We do not want to lose photos or images.
- We lost, because people reacted badly to PhotoBucket's attempts to hold them to ransom.
- We lost because TinyPic - a sister company to PhotoBucket - decided to cease operations.
- We are losing, because slowly and steadily images hosted on TapaTalk, Yuku and one other, whose name I forget at the moment, are silently deleting your old images.
- Post Images shows all the signs of a company, which will soon be out of business. Yes, there is a high risk that we will lose all PostImages hosted images, just like TinyPic.
- For those using Imgur, then there is a 1000 image limit. Imgur do not currently delete images, but they have done this on several occasions in the past.
The truth is that no free 3rd party image host can be trusted or relied upon to continue to host and serve your images. It looks like PostImages will be one of the first ones to bite the dust.
@PENZZZ: No, Tom is not asking this. It is not even possible. Posts are locked from editing after they become more than 30 days old.
Tom is saying that people are unwittingly adding undesirable links to undesirable content, and he is tired of having to clean up after them.
Tom is also saying that linked thumbnails are also a problem because the PostImages pages are full of disreputable (and sometimes disgusting) adverts.
We are both saying that PostImages links are sometimes used to serve pop-under (or similar) full page adverts or affiliate sites - which could be porn, gambling, etc. - from which there is no way to return to the original FFR page.
Tom is asking for people not to post links of any sort along with their PostImages images.
This means:
- Do not use thumbnails.
- Do not use any other link other than the direct link, to which you will have to add the img bbCode yourself.
But, it is easier and better just to stop using PostImages altogether.
It would be nice of you could/would replace any PostImages hosted images that you have posted within the last 30 days, but this is not necessary.
@tiptop: Thank you. The idea was to be both simple and robust. We want to preserve the photos posted on FFR and protect both members and visitors from malware, adware, and otherwise negative experiences. We are also trying to give FFR a good reputation, and maintain it.
@jhuskey: I would very much like to move all PostImages hosted images over to FFR hosting, but this is a bit pointless, if people continue to use it. It's just making more work, and honestly, there is more than enough other things going on.
Do you all remember how you first discovered FFR? Google? Yahoo!? Bing?
For these people, they will not likely land on a current discussion. They may land on one, which is entirely relevant, but is more than 10 years old. How do you think they will react when they see missing images, or worse, something undesirable being shown in their place?
This is not good for FFR's reputation or for gaining new members.
Google, etc, sees all. Google determines FFR's reputation. Google can promote or demote FFR as it sees fit. It wants to provide a reputable and authoritative source.
Please think a little more than the current discussions. These are only what human visitors who enter by the front door see. The bulk of this forum's information is in the past. The past has to look good too.