LJ cuts

[mbarrick]

The issue of LJ-cuts came up in one of my communities and I bothered to explain to someone why they are good manners. Here is a generalized version of that post that I wholly encourage anyone to use in defense of using the cut. Consider the following text completely public domain, use freely and without attribution.

Begin public domain

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There are a number of reasons to use an <lj-cut>. A large number of images can bog down how long it takes for the friends page to load, not only for those using dial up (which is still not uncommon in more rural areas and outside North America, just take a look at the directory to see how many users are not from North American urban centres) but if the image server being used is under load your download bandwith becomes irrelevant. If the user hasn't used height and width tags in the images to make the placeholders come in at the right size you can be down past the post and have your text disappear as the page reformats itself as the images come in. Then there are people who view LJ on wireless handheld devices where bandwith is severely limited and pages load in chunks of only a few hundred bytes or a small handful of lines - scrolling down takes time as each chunk loads and scrolling past

[IMAGE]




[IMAGE]





[IMAGE]





[IMAGE]

is a time-consuming pain.

Then there is the simple issue of design. I don't like it when my friends page looks like ass because some n00b in photography community has decided to post 412 blurry, webcam pictures of their ugly mug. I just don't want to see it. And it's annoying to no end if one person decides they are going to post something 1500 pixels wide, forcing everyone that has that person or community on their friends list to scroll sideways back and forth to read each line of text in every other post.

Why do people complain about people who fart in elevators or eat from crinkly packages during movies? A fart won't kill you. Movies are loud and you can hear over the crinkles. Nonetheless they are annoying and unpleasant things for someone to do.

There is a simple rule of thumb for good manners, ask yourself "What if everyone did it at the same time?" If the answer to that is a bad thing then then it is bad manners. For example, what if all 20 posts on your friends page all had 20 images and each images was 300 KB? Would you be OK with a 120 MB friends page? Would you expect everyone else to be? If all 20 posts on your friends page each had one image with a cut letting you decide which to follow and which to skip or come back to later, would that be a bad thing?

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Comments

Ahhh..the ol "RTFM"

[mediavictim.livejournal.com]

As consdescending as it is ignorant

Last I checked .. manuals were made from dead trees
not electrons.

However your point fails to address the fact that not everyone knows where to look for this "manual"
Had you said "go HERE www.linklink.link to find out" without the sneer ..perhaps more people would
but it is human nature to spite arrogance , not accept or embrace it.

Thank you for showing me where I can educate myself
But note that you illustrated my point in the condescending way you went about it.

Re: Ahhh..the ol "RTFM"

[mbarrick.livejournal.com]

"Quit yer wining and show people how it is done" set me off. Do I work of LJ? Am I LJ tech support? Hey, I know how to fix my own car, too. Does that mean I'm obligated to explain to everyone who whines about it how to change an oil filter or a brake pad? If you found out someone you knew was a doctor would you ask them what to do about your sore elbow, even though they happen to be a gynecologist? If said gynecologist told you how tired they were of people complaining about sore elbows and headaches would you immediately turn around, call them a whiner, and ask for free advice about your sore elbow and expect not to be condescended to?

Honestly - who would ever think of clicking on "Help" to find help? Excuse me for being condescending about that. That was just silly of me.

And while I'm at it, fuck right off with the hippy shit. Ignorance is nothing to be "embraced". Occassionally it can be excused, but it is not a laudable state. If someone happens to be ignorant that assault is illegal is OK for them to kick your ass? Hardly. If someone is ignorant that red means stop it is OK for them to drive through intersections without stopping? Ignorance may explain bad behaviour, but it doesn't justify it.

"Just ask, man..." - quote from Fight Club

[valerian.livejournal.com]

Whoa, guys.... let's look at the facts.

#1) Ryan is frustrated because he has asked people for help about something and they have ignored him.

#2) Michael is not responsible for how other people have treated Ryan. Michael is not these people.

So like... if you wanted help, Ryan, all you had to do was ask him (or me, even). You didn't ask him directly ("If someone out there can teach me how to make an LJ cut - I will do it... "), so he didn't answer you directly (he told you where to get the info yourself rather than break it all down for you). Technically, you got what you "asked" for. Personally I think your sarcasm would best be interpreted as a "vent" and was not to be aimed at anyone specific. It's not fair to lump Mike in with everyone else who's pissed you off. Be realistic.

Now... kiss and make up, will ya???
;)