they have a little more expertise than the average person. Nothing else. They all put their pants on just like everyone else does, "one leg at a time".

Does it matter in the context of this discussion that ADOBE *suggested* to us that we identify ourselves as "Adobe Community Experts"? It's really not a self-imposed affectation....

The more I think about it, the more I can actually see some sense in having these people identified - with a *small* badge ;) When the title started popping up in here, for instance from a Dreamweaver 'ACE' in the Golive forum, I too thought it smacked of self-promotion and I didn't like it.

On the other hand, the person in question is immensely helpful and knowledgeable anyway, because so much of web-design is not application-specific. Maybe he could wear a 'Web Design Guru' badge instead :)

Although I know which people know their stuff in forums I visit regularly, if I decide to do more than dabble in Illustrator or Acrobat, say, I'd quite like to know that the person answering my first questions has some credibility. Without a badge I'd of course have to wait and see, but for a beginner or relative one it might be good to be sure the person answering isn't just one of the well-meaning but annoying people who love to supply answers but don't actually know what they are talking about.

The unbadged experts become known fairly quickly.

I do think, though, that if a person is only an official expert in Acrobat, they shouldn't be wearing a badge in the Photoshop forum, for example. Should be forum/application-specific. However good a car mechanic is, you don't necessarily want him/her fixing your plumbing.

I do see why immensely knowledgable people without a badge might feel pretty miffed. Maybe that's what the points system is meant to help with, but I don't see it working well. Depends who's giving out the points, it's easily abused where I've seen it.

David, Not to worry, I can assure you that I shall not visit the Dreamweaver forum until shrimp learn how to whistle. I have zero interest in that application or any other one like it.

I am not an "opponent of this title", I just think that using in a forum is, at best, laughable.

No, David Blatner doesn't, but in the new forums he will have "Adobe Community Expert" displayed under his name. I'm sure you will continue to judge him by the quality of his posts.

This is a title that Adobe has accorded David Blatner and about 200 other people, including myself. If Adobe wants to put that title alongside our names in the forum, that's Adobe's choice. If Adobe asks us to remain anonymous, I'll respect that choice too.

It seems as though opponents of this title are confusing it with the practice on many forums of designating people "senior member", "master", or "guru" simply on the basis of the number of posts they have made. The Adobe Community Expert scheme has nothing to do with such nonsense. It's run by a senior manager within Adobe; and, as I have said before, members are chosen by the product development teams not only on the basis of their knowledge of a particular program, but also on their overall skill within the relevant technology.

Anyway, you can laugh at the title all you like. Should you ever come to the Dreamweaver forum and ask a question, I doubt if you'll laugh at the answer I give.