— Posting images only requires knowing a trivial bit of HTML, but that does throw some folks, despite the HTML Tutorial pages.
— The FR site does not have storage space for images, so they have to be linked from elsewhere on the internet, either the original/source site, or a copy on an image-posting site.
— Providing on-site storage space is WAY out of budget. — So I suspect posting images will remain a minor hassle.
............
I have been here 28 years and posted one picture. Major hassle to some. Prevents growth. We have one of the largest cohorts of conservatives coming up and I think they would be a real addition here.
I don't know Jim, John, and Chris' inner thoughts, so this is speculation.... but I'd say it's necessary and intentional. FR started as a DIY project on a little private server with home-brewed software and no IT staff; just John's spare time. AFAIK FR is still running on a privately-owned and operated server in a co-location facility. The main reason is independence -- commercial hosting providers censor content. The downside is that it's still pretty much a DIY operation. There's no budget for the IT support required for this "growth" that people seem to think magically comes free.
FR would have to change some basic aspects of its operation to provide for significant growth. FR rejects getting owned by a "Sugar Daddy" or taking advertising. FReepathons used to complete easily in 2 months; now they're nail-biters and barely make it in 3 months. There's no budget for growth unless donations double or triple or more.
All the FReepers who want to see "growth" -- okay, you want growth, pony up major cash for the necessary infrastructure and IT support required to make it possible. $100K per quarter (on top of the current $81K) might be a start. Sorry if that sounds harsh; I don't mean it harshly, but reality is reality. We barely have enough donations to sustain the current minimalist site.
> I have been here 28 years and posted one picture.
The part of getting an image posted on FR is easy:
<IMG SRC="the_URL_of_the_image" WIDTH=50%>The URL depends on where the image is stored on the internet. I can't list all the possibilities here. Tell me where some pictures are that you would like to post, and I'll suggest how to post them. Important: If they're on your computer, you first have to upload them to the internet, typically on an image-hosting site like Photobucket. You can't post a picture that is only stored on your own computer. Do you have any examples for me to work with for you?