Simple, how do I prevent videos or gifs from auto playing when I scroll posts. In fact, how can I stop them once they are started?
Also, is there a universal setting to prevent receiving notifications of comments on posts I’ve liked?
Also, how do I shorten an image post, so the ‘Show More’ instruction is visible?
Thanks.
Audio/video autoplay is something that your browser should have a setting for. Look there. It’s impossible to say where the setting will be without knowing which browser you use, but a web search will help you find the right setting for your browser. If your browser doesn’t have such a setting, consider changing to a browser that offers you more control over your browsing experience (and probably offers more security as well).
As to GIFs, again it depends on your browser. Here are instructions for Firefox and Chrome: https://www.groovypost.com/howto/disable-animated-gifs-from-auto-playing-in-chrome-and-firefox/ If you use a different browser, again do a web search.
You can’t shorten an image post. I raised this in this Github ticket a few years ago. One person said they would work on it, but later decided that they wouldn’t. It shouldn’t be difficult to implement. I also raised the similar issue of why posts containing very deep images often don’t get automatically hidden, and it was explained to me that unfortunately embedded images usually are downloaded after the processing to calculate the vertical height of the post is done, so their height cannot be calculated in time. Until someone finds a way around this issue, it’s not going to be possible to implement that.
I hope that answers your questions and helps you.
Hi goob, thanks very much for your response.
I tried your suggestions but they didn’t work. The audio/video setting in FF won’t allow me to add any specific websites either. The autoplay setting is saved to ‘block audio & video’, but the appropriate icon does not appear in the address bar of any website, & audio & video automatically start, also on facebook.
I followed the instructions with regards to gifs autoplaying & enetered the quantity of ‘None’, but again this has no effect.
Perhaps I have other settings or softwares interefering.
I am using up-to-date Firefox, Win7. With the following add-ons: User-Switch Agent (default), Ghostery, HTTPS Everywhere, uBlock Origin.
I didn’t realise that long images should automatically be hidden. As I’ve seen some are hidden & others not, (such as my personal uploaded fotos), I assumed there was a setting for that function.
And…is there a way to universally turn off receiving notifications from posts I’ve ‘liked’, so I don’t have to turn off the highlighted bell icon of every post I ‘like’?
Any further advice much appreciated.
Hmm, that’s odd. I should say now that I’m a general user, not a tech wizard, so I may not be able to help any further.
Could you give some examples of diaspora* posts containing videos that auto-play when you scroll? In my experience, embedded videos from YouTube, Vimeo and so on don’t auto-play in diaspora*. It’s quite possible that you don’t see the ‘block’ icon in the address bar because there are no videos trying to auto-play. Try the example page used in that instruction: https://www.bbc.com/reel/ I’ve just tried that and the icon appears, and I’m able to choose my auto-play options for that site.
On GIFs, at the risk of stating the obvious, you did enter ‘none’ (all lower case) rather than ‘None’ (as you said above), didn’t you? If you correctly set ‘none’, it should definitely have worked, because I’ve used it myself in the past. Try toggling the settings: find a GIF in a diaspora* post or other web page, set ‘once’
Long posts should be auto-hidden behind the ‘show more’ shield; the problem is with posts whose length is mostly due to embedded images, as this doesn’t always trigger that shield, which is what I tried to explain.
As to liking, that is considered an ‘interaction’ that signals an interest in interacting with that post. That’s why you’re subscribed. While it would be useful to have a setting, from my point of view it’s a very good argument against indiscriminate use of the ‘like’ function; if you don’t want to interact further on that content, don’t ‘like’ it. Failing that, just click bell icon if you don’t want to interact further. (Also keep in mind that every time you ‘like’ a post, the person who posted it gets a notification that you have ‘liked’ it. There is nothing they can do either to (a) prevent anyone from ‘liking’ their post nor (b) getting a notification every time someone does ‘like’ that post. For some people, myself included, that is extremely annoying. That’s another good reason to limit the use of ‘likes’ to when it’s really needed.
As I say, I’m not an expert, just another user who’s tried to deal with these things myself in the past. I hope I’ve been able to help; if not, someone should be along soonish who can.
With the bbc link you sent, the 15 second video previews in the banner autoplay, though the video below them does not.
You were correct with regards to the gif instruction, I corrected to all lower case & it works. Thanks. Perhaps what I thought were videos were actually all long playing gifs.
As with the likes, I like as an expression of appreciation, but I don’t necessarily want to know everyones opinions & comments. Oh, well, 1st world problem 
Again, many thanks for the elucidation.