For those with the time
and inclination to
actively police their own links, this would be a helpful thing. For the other 50% (or 75%+) it seems to lead to dead links within XX months.
(At least judging by other sailing sites that I visit often.)
I agree that clicking and going to a larger more-detailed picture would be nice at times. I guess that, as some might put it, I just 'do not have a dog in this fight' since I have never maintained an external photo site for my own stuff.
I would guess that there might maybe be some other admin. issues around ouside links that a spammer might put in that subsequently have to be exorcised by a moderator or the administrator.
Not the answer you might want, but best that I can do for now...
As a crusty old sailing buddy and former main-framer likes to kid me about: being as I use a Mac, i.e. a toy, I do even own a
real computer!
Happy Turkey Day to you and yours!
Loren
Loren,
This is a non-issue. On SBO if a link is dead in a while it is dead but we find it happens rarely. I am an admin on Sailboatowners.com (one of the largest sailing forms on the net) and this just is a non-issue.
Uploading photos to any of these servers IS almost ALWAYS an issue and as a result people post less photos. Perhaps 2% of the photos on SBO are "uploaded" with the other 98% being hot linked.
Photos are helpful so if they are there when the thread is alive and doing well that is great for reader. If someone stumbles on it years later, and the link is dead, they can simply ask for a picture again and will probably be provided one of the members.
Other forums on THIS site ALLOW hot linking? I do it all the time here. The "link" I posted above could go dead just as easily so why not block hyper-linking too? Please at least let folks SEE the photos what or where is the harm in that?
Those of us with LARGE photo databases are not going to upload or go through the re-size process of our photos to every site we use. It is why we host them elsewhere.
ANY link, photo, video or hyperlink can go dead! Remember Jack Rabbit Marine & others that have followed their fate. We DO still have the ability to hot link to web addresses or videos than can also become defunct? So why the prejudice to just photo linking? Links are links whether they display a .jpg or a .wmv or a
http://.
I see NO logical reasoning for this overly cautious policy. No other sailing forums that I use block the ability for hot linking of photos.
What do all these forums have in common?
Cruiserforums
Sailboat Owners Forums
Cape Dory forums
Plastic Classic
Catalina 34
Catalina 36
Points East Magazine Forums
Sailing Anarchy Forums
Practical Boat Owner Forums
Anything Sailing Forums
Hunter Owners Forum
O'Day owners Forum
Trailer Sailors Forums
CS-BB Forum
SSCA Forums
CS Yachts Forum
Cruisers Log Forum
Lats & Atts Forums
Maine Coast Forums
Cruising World Forums
Boat US Forums
Renegade Cruisers Forum
Spar Talk / Brion Toss's Forum
Etc. etc. on and on and on...
THEY ALL ALLOW HOT LINKING OF PHOTOGRAPHS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please fix this guys, you are robbing the members here of good visual data!
P.S. This site DOES allow hot linking just not in this particular forum. This is an EASY fix in the admin panel of vBulletin.
See this
THREAD (LINK)
or this one:
THREAD (LINK)
See NO NEED to click for a larger image they just appear and don't hog up your server for bandwidth as it is using the band width from my web site for the photos!!
Please add the feature back on all forums. Why deprive your members when ALL forms of links can go dead???