So I had a bit of time to sort this thing out and get it working as it should be (mostly). Since the Media Gallery is much more visible now I'll go ahead and give a tutorial on how to use the feature. The Basics: Now you will start seeing when new media is uploaded to the forum by a red number (that indicates how many new pictures/videos have been uploaded/embedded) above the "Media" tab in the top navigation bar. The latest media uploads will also be shown at the top of the main forum landing page above the current Featured Thread. The number indicating the new media will only stay in the cache for 15 minutes. After that it should go away without you doing anything to make it go away. (Note: big "should" there) If it does not go away you just have go to the "New Media" page (same link as the "New Posts" page, you just have to hit the "New Media" Tab to switch over). After that just hit the "Mark Viewed" link and then confirm the selection with the pop-up and they will go away. To view media in the Media Gallery just click on the Media tab at the top and you will go to it's landing page. The landing page shows media that was most recently uploaded (regardless of category). Click on any image to view the full size image. I currently have 3 public categories that anyone can upload to: Dumaguete and NegOr/Other Areas in the PI/Restaurants and Nightlife. Suggestions for categories is welcome. Uploading Media: Uploading media is a bit confusing at first. Hopefully this tutorial will get most people through it. First I'll show how to upload media to a public category that everyone can view (which is really the point of the media gallery anyways). Note: Nobody can create a category except admins, and maybe moderators. Spoiler: Upload to Public Category Upload Image to Public "Category": 1.) At the top right (can be seen in the screenshot above) click "Add Media". 2.) Select the "A site category" radial button and choose a category from the drop down menu. I will use "Other Areas in the PI" for this example: 3.) After you have selected the category additional options will appear below the first two options. Here you have two options (Uploading from your computer and uploading from a URL.): 3A.) Upload An Image From Your Files (Computer): I. Click the "Upload Image" button. (This works exactly the same as uploading a file to a post/thread.) II. Your local file manager will pop up and you select your image. (This works exactly the same as uploading an image to a post/thread.) III. Give your image a title/description if you like (it is preferred but not mandatory) and click "Save Media". (Clicking this button makes the image visible to everyone. Note: You can upload more than one image but there are file size quota limits as well. Most users can upload 10 images in one go. Each image is limited to a 2MB size limit. 3B.) Upload Image From an URL (Example: a picture already on FB): I. Check the radial button titled "Upload an image from an URL" II. Find the image you want to upload on the internet and copy the image link. III. Go back to the DI Media Gallery and paste the URL/link in the text field. (The link will need to end in an supported image file extension. I'll give the supported file extensions further down but most images should end in either ".jpg", ".png" or a ".gif".) IV. Make sure you click the "+" (Add) button next to the text box to verify the link is valid and add it to the list of images to be uploaded. As above, when you are ready to save/submit the images click "Save Media". It should look like this before you click the "Save Media" button: The second option is to upload the images to an Album (that you name and create yourself). These can be private, semi-public or visible to all members. Spoiler: Upload to a User Created Album Upload to a User Created "Album": 1.) Instead of clicking on the "Category" radial, select the "An album" radial and select "Create an album". 2.) Fill out the title and description for your album and then select what privacy levels you want and then click the "Create Album" button. FYI: "Owner Only" means only you (and administrators) will be able to see the album and pictures in it. "People You Follow" will only allow people you follow to see it (plus administrators). "Members Only"......You get the idea. 3.) Follow Sets 3A and/or 3B in the first spoiler box. Everything is the same from this point on. Accepted image file formats are png, jpg, jpeg, jpe and gif at the moment. Seems a bit complicated to upload an image to the Media Gallery but I went Barney Style on the tutorial. Pick a predifined Category (which is basically a public Album named by me) or make your own Album and then follow the on screen instructions. Pretty simple. Once you have uploaded the image (or embedded a video into a category/album using the same method above) to the Media Gallery you can insert the images/videos into any post you like. Click the "Media" button (looks like a camera) in the reply box/text editor and then click on the media you want to insert into your post. You can still upload/embed images and videos the same way you always have. This does not change the basic function of posting on the main forum. It only provides an secondary option for sharing images on the forum and stores them in one centralized location. Spoiler: Media Gallery User Restrictions and No Spam/Advertising Reminder There are certain restrictions placed on specific usergroups. New Members (less than 2 posts) and Infamous members (those with a high percentage of negative ratings) will need to have all media submitted approved by a moderator before it is seen and they have smaller file size limits and an total file upload limit (Maximum storage quota 10MB - File Size Limit 1MB - Maximum images per upload 5 Pictures). These limits go away after you make your second moderator approved post or your post-to-negative-rating improves). Regular members have an 80MB total Account limit - 2MB max image size - and can post 10 images per upload. This numbers can always be adjusted later on for individual users. Users with the "Highly Rated" banner under their avatar have a 100MB total account limit - 2MB max image - can upload 15 images at a time. This feature should not be abused/used for commercial advertising or promotional purposes unless approved by a moderator or administrator.
