I don't get it-- everyone here absolutely INSISTS on using PIP. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but PIP is terrible IMO. Images only load about 50% of the time, and when they do load it takes forever for them to do so. I do not have problems with images hosted elsewhere (photobucket, imagur, etc). Everyone insists "if you don't use PIP your images will disappear". This is crap so long as the address to the picture doesn't change.

So what's the deal? Am I doing something wrong, or does PIP really suck that bad and people just tolerate it because they don't know better?

nope

I've tried to figure it out twice, but I guess I'm not skilled enough to make it work. I use Photobucket to post pictures here, but I've noticed that the pictures I post here are much larger then the same picture when I post it elsewhere.

It's extremely frustrating when I'm trying to figure something out and I find the perfect thread but the pictures won't load.

What are the URLs for the pictures that aren't loading?

There are certainly a lot of problems with PIP and the image hosting thereof, but generally speaking, "images not loading" is rarely an issue I've seen with it.

most recent example earlier today was TXGOOD's thread regarding his armrests. Those pictures have worked for me in the past, but not today.

quote Originally posted by Napoleon_Tanerite: most recent example earlier today was TXGOOD's thread regarding his armrests. Those pictures have worked for me in the past, but not today.

If you mean his Cupholder/Armrest mall thread, it just worked fine for me.

Maybe it's a problem with your ISP/browser/OS causing the image host to get blocked?

The images come from a different server than the text....so you may have security software that blocks the picture server.

quote Originally posted by dobey: If you mean his Cupholder/Armrest mall thread, it just worked fine for me. Maybe it's a problem with your ISP/browser/OS causing the image host to get blocked?

I've gone round and round with this and the short answer is no. Far too many devices, OS, browsers etc with only one common denominator-- PIP. So far I've tried it on the following with the same on again off again results:

OSs

Windows 7
Windows 8
Windows 10
Android 5.X
Android 6.X

Devices

HP Laptop PC
home build desktop PC
Nexus 5
Nexus 5X
Nexus 7

Browsers

Chrome
Firefox
IE
Edge

quote Originally posted by Napoleon_Tanerite: I've gone round and round with this and the short answer is no. Far too many devices, OS, browsers etc with only one common denominator-- PIP.

Have you only verified this on your home network connection? Does it work better on cellular data? Or on wifi at some other place?

If you right click on one of the failed to load images and choose "open in new tab" does the image load in the new tab? Do you get an error in the browser?

To be clear, it isn't PIP that is the problem for you. It is images hosted on cliff.hostkansas.com, apparently. PIP the software is just a tool for uploading images to the server. It can be configured to upload images to any server with FTP access.

Home wifi, cell network (AT&T), work wifi (same provider as home), and government hardline internet. It's 50/50 at best across all sources. And yes, I've tried copying the link into a separate browser window, force opening it, downloading it... nothing.

And being logged into the forum has no effect either.

[This message has been edited by Napoleon_Tanerite (edited 03-12-2016).]

Then you're going to have to dig deeper to figure out what's breaking, and where. Time to start using lower level network debugging tools, assuming that your DNS resolves cliff.hostkansas.com reliably. Some tools worth using here are traceroute or tracepath, and wireshark.

1) Can your computer find the server? DNS resolving
2) Can your computer reach the server? traceroute or tracepath will tell you if something in the middle might be causing problems
3) Is your computer requesting/reading the HTTP properly? Wireshark has a decent UI for watching the traffic on your computer, but you kind of need to understand HTTP enough to know what to look for to tell you if there's something wrong in the HTTP traffic.

Numerous things could be going wrong, anywhere between your eyes and the server at the other end; it doesn't necessarily have to be a problem on the server, or on your devices. It could be a hub that all traffic from your area must route through in order to get to where the cliff.hostkansas.com server is physically located.

I just opened the TXGOOD thread I referenced earlier, and this time all the images worked. I have made NO changes. I am on the same computer, same browser, same wifi, same everything. Pictures refused to load earlier across two different browsers, a cleared cache, and a hard restart. Now they do.

There is no problem with PIP, or the image server. All works wonderfully! Just ask Cliff

You would think after 20 years of problems, 2 to 3 threads a month created about PIP, and literally hundreds and hundreds of posts, that SOMETHING could be done....

Do not get me wrong, I LOVE this forum. Threads is FAR better for organizing relevant information verses a steady stream of everything such as on Facebook. However, a key to a forum like this, is ease of adding photo's to posts. Even when PIP is 100% working, and wonderful, this rules out any and all Apple products being able to upload (iPads, iPhones, Mac Computers ect) or any Android devices, such as Tablets & phones, or any other desktop not running Windows. You can use PIP to post pictures only if you are sitting in front of a Windows desktop PC.

Such a shame that PIP is Windows ONLY, as most of the world has gone to mobile devices now. This is one of the main reasons the traffic to this forum is down significantly. I can easily go to a car show, and with a couple taps on my phones screen take a photo and share it with everyone on Facebook instantly.

This is the only forum I have ever been on that you can not attach/upload a photo to a post, and requires a standalone program. I am on a LOT of forums from Home Automation, Car PC's, Media Center software and hardware ect ect. On ALL of these other forums, I can attach a photo directly to a post, which is simple to do from my phone. Pretty much as easy as posting a photo to Facebook.

And before someone tells me PIP works perfect, or that I am doing something wrong, kindly check out this video:

I gave up trying to post pics years ago.

quote Originally posted by JohnWPB: This is the only forum I have ever been on that you can not attach/upload a photo to a post, and requires a standalone program. I am on a LOT of forums from Home Automation, Car PC's, Media Center software and hardware ect ect. On ALL of these other forums, I can attach a photo directly to a post, which is simple to do from my phone. Pretty much as easy as posting a photo to Facebook.

I'm curious. How many of ALL of those other forums, existed in 1999, or are built on software written by one person in the 90s?

I'm not saying this Forum doesn't have issues, but you're basically comparing a C6 to a Fiero, stock for stock. Yes, on the basic level, those things that were written in the last 5-10 years are forums too, but on the basic level a Fiero and a C6 are both cars, too.

Sure, there are a lot of things that would make this forum a lot nicer and easier to use, especially on a phone, but it is all up to a single person how that plays out. Since that person seems to be unwilling to open up and share the responsibility of making the forum software itself better suited for such things, or even moderation of the forum itself, we're pretty much stuck with the way things are. No matter how much you complain, or how many videos you upload to YouTube to show some problem, it isn't going to change the situation.

I'm sure Cliff is aware of the complaints, but if every time the complaints come up, and he tries it, and it works for him every time, how is he supposed to know what the problem is, if nobody else is willing to get their hands dirty and help debug the problem? Complaining again and again only about the top level experience, which may be broken for plenty of people, doesn't help when the person maintaining the software can't recreate the problem, and when nobody jumps in and debugs to find out where the problems are actually occurring.

I could build a version of PIP for every platform in existence, but if the actual problems are all on the server side, or somewhere in between the client and server, it's not going to help fix the core problem.

There is already a version of PIP that works. It's called photobucket or any of the other various photo hosting sites out there. That's what I use to post my images, and when other members use it or other services to post images it works flawlessly with the existing software. Unfortunately there are die hards that refuse to use anything other than PIP even though far better alternatives are out there and readily available. I understand that PIP posted/hosted images work flawlessly for SOME people. Unfortunately for guys like me and John and others that is not the case.

quote Originally posted by Napoleon_Tanerite: There is already a version of PIP that works. It's called photobucket or any of the other various photo hosting sites out there. That's what I use to post my images, and when other members use it or other services to post images it works flawlessly with the existing software. Unfortunately there are die hards that refuse to use anything other than PIP even though far better alternatives are out there and readily available. I understand that PIP posted/hosted images work flawlessly for SOME people. Unfortunately for guys like me and John and others that is not the case.

And likewise, photobucket doesn't work flawlessly for everyone either. No image hosts do. Confirmation bias might suggest it will always work for everyone, but there is plenty of evidence to show it also doesn't.

I really don't personally care what image host you use for your pictures to post on here. As long as they never get deleted/moved from the server, they should generally work for most people. I'm just trying to help you, or anyone else who reads these posts, why certain images might not be loading, and where the problem lies. As of yet, I haven't seen anyone post any info on where an actual problem exists, that could be addressed to solve a general problem. It's just general complaints that PIP sucks or doesn't work, and then when someone else, or particularly, Cliff, tries the exact same thing, it works fine for them.

Not to stir the pot, but I've used PIP painlessly for almost 20 years... that is until Windows 10 came along and messed up everything. Now my USB ports are useless, as are other older installed programs... including PIP.

I haven't been able to use PIP for months now, but I'm not sure it's to blame. Don't know what the problem is, honestly.

[This message has been edited by ITALGT (edited 03-13-2016).]

I'm working on my 3800 SC swap and am looking for pictures to help with things like plumbing the cooling system. PIP not working seriously complicates that.

quote Originally posted by ITALGT: Not to stir the pot, but I've used PIP painlessly for almost 20 years... that is until Windows 10 came along and messed up everything. Now my USB ports are useless, as are other older installed programs... including PIP. I haven't been able to use PIP for months now, but I'm not sure it's to blame. Don't know what the problem is, honestly.

I will say this...I do not have Windows 10, yet.....and will not unless forced on me like 8.1 was.

[This message has been edited by batousai666 (edited 03-13-2016).]

quote Originally posted by batousai666: I will say this...I do not have Windows 10, yet.....and will not unless forced on me like 8.1 was.

I highly recommend this approach, personally... I wish I could go back to an older version.

[This message has been edited by ITALGT (edited 03-13-2016).]

quote Originally posted by ITALGT: I highly recommend this approach, personally... I wish I could go back to an older version.

Better, I recommend just not using Windows, of any version.

quote Originally posted by Napoleon_Tanerite: I'm working on my 3800 SC swap and am looking for pictures to help with things like plumbing the cooling system. PIP not working seriously complicates that.

How does image uploading software "not working" affect your ability to simply view images hosted on cliff.hostkansas.com?

quote Originally posted by dobey: To be clear, it isn't PIP that is the problem for you. It is images hosted on cliff.hostkansas.com, apparently. PIP the software is just a tool for uploading images to the server. It can be configured to upload images to any server with FTP access.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 03-13-2016).]

I have never uploaded anything with PIP, so you're right-- my issue is with the hosting server. The picture posted in this thread a few posts up wasn't viewable earlier, now it is.

I have also tried changing to google DNS, didn't fix it.

I have used PIP reliably for as long as I've been here.
My only complaint is that when I upgrade my PC, which usually involves an upgrade to the latest version of the Windows virus, the links to the "history" are broken. Obviously this is because the folder structure is different from one version to the other.

I just wish there was an easier way to migrate everything, although I understand why there isn't.
I wonder how many duplicate images there are on the server, since that scenario usually requires a new upload in order to create a link to the image, for a post.
It would be nice if our "upload history", and thumbnails, could be stored on one of the servers, instead of the local machine. I wonder how difficult that would be.

quote Originally posted by dobey: I'm curious. How many of ALL of those other forums, existed in 1999

All of them:

• HomeSeer.com
  
• MP3Car.com
  
• XBMC.org
  
• CocoonTech.com

The difference is that they have upgraded the forum as time progressed, and not using the same version they were in the "90's"

I also mentioned in my post above that this forum is an amazing resource, and I love using it. But to neglect soething so important to an online comunity for going on 30 years now..... well, that's another thing

quote Originally posted by JohnWPB: But to neglect soething so important to an online comunity for going on 30 years now...

Your math skillz suck.

PIP worked for me fine with XP. Since that cmptr went kaput, its never worked again on Win 7 or 8. I just use a photo host site. They stay there forever unless the poster physically takes them out. If you wanted to save a pic I put on, after a few years there, you should have saved it yourself. I dont block them from being copied. I go thru them every couple of years and get rid of useless ones to make room for new. In 10 years, I dont think ive ran out of space more than a couple of times.

quote Originally posted by Napoleon_Tanerite: I've gone round and round with this and the short answer is no. Far too many devices, OS, browsers etc with only one common denominator-- PIP. So far I've tried it on the following with the same on again off again results: OSs Windows 7 Windows 8 Windows 10 Android 5.X Android 6.X Devices HP Laptop PC home build desktop PC Nexus 5 Nexus 5X Nexus 7 Browsers Chrome Firefox IE Edge

PIP Is Not your problem(s) to VIEW pictures posted.
Accessing the image server is and has nothing to do w/ PIP.
Same access problem will cause PIP to Fail to Post images.

DNS can and often does break causing server lookup and accessing problems.
DNS problems can happen anyplace and can be very local or regional in nature. IOW Maybe 100% good on east coast and some to all fails for west coast.
Your Router is first place to start because will effect all connected thru it but can test w/ any PC...
Use Google DNS not DNS from whatever ISP you have (router DNS default) or the router (Device DNS default).

------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 03-15-2016).]

You are definantly not alone, on at least 3 different pc's and a laptop, all running different versions of windows and a couple of different internet service providers, not once have I and my "geek" friends been able to make it work, I have been using Myfiero.com in the past, but it seems to be linked to pip somehow, when pip is down, so are my pics...

looks like it's time for photobucket or one of the others.

Joe

quote Originally posted by motoracer838: when pip is down, so are my pics...

Joe, PIP has been "down" maybe a handful of times in 16 years. Seriously.

If you can't view PIP hosted images, there is something else amiss. I had a problem myself for awhile when I started using a different computer running Win7 Pro. However, after changing my DNS settings as discussed in This thread, problem solved!

quote Originally posted by motoracer838: looks like it's time for photobucket or one of the others.

So often I see people here trying to use Photobucket to display their images... and they can't even figure out how to post a proper link (which is pretty straightforward). I suspect a lot of these same people complain about how badly PIP sucks.

[EDIT] Okay, I'll expect some teasing over this but I've noticed something interesting. In the thread I linked to in this post, I noticed several of the images are not now appearing... including one of mine that I've copied below (which does not appear for me here either). Can anyone currently see the image at the bottom of this post? Ogre, I need some feedback!

[EDIT 2] As of 03-17-2016 07:17 PM, all PIP hosted images appear to be fine.

Image is supposed to be right here --->

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 03-17-2016).]

Here is the error that is being spit out when trying to view an image:

"Joe, PIP has been "down" maybe a handful of times in 16 years. Seriously. "

Your funny...

Joe

quote Originally posted by theogre: Next time Try just opening CMD box and doing IPCONFIG /flushdns. this should narrow down the problem.

Out of desperation, I closed my browser and ran the above command. Everything works now.

I wonder if Cliff did something in the last few minutes, as I tried this earlier and nothing changed. This time it worked.

Anyway, for anyone who's recently been having problems viewing PIP hosted images, try doing what Ogre suggested.

quote Originally posted by theogre: PIP Is Not your problem(s) to VIEW pictures posted. Accessing the image server is and has nothing to do w/ PIP. Same access problem will cause PIP to Fail to Post images. DNS can and often does break causing server lookup and accessing problems. DNS problems can happen anyplace and can be very local or regional in nature. IOW Maybe 100% good on east coast and some to all fails for west coast. Your Router is first place to start because will effect all connected thru it but can test w/ any PC... Use Google DNS not DNS from whatever ISP you have (router DNS default) or the router (Device DNS default).

I am ALREADY using Google DNS. I made the switch a couple months ago and viewing images uploaded via PIP went from 0% to the current crapshoot I currently have. It is NOT my router, as I experience the exact same issue no matter whether I'm on home wifi, cellular data (AT&T), wifi at work or other public locations, or on a government run computer network. Maybe it is regional. Perhaps my next test will to do a road trip across the country and log where these images work and where they don't.

quote Originally posted by motoracer838: "Joe, PIP has been "down" maybe a handful of times in 16 years. Seriously. " Your funny...

I wasn't trying to be.

Can you view the lovely PIP hosted image below? If not, then unfortunately you're in no position to have any idea when PIP is actually "down" or not.