What if? ... Banner

[Lori Dee ✅]

I was looking at our banner and I really like it. I noticed there is a lot of white space in the middle. That could be so that it displays properly on various screens from PCs to tablets to phones.



And I really like the default avatar, phoenix. What if we gave it a more prominent display?



Hopefully, that wouldn't mess everything up after all the work that it took to get the phone screens to display properly. But what if?

[Allie Jayne]

Although a more attractive banner looks great, caution need to be given to adding file sizes as we are not all blessed with broad band internet. Many people access this site from very poor internet coverages, and with what many of us would think of as 'ancient' devices. If our purpose was artistic, sure, go for it, but this is a trans resource site, and we sometimes need to acknowledge how important it is to so many lives.

I have personally spoken to people who told me they owed their lives to communities like this, and, although I do like pleasing pages, I hate to think it might come at a cost to someone desperately needing to access support at a critical time in their lives.

Hugs,

Allie

[Lori Dee ✅]

You make a very good point. I agree that the priority is the information and support. File sizes and display issues are certainly a priority. Thanks for your input.

@Allie Jayne

[Sarah B ✅]

Hi Everyone

Yes Lori, I also wondered about the gaping whole in the new banner and what could fill it.  Your suggestion is a good one maybe a little bit bigger.

Allie, I hear your concerns about image size and you are right.  The banner keeps the same dimensions.  The file moves from 268 KB to 304 KB.  About 0.15 s at 2 Mbps.  That adds about 0.03 s at 10 Mbps.  On 3G near 1 Mbps the extra 36 KB is about 0.29 s.  On 4G at 10 Mbps it is about 0.03 s.  On stronger 4G at 25 Mbps it is about 0.01 s.  For home PCs the slowest satellite reference is about 12 Mbps down 1 Mbps up, so the impact of this change is virtually insignificant.

I am aware the situation is mainly for Australia and Australia is now on 4G or 5G.  Even if someone overseas only has 3G the small change in banner size is not going to create any significant issues for anyone seeking Susan's resources.

Best Wishes Always
Sarah B
Global Moderator
@Lori Dee @Allie Jayne

[Susan ✅]

Size wise it's not a problem, the size difference is minimal

[Sephirah]

Just to add my two pence... I am not sure a phoenix is the right message. It gives people the impression that their previous life is ashes they have to somehow rise from. I do not think that's... I think that someone's life pre-coming here should be incorporated into who they are and who they will be. We aren't people trying to overcome who we were. We are people trying to come to terms with how that life blends into who we are and who we will be. To try and separate those two things is... I'm not sure it's a good thing. Mentally speaking.

I would suggest that the simplest image to sum up this place would be a simple mirror. With someone not immediately identifiable looking into it. Susan's Place is a hand mirror. Showing the reflection of who we are. You could make the letters in each box mirrored. That would do the job nicely.

[Lori Dee ✅]

This is Susan's post about why a Phoenix.

https://www.susans.org/index.php?topic=251966.0


@Sephirah

What would be really cool is if the phoenix had a clickable hotspot that would link to that post.

[Sephirah]

I do like that image. Especially the wings. It's very clever.