bruce,
The error
is being generated by foldingforum.org - I suspect because the forum's mysql server is unable to connect to a remote 8080 port, resulting in the time out error being returned to the forum software (phpBB).
Encapsulating any link that directs to an page/image/element served from the 8080 port within img tags in the user signature field in the ucp results in the error being generated by the foldingforum.org mysql server. Regardless of whether you wrap that in a URL link or not.
For example, you can try it yourself: if we were to substitute a F@H server in place of the one in the OP, the same result occurs. You can do this by encapsulating
http://171.64.65.58 within img tags in the signature field. The return by the forum software is that "It was not possible to determine the dimensions of the image." That is fine, because that particular link is not a picture, it's just a page saying "OK". However, if we encapsulate
http://171.64.65.58:8080 within img tags, it results in the error cited in the OP.
Furthermore, we can replicate the same result using an image file hosted on a websever that is using the 8080 port:
http://torrents.freebsd.org:8080/files/ ... wnload.png (which is this image:
) resolves in the browser if your firewall allows access to remote 8080 ports, (as does the OP's original image). However, encapsulating that image link within img tags in the signature field of the ucp results in the same mysql error as cited in the OP.
I haven't found one server using :8080 that the forum properly parses in this specific situation, using more than one internet gateway/ISP. So if it's not a foldingforum.org error then it's an error with the rest of the internet. It's certainly not an EOC error, so using their forums is not the right advice, and the only 'error' being made by the other link cited by the OP (
http://mol.b2910.ftp.sh) is that it is only accessible using the 8080 port. I don't believe it is a
fatal error being made by phpBB/mysql, because it's not to my knowledge bringing the foldingforum site down, it just means you can't add an image from a webserver that is using the 8080 port to your signature.
Therefore, when adding images to your signature, the following stands:
Moral of the story - use an image link with a standard :80 port
(I admit I was preemptive on the second half of the original quote, but it doesn't hurt to be overly cautious?).