One of the biggest problems that new people have been facing is that they’re unable to upload screenshots or even get their own profile pictures since this forum’s system is HIGHLY finicky(and spazzy) about it. I have developed my own methods to be able to do those things, methods that involve an image sharing website called Imgur. It seems like a daunting task for people to get the hang of it, which is why I’m making a comprehensive tutorial on how to upload images and profile pics, and use them on this forum.
Getting an Imgur account
There’s really not much to it, all you need is an email. Just hit the signup button, enter all the info, and have it send the confirmation email to solidify your account. Bam, your account’s ready to go. Your device’s browser can also support the website, that’ll do just fine.
Inserting images into your post
So let’s say, hypothetically, you just pulled a wicked ten in one pack, and you want to show it off. For an example I’ll use one of mine from a few months ago, I’m pasting the link right here:
All that I put up there is a link, but the link automatically expanded into the full picture when I posted. Pretty cool, right? It’s far more convenient and secure than putting external links that other people have to click on. It even still does this on the mobile version of the forum. The only annoying thing is how massive the picture becomes if you can’t resize it, but it’s bearable I suppose. Though I wouldn’t recommend tacking on a huge amount of pictures this way, then it would just get chaotic. I’ll explain how to do it on your computer, and on your device.
On the computer
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Click on the green new post button.
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When the giraffe appears, either click the upload button and select your picture from the files, or pull it up in a file window and simply drag it onto the giraffe, and eventually a little pop-up will say “1 image saved”.
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Next, hover over your username and click on the images button, and your new picture should be sitting there on its own. Click on it, and you’ll see a big list of different links. The one you want is BBcode. Before you grab it though, look for the size menu and click medium thumbnail, should be about the appropriate size. Then click the copy button next to it and it’ll automatically copy, then in your forum post just paste the link, and your picture is ready to go.
On the tablet
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Tap the cloud icon, hit the x, then upload from device and select your picture.
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Tap upload, and then you’ll see a drop down menu that says link. Change it to BBcode, copy the new link that appears and paste it onto your post. I’m honestly not sure if it works differently on a smartphone, but I’m sure it’s a similar process.
Uploading your profile picture
This is where it gets REALLY awkward, because the uploader will only take pictures smaller than 50kb, and sometimes it refuses to take them anyway for whatever reason.You’re definitely going to need a computer for this. Anyway, just get a square shaped picture that you want, right click on it and select “get info” or the equivalent, and it’ll show you its size. If it’s bigger than 50kb then you’re going to have to shrink it. A rather improvisational way I’ve found to do this is to pull it up in an image viewing program like Preview, zoom out and then screenshot it, cropping out any outside filler from the screenshot. if it still isn’t small enough, try again. What I do recommend is just zooming the original image out farther than before and repeating with it, instead of doing likewise with the image you just created, because the sizes just get a little awkward. Once you’ve got a picture small enough(the uploader might let it slide if the size is like 10-15kb over), just follow the same process I described above, only instead of BBcode, choose the direct link option, and copy/paste it into the URL thing in the change profile pic window. However, if you’d rather not go through all that, I can do it for you. Just PM me with your desired picture(remember it must be square), and I’ll send you back the link you can use to apply it to your account. Keep in mind the quality will probably have to go WAY down in order to fit into 50kb, so it may not look quite as epic as it did full size.
Now, there actually is another way I’ve managed to get a profile picture working. Back when I first showed up and was frustrated by the profile pic interface refusing to work on me, I just tried random stuff to get it working. Eventually I just took the link for a random Deviantart submission and pasted it into the URL, and to my amazement it worked. I don’t know how tolerant it is about which DA pictures you can do this with or what other websites can be used in this way, but it’s worth a shot if you want to avoid the nightmare that is the other method. This is the link I used: https://yoruko.deviantart.com/art/E-585018456
So, I think that about covers it. If you had any issues with getting your pictures to work, let me know and I’ll see if I can help you through it.
