Gab Help & Info

Here are some hints I hope new Gab users find handy navigating this free speech social network.

1. I hate to start with a negative, but this is important. Do not click on unfamiliar external links! Especially URL redirectors (tinyurl, bitly, etc.)! You are likely to get a virus or ransom-ware.
   
2. Basic etiquette is to read and lurk before posting. If you want to post immediately, feel free to do so on your own timeline (people that follow you will see your message). The Gab "Home" timeline contains posts from you and the people you follow (following 1000s of people is bad -- it breaks "Home"). Follow the Gab Terms of Service (ToS). https://gab.com/about/tos
   
3. Before posting in a group (your followers will see your post as well as all group members), read the group "About" section and all pinned messages. Just because Gab is "free speech" doesn't mean the groups allow any content. You may find your post removed from the group (it will move to your timeline) by a group moderator (and you could get a group ban). Gab officials do not control most group moderation and reading an off-topic post doesn't mean you should follow suit. The Gab "Groups" timeline shows posts from groups you've joined. If you don't like how a group is moderated, start a competing group.
   
4. You can also create a special timeline containing cherry-picked users. This is called a private Gab "Feed". This eliminates all spam, porn, fed posts that might creep into groups (before Gab can detect and remove them for violating the ToS). Gab is under constant attack from people who hate free speech. If you create a feed, you've vetted the users as valid authors, so reading a feed is the cleanest way to view Gab content. Visit groups to find new feed members (variety is the spice of life). Video on Gab Feeds (was called "Lists") https://gab.com/DanZirin/posts/110947051285090118 or other videos https://gab.com/groups/5828 .
   
5. Private conversations are "Chats" (DM/IM). The chat receiver must approve a new chat first (create a public post on your timeline to tell them to check chat requests -- use at-sign name of the receiver in the text of your public post). Once approved, subsequent chats will notify the receiver of new chats from you. You should first read the profile bio/about section of the person receiving your chat (some "ignore all chats"). Click on the avatar of the chat user to see their bio/about section (and recent posts).
   
6. You can block or mute people you'd rather not see or read (click on the triple-dots for a post or a comment to find these options). Gab leaves the moderation to you (instead of trained, woke, political, social media police used by other sites).
   

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Image / Video Uploads : Non-Pro: 25 MB / day
File size limit 250 MB;
Optimum Video Resolution 960x540;
Bitrate 768 kps

Image Uploads:
Rectangle: 1920 x 1080px
Square: 1400 x 1400px
File Formats:
Images: PNG, JPG, gif
Video: MP4, MOV Apple QuickTime

*May vary during site construction

Handbrake: an open source transcoder to convert / optimize videos. It can take a 100MB video and convert it down to under 20MB without a loss of quality. Easy to use as well, except for the BATCH processing function.

Image file upload tips:

• Check the file size, crop if needed to reduce file size (smaller is better). For example, you may have an option for 4:3 or square
  
• Rename the file, removing any special, foreign characters
  
• Check the file properties for size, format
  
• Newer cameras can have a very high resolution. Reduce the default settings.
  
• Changing the file format to .jpg automatically reduces the file size
  
• Reduce overall image dimensions, file compression software can help
  
• Clear Your Web Data and Media Storage for gab in your browser site settings
  
• jpg format is a standard file format
  
• Disable Data Saver Mode in mobile device settings
  

Profile images

1) Header / Banner - PNG, JPG

• Profile header: 1330 x 440
  
• Group header: 1400 x 460 (Edit: 10/23/23)
  

Rectangular 3:1 ratio; MAX 2 MB;
Oversized files are down scaled

2) Avatar
Square 1:1 ratio; MAX 5 MB; PNG, JPG
Oversized files are down scaled to 400x400px

Max parameters:
Video: 1920x1080, 30fps, h.264 codec at 3 MBps, 5-10Mbps
Audio: 48Khz AAC @ 160-192Kbps

Help faq: https://help.gab.com/faq/optimum-video-image-specs-social