Hotlinking images

SnowFella · Post by **SnowFella** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:44 am

Not sure how much of an issue it is, my own website has never really racked up that much traffic and is getting taken offline when my current contract runs out, but I've recently noticed a few other forums that are linking or hotlinking images from this site.
Would be leaching some of the available bandwidth and could easily be stopped.

Post by **daiv** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 3:31 am

Hi, thanks for the heads up. If the images are used in another related discussion forum, I don't mind so much. While hotlinking does rob bandwidth, it also is a link back to the search engine bots and so increases rankings. I prefer that people mention the source and of course the official position is don't do it without permission.

Content scraping is another thing. Sites that copy content simply to get traffic and then get people to click on ads they place on those pages really chaps my hide!

Peterthecactusguy · Post by **Peterthecactusguy** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:27 am

yeah, I know what you mean Daiv.
speaking of robbing bandwidth, why is it anytime there are spammers messages on the board it slows down my connection?

SnowFella · Post by **SnowFella** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:08 am

daiv wrote:Hi, thanks for the heads up. If the images are used in another related discussion forum, I don't mind so much. While hotlinking does rob bandwidth, it also is a link back to the search engine bots and so increases rankings. I prefer that people mention the source and of course the official position is don't do it without permission.

Content scraping is another thing. Sites that copy content simply to get traffic and then get people to click on ads they place on those pages really chaps my hide!

They are indeed in another cactii related forum, albeit one more focused with the use (I'd rather call it missuse) of certain cactii and other plants

Plus once I stopped and thought about it, they are not really hotliked but merely linked. So they have to actively be clicked in order to use leach bandwith.

Guess when it comes to images and content being a former 3D modeler I'm from a somewhat different school of thought, as my images in more times than not is my content, other than the acctual 3D models the images were made with that is.
I've had websites steal images for sale purposes, had regular folks hotlink images for use on their myspace pages (guess who found himself with a very inappropriate myspace background not long after I tracked the mysterious hit in bandwith I was taking

) and even had a published magazine nick pictures as an article filler once.
The magazine in question didn't even have the decency to reply to an email I sent to their editor asking about the matter.

Peterthecactusguy · Post by **Peterthecactusguy** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:03 pm

To be honest I find it sort of funny. I have had so much stuff stolen from me. I wouldn't be shocked if you searched for cacti pictures some of mine wouldn't show up lol.

I do think it's lame that people jack pictures and or run scripts on the page. I think that's what happens with the spam stuff anyways. I don't go anywhere or anything but I think they try to re-direct you. Whatever the case don't open the messages with the weird names/subjects as they are always spam.

As for the linking things I think that is lame too.