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No rating yet Subject: Re: [ADMIN] Should we allow attachments? Author: Dan Bohlen Date: 2008-04-23 18:30:53 If anyone wanted to see a pic - they could request the poster send it to them directly.
Dan
-----Original Message----- From: xansys-bounces_at_xansys.org [mailto:xansys-bounces_at_xansys.org] On Behalf Of Jason Krantz Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2008 2:21 PM To: ANSYS User Discussion List Subject: Re: [Xansys] [ADMIN] Should we allow attachments?
I appreciate the reasons people want image attachments, but the bandwidth considerations are, well, considerable. There are a number of free (i.e., ad-supported) services that will host an image for you, and it's easy to embed a link into your xansys post. Here's a popular one:
http://imageshack.us
I've searched around for software that would automatically upload an attachment to a server and (also automatically) insert a link into the post, but I haven't found anything so far. I could theoretically write a shell script or python script to do it, but right now I'm busy keeping spam off the list.
Here's some detail on what kind of bandwidth resources attachments would consume. Earlier in the discussion, someone mentioned a 100-kilobyte limit. Let's use that as a starting point:
- There are roughly 3200 list members, so that 100 KB attachment translates into about 313 megabytes. So for every attachment that came in, the xansys server would need to send out 313 MB of data. - PADT's T1 is a full T1, but even a full T1 is only 1.5 megabits per second - 313 megabytes at 1.5 megabits per second works out to 28 minutes. Of course, the xansys server wouldn't get that much bandwidth--we at PADT use the same T1 for our own work, and I'm considering bandwidth throttling/traffic shaping for the xansys server. So we're easily looking at an hour to send out a message to list members with a 100K attachment. - But it's worse than that. MIME encoding (used for images in e-mail, no matter what the image file format) is inherently 7-bit encoding. That--plus all the attendant e-mail overhead--means that even small images will completely clog PADT's internet connection for an unreasonable amount of time. - I haven't even mentioned the additional bandwidth required when people reply to posts with attachments and inadvertently include the attachments with their replies.
-----Original Message----- From: xansys-bounces_at_xansys.org [mailto:xansys-bounces_at_xansys.org] On Behalf Of Singer, Edmund A (US SSA) Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2008 6:51 AM To: ANSYS User Discussion List Subject: Re: [Xansys] [ADMIN] Should we allow attachments?
Personally,
I would like to have the ability, and I could choose to use it or not. Generally, I send a post to XANSYS for help only after quite a bit of trying stuff out on my end. Simple small pics would be nice to able to attach.
Most of what you guys are talking about is how "others" would abuse it, not yourself. In my opinion, that is easy to fix, and that is why I have a delete key.
Bandwidth and implementation should be the only consideration on whether or not to allow it (in my opinion).
BAE Systems Edmund Singer P.E. Staff Engineer Applied Mechanics Group Fluid and Thermal Sciences
-----Original Message----- From: xansys-bounces_at_xansys.org [mailto:xansys-bounces_at_xansys.org] On Behalf Of Peter Frei Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2008 2:12 AM To: ANSYS User Discussion List Subject: Re: [Xansys] [ADMIN] Should we allow attachments?
Atif,
> I do not agree with the argument that allowing pictorials necessarily > reduces the amount that people will think before posting. Text > attachments, in one sense, can have the same effect - for example, ANSYS > code files / error files can be posted relatively easily, making it easier > for someone to just post the code or error files without in depth > debugging.
There have been times where I've written an xansys post in my mail client but I've never actually sent it to the list. Why? Because the process of
describing the problem by ten lines of text forced me to think about it again. This process has sometimes helped me to understand how to solve the problem myself without needing help from the list.
Would I've found the answer myself if I would have been allowed to send a screenshot and just ask "Why does the result not come out as expected?" I doubted.
All advice on this list is given for free. To me, the price that all posters should have to pay is to come up with a well-posed question. >From my point of view, not allowing attachments is helpful for this process and in most cases is not a limitation.
Regarding APDL files included in the post: I tend to ignore posts of the
kind "The code below does not work. Please point out the errors. This is
really urgent, I've got to turn in the results by this afternoon." I simply don't have the time to debug other people's code.
Peter
_________________________________ Dr. Peter U. Frei Rockwell Automation AG IEC Power Components, Dept. ER Buchserstrasse 35 CH-5001 Aarau Switzerland pfrei_at_ra.rockwell.com Phone: +41 62 837 24 47 Fax: +41 62 837 29 17
atif.hasan_at_valeo.com Sent by: xansys-bounces_at_xansys.org 21.04.2008 23:19 Please respond to ANSYS User Discussion List
To xansys_at_xansys.org cc
Subject Re: [Xansys] [ADMIN] Should we allow attachments?
Hello Martin,
I am in favor of pictorial attachments. However, I am not in favor of having a central site where we can upload images. For a company like mine, uploading files to ftp sites is not allowed for individuals - a request needs to be put in to a central administrator - so this becomes impractical in the context of posting to the list.
I do not agree with the argument that allowing pictorials necessarily reduces the amount that people will think before posting. Text attachments, in one sense, can have the same effect - for example, ANSYS code files / error files can be posted relatively easily, making it easier for someone to just post the code or error files without in depth debugging.
Kind Regards,
Atif Hasan VEC, US Auto Division Auburn Hills, MI 48326 USA
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