Post Sort Order Toggle? Where is it? Image Count Limits? Why?

Post Sort Order Penalizes Regular Members

When I am NOT logged in to Flightsim.com and just drop by to browse the forums, the order of the posts within a thread is oldest first, then progressively newer as you scroll down, ending with the newest post at the end of the last page. This makes it easy to follow the "flow" of the thread, starting with the OP and ending with the latest reply.

When I see one I want to reply to, I log in... only to find that now, the sort order is reversed: newest first, down to the OP at the end of the last page. I'm sure this is done for convenience in quickly seeing the latest posts in threads you have already read, but it utterly destroys flow and logic in screenshot posts. Also, for my convenience, I have the "Remember Me" or "Stay logged in" option checked so I don't have to enter my PW every time I visit, which is several times a day. But I have to pay the price for that convenience in the illogical, broken flow of the sort order when I'm logged in.

Image Count Limits for Non-Hosted Images and Smileys are User Hostile and Illogical

In any high-image-count screenshot thread that has a lot of replies (i.e., the good ones :D ), I have to go to the last page, then scroll down to see the actual screenshots... and at that point, the first thing I see is the SECOND set of screenshots, which the OP is forced to post because the forum rules limit posts to 10 images even if those images are hosted off-site and simply linked to. Then, under the second set of images, I finally get to the first set. However, by then, the author's intent is blown away, because I have now seen the end of the flight before reaching the beginning and middle.

I totally agree with, and understand, a rule limiting the number of ATTACHED images in a single post, because those images are actually hosted here on the FlightSim.com servers, eating up valuable resources. But I just totally do not understand why off-site-hosted images have to be limited.

Summary of Problems

Here are the 3 things wrong with the current Flightsim forum paradigm, especially in, but not limited to, Screenshots:

1. Smileys are counted in the 10-image limit, absurdly limiting the actual image count to 9, 8, 7 or 6 images OR harshly limiting or force-eliminating the smilies which add greatly to the content and enable authors to express their intent more clearly;
   
2. The 10-image limit illogically forces double and triple posts if the poster has more than 10 images to post; and
   
3. The unchangeable reverse-ordering (when logged in) of the multiple posts required by the above overly-restrictive rules completely destroys the poster's flow and intent in telling a pictorial story.
   

Questions and Proposed Solutions

• Is there any functional reason why (for example) 25 off-site hosted images could not be linked to in a single post? It seems to me that a single 25-image-link post uses fewer website resources than the current 3 separate posts required to display (link to) 25 off-site images. The key here is that these images are NOT hosted on this site- so why do we care how many are linked to in a single post? Also, the bandwidth usage required to load/display 25 off-site images is identical whether those image links are contained in a single post or split into 3 separate posts.
  
• Is there any logical reason why smilies must be counted as "images" for purposes of already-restrictive image counts? This just seems arbitrary and even petty to me, especially since both the image links and the smiley codes are actually nothing more than text!
  
• Is there some way for users who are logged in (i.e., the regular users who are the backbone of this website) to choose the sort order of posts within a thread that they are viewing? I can't find any such function, either in my account settings ("global sort order") or as a "sort button" on each thread. If this functionality doesn't exist, can it be added?
  

Gratuitous Touchy-Feely Verbiage :cool:

Thanks to any Admins who may happen to read this. Yes, I'm a little disgruntled by these seemingly-illogical and overly-restrictive restrictions/dysfunctions, but I'm hoping that bringing them up here will result in a positive change for my favorite FlightSim community and, by improving usability and user-friendliness, drive increased traffic to our community.

Go to your General Settings/Thread Display Mode and select "Oldest First".

P.S. No need to ever log out. I don't!

Go to your General Settings/Thread Display Mode and select "Oldest First".

*squint*

As with all unknown things, knowing of its existence is the first step in (eventually) finding it! I did (eventually) find it, buried 17 layers deep in a section I had never seen before... Thanks!

Now if someone could just help me to understand the benefit of a 10-linked-image-per-post limit, I would be joy incarnate. :D