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Title: Hot linking... why not? Post by: macthekat on May 27, 2009, 09:04:52 am Why do we have a rule that disallow hot linking to pictures, you might ask. hot linking: Hot linking is when you link to an image or file on someone else's server. It is bandwidth theft. 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. A simple analogy for bandwidth theft: Imagine a random stranger plugging into your electrical outlets, using your electricity without your consent, and you paying for it. In a number of countries it is also plain illegal to hot link to images and files. How do I avoid hot linking? The answer to that is simple always upload pictures to your own image host. You just save the picture/file on your computer and then upload it to a host. A good one is photobucket as it allows you to upload directly from someone else's server, so you don't have to download the image first. View our tutorial here (http://livingsims.freesmfhosting.com/index.php/topic,99.0.html) If you do hot link, your image will be deleted. If you do it over and over we will have to take stronger action. Remember that it is polite to give credit to the one who did the picture. |