Water contest...

[Blue_In_AK]

Since it seems that Algomas is no longer with us (RIP), I guess it falls on me as #2 last month to host July's contest. Does anybody want to do it any differently than what Algomas had suggested, which is I think we were going to all post our pictures and vote internally within the photo group to narrow it down to the favorite five or 10 and then post those in the lounge for the final decision. If anybody has any other suggestions, let me know today, and then I'll post an entry thread tomorrow. Thanks.

[F.Gordon]

1. Works for me

Although I'm not playing this month. Thanks for taking charge. You should run for office some day.
:hi:

It'll certainly be easier to manage the "first round" entries keeping them in-house and then just doing one thread for the Lounge Lizards to vote on.

[Blue_In_AK]

6. Well, I would run for office...

...but I'm sure they'd dig up my dissolute youth, and certain events from 20 years ago, which I'd probably better not talk about here. Unfortunately, by association, I'm too well known in certain law enforcement and corrections circles here in Alaska -- some people have very long memories -- so I think running for public office is not in my cards.

[ralps]

2. Hi Blue_In _AK, that's fine with me. Will we need to repost our photos?

:hi: :loveya: :hug: :pals: :woohoo:

[Blue_In_AK]

3. Apparently so...

since the other thread completely disappeared. I'll take comments today, if anybody has any, and then I'll put up a posting thread tomorrow morning early -- early here, anyway, which is like afternoon for the east coasters.

[ralps]

5. OK, I also noticed that the other photo thread disappeared.

:hi: :loveya: :hug: :pals: :woohoo:

[kliljedahl]

15. It didn't disappear

It's here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=280x5893


Keith’s Barbeque Central

[TahitiNut]

16. That's the 'preliminary' thread, not the 'submission' thread.

[kliljedahl]

18. #5 responded to #3 referring to "the other thread"

I assumed the "other" thread was not the "other" thread referred to in the first post. gawd, I'm so confused.


Keith’s Barbeque Central

[Blue_In_AK]

19. I'm going to start a new thread in the morning

called "Water Contest Submissions," and it's going to be the real deal. Those others were just trial runs, apparently. I guess I'll keep it open until Monday morning. Will that work for everyone?

[bvar22]

4. THANKS!

I am excited about entering the contest this month, and have been working on an entry.
I had a mild freak out when the thread disappeared.:wtf:!

Are there any guidelines, preferences, or limitations on size?

[Blue_In_AK]

7. Would the techies check in here on sizes?

I think we try to keep them to the size that fits easily on the screen without having to scroll around all over the place to see the whole thing. I just take pictures -- I don't know all the stuff about bytes and so on.

[bvar22]

8. Screen resolutions are in pixils.

Most 19" desktops will use 1280 X 1024, but some notebooks are 800 x 600.
As the size of the picture increases, the size of the file to load squares.

For comparison, the picture below is 800 X 600 pixils.


I prefer something slightly larger, but can live with 800 X 600 in consideration of those with dial-ups.

[Blue_In_AK]

9. And that one just fits inside my screen (19")

if I put the bottom scroll bar right in the middle. Most of the photos I take I have to reduce by half with my PaintShop program because even though PhotoBucket is supposed to reduce everything, sometimes it just doesn't reduce it enough.

[F.Gordon]

10. OMG!

Unless you're an astronaut there is only one way you could have a photo like that. You're.... an alien from some distant planet.
:scared:

When you leave can you take me with you. This planet really sucks these days.

I don't think there is a hard rule on size. Just try to keep it 800ish in maximum length/height and under 200Kish (150K??) in size. I think ConsAreLiars had made this suggestion.

[TahitiNut]

14. At 120KB, a dial-up would take over 40 seconds to view an 800x600

That's about the JPG-compressed size of an 800x600. Get 20 or more of those and dial-up becomes nap time. :shrug:

[bvar22]

17. This is how it looks on my 19" monitor. (1280 X 1024)

The above pic is 800 X 531 pixils, and the file size is 84K


The file size for the pic in post #8 is 122K

[F.Gordon]

23. Maybe we should have a class on JPEG compression

Original image is 124K



This is the same image compressed down to 47K



Do you see a HUGE difference?
:shrug:

On Edit: Just reduced dialup time by about 65% on this one image without a real noticable degrading of quality.

[bvar22]

24. I can't tell the difference.

I've always used the default setting for .JPG conversion because I didn't want to have my images degraded. I am amazed that that pic could be compressed to almost 1/3 the original size without any visible deterioration. I am going to experiment with this.

This would be a real gift to those on dial-ups.

Yes, this needs to be a thread topic!

[Immad2]

11. Sounds good to me. n/t

[intheflow]

12. Thanks for hosting, Blue_In_AK.

Very strange circumstances. With the two TSings it seems our innocent little photo group is a haven for Disruptors. Who'd'a'thunk it? :shrug:

I'm good with Algomas' idea of hosting prelims here, but I think the top 10 should get in in the final, official Lounge poll. I think Algomas had suggested only the top three, so I'd like to widen the finals.

Thanks, again, Blue. :yourock:

[Blue_In_AK]

13. I haven't quite figured out what one has to do

to become a "disruptor." I mean, sometimes it's real obvious -- I've alerted on a few myself -- but when people have been around here for a while and seem pretty harmless, it makes you wonder what it is they've done to bring down the hammer. And I've also noticed that there are some pretty disagreeable people who are allowed to stay. I don't get it. I guess that's why I'm not a mod.

[ConsAreLiars]

20. A wave hello to Algomas

:hi: if he's reading. Hopefully this is a temporary cooling off period and he'll be back. His posts I saw elsewhere on DU always seemed to be within the usual bounds, like here, but maybe someone hit a hot button. Who knows? I hope he reestablishes his posting privilege.

Thanks for doing the hosting.

Regarding the contest, I think is a good practice to copy the photo rights understanding from the last contest along with whatever guidelines or rules you feel should be made explicit, modified as you choose.

The main thing that guided me was the intent, at each step of the way, to give as much guidance as possible to anyone who might just discover the thread and wishes to participate, but that's just a matter of personal taste.

[Blue_In_AK]

21. Thank you, Cons...

I'll pull that little disclaimer up and repost it. That's a great idea. Like you, I hope to see Algomas back here soon. Hopefully, it was just some little misunderstanding that got him TSed. Hi, Algomas, if you're out there. You owe me one.

[MissHoneychurch]

22. sounds good to me

and thanks for taking over