Links & hotlinking

[Tojo]

Can someone clear up the thing with posting links on the forum please?

As I understand it, we don't post any link to any site that you can click on.

Is it OK to put a URL to a site without the www bit, so that people can change it?

I've also seen links as text, without the URL showing, as in click here to go to the page.

I know I'm not the only who doesn't get it.

Thanks O great tech 'experts'.


Tojo

[Rabbit1]

No links to pay sites are allowed ---any see should be deleted ----Hotlinks is stealing bandwidth from another server ----and is not allowed

You may not post a link to your own site ---althought it is fine in your signature----we just do not allow post promoting peoples sites to be posted --we are not here to advertise homepages there is a webmaster link exchange link at the bottom of the forum for that

[Curious George]

Yeah, I'm confused too. I'm sure Rabbit1 will explain why things are the way they are here, but some of the rules are against all those I've experienced on other websites and I'm struggling to understand the rationale.

I'm Admin for a different type of public forum and I positively encourage hotlinking to things like Photobucket rather than uploading pics to that forum, after all that's the raison d'etre behind Photobucket so I don't understand why that is discouraged, most other websites for the same sport encourage it too. And I've never had a problem with clickable links in peoples posts, I would understand not allowing links which take people away from this site, eg to other bdsm sites, ( I ask people not to post links to similar sites too) but I've seen bondage.com posted in the past week so that doesn't seem to be a problem, but if we're discouraged from posting full URLs then, mea culpa, I've posted several links to the BBC news site, and if it's against forum rules then Rabbit will be hopping mad
(Sorry couldn't resist that, I'll get me coat... )

EDIT: damn! Too slow, the bunny beat me to it

[_ID_]

Im interested in this, as I wanted to link to a couple pages once, but the links were removed, yet I have seen the same thing in a few other places. Clarity would help. Thanks for asking Tojo.

Could it be clarified as to exactly what a hotlink is, for those of us that are a bit computer challenged?

If I post a link to eBay, is that a hot link? If I embed the link, is that a hotlink?

V/R
ID

[redhot33]

This is what hotlinking is

What is hotlinking and bandwidth theft?
Bandwidth theft or "hotlinking" is direct linking to a web site's files (images, video, etc.). An example would be using an <img> tag to display a JPEG image you found on someone else's web page so it will appear on your own site, eBay auction listing, weblog, forum message post, etc.

Bandwidth refers to the amount of data transferred from a web site to a user's computer. When you view a web page, you are using that site's bandwidth to display the files. Since web hosts charge based on the amount of data transferred, bandwidth is an issue. If a site is over its monthly bandwidth, it's billed for the extra data or taken offline.

A simple analogy for bandwidth theft: Imagine a random stranger plugging into your electrical outlets, using your electricity without your consent, and you paying for it.

How Do I know I am hotlinking?
This is how you might display an image graphic file in the HTML on your own web page:

<img src="image.jpg" height="350" width="200">

This tag tells the site to request the file image.jpg on the same server as the rest of the files on the site. If you were to hotlink an image from an outside server, the HTML might look like this:

<img src="http://notmysite.com/image.jpg" height="350" width="200">

This tag tells the site to request the image.jpg from a different server other than your own. Every time the page is loaded, the outside server has to use its bandwidth to display the image. To avoid this problem, don't link to files on servers that don't belong to you. To share images and files on your own web page, upload them to your own server's directory or to a free image hosting service that allows direct linking.

Why should I stop hotlinking?
Hotlinking can have a lot of undesirable consequences. One is the so-called "switcheroo". If you've linked to an image on someone's server, what's to prevent them from changing the image you linked to? This can have humorous results. Since most sites, forums, etc. have strict policies about offensive images, it wouldn't take much for an aggravated webmaster you've been stealing bandwidth from to shut you down completely with an unwanted "switcheroo".

Displaying an image or file that doesn't belong to could be a violation of copyright, making you open to litigation. The owner of the file could utilize DMCA law to have your site shut down and your information given for use in legal proceedings.

How can I test to see if my image can be hotlinked?
Use our URL hotlink checker below to check the hotlinking protection (such as an htaccess file) on your web site. Enter the complete URL below (ex: http://mysite.com/image.jpg) to see if your image can be loaded and hotlinked by an outside server.

[Tojo]

Geez you're fast- no wonder you got the 'Rabbit' name.

OK- so any link you can click on is a hotlink & not OK, unless it's to a page on this forum.

But it's OK to make a reference to a free site, like 'submissiveloving.com'

Pics we can just post on the page, as long as they're not too big- & are hosted on the forum itself.

How am I doing? If we can clear this up, perhaps make a sticky of it, it'll save you guys some work.

We're all pretty dumb really....


Tojo

[redhot33]

I understnad about hotlinking from other sites. I own a forum and would not want to pay for someone elses hotlonking my own stuff, but what about from places like photobucket and sites we own our selves?

[Ozme52]

Let's be a bit clearer... or educate me if I'm wrong...

A hotlink directly brings up the reference. So a hotlinked picture will display within the post if I were to link a picture here ==> You would see the actual image here. <==

A site link will transfer you to another website, or will open a new window and will take you there. That is NOT considered stealing bandwidth because you are going to get all the content, including their ads, and not just the picture/movie/game/etc. That's why we can link to articles, quizes, etc.

To that end, that's probably why the Post Tools provided here include the URL= commands but not the IMG SRC= commands.

The additional rules against links to Pay Sites is just good sense. It keeps our site clean and unfettered. As to Personal sites, maybe if they are 100% ad-free, I wouldn't mind... But I think Rabbit1 et. al. have things well in hand.

[Widget]

that is my understanding too Ozme52 about how this stuff works.

[Aesop]

Let's be a bit clearer... or educate me if I'm wrong...

A hotlink directly brings up the reference. So a hotlinked picture will display within the post if I were to link a picture here ==> You would see the actual image here. <==

A site link will transfer you to another website, or will open a new window and will take you there. That is NOT considered stealing bandwidth because you are going to get all the content, including their ads, and not just the picture/movie/game/etc. That's why we can link to articles, quizes, etc.

To that end, that's probably why the Post Tools provided here include the URL= commands but not the IMG SRC= commands.

The additional rules against links to Pay Sites is just good sense. It keeps our site clean and unfettered. As to Personal sites, maybe if they are 100% ad-free, I wouldn't mind... But I think Rabbit1 et. al. have things well in hand.

That's how it works.

[Ozme52]

I know, I know.... I'm good. LOL

[Aesop]

I know, I know.... I'm good. LOL

lol Modest too.

[_ID_]

So then is posting a link to something like eBay against the rules or not? Its not a pay site unless you want to purchase, and its not hotlinking by how you guys have defined it.

[Rabbit1]

So then is posting a link to something like eBay against the rules or not? Its not a pay site unless you want to purchase, and its not hotlinking by how you guys have defined it.

yes ebay is a comercial site---you could say that about any pay site ---not pay unless you want to buy something----

One other bad thing about hotlinking pictures---if the member decides to remove a photobucket photo ---the site ends up with ungodly Red Xs

Ruby has posted some links to non pay sites that help explain things in the bdsm lifestyle --these are allowed ----now I can not possibly see every post but if I see one to a pay site that says xxxxwhatever.com I will remove it

Links to news sites are fine ---you will find links to other free story sites here

but we are not advertising products ----our sponsers do not like to pay for advertising other sites ----and we sure as hell can not afford to loose sponsors -----if they get nit picky all site references will stop ---so lets just keep it to free sites ----your home pages are fine in your signature---but do not post expressly to advertise your homepage

[Tojo]

Ah I think that clears up any lingering doubts thanks Rabbit.

Remember we're pretty dumb really- I lost track of Oz's post after 'if I"m wrong'
Redhot's post I'm still working on...

Anyway, thanks to all who have tried to explain, I think I've got it now.


Tojo (hey some people know less than me...)

[_ID_]

Yes, thanks for clearing it up.

[Rabbit1]

Yes, thanks for clearing it up.

Glad I could help