I endorse this idea fully. That way if Bshelf and Majhost go down, we won't suffer such a huge loss.

I think it would be a really nifty feature, but not if it comes at the expense of anything (like server performance). It would probably be smarter to only allow it for Premier Members (definitely makes a nice incentive) but I would definitely appreciate it if it weren't =P.

I'd still use maj and flickr (even though they're down right now), but it would be nice to have things hosted here, for sigs and whatnot.

I would probably use such a feature to upload avatar and banner images. Allowing Premier Members to upload more images would provide more incentive for me to buy Premier Membership someday, but I'd still mainly go Premier to get a blog; the extra images would be a side benefit.

Well, I've got a few questions; would users have individual galleries, or would everyone just contribute to one communal gallery? (Of course, the two aren't mutually exclusive; there could be a view that shows all uploads even if the individual galleries are implemented, or an option to search by member if there's one communal gallery.)

Would commenting be allowed on images? On the one hand, it would be a nice feature, but it might also fragment feedback if the creator both posted it in the gallery and created a topic to discuss it.

As for thoughts on how much it would be used, since I take it any images posted there would be expected to be used pretty much solely on BZP, users that post their artwork in multiple places might not be tremendously inclined to use it (especially if they have accounts set up at other sites). But for users who make things just for BZP (comics, etc) it could be handy and would avoid any concerns about dead links (if BZP's up, their work is up) and could also help them gain exposure if a communal gallery is implemented.

Personally, what little creative output I have is written, so I imagine I wouldn't make much use of it. But for artists and the like, I think overall it could be a nice feature.

I personally think it should be a premier only perk, mainly because image hosting is so taxing on a server it's not funny. Premier members have obviously given their support to BZP to they can upload pictures.

If that can't work, I'd say have normal members have an upload cap of per picture to be 200KB (plenty of room for a one to two megapixel picture) with a upload count cap of ten, while premier members can send in 700KB picture (enough for an eight megapixel picture) and a cap of twenty pictures. That's, what, a maximum of 2 meg per regular member and 14 per premier? Seems about right, as if you assume a thousand people are active (I doubt that, honestly), and ten percent are premier, that's 1.8 gigs of data for regulars and 1.4 gigs of data for premiers. A lot of data for streaming but shouldn't be too bad, assuming you have a good server deal and there's some sort of image flood control.

With Majhost and Brickshelf down right now, I would definitely like it. I think premier members being able to post more would be good too, sort of like the pm box expansion that we get. Be another bonus of going premier.

I definitely think it's a good idea, especially if there was a rating system in the gallery so that pictures could be... rated.

I'd use it as a way to keep my Lego and Non-Lego internet stuff separate. I like this very much, yessssssss...

I see it working well, especially since Brickshelf/Majhost is now down for maintenance. I cannot say for certain how much I would use it, but it'd be a boon to BZP more than a detraction.

If it's added, institute a certain file size limit for non-Premiers, and double/triple that for Premiers - whatever's feasible with the server.

I'd probably use it. I would keep using Maj for most images, since most of mine aren't Lego-related, but if I had MOCs/Lego art I'd put them there.

Having a new Premier perk would be pretty cool. Using more pictures as opposed to general gallery usage might not be ask strong an enticement, but I'm not one to talk there. I'm sure regular members would appreciate being able to use the gallery to some extent, and I imagine blogs would still be the biggest motivator, regardless.

How would it work with the current creative outlet forums? If I remember correctly, it has a comment system, so would that be turned off or would members be able to post feedback there as well?

And on a topic somewhat related to that, would the admins and globals moderate the gallery, or would it have some sort of staff group?

Personally, I would not use it, perhaps out of habit, or perhaps out of a desire not to burden BZP.

If it is implemented, there will need to be a system to enforce the "LEGO-related only" policy: a way to report images, and perhaps giving globals the power to remove them.

Edit: And Ziko and I think alike like always.

Yes please.

Would it be like flickr with a commenting system, or would we still need forums like BBC for that?

Well, I've got a few questions; would users have individual galleries, or would everyone just contribute to one communal gallery? (Of course, the two aren't mutually exclusive; there could be a view that shows all uploads even if the individual galleries are implemented, or an option to search by member if there's one communal gallery.) Would commenting be allowed on images? On the one hand, it would be a nice feature, but it might also fragment feedback if the creator both posted it in the gallery and created a topic to discuss it.

I don't know all the settings available, but my assumption would be that users can have individual galleries. Commenting would have to be something we think long and hard about. I believe there is a setting that each gallery can have an auto-created topic that can be used for discussion.

And on a topic somewhat related to that, would the admins and globals moderate the gallery, or would it have some sort of staff group?

I'm pretty sure there are hooks so that images can be reported. I don't think we'd need new staff, but Globals and possibly others would be given the ability to moderate things there.

Thanks for all the comments. Keep it up!

Would likely not use it. The reason I currently use flickr is because it auto-resizes my sig images to similar dimensions, thus making it look (more) seamless. And I want all my images in one place.

I probably wouldn't use it, but I'd have no problem helping to moderate it.

I most likely wouldn't use it. But if other members would use it (and if its existence didn't slow down the server), then it would support it.

I would probably upload MOC's and other Bionicle-related images, images for sigs and avatars and such, but keep the non-Bionicle images (like ponies) on majhost. I'd really like this feature and whether its for all users or just premier doesn't matter to me. I do plan on becoming premier soon anyway.

I think it'd be useful for comic kits, sprites, Bionicle artwork and MOC images. But I don't know enough about the server-overloading issue to comment on that.

I think this would be a great idea, especially if Premier Members either have exclusive rights or significantly more storage space. As it stands right now, there really isn't much incentive for people to go Premier aside from the ability to blog.

Would you have a way to detect/prevent off-site direct linking? If someone hosts a 2MB photo here and deeplinks it on a high-traffic site, that could rack up the bandwidth usage pretty darn quick.

I'd probably use it occasionally for the odd WIP pic I wouldn't feel like tossing up on Brickshelf.

Having a limit (regulated by day/week/month?) sounds like a good idea, as well as, and I'm bringing this up to worry about filespace on the servers/cost, size limit/auto-resizer.

I would still use Flickr, for sure, because of the community there. This feature would make BrickShelf obsolete to an extent, but really it's just upload one place or another and then link/deeplink. Brickshelf seems more versatile for sharing though. But I can see advantages here.

I think the best feature sounds like a commenting system on the pictures/gallery themselves. And it would be a direct-link to a member's works/uploads, as desired.

-CF

I think the best feature sounds like a commenting system on the pictures/gallery themselves.

I don't think that's a very good idea, myself. After all, wouldn't it theoretically render BBC and SBC and the artwork forums obsolete for the most part, or at least siphon away a lot of their traffic?

I personally think the comments should be left to the topics and blog entries that members choose to post about their pictures.

that would be great, but for premier perks. considering every now and again the server gets clogged, if ever member could upload images, then the forums would be slower

Would the gallery be Lego-related images only, or would be be allowed to host our non-Lego banners there?

Also, I'd say that making it Premier-exclusive could add some money to the wallet and keep the taxing on the server lower. Along with the resizing/filesize limits.

Sounds pretty cool. But, of course, the pictures would have to be moderated to make sure nothing goes against the rules. I think I would upgrade to Premier as well if I would get extra pictures.

Overall, sounds like a cool idea.

-Mef

I wouldn't use it.

Sorry.

Would the gallery be Lego-related images only, or would be be allowed to host our non-Lego banners there?

That would be TBD, but my initial reaction would be to make it LEGO only.