[redthrowaway]

Image preloading and autogif are fantastic features, so getting rid of them would be a net negative. Instead, why not have them be controlled by some client side js, so that images/gifs are only preloaded for the next 20 or so posts from what the user is currently reading? If the user stops scrolling, stop preloading. Preload the final 5 or so images to cover skip-to-bottom, but the vast majority of the preloaded images will not be viewed, and so should not be loaded.

[saxamaphone69]

Most users' arguments to that are they open a thread, click preload images/expand images, walk away, and so when the thread is dead/they come back, they have all the posts, and the full resolution images (not thumbnails). And the image expanding is done through userscripts/client side.