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Can I get my Avatar Restored?

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Posted by tstage on Friday, December 11, 2020 7:18 PM

I followed Woke's recipe but I still get the white screen "Error" message.  Hopefully this gets addressed with the promised forum upgrade next year.  I'm not going to hold my breath though...

https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling

Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.

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Posted by BATMAN on Friday, December 11, 2020 2:26 PM

No BATTREE for an avatar this year.

Brent

"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."

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Posted by BigDaddy on Friday, December 11, 2020 9:57 AM

MR B I followed Woke's instructions and I did change my location (It's on the right side of the page)    But I still get Trainman's error.  I tried reducing the pic size to 10KB because that is a requirement on a different forum, but no go.

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

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Posted by Trainman440 on Friday, December 11, 2020 9:36 AM

I made a screen video.

You cant see me choosing a file(cause Im recording chrome not file explorer) but its a jpg image. (you can see me selecting the file near the top left, then pressing "open" near the bottom right)

This is how Ive always tried doing it in the past like year but every time it never worked...so Ive long since given up. But since this topic popped up, here's what it looks like for me. 

I thought this is what everyone meant when they said they couldnt change their profiles. I have no issue with this, but just wanted to clarify that the solution doesnt work for everyone, and its not like we're doing something wrong. 

Charles

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Modeling the PRR & NYC in HO

Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/@trainman440

Instagram (where I share projects!): https://www.instagram.com/trainman440

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Posted by Trainman440 on Friday, December 11, 2020 9:30 AM

no yea that's what I have been doing.

I upload a photo(which is in my documents folder (windows 10), it says "upload complete!"

And then when I submit it gives that error. 

Charles

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Modeling the PRR & NYC in HO

Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/@trainman440

Instagram (where I share projects!): https://www.instagram.com/trainman440

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Posted by ATSFGuy on Thursday, December 10, 2020 11:06 PM

I either upload a picture from my phone to my computer, or click on one I like from the web, save it to a folder and use that as my avatar.    

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, December 10, 2020 10:59 PM

Trainman440
Once I upload a photo it says: Sorry, there was a problem with your last request! Either the site is offline or an unhandled error occurred. We apologize and have logged the error. Please try your request again or if you know who your site administrator is let them know too.

The files you're uploading are supposed to be on your local disk, not on some kind of connected Web server or the Internet.  See what happens if you put the picture, or a copy, on your desktop and navigate to it there.  If you are on a tablet we may need to figure out further tinker... Big Smile

The error message you're seeing is not something I'd expect from attached storage.  Put the file you want to upload on your boot disk or in your root folder or wherever, and be sure you can browse to it in the directory structure that disk uses.  Unless you're using some sort of VM that doesn't use files directly, or a NAS or something that stores them in some way incompatible with the back-end forum software environment, it is difficult to imagine how navigating the directory structure inside the browse window won't produce a 'readable' file at the end.

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Posted by Trainman440 on Thursday, December 10, 2020 10:42 PM

OldEngineman

I just followed Woke Hoagland's guide above, and it worked...!

 

Still didnt work for me :(
What Woke said was how Ive always tried to change my avatar, but never once has it worked(in the past year's attempts). 

I have the little "change avatar" with a blue pencil under my profile pic in my "edit profile" section. Once I upload a photo it says:

Sorry, there was a problem with your last request!

Either the site is offline or an unhandled error occurred. We apologize and have logged the error. Please try your request again or if you know who your site administrator is let them know too.

I thought that's how its always been. Oh well, glad it worked for some people.

Charles

PS Ive tried large and small files for both jpg and png

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Modeling the PRR & NYC in HO

Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/@trainman440

Instagram (where I share projects!): https://www.instagram.com/trainman440

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Thursday, December 10, 2020 10:29 PM

OldEngineman
I just followed Woke Hoagland's guide above, and it worked...!

That is great to hear.

Woke Hoagland
Unless, of course, there is some kind of deus ex machina.   Hopefully, those with eyes to see will be able to notice something when this post clears mandatory moderation.

Wow... we are in the presence of greatness!

Bow

Thank you for helping us out... but I am going to leave my avatar alone.

If I have not said it before:

Welcome to the group.

-Kevin

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Posted by OldEngineman on Thursday, December 10, 2020 10:04 PM

I just followed Woke Hoagland's guide above, and it worked...!

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Thursday, December 10, 2020 1:29 PM

I moved to Delaware 2 years ago.  My profile still has me in Massachusetts.  I can't change it.  I haven't been able to for two years.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Thursday, December 10, 2020 1:25 PM

York1
What really inspired me was SpaceMouse Chip's avatar of himself.  I'd like to try something like that.

I had a "comic strip" avatar made of myself about 18 months ago... this is what it looks like:

 

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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Posted by York1 on Thursday, December 10, 2020 11:57 AM

SeeYou190
York1
I've tried several times to change mine, it doesn't work.
Trainman440
Attempted to change avatar with no luck.

At least you guys did not become weebles! Maybe that can be considered a partial success.

-Kevin 

 

Yeah, I've got a neat Robby the Robot picture that I wanted to be my image.  I guess I have to wait.

What really inspired me was SpaceMouse Chip's avatar of himself.  I'd like to try something like that.

York1 John       

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Thursday, December 10, 2020 9:29 AM

York1
I've tried several times to change mine, it doesn't work.

Trainman440
Attempted to change avatar with no luck.

At least you guys did not become weebles! Maybe that can be considered a partial success.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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Posted by Trainman440 on Thursday, December 10, 2020 9:19 AM

Overmod

Kalmbach IT has already commented that they aren't going to bother fixing 'non-monetizable' issues with free forum software (I'm paraphrasing the exact language they used as it was related to me, but that was the essence) so I wouldn't be surprised this won't be resolved until the promised stage-3 revision of the overall forums 'experience' slated for the upcoming spring.

This may sound weird, and perhaps it is, but try accessing the 'change avatar' tool from a different Kalmbach site -- Teains Magazine or Classic Trains rather than MR.  I note that for years this site chronically ignores the global 'set newest posts first' preference in profiles, and perhaps the differential code editing/tinkering that produced this has also affected access to the code that transacts avatar changes.  

You can call me chicken but I am NOT going in to test on my own account whether the change-avatar tool is any better than playing Russian roulette with all chambers loaded. Laugh

 

I'll be the guinea pig! Tested it on trains.com(trains magazine). Attempted to change avatar with no luck. Same issue. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Modeling the PRR & NYC in HO

Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/@trainman440

Instagram (where I share projects!): https://www.instagram.com/trainman440

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Posted by York1 on Thursday, December 10, 2020 9:08 AM

I'm not a martyr.  I'm not a martyr.

I've tried several times to change mine, it doesn't work.

I did not try Overmod's suggestion yet.

York1 John       

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Posted by Woke Hoagland on Thursday, December 10, 2020 9:01 AM

richhotrain
Kevin, since Overmod cannot bring himself to do it, you are our last hope.

Unless, of course, there is some kind of deus ex machina.  

Hopefully, those with eyes to see will be able to notice something when this post clears mandatory moderation.

Try this: go into your browser preferences and clear out all the Kalmbach-related cookies (the ones with trains.cs somewhere in the URL preferentially).  Go back to www.trains.com, navigate to the forum community login page there, and log in using your desired forum credentials -- this part of the Kalmbach web presence is working nicely this morning.  

Then go to 'edit profile' -- don't use the separate 'change avatar' link for this test.  When the profile page opens you may have to click 'edit profile' again at the upper right corner.  A small 'change avatar' link appears below the rectangle where the avatar appears -- if you have the 'avatar syndrome' this will be the upside-down Gumby exclamation point.

Just for grins, check that the avatar change machinery is not corrupted -- select the 'use avatar' category, find the least objectionable idiot happy face, and click its radio button.  When I did that this morning it did not take long -- on an obsolescent browser running on an obsolescent OS on an obsolescent computer -- to see it appear.

Then go to the other category, and click the 'Browse' button that appears instead of typing in some picture source.  Be advised that the avatar upload works from pictures on your local disk if desired -- there is no need to upload them to a photo site, as there is to have pictures appear in posts to the forums.

I purposely chose an image that would have to be rescaled and resized to display.  Those tools appear to be working precisely as intended, and relatively quickly, too.  Obviously if you have a choice use something at reasonable resolution and roughly close to the avatar aspect ratio.

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Posted by kasskaboose on Thursday, December 10, 2020 8:42 AM

To get your avator restored, don't you need James Cameron involved?  Oops!  Wrong Avatar.  Why would you want it fixed?

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Thursday, December 10, 2020 7:44 AM

richhotrain
C'mon, give it a try.

Nope, I don't play with live wires!

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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Posted by richhotrain on Thursday, December 10, 2020 7:36 AM

SeeYou190

Tom's avatar turned into a weeble once, and he was able to fix it.

I noticed RioGrande#### has become a weeble recently.

This is a shame. I have a holiday themed STRATTON AND GILLETTE herald I would like to change my avatar into this time of year.

-Kevin 

Kevin, since Overmod cannot bring himself to do it, you are our last hope.

C'mon, give it a try.

Rich

Alton Junction

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Thursday, December 10, 2020 7:26 AM

Tom's avatar turned into a weeble once, and he was able to fix it.

I noticed RioGrande5761 has become a weeble recently.

This is a shame. I have a holiday themed STRATTON AND GILLETTE herald I would like to change my avatar into this time of year.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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    September 2003
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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, December 10, 2020 7:22 AM

richhotrain
Overmod, if there was ever an opportunity for you to become the first anointed Forum Hero, that opportunity is now.

The problem is that the position is Forum Martyr, not perzackley the same thing...

On the other hand, there is some Scarlet Pimpernel action I could take... watch this space.

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Posted by richhotrain on Thursday, December 10, 2020 7:00 AM

Overmod

You can call me chicken but I am NOT going in to test on my own account whether the change-avatar tool is any better than playing Russian roulette with all chambers loaded. Laugh

Overmod, if there was ever an opportunity for you to become the first annoited Forum Hero, that opportunity is now. I urge you to take advantage of it. Smile, Wink & Grin 

Alton Junction

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, December 10, 2020 6:51 AM

Kalmbach IT has already commented that they aren't going to bother fixing 'non-monetizable' issues with free forum software (I'm paraphrasing the exact language they used as it was related to me, but that was the essence) so I wouldn't be surprised this won't be resolved until the promised stage-3 revision of the overall forums 'experience' slated for the upcoming spring.

This may sound weird, and perhaps it is, but try accessing the 'change avatar' tool from a different Kalmbach site -- Teains Magazine or Classic Trains rather than MR.  I note that for years this site chronically ignores the global 'set newest posts first' preference in profiles, and perhaps the differential code editing/tinkering that produced this has also affected access to the code that transacts avatar changes.  

You can call me chicken but I am NOT going in to test on my own account whether the change-avatar tool is any better than playing Russian roulette with all chambers loaded. Laugh

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Posted by richhotrain on Thursday, December 10, 2020 6:10 AM

Well, if our Moderator, Tom, cannot figure out how to restore his avatar, I doubt that there is any hope for us mere mortals. Looks like you are another casualty of The Grinch Who Stole Forum Software.

Rich

Alton Junction

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Can I get my Avatar Restored?
Posted by mobilman44 on Thursday, December 10, 2020 5:33 AM

Returning to the Forum after several months absence, I've found my custom avatar is no longer - replaced by the generic one.   I've gone into my profile to reset it but it won't process.  Is there anything I can do to get this fixed? 

ENJOY  !

 

Mobilman44

 

Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central 

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