It may be that some folk don't know that this is called HOTLINKING and is considered THEFT.
It is theft of someone else's bandwidth for which they are paying.
Hotlinking is said to have taken place when you do not download the image to your own computer first, then upload it to your own image hosting account, and then post it from there. Someone else is paying for the hosting of that image, and the person using it in this manner is doing so without making any contribution to that cost.
The danger with hotlinking, aside from the ethics involved, is that the person hosting the image may exchange the image, keeping the same address, for another which will embarrass the one who hotlinked it. I have heard of an instance where the hotlinked image was exchanged for another that read in huge bold letters "This person is a thief!" and another where the image was exchanged for a pornographic one.
A related issue concerns the copyright of images. Unless you are certain that the image is copyright-free, then permission should first be sought of the copyright owner before the image is posted.
I am pointing out these practices so that people are more aware of them, have a chance to consider the ethics involved, and of course to avoid the possible risk of embarrassment should, oh horrors, their sins find them out.
This is a Christian website and we should not be stealing the images or bandwidth belonging to anyone else.
For more information on hotlinking, click here.
For information about FREE image hosting, click here or alternatively, Google the words "free image hosting".
What is hotlinking and bandwidth theft?
Bandwidth theft or "hotlinking" is direct linking to a web site's files (images, video, etc.). An example would be using anCode: Select all
<img>
tag to display a JPEG image you found on someone else's web page so it will appear on your own site, eBay auction listing, weblog, forum message post, etc.
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.
It is not difficult to set up an account with an image hosting service and many of them offer a reasonable amount of bandwidth for no charge at all.
~ Judah
Moderator