I have some updates and new features rolled out into the site today. I spent some time going over it to ensure everything had worked properly, and effiencetly.
Better Images
Taking a step back in the mid 2000s, people used places such as photobucket, flickr, and later on in the 2010s, was imgur and image hosting sites like it. Sites like these were great because back in 2005, disk space for websites were pretty expensive. Sometimes even having to pay per MB!
The issue was with for large forums like this one. After a while, a lot of the images that got linked to in messages, eventually disappear from where they are hosted. This leaves a lot of blank messages, or messages that have error images in them.
However, this is the 2020s now. Disk space is dirt cheap. After 15.5 hours I have converted every single image on the forums into an attachment. I ended up having to leave my computer on while at work for the process to continue. Hopefully now, all the images that haven't been lost, will now never be lost. On top of this, all images that get attached to your posts, will now automatically download the image, upload the image, and convert it into an attachment. So this shouldn't happen any more going forward! Gotta love forums in the future huh?
Member Verification
Back in the day, the site had verification for the members of the site. I'm sure some of you have already seen the badges around while I've been playing around and setting it up.
Verification is back! It's 100% optional, and not a requirement. In fact, there are certain requirements that have to be met for verification. Hovering over the verification badge will tell you why that member is verified. Some members may be notable, while others, have gone through the verification process.
(Special thanks to @Veronica for being my showcase)
Verification requirements:
- A member of the forum for at least 150 days
- At least 2,000 messages
- At least a 500 reaction score (Unless you were a member prior to 2014)
- Photo verification
(Any older users who were verified prior to 2014, please reach out to me)
Why become verified?
- It will be a requirement to become a Valued Contributor
- Gain access to a special section of the forums only open to Verified Members
- Get that clout! Special badge next to your username
- Other things coming soon...
To request verification:
You will then see a page like so:
You can learn more about our verification process and requirements by visiting the help section:
offtopicz.net
To see a list of our current verified members:
Better Images
Taking a step back in the mid 2000s, people used places such as photobucket, flickr, and later on in the 2010s, was imgur and image hosting sites like it. Sites like these were great because back in 2005, disk space for websites were pretty expensive. Sometimes even having to pay per MB!
The issue was with for large forums like this one. After a while, a lot of the images that got linked to in messages, eventually disappear from where they are hosted. This leaves a lot of blank messages, or messages that have error images in them.
However, this is the 2020s now. Disk space is dirt cheap. After 15.5 hours I have converted every single image on the forums into an attachment. I ended up having to leave my computer on while at work for the process to continue. Hopefully now, all the images that haven't been lost, will now never be lost. On top of this, all images that get attached to your posts, will now automatically download the image, upload the image, and convert it into an attachment. So this shouldn't happen any more going forward! Gotta love forums in the future huh?
Member Verification
Back in the day, the site had verification for the members of the site. I'm sure some of you have already seen the badges around while I've been playing around and setting it up.
Verification is back! It's 100% optional, and not a requirement. In fact, there are certain requirements that have to be met for verification. Hovering over the verification badge will tell you why that member is verified. Some members may be notable, while others, have gone through the verification process.
(Special thanks to @Veronica for being my showcase)
Verification requirements:
- A member of the forum for at least 150 days
- At least 2,000 messages
- At least a 500 reaction score (Unless you were a member prior to 2014)
- Photo verification
(Any older users who were verified prior to 2014, please reach out to me)
Why become verified?
- It will be a requirement to become a Valued Contributor
- Gain access to a special section of the forums only open to Verified Members
- Get that clout! Special badge next to your username
- Other things coming soon...
To request verification:
You will then see a page like so:
You can learn more about our verification process and requirements by visiting the help section:
Member Verification
To see a list of our current verified members:
