I was browsing the forums this evening, and was noticing how many people had large signature files, and started checking the file sizes and noticed the average signature file was 19K. As I was checking image sizes in users signatures, I noticed that many were hosted using AVSIM's server, which I thought was against AVSIM's policy. I counted approximately 30 users with signature images hosted on the AVSIM server.Average signature image size = 19KIf these people post on just one thread a day (most post 5 or more) that's 19K x 30 = 570KThe average new threads per day are at least 50.50 new threads per day X 30days = 1500 new threads per month.The average thread on the general forums and the screenshot forum is approximately 500 views.1500 threads per month X 500 views = 750,000 viewsNow if the average thread has just 1 post with a signature image hosted on AVSIM we get:750,000 thread views/month X 19k = 14,250,000K or 14.3GB14.3GB x $5/GB= $71.50 month X 12months = $858 per year in wasted bandwidth.Now those that have their signature files hosted on AVSIM's servers seem to be users that post in multiple threads per day, which would probably increase the average AVSIM hosted signature file to at least 2 per thread, which would double the yearly total to $1716. While $1716 might not seem like a lot of money, it's $1716 that AVSIM isn't using towards hardware upgrades each year.I'm not trying to point fingers, but I just thought I'd point out how a small amount of people, with their signature files hosted on AVSIM, can take so much money away from upgrades that could be benefitial to everyone. There are a lot of places out there that will host your signature, if you haven't found one, it's because you haven't looked hard enough.Just my 2 cents,Chris

Very good point, Chris. :-)[hr color=gray]http://home.earthlink.net/~snyders2000/deb.jpg

Chris- You don't take into account the browser cache. Once a sig is loaded, it is saved on your hard drive so it isn't reloaded every time.

If you use the cache, yes. I have cache and history disabled for security reasons, so everything has to be loaded fresh. With pop-ups and cookies becoming an ever-increasing annoyance, I think the cache is starting to be regarded as a security threat, rather than a convenience, so less and and less people will be using it, making bandwidth more important.Cheers,Gosta.

Chris,I agree with what you are saying. So, why don't you point out these sites that will provide hosting for these sigs (I'm not being smart, but I really don't know which ones that you are referring to) and maybe some people will transfer them over to these sites and save Avsim the bandwidth? Every little bit counts. Tim13 :-wave Edit: Spelling

Tim-In my case, my ISP provides me with storage web space. I could use it for a web page or simply as storage. I choose to use it as storage and link to my signature there. However, you have to be a little careful because they often limit the amount of bandwidth you can consume in a calendar month. If your signature is large (file size) and you post often, which gets viewed often, then you can run over the limit. So, check with your ISP to see if you get free web space.Regards,http://home.earthlink.net/~snyders2000/name.jpg

ditto.Chris

[a href=http://pub121.ezboard.com/fezboardfrm36.showMessage?topicID=28.topic]here[/a]Chris

How do you disable cache & history?

History is disabed via 'Tools/Internet Options' in your browser - just set the number of days to '0'. I'll check on how I disabled the cache, as that's a Windows thing, and as with everything MS, it's not in any obvious place - I stumbled across it by coincidence.I'll let you know shortly.Cheers,Gosta.