The message compose page brings up about a hundred animated GIF's - it drives my single-core, single-threaded, motherboard-integrated graphics computer to its knees -- drives it to 100% CPU utilization and just can't keep up.

Selecting the 'disable emoticons' checkbox doesn't make the selection window go away.

Doesn't have issues with animated emoticons in the posts, nor the animated GIF avatars. But the 'Clickable Smileys' window is a bit of a pain - even at normal typing speeds I'm usually 10 or 20 characters ahead of the display. Every once in a while I'll use one, so I wouldn't want it to be too hard to get them back 'on-demand' (like perhaps that 'enable emoticons' checkbox...). But if it were a profile option, I could cope.

Once upon a time there was forum section for forum-related and admin questions - I'd have posted this there but it seems to be in hiding these days.

Why not just use the fast reply box?

Maybe its time for a bigger puter?

because it's lame about quoting...

No question - but it hosts a bunch of licensed software it'd be a pain to transfer. It is also paid for and works fine for 99.99% of what I use it for. I suspect a bigger/badder graphics card would be a bit help - but this is a Dell Precision in the 'compact' case that can't handle a fullsize GPU card, and only two expansion cards - both already in use.

I also have a vey slow/old/cheap laptop PC and have no trouble with the GIFs showing.
In some browser you can stop gif animation when hitting ESC key
In some browsers you can disable loading image in the browser.
You can also resize the window so the gif's don't show. This should help your GPU.

way too draconian.
Unless you know of a browser that allows this on a per-tab basis, then maybe.
I'd sooner just use the LoRes mode here.

Since my issue is ONLY ON THIS SITE and only on ONE PAGE of the site, it seems reasonable to ASK for this feature here.

Sorry - but changes to my setup that otherwise works perfectly for every other page on every other side is nonresponsive...

edit

In some browsers (internet explorer) you can stop gif animation when hitting ESC key

edit

Yep. I have a Dell inspiron. No bigger memory available than what comes on the unit.

Copy the text you want to quote and then use the "Add selected text as quote" button in the fast reply. I did it here in the post BTW.

Or use the ESC key when you go into full quote mode to disable the animation.

me too.

I use the fast reply almost exclusively and have become proficient with quote tags etc.

You could also enter the proper decade and treat yourself to a new PC for the holidays!

dont quote
dont reply
learn how to quote in fast reply using quote tags
or
get a faster PC.

Rich

Older browser? At my day job (enterprise software delivered over the web), we have seen real problems with older hardware/browser running at 100% CPU on web pages that otherwise experience no problems on newer hardware and browsers. This includes odd things around rendering image files.

Richard

Works in Firefox too ... Just hold down the ESC key for a second or so and all the animations will stop.

cool and simple.

Man, I threw away computers that had no issues with them..Actually, Mueller has my last discarded one running his mill.

DING DING DING !
We have a winner !

At last an answer that matches my actual problem.
So - thanks johannes for the original suggestion, and Andy for verifying it works in FireFox (I am current at 8.0).

I may work in advanced software development, but I like to live more at the trailing edge, where stuff is proven and reliable. My 2003-vintage Dell 340 is on its 3rd power supply, CPU uprated to 2,8 GHz and stuffed with its max 2GB of RDRam - hard to come by. Still running XP SP3 with no issues.

But Nowadays I do store more and more stuff 'off the box' on the 4TB NAS so I won't lose as much on the day it does eventually crater...

I learned something myself.
I just typed "how to stop gif animation in browser" in google

If you have to use a NAS to store you stuff as you are expecting your machine to crater, it's no longer reliable. New computers are reliable and cheap, especially if you can reuse your monitor. There are deals everywhere on them now too.

Zach

it's become an interesting world when the prudent act of storing data files onto a central repository is perceived as deeming the computer with which they're manipulated 'unreliable.'

Did I say "expect" ?

OTOH - do you _not_ expect _every_ computer to fail eventually?
Are they all therefore 'unreliable' ?

I keep most data files on the NAS because they can all be backed up from a central repository and accessed from any computer on the network. My own little private cloud...

I replace the computers as needed. If they're working, it's not needed.

When I was working from the house and the computers were income-producing devices, my philosophy was different, with more pro-active preventative replacement.