why use image_tag helper and not <img> tag

It’s the modification date of the image/stylesheet/javascript file. Browsers cache these files. This would mean that if you replace an image with the same filename, you’d have to refresh your browser for the change to show up (which can lead to some unexpected results). The extra numbers at the end will change if you replace the file, making the browser load them instead of resorting to the cached version. If the file is still the same, the extra numbers will also stay the same and the browser will use its cache.

This has come up dozens of times on the list, a google search would probably have given you this answer too :slight_smile:

Best regards

Peter De Berdt