Amsterdam Coffeeshop Directory Forums

Lemming wrote: Sat 2nd Sep 2023 01:18 pm Although you can still host pictures off-site if you wish, there is now a much easier method using attachments. You can simply drag a picture into the text in the edit window while you're typing your post. You can also use the 'attachments' tab at the bottom of the page.

See here for more.

avfc-herbalist wrote: Mon 20th Oct 2025 10:28 am
Lem, is there anyway to increase the amount of photo attachments per post? With Imgur now leaving The UK thanks to the online safety act half of my latest travelogue no longer has the photos attached for UK users. I can edit and copy and paste to make new posts to include to the photos as new attachments but it would be so much easier if you could allow unlimited photo attachments to posts in the travelogue section.

What do you think?

Lemming wrote: Mon 20th Oct 2025 06:30 pm
To be honest, I didn't know there was a limit on the number of attachments in a post.

We first introduced attachments a long time ago when 'Slimline' Peter (RIP) was hosting the forums separately from the main site, which was still on FreeUK. Back then there was a limit on the total size of attachments allowed overall. When we hit that limit, Peter asked me not to increase it because he was concerned about server space. As a result attachments remained unusable for many years.

Later we moved to FBN's server and then to HullDJ's (both also sadly no longer with us). Finally I submitted to paying for server space, which was initially unlimited.

One day I remembered attachments and realised I could revive them again. With unlimited storage there was no reason to restrict anything so when someone pointed out that there was a maximum size for pictures, I removed that limit too.

After FBN died and his hosting deal in USA expired, I moved his site onto the same server. That crashed everything! It turned out the space wasn't unlimited after all.

I solved that problem for a while but we've been tight on space ever since. I realised that we were hosting huge pictures as attachments. They didn't display as huge but they were behind the scenes. (I could rant on all day about camera phones with their tiny lenses and sensors generating enormous images by pointless up-scaling just to give advertisers big megapixel numbers to shout about, but don't get me started.) I found another setting that would get the forum software to shrink large images so that even huge originals became much smaller.

So, where we're at now is that the server space is about 93% full. I've had a few sessions of resizing existing images, both menus and attachments, to free up more space. Whatever I free up is soon used again, though.

The upshot of all of this is that, if you can host your pictures elsewhere, like Imgur, that helps me a lot. I wasn't aware of the issues with that before either. I imagine that will have broken a few old pictures too.

I know that using external hosting of pictures is more complicated so I'd like to keep the attachments feature in place for those who need it but, if you do have the technical know-how to store pictures elsewhere and then embed them in your posts, I'd really appreciate it. Is there a good alternative to Imgur?

Lemming wrote: Mon 20th Oct 2025 06:30 pm Is there a good alternative to Imgur?

Roccy Tittzenbeer wrote: Mon 20th Oct 2025 09:33 pm I don't have an alternative to suggest at this time.
Cheers

AzLaker wrote: Mon 20th Oct 2025 05:17 pm @Tokeing tom. Any way you look at it, it's a nice-looking bar!!!

AzLaker

Tokeing tom wrote: Fri 24th Oct 2025 12:58 am

AzLaker wrote: Mon 20th Oct 2025 05:17 pm @Tokeing tom. Any way you look at it, it's a nice-looking bar!!!

AzLaker

Yes it's a unique little place right on a small dock with about 15 fishing boats parked up outside ..its about 10 min walk from my house on the way up and 25 min on the way back depending

avfc-herbalist wrote: Thu 23rd Oct 2025 08:11 am

Lemming wrote: Mon 20th Oct 2025 06:30 pm
To be honest, I didn't know there was a limit on the number of attachments in a post.

We first introduced attachments a long time ago when 'Slimline' Peter (RIP) was hosting the forums separately from the main site, which was still on FreeUK. Back then there was a limit on the total size of attachments allowed overall. When we hit that limit, Peter asked me not to increase it because he was concerned about server space. As a result attachments remained unusable for many years.

Later we moved to FBN's server and then to HullDJ's (both also sadly no longer with us). Finally I submitted to paying for server space, which was initially unlimited.

One day I remembered attachments and realised I could revive them again. With unlimited storage there was no reason to restrict anything so when someone pointed out that there was a maximum size for pictures, I removed that limit too.

After FBN died and his hosting deal in USA expired, I moved his site onto the same server. That crashed everything! It turned out the space wasn't unlimited after all.

I solved that problem for a while but we've been tight on space ever since. I realised that we were hosting huge pictures as attachments. They didn't display as huge but they were behind the scenes. (I could rant on all day about camera phones with their tiny lenses and sensors generating enormous images by pointless up-scaling just to give advertisers big megapixel numbers to shout about, but don't get me started.) I found another setting that would get the forum software to shrink large images so that even huge originals became much smaller.

So, where we're at now is that the server space is about 93% full. I've had a few sessions of resizing existing images, both menus and attachments, to free up more space. Whatever I free up is soon used again, though.

The upshot of all of this is that, if you can host your pictures elsewhere, like Imgur, that helps me a lot. I wasn't aware of the issues with that before either. I imagine that will have broken a few old pictures too.

I know that using external hosting of pictures is more complicated so I'd like to keep the attachments feature in place for those who need it but, if you do have the technical know-how to store pictures elsewhere and then embed them in your posts, I'd really appreciate it. Is there a good alternative to Imgur?

Thanks for that Lem. Makes more sense to me now regarding the space issues. I will edit my travelogue soon and link them from a hosting site to help free up a little bit as all of my photos are from my phone. Yeah I imagine lots of great travelogues and posts that used Imgur will now not be viewable to us in The UK. Apparently even using a VPN still doesn’t solve the issue. At least the rest of the world will still be able to view the photos though, Lemming.

Lemming wrote: Mon 20th Oct 2025 06:30 pm Is there a good alternative to Imgur?

Roccy Tittzenbeer wrote: Mon 20th Oct 2025 09:33 pm I don't have an alternative to suggest at this time.
Cheers

I have done a little research and the consensus on the internet is to use imgbb. I will check it out over the weekend