jim said:

I've seen some horrible numbers of images in one HTML file, where things get creaky but don't actually break.

i've seen things get creaky even in big files with no images, creaky to the point that usability is significantly compromised (e.g., a delay of over a minute after a simple resize of a window).

Though I think I had to wait 15 minutes once for one page to load -- from my LOCAL disk!

i think we all agree that's broken, not creaky.

I suppose you could do some tests.

unless you're doing them on an old machine, which usually means an old browser as well, your tests will misrepresent that experience... i am quite sure most people on this listserve, with their high-powered machines, would be shocked to learn how many people out there are running old machinery, including _far_ too many kids in schools, the same schools that also cannot afford to stock their library, and thus who are an excellent target-market for a free-in-every-sense copy of the classics.

I suppose you could do some tests.

i suppose you could _solicit_ input from users.

Older browser versions and/or older computers certainly have trouble with large HTML files and/or lots of images. 

right. of course, the "solution" -- multiple files -- can be as bad as the problem of a large single file. thankfully, word-processors can handle text files of very large sizes without too many hassles at all, even ones running on those old, slow machines...

But, if PG hasn't received too many complaints on this with existing large files, perhaps it's manageable for most people.

without a public and transparent feedback loop, it's extremely difficult to know what "most people" actually do and do not find "manageable", since victims on the poor side of the digital divide have long since resigned themselves to suffer in silence. it takes active and constant prodding and pleading to get 'em to tell you that they are having problems. so silence should _not_ be taken as an "all ok" sign. and, just as a reminder, michael's target is _not_ "most people", but rather includes _everyone_, even people using monitors with green-on-black, like michael himself... -bowerbird