Ban on animated avatars should apply to sigpix?

**Raccoon** · 19-08-2008

I tried to add an animated gif after my 2 existing sigpics (said animated gif =

and the system said the file was too big (grump.) (BTW a certain "Mew" assured me the ban on animated gifs is only applicable to avatars. Maybe it should be sigpics too (?) as they function similarly to an avatar pic. (I assume the ban has to do with not wanting to host unnecessary filesizes: an animation in 1 post (or a few, if it's quoted) is one thing; hosting a big file on every post of a given user would inflate the forum's volume of data without content to show for it.) I had previously assumed the ban was for aesthetic reasons: that animations can be annoying, and seeing the same animation constantly could get very annoying.

Error404 · 19-08-2008

That and the fact that a carefully crafted GIF can be used to inject code into servers, PHP scripts, SQL and in some rare occasions, call VB script from an external server to launch an attack upon load.

This relies on vulnerabilities and bad coding, but it's still a risk all the same.

It mainly relies on how the server handles the image, I believe.

View this for information.

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showt...625#post669625

Old info is old, but still info all the same. ^_^

**Raccoon** · 19-08-2008

But why would a malware-gif be any more dangerous in an avatar (or sigpic) than anywhere else? Why allow them at all if they could carry harmful code?

Ah, I looked at your reference, 404, and among the gobbledegook and bafflegab (I am not a programmer) I noticed there were some avatar-specific references... So you are correct that avatars somehow carry more vulnerability than other image-spots...

**Peachy** · 19-08-2008

Personally, I don't want anything animated (except maybe the occasional smily) on a forum as it will distract the reader's attention from the thing that matters most: People's messages!

Peachy

Abby_Cullen · 19-08-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peachy

Personally, I don't want anything animated (except maybe the occasional smily) on a forum as it will distract the reader's attention from the thing that matters most: People's messages!

Peachy

Quoted for truthery.

Martin · 19-08-2008

I would like to see them gone from anything always showing in threads, that means avatars but also signature pictures.

Certain animations I don't mind but you can't allow some but disallow others that's simply impossible so I say total ban.

Kip · 19-08-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peachy

Personally, I don't want anything animated (except maybe the occasional smily) on a forum as it will distract the reader's attention from the thing that matters most: People's messages!

Peachy

I agree 100%. I find that they are really distracting and it takes me longer to read a post if there is an animated avatar or sig pic because I keep being drawn to it.

Secret · 19-08-2008

Quote:

I agree 100%. I find that they are really distracting and it takes me longer to read a post if there is an animated avatar or sig pic because I keep being drawn to it.

I second the motion.

Darkfinn · 19-08-2008

Yes... the ban should apply to all animations 100%. These pages take long enough to load as it is... without every Tom, Dick, & Harry having 2-5 megs of animated pics in their signature. You let one person get away with it... soon everyone is doing it.

Pojo · 19-08-2008

Well I think some animations are fine, as long as they are small and subtle...Such as Ben's avatar...But anything that is obviously distracting should be banned

19-08-2008	#1 (permalink)
Raccoon Regular Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Alberta, Great White North Posts: 775 Threads: 34	Ban on animated avatars should apply to sigpix? I tried to add an animated gif after my 2 existing sigpics (said animated gif = and the system said the file was too big (grump.) (BTW a certain "Mew" assured me the ban on animated gifs is only applicable to avatars. Maybe it should be sigpics too (?) as they function similarly to an avatar pic. (I assume the ban has to do with not wanting to host unnecessary filesizes: an animation in 1 post (or a few, if it's quoted) is one thing; hosting a big file on every post of a given user would inflate the forum's volume of data without content to show for it.) I had previously assumed the ban was for aesthetic reasons: that animations can be annoying, and seeing the same animation constantly could get very annoying.

19-08-2008	#2 (permalink)
Error404 Regular Join Date: May 2008 Location: England. Age: 19 Posts: 815 Threads: 39 Wiki Edits: 8	That and the fact that a carefully crafted GIF can be used to inject code into servers, PHP scripts, SQL and in some rare occasions, call VB script from an external server to launch an attack upon load. This relies on vulnerabilities and bad coding, but it's still a risk all the same. It mainly relies on how the server handles the image, I believe. View this for information. http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showt...625#post669625 Old info is old, but still info all the same. ^_^ Last edited by Error404; 19-08-2008 at 06:51 AM.

19-08-2008	#4 (permalink)
Peachy Dropping the Peach for 09 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bremen, Germany Age: 32 Posts: 2,829 Threads: 72 Gallery Uploads: 44 Wiki Edits: 12 Blog Entries: 9	Personally, I don't want anything animated (except maybe the occasional smily) on a forum as it will distract the reader's attention from the thing that matters most: People's messages! Peachy __________________ A is like an apple with extra carpeting! Adopted users and furs : Magicstar, Christhefur, Kenshin Himura, baseball4life, Yumi, Rakai, Fullmetal, Little Ollie, mzkkbprmt (as a 2yo), EpicPie; to my kindergarten Award winning fruit

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19-08-2008	#3 (permalink)
Raccoon Regular Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Alberta, Great White North Posts: 775 Threads: 34	But why would a malware-gif be any more dangerous in an avatar (or sigpic) than anywhere else? Why allow them at all if they could carry harmful code? Ah, I looked at your reference, 404, and among the gobbledegook and bafflegab (I am not a programmer) I noticed there were some avatar-specific references... So you are correct that avatars somehow carry more vulnerability than other image-spots...

19-08-2008	#6 (permalink)
Martin What's up doc? Historical Donor Staff Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: The Netherlands Age: 17 Posts: 2,201 Threads: 40 Gallery Uploads: 127 Wiki Edits: 93 Blog Entries: 28	I would like to see them gone from anything always showing in threads, that means avatars but also signature pictures. Certain animations I don't mind but you can't allow some but disallow others that's simply impossible so I say total ban.

19-08-2008	#9 (permalink)
Darkfinn Lurker Historical Donor Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Charlotte, NC Age: 24 Posts: 2,720 Threads: 68 Gallery Uploads: 16 Wiki Edits: 4 Blog Entries: 17	Yes... the ban should apply to all animations 100%. These pages take long enough to load as it is... without every Tom, Dick, & Harry having 2-5 megs of animated pics in their signature. You let one person get away with it... soon everyone is doing it.

19-08-2008	#10 (permalink)
Pojo Changed AIM for privacy Historical Donor Staff Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Cow-Land, VA Age: 18 Posts: 4,385 Threads: 73 Gallery Uploads: 6 Wiki Edits: 111 Blog Entries: 20	Well I think some animations are fine, as long as they are small and subtle...Such as Ben's avatar...But anything that is obviously distracting should be banned