Posting Charts

[staragewiz]

Jim,

Is it still necessary to have to use One Drive to post charts?
Going through One Drive is too many hoops to go through, and half the
time the charts don't post correctly.

[Mike V]

I think the issue is that posting images directly to the forum takes up limited disk space, so hosting them elsewhere is important to keep costs down. You could probably use something like imgur for the same purpose.

[Veronica]

I feel that it is important to post the data for the chart so that we can cast our own charts. I have seen many posted charts with grievous errors that are misleading. In the scientific study of astrology we need reproducible charts for study, posting charts with the date or location missing does nothing to strengthen Sidereal Astrology as a sound scientific practice and does a lot to weaken it. An easy way to share an image is to take a screenshot of the chart, save it in google photos and share the link created in google photos sharing function. Since most people now a days have a google account it is a very easy and handy way to share images without posting the image directly.

[Jim Eshelman]

Is it still necessary to have to use One Drive to post charts?
Going through One Drive is too many hoops to go through, and half the
time the charts don't post correctly.

The underlying issue is that one posted picture takes up enough storage for (estimate) about 100 posts. In time, the data base not only grows in size adding to costs but is subject to other problems.

In one sense, the issue is less urgent because my hosting plan increased the amount of storage (though by no means is it infinite). Another thing I go back and forth over is that if I relax this here and there, then other people coming to the forum are harder to persuade that they shouldn't post large items routinely.

I moved to posting images temporarily and then removing them. For example, my monthly U.S. and president forecasts have ingresses and return charts for the current month; then, when the month is over, I delete the images and leave the text. (The text alone should tell the story even if the images help it out.) I will sometimes post an image in response to something, then give myself a note to go back and delete it in a few days.

So... as a group effort... restraining myself almost as much as everyone else, I ask that we work toward keeping my long-term storage costs under control and having a forum that relies mostly on words and not on pictures.

But we have other ways around this:

• In many cases you can simply type the few key positions of the planets and angles instead of showing the chart. For example, you post a lot of quotidians. If I were writing about something that happened to me this morning, I could list SNQ MC 1°59' with natal Pluto 2°06' Leo, natal Venus 1v53' Scorpio.
• One of the many ways the Time Matters software has been useful is that we can post just the chart elements easily so everybody has all the positions. I've done this in several place.
• Less often, go ahead and post a picture but make sure the rest of your post tells the important story. The post and picture get to make their point when you post it and I can delete the image a few days later.
• And, of course, external hosting of images lets you post unlimited images.