BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired

Subject: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 11:25 AM

As more Internet users avail themselves of the many high-speed connection options available to them, fewer of us are limping by on laboriously slow dial-up connections. Yet, for various reasons of geography and economics, there are still a few of us out here.

I would encourage high-speed users to be aware that there is much content on the Internet that, while readily and quickly accessible to themselves, is not so easily downloaded by dial-up users. I would further encourage high-speed users who post links to video, animation, or graphics-intensive sites to post "warnings" in their posts so we slowpokes can make informed decisions about whether or not we wish to open links. Clicking on a generic "Click Here" type link and then finding that it links to a 30 second video that's going to take thirty minutes to download is a bit of a waste of time. Using "Video Here" or some variation thereof would absolutely reek of common courtesy.

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: GUEST,jOhn
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 11:27 AM

i agree.

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: pdq
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 11:49 AM

And please post the subject of a thread you start.

Imagine if all threads were titled things like:

         "Well, well. Lookie here"

         "Noted without comment."

         "Here we go again."

or      "Smell this turd."

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: John Hardly
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 11:51 AM

Hey Bruce,

So I guess you don't want me to send you that link to the great Steve Goodman video I saw on youTube, eh?

You know, if you go outside and cut your telephone wire I think you'll improve your internet speed. I know this because I'm almost sure that I heard that wireless is faster.

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: Bee
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 12:26 PM

I know I appreciate a warning that a video is being presented. Geography is my difficulty; only dialup is available here, and not even that if it's raining.

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: bobad
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 12:30 PM

Same here.

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: Mr Red
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 01:16 PM

I agree - a warning would be nice. But enthusiasm and a belief "that what I have is all there is" is rife in all walks of life.

My website has to be maintained on dial-ups (plural) and the folkies I want to reach are mostly on dial-up. Broadband is not as ubiquitous as they would have you believe - for marketing hype reasons.

AND AS FOR FLASH................. I don't.

contrary to popular belief you can switch it off but it makes no difference to the effect compared with not installing it. You wait 5 minutes for the invitation to load. Or got to another site immediately if you work like me.

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: Mooh
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 01:20 PM

Agreed, even though I got a new super-duper delux space-age premium custom laptop (notice I said laptop, not lap dance). Damn I hate waiting for things to load! Patience is a virtue my ass, I want it now!

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 01:28 PM

I must admit that while I do try to consider people on dialup when doing web pages, I tend to forget them when supplying links. I will try to remember.

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 01:46 PM

The friendly courtesy warning will be much appreciated by those of us who are a little slow.

I'll note that even the US Senate does it. I just clicked into what turned out - without warning - to be a 25.7 MB pdf there - a little over 3.5 hours ago, and just got unhitched from it.

I put a stopwatch on a video (YouTube) yesterday and found that each 2 seconds of that show took 24.8 seconds to download, so I only watched the first half.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: Bill D
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 02:47 PM

I remember using Windows 3.1 on a 14,000 baud modem and having similar problems with just viewing IMAGES over 30-40 megs.....I clicked on one that I discovered later was about 500,000 bytes and it froze my PC. I guess technology and extending fiber-optic lines to the hinterlands will eventually make it 'better'.

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 03:21 PM

Errr... John (Hardly that is)... I don't think that's exactly what they mean by "wireless".

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 03:40 PM

Generally, I'd have thought, it's fairly clear from the context that a link is to a video. I suppose sometimes it's left open whether it's just audio or video.

I don't think it'd be right to avoid providing video links, because they do provide something extra. I think Broadband connections are now pretty widespread among Mudcatters. Most connections in the UK now are Broadband.

Most browsers (maybe all) will show the address form the link before you open it, when you move the cursor over the link, so it's pretty easy to avoid opening youtube links. And easy to shut a link down, if it looks like it's going too take too long.

I've had some trouble with slow-loading links recently, even on Broadband. If it's a clip I seriously want to see, I made a practice of opening it up in another tab or another window, and letting it load away in the background, while I read other posts etc.

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: Peace
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 07:15 PM

Easy enough to provide the warning. I shall.

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: Tootler
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 07:29 PM

"Most connections in the UK now are Broadband."

But not all. There are still parts of the UK where broadband is not available. I am not in one of them, I might add, but it is well to be aware.

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 07:41 PM

That's true enough - my point was that we shouldn't avoid posting links to youtube and such. Making it clear that they are video links is a good idea - but even when that isn't done it's pretty obvious as soon as any move to open them is carried out.

With Firefox the address shows up at the bottom of the page, with Opera in a box by the cursor, and I'm sure there are equivalents in all browsers. When a link does that, like this one does, it's a pretty good bet it's a link to a video clip.

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 08:08 PM

McGrath, the point is it is no big deal for example to do.

When a link does that, like this video link does, it's a pretty good bet it's a link to a video clip.

Or even click here for video.

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 08:13 PM

One place (of several) where looking at the URL on the bar doesn't do much good is at the MSNBC news site. They frequently post links that give no indication of whether its a normal (text) article, a slide show, or a video, but their page addresses are always so long that they run out of the end of the box and you can't see the end that matters.

The really irritating thing is that the reason the MSNBC address line is so long is that it includes the switches for which adware/advertisements/cookies/headers etc to dump, and all the junk gets downloaded before it starts loading the page content, so even if it's not a video you look at a blank screen for a disgustingly long time before you get an indication of what it might be.

But you probably have to have a really slow connection like mine to even notice.

($!@#, growl, &(*)^, snarl, #@$%, mmmmuumbllle, $#%@!^!)

John

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 07 Jan 07 - 08:44 PM

But fortunately that doesn't happen here. (Doesn't happen at the BBC news site either - no adverts.)

Agreed, it's no big deal sticking that indication in, most times anyway, and it's good manners. But it's no big deal either recognising a youtube link, whether it's specifically indicated or not, so looking to see whether it is is a good habit for dial uppers-to get into, since, inevitably, people aren't going to remember to put that indication in all the time.

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: Mr Red
Date: 08 Jan 07 - 08:12 AM

Most home connections in the UK are not broadband. Business is, and a lot of folks use it at work but the "home stats" must be tempered with the knowledge that marketing hype is in play and serves as trumps.

The story I hear sooooooooooooo often is "It works on my machine so it works". NO IT DOESN'T.

Subject: RE: BS: Have a care for the bandwidth impaired
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 08 Jan 07 - 08:30 AM

"The friendly courtesy warning will be much appreciated by those of us who are a little slow."

Speak for yourself John!

Oh, you meant the speed of our dialups...

{:-E>