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The problem of linking vs. attachments ...

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Foggy
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The problem of linking vs. attachments ...

#1

Post by Foggy »

This is actually not an easy subject with an easy solution, and it has been made more complicated by the suspension of people we follow on Twitter, so their tweets are just ... gone.

Anyway, let's first define the two alternatives:

Linking, aka hot links, are when you post an image, PDF, or other type of file that's on somebody else's server. They are created using the [ img ] BBCode.

Example:

Code: Select all

[img]https://someone_elses_computer.com/image.jpg[/img]
Attachments are uploaded to my server and added to the database we use for the whole site. You add those using the Attachments widget at the bottom of the posting page.

So far, so good.

Linking pluses:
  • Doesn't add a load to my server or my database. :biggrin:
  • Most links are really fast.
Linking minuses:
  • some people really resent if you hotlink to images on their server, because it can add to the bandwidth they use, which costs money. But not a lot of money, and I haven't seen people complaining much about hotlinks lately.
  • Some sites actively prevent you from hotlinking to their images. Artists and photographers, who sell their images, do this.
  • Some sites are intolerably slow, so linking to them means you have to wait to see the image/file/whatever.
  • Quite often, the resource that you linked to will be deleted or moved, and then the link won't work anymore (see links to tweets by liberal journalists)
Attachment pluses:
  • Some graphics are just not on anyone else's server, like those you created or edited yourself, and you don't have much choice unless you host them on Photobucket or your own server somewhere.
  • When you upload an attachment, you have the opportunity to edit whatever it is before you upload it, so it looks exactly as you'd want it to look.
Attachment minuses:
  • Attachments become a part of my database. As I said, we have more than 7,000 attachments already since Fogbow Reborn, and they add up to more than a gigabyte of data. Eventually, that becomes a heavy load for our database to carry.
  • As you know, you have to be careful about naming attachments, and placing them where you want them can be a struggle.
So bottom line is, in general, if you can do a quick hotlink, do it and I'll take any heat if anyone objects.* But if your graphic is sitting on your own computer and you can't host it elsewhere, go ahead and add it as an attachment and if we need a Fogbow Three someday, so be it. I can handle Fogbow Three.
Off Topic
* I am dealing ... alright, not really dealing with a lady who found a link to some statistics on Fogbow. The link is valid, but she claims that her organization is the source of the original statistics, and the site our member linked to is using their data. But instead of going after the company that allegedly stole their data, she's going after me. She has sent at least four emails already telling me to re-write the link, and I could easily do that, but has she proved that her company is the source of the data? Is there a better way to approach this problem than to email me about it?

So far, I haven't responded at all, because my response would not be civil or mature.

But I really want to tell her, sue me, ma'am. See where it gets you. :smoking:
Out from under. :thumbsup:
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Foggy
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Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:45 am
Location: Fogbow HQ
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The problem of linking vs. attachments ...

#2

Post by Foggy »

Now, we have linked to many, many tweets on Twitter, and that's one of the drawbacks of hot linking, which is that the resource you linked to might disappear, like many tweets are disappearing.

If we take screenshots and attach them, that saves the tweets for us, not for the viewing public. That's why we've generally been quoting the tweets so we know what they said if deleted. But that's a real problem.

On the other hand, life goes on. We're losing Twitter, but something else will come along. Nothing is cast in stone, and I guarantee if you look at the old posts on Formerly.Fogbow, you will see that the images and files that we linked to in 2009 and 2010 are, for the most part, gone.

We linked to stories in the news? Those are archived now, the links don't work.

This is life in the 21st century.

Best advice is, use your own judgment and keep moving forward. :bighug:
Out from under. :thumbsup:
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