Please read: hotlinking images

[StoryDreamer]

I see this occasionally on the board and I wanted to share some information in case you don't know what you're doing and what hotlinking is. 

It's fun to share images, but unless the site you're linking from lets you hotlink, you're stealing.

From: http://altlab.com/hotlinking.html/

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.

Now you may think well, it's a small site, and it's cool, because it's just one picture. But when you put it on a forum, it gets loaded from the site you linked it from each time for a new browser session.

Bandwidth can be expensive. Webspace can be expensive. Especially when you have a website that you don't make money from.

If somebody sees you're hotlinking images, they can replace that image with ANY image. I've seen several times where people post images like this: http://cdn.designzzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/stop-hotlinking-sample3-630x472.gif

How can you not hotlink? Save the image and upload it to a Photobucket or other photo hosting site.

I just thought I'd share this in case you didn't know.

[kaoskat]

Thanks for the heads up!

[RAMChYLD]

Well, this is why I usually upload my own images, of if needs really be, copy the image onto a free image host (i.e. Photobucket, imgur, imageshack) before reposting.

[Eviecorn]

I usually upload to Photobucket instead.  Problem eliminated!

[Maniah]

Unfortunately, downloading the image is theft also.

[Syrcaid]

You can host the image and credit the source in most things.  Otherwise, you could just post the link to the website, itself, if you're unsure.

I use IMGUR and Photobucket.  IMGUR is faster for most for fun images, like animated GIF collections and memes.