Avatars

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hanakin
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Avatars

Post by hanakin »

Currently we handle avatars in a very intrusive and none standardized way.

There are several source of avatars

Remote
Local
Gravatar

We also have the default avatar that we are currently using in the notification menu.

None of this is returned in a consistent manner and none of it allows the theme to customize them properly.

1. They should all be returned consistently
2. What's is returned should not impact the theme i.e. Not a full HTML tag as this prevents custom classes.
3. The default option should be handled in the same manner as the others.

More often than not you want to display an avatar in a theme regardless of if they have one as not having one adds layout complications to a theme.

Not to mention that avatars are more of a standard practice in most components on the web
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DavidIQ
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Re: Avatars

Post by DavidIQ »

hanakin wrote: Thu May 25, 2017 4:10 pm More often than not you want to display an avatar in a theme regardless of if they have one as not having one adds layout complications to a theme.

Not to mention that avatars are more of a standard practice in most components on the web
Can't assume avatars are always present since the feature can be completely turned off for the entire system. That we somehow got away from this and started displaying a default avatar in notifications doesn't change that, in fact it brings to light that this system wide setting is likely being ignored in the notifications (possible bug).
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hanakin
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Re: Avatars

Post by hanakin »

I would argue the opposite kind of rather than having this setting turn them off all together it should just default them all...There should always be an avatar of some sort this is again a standard in every social app I have ever seen. facebook, twitter, linkedin, google, IPB, vbulletin, XF...

I am not sure why you would ever not want this, what is the down side?
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Re: Avatars

Post by 3Di »

I believe David refers (again) to the fact the feature can be completely turned off for the entire system, which is something we are used since the night of times, considering the amount of users of the phpBB world-wide, and their habits, that is in fact an issue. Not to mention, again, the customizations' world.
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DavidIQ
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Re: Avatars

Post by DavidIQ »

hanakin wrote: Thu May 25, 2017 8:48 pm I am not sure why you would ever not want this, what is the down side?
It's not about what you or I think. It's about the fact we have the ability to disable the feature, what Marco said. While you might think it's something one wouldn't do and is a thing of the past to even consider, it is probably something that is quite common or desirable for someone else. Perhaps the forum community that has this feature disabled is mostly for people living in a country that doesn't have a lot of bandwidth. Or maybe the community wants complete anonymity. Whatever the reason is, we have the option available to disable avatars system wide.
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Re: Avatars

Post by hanakin »

Even if that was the case it's not an argument to not return a default avatar when it is enabled. Besides bandwidth is not an issue with a default img that is cached. The lack of an avatar is a design constraint on theme authors exspecially when it comes to responsive and layout.
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Re: Avatars

Post by david63 »

To be honest it is not something that I could get excited about - unless someone was proposing removing them, which I believe is not the case.

Whilst there are probably some boards that do not use/allow avatars I would guess that they are in the minority and in those cases I cannot see a "default" avatar being an issue - just make sure that there are suitable events so that somebody can make an extension to remove them.

OK it may be a case of "the tail wagging the dog" but if it makes style design easier then go for it - I am sure there are far more important issues to be discussed.

The one thing that I would say about avatars is that they should be a uniform size - i.e. they should all be the same size, possibly an Admin option.
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DavidIQ
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Re: Avatars

Post by DavidIQ »

david63 wrote: Fri May 26, 2017 8:46 pm just make sure that there are suitable events so that somebody can make an extension to remove them.
The whole point is that there already is an option in the core to turn them off so there shouldn't be a need to ignore that setting nor a need to have an extension.

IMO if the style is properly written there should be no need to add a default avatar for any reason whatsoever. If there is no avatar the style should just adjust itself accordingly. The argument here seems to be that there should be a default avatar just so the style can be designed around it and that's just not sitting well.

Perhaps I'm wrong and there should be a default for it, but that means we need to remove the ability to disable them as well.
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Re: Avatars

Post by javiexin »

If I may chime in, in my opinion, both things are compatible: use a default avatar for everyone that does not have one, but allow to disable ALL avatars. I guess the issue with style designs is homogeneity: you should either have avatars for all (using default avatar if needed) or for none.

If you go for such a solution, you could get both things: if the board allows for avatars, everyone will have one, and extensions and style designers may rely on that fact. Likewise, if the board disallows avatars, nobody will have one, again, something that is easier to rely on both from extensions or styles.

My 2 cents...
-javiexin

PS: I agree with david63: the dimensions should be fixed by an administrator, with assisted resize and crop if needed.

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Re: Avatars

Post by 3Di »

Yes, but what about if an user doesn't want at all to have an avatar (especially a forced one of any sort)?
My logic tells me an user option should be introduced for this case(s).
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