# WHY Can't We Display Photos Here? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 15, 2017, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914 "2017-10-15T12:53:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aufgeblassen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aufgeblassen/32/7321_2.png) [@Aufgeblassen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aufgeblassen)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/1 "2017-10-15T12:53:42Z")
Links that SHOW the photos automatically, rather than the archaic method of having to take the separate action of clicking on a link? 😕😕😕 ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/2 "2017-10-15T13:08:02Z")
How is the one click thing a HUGE inconvenience exactly? We can see your image, you can post it, what’s the issue? Is it perhaps, that we can avoid an image that someone wants to jam at us, WITHOUT the option of avoiding seeing it? Because unless someone wants to force us to view material we’d rather not see, like graphic crime scenes, what’s the hardship of the one click? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/3 "2017-10-15T13:20:40Z")
Because this board is for adults. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/4 "2017-10-15T13:26:09Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Because this board is for adults. Basically this. Boards with inline pics are nightmares of juvenilia. It’s the line between easy to read/follow board and an absolute eyesore of a mess. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/5 "2017-10-15T13:29:16Z")
Because we don’t wanna be swamped with Spam & Smut. Or Spam about Smut. Sput? ---
**Author:** ![Aufgeblassen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aufgeblassen/32/7321_2.png) [@Aufgeblassen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aufgeblassen)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/6 "2017-10-15T13:33:47Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > How is the one click thing a HUGE inconvenience exactly? We can see your image, you can post it, what’s the issue? > > Is it perhaps, that we can avoid an image that someone wants to jam at us, WITHOUT the option of avoiding seeing it? > > Because unless someone wants to force us to view material we’d rather not see, like graphic crime scenes, what’s the hardship of the one click? That’s lame. One would not know to to not click, until they already have, in which case it is too late. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/7 "2017-10-15T13:36:24Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Because we don’t wanna be swamped with Spam & Smut. > Or Spam about Smut. > Sput? Smam. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/8 "2017-10-15T13:51:21Z")
> [@Aufgeblassen](#): > > That’s lame. One would not know to to not click, until they already have, in which case it is too late. It has to do with the overall user’s experience of the board. When you view a thread on the SDMB, you are not bombarded with images - all you are viewing is text. On other boards, when you look at a thread, it’s full of pointless video responses (Picard face palm, etc.), and moronic animated emojis. That’s just not the experience that SDMB’ers want. ETA: another board I frequent added animated icons within the last year or so, and it has totally wrecked the viewing experience. Now, instead of someone thanking a poster for a good post, they post a long line of ridiculous animated icons, so that a full page is now a horror of moving, colorful images. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/9 "2017-10-15T13:53:58Z")
> [@Aufgeblassen](#): > > That’s lame. One would not know to to not click, until they already have, in which case it is too late. I already know when not to click. It’s always. I always never click. ---
**Author:** ![Aufgeblassen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aufgeblassen/32/7321_2.png) [@Aufgeblassen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aufgeblassen)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/10 "2017-10-15T13:59:42Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > I already know when not to click. It’s always. I always never click. But then you are missing out when someone says “Check this out!” and has a link. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/11 "2017-10-15T14:00:04Z")
> [@Aufgeblassen](#): > > That’s lame. One would not know to to not click, until they already have, in which case it is too late. HaHaHa! Your best comeback to my post is, ‘That’s lame.’ Without answering what’s so hard about one click? Is it that you need a lesson on how to do it? Maybe you only know the one way to post pictures? Because I’m sure someone can teach you how to do it our way, it’s really simple. (Also, the first person to click on an offensive photo is gonna come right back into the thread and announce it, so others won’t click. Because that’s how we roll!) ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/12 "2017-10-15T14:10:47Z")
> [@Aufgeblassen](#): > > But then you are missing out when someone says “Check this out!” and has a link. :rolleyes: It’s like when someone says, “You want to hear something funny?”. The answer is always, “Yes, I do, but I’ll bet fifty dollars I won’t hear it from you.” No one who is funny ever asks that question. No one who says “Check this out!” with a link has anything interesting at the end of that link. It’s always tired, trite, and timeworn. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/13 "2017-10-15T14:13:33Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Because this board is for adults. Not adults, as such, just people who are too set in their ways to change. Toddlers with dentures. Images wouldn’t destroy this place. They’d improve some threads immensely, such as discussions about paintings. (Just try to tell me adults do not discuss paintings. (In the threads the Dopers come and go, speaking of _not_ Michelangelo, because they’re adults, dagnabbit!)) What would destroy this place is the immense wave self-righteous whining which would come off of any such change. _That_ would increase the moderation burden much more than policing a few image threads would. Board culture is mutable. It changes as the people active around here change, giving a different mix of views. Compared to that, images are trivial. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/14 "2017-10-15T14:14:40Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > It’s like when someone says, “You want to hear something funny?”. The answer is always, “Yes, I do, but I’ll bet fifty dollars I won’t hear it from you.” No one who is funny ever asks that question. **No one who says “Check this out!” with a link has anything interesting at the end of that link**. It’s always tired, trite, and timeworn. Are you [prescient](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=838978) or what? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/15 "2017-10-15T14:39:22Z")
**Moderator Action** Since this is a question about the message board itself, it belongs in our About This Message Board forum. Moving thread from GQ to ATMB. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/16 "2017-10-15T14:43:23Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Because this board is for adults. > [@beowulff](#): > > It has to do with the overall user’s experience of the board. > When you view a thread on the SDMB, you are not bombarded with images - all you are viewing is text. On other boards, when you look at a thread, it’s full of pointless video responses (Picard face palm, etc.), and moronic animated emojis. That’s just not the experience that SDMB’ers want. **beowulff** nails it twice. The restriction helps the SDMB maintain a high wheat-to-chaff ratio. It is nice to be able to read a thread without being inundated with animated GIFs and pointless meme photos. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/17 "2017-10-15T15:12:32Z")
> [@Aufgeblassen](#): > > But then you are missing out when someone says “Check this out!” and has a link. :rolleyes: Lots of posters read at work, so clicking on random links can be fraught with peril. That’s why your suggestion is generally frowned upon, here. A better option would be to describe what’s in the link, then provide the URL as source material for those who prefer to see for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/18 "2017-10-15T16:01:47Z")
Why is it so important to you that other are " forced" to the images you post ? I say forced only because there would be no more decision making on the part of the others than to open a given thread. With a click to view, at least there is a decision to “check that out!” ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/19 "2017-10-15T16:25:27Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Not adults, as such, just people who are too set in their ways to change. > > Toddlers with dentures. > > Images wouldn’t destroy this place. They’d improve some threads immensely, such as discussions about paintings. (Just try to tell me adults do not discuss paintings. (In the threads the Dopers come and go, speaking of _not_ Michelangelo, because they’re adults, dagnabbit!)) What would destroy this place is the immense wave self-righteous whining which would come off of any such change. _That_ would increase the moderation burden much more than policing a few image threads would. > > Board culture is mutable. It changes as the people active around here change, giving a different mix of views. Compared to that, images are trivial. I disagree. My whole life is about change; it’s nice to have a quiet corner where change is much, much slower. This place provides that for me. I started out my life using abaci, slide rules, carbon paper. I’ve gone through multiple stages of technology in all areas since then, from Fortran programming to being a DOS command line warrior, to trying to cope with a smart phone. I’ve gone from doing open laparotomies to laparoscopies, and gave that up when it moved to robotic surgery. Change, change, change every time I turn around. I cope with the changes in the rest of my life as best as I can; some places turning my back on it, some places tolerating it, some places embracing it. But I don’t _want_ the sort of change the OP advocates to occur here, and it seems enough other folks here are of a like mind. I’m content with that, and will continue to advocate that it stay much the way as it is. I don’t demean the people who feel otherwise with juvenile epithets; I hope they find what they want, but prefer they find it elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914/20 "2017-10-15T17:28:18Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Not adults, as such, just people who are too set in their ways to change. > > Toddlers with dentures. > > Images wouldn’t destroy this place. They’d improve some threads immensely, such as discussions about paintings. (Just try to tell me adults do not discuss paintings. (In the threads the Dopers come and go, speaking of _not_ Michelangelo, because they’re adults, dagnabbit!)) What would destroy this place is the immense wave self-righteous whining which would come off of any such change. _That_ would increase the moderation burden much more than policing a few image threads would. > > Board culture is mutable. It changes as the people active around here change, giving a different mix of views. Compared to that, images are trivial. Ignoring the fact that you’re insulting me (and anyone else who feels as I do) by calling me a toddler… You, along with the original poster, fail a simple task in this discussion, one posited by the second post in the thread: Explain what is so hard about clicking a link to bring up a picture in a second window/tab? How, then, would a thread on paintings be measurably advanced by having the image embedded in a post? I can click the link if I want, and see the image. Or, I can not click the link if I want, and not see the image, and just read the text. That, to me, is a win-win situation. Why is this not good enough? Until you answer that question, save your complaints about the non-progressive nature of your fellow posters, please. :rolleyes: I will also posit one further reason I’m glad we don’t embed images here. Today, I am posting from a small hotel in Bishop, CA, where the internet is not exactly robust. Loading a typical image-laden page can take a while (for example, the front end of Yahoo “News”). But the threads here take no time at all to load. If I go to one of the other message boards I post in (say, for example, the Paradox Development Studio’s Europa Universalis IV forum), I will inevitably have to wait while the barrage of images from the admittedly juvenile (in the good sense of that word, that is, young) posters load. I’m quite happy to eschew that while I’m here. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-we-display-photos-here/798914.md?page=2)