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Change of Rules - External Images


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In the next days I'll send out a newsletter in which I will announce a change of the forum rules.I'm sure some of you would like to discuss this topic.

Until now also external images could be linked into the forum from all sources: Flickr, hosting services or private homepages.

This will be forbidden and technically restricted (by deactivating the IMG tag). If you want to show your images in the forum in the future you have to upload them to the forum.

There are two reasons for this:

Image sizes
External images are often included to circumvent our restrictions in size and dimensions.
Thus some external images wrecked the layout for many users with smaller screens and bloated thread data to several megabytes.
Which is really nasty when surfing via mobile, especially with a roaming plan in foreign countries. Some of the pages in the Leica Forum would charge me in my plan 20-50 Euro - by simply accessing them from vacation somewhere else in Europe.

Security reasons
Much more important: Including external data in forum threads opens security flaws.
By displaying external images via the Leica Forum server we are delivering data to our members from sources I don't know and I don't trust.
If in a worst case scenario this server delivers malware this would bring the Leica Forum on a black list of search engines, anti-virus software and company firewalls.
Sad for you members, but ruining the Leica Forum as my business.

I'm sure that some members will hate this new rule. But this was now easy decision for me, but the security of the Leica forum and its members has the highest priority.
I'm looking for a technical solution that allows to include images from trusted sources (Flickr for example) but until now I didn't find anything fitting our needs.

Just in case you suspect me of trying to benefit from this rule: No. This has nothing to do with any financial benefit for me. This rule of course applies also to Premium members.

Regards
Andreas
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Hi Andreas. I do understand why you need to do this. Can you explain if this will affect links in the signature blocks to external galleries, for example on pBase?

 

Also once this is in place will it stop picture links in existing threads from working?

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Hi,

 

perhaps I didn't explain the change enough:

 

Links to images are not affected and are still allowed. So links in your signature or in older posts are not affected.

 

The new rule applies only to images, which are located on external servers but are immediately shown in forum discussions. The use of the IMG tag which enables this function will be deactivated.

 

Hi Andreas. I do understand why you need to do this. Can you explain if this will affect links in the signature blocks to external galleries, for example on pBase?

Also once this is in place will it stop picture links in existing threads from working?

 

As I said: Links are always working.

Images that showed up directly will be changed to links to the respective image.

 

What is going to happen to older links which were posted before this rule was implemented?

 

Links are working, images are changed to links.

 

Sorry for the confusion...

 

Best regards from Bonn

Andreas

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I have absolute trust in your technical proficiency and ethics. Thank you for being there for us.

 

Silly me, I had no idea one could infect a computer with an image. Thanks for the motive to learn more about this issue.

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Silly me, I had no idea one could infect a computer with an image. Thanks for the motive to learn more about this issue.

 

As far as I know images can not infect a computer.

 

 

But - as an example - other servers asked to deliver images might deliver something else - including malware.

 

Andreas

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Originally Posted by jaapv viewpost.gif

What is going to happen to older links which were posted before this rule was implemented?

 

I think Jaap means what is going to happen to images that were posted via linking? I allways posted via Flickr and I would find it disappointing if suddenly all my previously posted pictures disappeared into thin air.

 

I can see your point about security issues however. I can't think of a way to make linking possible from flickr and not from other sites as the deep-link flickr url's do not have a uniform syntax (my older images are in farm4, recent ones in farm6). Example http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3143/2888802346_3ccb731601_z.jpg (this is a safe link, rest assured, I can't seem to be able to remove the URL markup, it gets reinserted automatically).

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I can't think of a way to make linking possible from flickr and not from other sites

 

I'm not complaining about Andreas's decision to disable the IMG tag, but I would feel hard done by if he decided to allow it for Flickr users but not users of other reputable photo sites.

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I'm not complaining about Andreas's decision to disable the IMG tag, but I would feel hard done by if he decided to allow it for Flickr users but not users of other reputable photo sites.

 

Flickr is just mentioned as an _example_ of a 'trusted' site in the original post

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Will we be able to delete upload photographs as we can via linked photographs? I can't see how to do this at the moment, and as owners of copyright it is an important ability to say who and when others can see our images. But if I have missed instructions on deleting images that already apply to uploaded images please ignore this.

 

Steve

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User Cp/Attachments

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

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User Cp/Attachments

 

Thanks, I've found that page some while ago. However, if it lets me do anything (such as removing my pictures) I have yet to find out how. Possibly it's different for mods?

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Thank you Andreas. That makes perfect sense. I never understood how people managed to get those images located on external servers to be immediately shown in the thread anyway!

Maybe it might be a good opportunity to remind everyone about the guidelines on when and how to include images and how many as well.

Hi,

 

perhaps I didn't explain the change enough:

Links to images are not affected and are still allowed. So links in your signature or in older posts are not affected.

The new rule applies only to images, which are located on external servers but are immediately shown in forum discussions. The use of the IMG tag which enables this function will be deactivated.

As I said: Links are always working.

Images that showed up directly will be changed to links to the respective image.

Links are working, images are changed to links.

Sorry for the confusion...

 

Best regards from Bonn

Andreas

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  • 1 month later...
[...]I never understood how people managed to get those images located on external servers to be immediately shown in the thread anyway!

 

You must be joking. It is one one of the most elementary HTML primitives.

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Did not read this before and posted some images via Flickr. The post was deleted. I do not agree with this rule (most of the bigger photo forums seem to have no problem with this) but I accept it.

 

It would be nice though if one would get some sort of automated PM that the post was deleted. I am sure the forum software can do that without any additional work for the moderators. I was searching for my post like mad until I found this thread.

 

Heinz

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Did not read this before and posted some images via Flickr. The post was deleted. I do not agree with this rule (most of the bigger photo forums seem to have no problem with this) but I accept it.

 

It would be nice though if one would get some sort of automated PM that the post was deleted. I am sure the forum software can do that without any additional work for the moderators. I was searching for my post like mad until I found this thread.

 

Heinz

 

I don't think that the new rule is enforced by deleting posts. As a matter of fact, I distinctly remember seeing links to pictures which did not serve any pictures. The moderators do delete images from time to time when they're too large, but they usually leave a message telling that they did so. I'd rather think your post was missing for some other reason.

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Well, the post and the images where still visible this morning at around 9am. At around 11am the post had disappeared. It was a couple of tulips, posted in the Nature & Wildlife images forum, so I do not see any other reason why it should have been deleted.

 

Also, in the German images forum the last message from the owner of this site says Flickr et al are allowed. If you read the same message in English it says they are not.

 

No PM or mail until now.

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