Testing… I think they didn’t shut down images completely:
There is at least one feature of Discourse that takes each poster’s number of posts to a thread and the number of likes they’ve received in that thread to form a ratio. So not getting a like is almost like getting a downvote.
I’m not above buying “likes.” 
I’m familiar with Wordpress and it’s vast array of plug-ins, but not with forum apps. Is there a repository of Discourse add-ons/plug-ins? And are they open source/free?
Yeah, there are a lot. I think they’re on Git Hub.
You can also make your own themes if you have the skills: Making Your Own Themes
That’s what Discourse calls a onebox. It works with most any kind of web data, but IME, it’s usually used for youtube videos. Seems to still be working on most devices.
To use a onebox, just put the link to the media on a line all by itself. Easy.
Let me see if I can clarify some things here.
Sorry for the length; I don’t have time to write it shorter.
First off, this is a great discussion and I’m glad I read it. (I have not had time to read much this last little bit, too busy with everything else, sad to say. But that will change as we get further down the migration road.)
We are who we are; a community of mostly like-minded people who have been in each other’s pockets and pixels for a long time now. The roots go deep. People have found best friends, life partners, and sworn enemies, all in equal measure, and these bonds are very strong. I’ve known you folks for more than 20 years, some of you more than close to 25 years.
That’s a long time to be doing anything!
We have built this culture from our time together. And while it has shifted and grown over time, this is both a strength and a liability. Strong because the community is attached to one another and what we all stand for. Weak because we have not grown with the changes in technology and the internet.
So here we are, old dogs learning new tricks. And it’s hard.
The fear is that the experience will not be the same as it was in our old home. And that is a valid, rational fear because we are in new and uncharted territory and who knows what will happen to us?
I have faith in the community and I believe we can live through everything.
Over the years we have made little change. Some of that was for technical reasons; other times it was financial necessity. Sometimes just the mindset of the users ruled the day.
In our new home we are attempting to chase out all the bugs, facilitate what we know you will like and want to do. When appropriate we want to bring you new experiences to make this place better.
We’re discussing graphics now. We always said NO but once upon a time we thought avatars were a killing offense. Turns out it ain’t no big thing. Use them or not, it’s your choice.
As we unpack the old posts we are finding many old hyperlinks that carry graphics with them. (See the Mrs. Butterworth thread for a good example. There is no way we can go through all the links on the board and edit out those graphics.
So we’re halfway there already. Why not allow the tasteful judicious use of uploads as well?
We removed images in the past because it was used to troll people. We filed it under “this is why we can’t have nice things.” But maybe we can. Y’all are (mostly) trustworthy.
We expect you to use your good judgment. In fact, we require it.
I really believe this can be an enhancement and a tool for better discussion and understanding.
Still trying to figure out the limits and requirements.
Like avatars, it’s an option. If we go this route – and it is still being discussed – use it or not. It’s up to you. (I do see some folks are already doing it.)
There will be more discussion, more tweaking, more wrench turning on the back end for a while. Still getting this right. Please bear with us as we work this out.
Again, thank you for your comments. This is always to the good. I will be coming back to you to ask more questions and discuss more issues.
We don’t want to be a “social media” site per se. We want to keep on being us. I think we can do that and bring on new things.
Jenny
your humble TubaDiva
Administator
I think images are fine. I use plenty of other message board that allow posting of images and they haven’t turned into a free for all of sparkly gifs. Not sure why people think that would even happen here, that kind of thing went out of style 15-20 years ago.
Damn straight! According to my records, I have some kind of trust level now, and a badge to prove it! 
Exactly, and thank you for your post with which I wholeheartedly agree. Glad to hear it’s being discussed. I’m sure it would be workable with the appropriate guidelines. TBH, I have seen sites where images were abused and cluttered the site – if you disagree with someone, you don’t really need a 600x800 graphic of a Captain Picard facepalm to prove it – but I like to think we’re better than that. Images can add a lot of information (as in GQ technical discussions, or really, anywhere else in the appropriate context) or just add entertainment and fun. The short-lived thread where we earlier posted a few pics of our beloved pets was innocent fun and I was sorry to see it go. We don’t want to get carried away with cat pictures (or even dog pictures, which are far more worthwhile 
) but maybe we can limit those to a specific forum or even a specific thread or a limited set thereof.
I’m sure you’ll do the right thing. Keep up the great work!
How about a forum in which it’s OK to upload / post pictures but not doing it for the board as a whole?
As stated, how are pictures any worse than the tired old in jokes that have been around for 20 years? And let’s face it: this is a board that discusses pimple popping, farts, pan-fried semen, peeing in the shower, etc. I know more about Dopers’ bodily functions than I do my own family’s, I swear.
Pictures aren’t going to lower the tone of this place. Trust me.
Then we need to get TPTB to configure this board to disable tired old jokes, etc. I’m sure they’ll be glad to put that on their to-do list.
^ All of the above
Agreed on your useful examples (plus tons more, no doubt) but those can all be done either way. Instead of inline images, you upload to a free photo sharing site and link to that. For example, there was (is?) a “count to a million in pictures” game in thread games for a while, IIRC. Do we really want that to go to inline images? (Maybe, actually.)
The question then becomes: If our choices are displaying pictures or linking pictures, do the valuable pictures need to be inline or are they just as useful if linked? (I concede that’s it a way bigger hassle to upload to an image sharing site and linking to that upload.)
The standard seems to be moving, if not already moved, to “in-line”. Having used both systems, and seeing how it has worked on other forums, I think we should move that far into 21st Century and go to in-line.
Storing uploaded images (or other data), as opposed to mere linking, costs $$$. However, storing hundreds or even thousands of GB is no longer a big deal these days.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Kitten_in_Rizal_Park%2C_Manila.jpg
My big issue is that some in-line link previews look like ads (at least in Sam’s Simple theme). If you embed in your post a link to a web article, it shows up as a big box with a giant blue headline, typically an image, and about a paragraph of text. It overwhelms the actual post. I hate it!
Here at the Dope, we pride ourselves on requiring cites to back up our claims — so we’ll be using this feature a lot.
First of all, thank you very much for taking the time to respond so thoroughly – I know how hard you guys are working right now and really do appreciate it. I honestly wasn’t expecting an official response for some time, but you know how us Dopers can get about change – so I figured it would be good to get a foot in the door for this idea.
I agree with almost everything you said. I think this new “how can we grow and add to the board while also keeping true to what made us all like it to begin with” philosophy is fantastic and exactly what the Dope needed.
Thank you for taking us on this journey; I really can’t wait to see where it leads!
Thanks for the thougthful reply! And the reference. 
By the way, I’m pro in-line image (with moderation, and perhaps limited to some forums) but I do find large gifs annoying, and would be happy to see them stay restricted.
And I’ll add Where would Cecil be without Slug’s illustrations?