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]
So far, so good.
Linking pluses:
- Doesn't add a load to my server or my database.
- Most links are really fast.
- 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)
- 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.
- 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.
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.
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.