Nice. But you should really, really warn people not to click that link. Gave me the willies.

Cuz you inflicted porn on innocent people who had nothing to do with stealing the bandwidth.

OMG...you inflicted these poor people with porn. Give me your wrist so I can slap it. Listen people, get the hell over yourselves. Stop stealing bandwidth. It's wrong!

I didn't steal any bandwidth. I don't know the guy that did. I was reading about a video game I play with my son when your disgusting filth popped up on my screen.

That's good stuff. I laughed so hard I almost shat on myself. Oops! Sorry, Innocent Reader!

That'll learn 'em.

I'm not getting involved in the debate here,(since both sides could have handled it better...) But I do want to point out something.

My friend owns a videogame website and a messageboard. Well the MB had a very bad security flaw in it and a very mean faction that was against the site hacked into it and stole passwords, changed profiles and personal pics, and general did a lot of damage. Some of the sickest porn you could imagine was posted as personal pictures and some of the sickest topics you could imagine were also created. Combine that with the fact that they also got some access to a few people's email accounts and website (a few posters used the same password for everything, morons...) they also caused a lot of damage there. My friend reported this to the police and aside from a police report and sympathetic yet hands-tied cops, nothing could be done about it. So this incident right here won't get a time of day in a court room.

Steve,

That was the wrong way to handle it... Innocent Reader has a legmitimate grip no matter how you slice it.

legmitimate=legitimate

I agree with Raven, hotlinking is theft. That 5 to 20 gigs of bandwidth could get stripped done to one or two megs depending on how much hotlinking gets down.

Raven, does your host provide anti-hotlinking measures? Does anyone know where anti-hotlinking software or scripts can be found?

Owen,
I'm not wrong on this. It's my file on my server. I can change it to a woman blowing a horse if I want. I have absolutely no responsibility to maintain a file on my site just because they are illegally linking to it.

Alan,
I've tried the hosts automatic protection as well as a few of my own. I've found that it doesn't work out very well, and sometimes fails to load legitimate photos. Besides, there are a few sites that are permitted to hotlink photos here. (Command Post, any site linking to an RU banner or button, etc)

For the most part hotlinking is not a problem and I am able to police it easily. But this particular photo became a web phenom and was linked to at least 25 different forums that I know of. Combined with all the search engine traffic, and I blew through 38% of this months bandwidth in only 2 days.

I simply cannot send emails and beg and plead for 25 forums to remove the link. By changing the photo, I was able to get 24 of them to remove it within a few hours. (That I know of, the site linked above is the only one that still hotlinks to it.)

Innocent Reader,

I'm curious to know what video game it was, and what type of video games you allow your son to play. I won't make any presumptions about you specifically, but most of America is perfectly fine with their kids playing murderous video games and watching murderous television (CSI, etc) but when it comes to a little sex, they go ballistic.

But I'm sure you aren't that type. It was probably the latest Barney game, right?

He was asking if he could create a 2nd character for Final Fantasy XI Online. Yes, it's probably a "Barney" game. But he's my child to raise, and I'm a dedicated parent.

Yes, its your file do with with as you choose. What you've done with it is offend hundreds of people that don't even know you. If that's your goal in life, tada, you're successful. If you want to take a higher road, perhaps just renaming the file would have stopped the hotlinking without offending people that have done you no wrong.

No doubt a wrong was done to you; but your punishment was directed at me. I came to register my complaint that I was subjected to a disgusting image, though *I* don't know you, or the hotlinker, or your site. In short, the only thing that brought you and I together is your porn that you felt I had a need to see.

If I've communicated that there's a better way to solve your problems, great, perhaps in the future you might consider who your unintended audience is.

Damn! You mean I missed it?

Wait, it wasn't the goatsex picture was it? EEEEWWW!

Problem is, I don't see a good solution. If you copy the picture and host it yourself it's copyright infringement. If you hotlink to a picture, it's bandwidth "theft."

Personally, I think the latter is the better option, but it makes it incumbent on you to watch the bandwidth volume and pull the plug if it gets excessive, as you did.

What do you suggest?

Kevin,

The photo is not copyrighted. It being a public figure at a public event, I doubt it would even be possible to copyright such a photograph. Uploading it and hosting it locally is perfectly fine with me.

The question is: Is Ravenwood obligated to determine who hotlinked to his image, and where it is hotlinked from, so that he can determine if someone might get offended? Answer: No.

Ravenwood: Ok, your picture wasn't copyrighted, but that's not the case for some others, so the problem remains.

I think the objection is to the content of the picture you put up, but in concession had your image been one that simply said DON'T STEAL BANDWIDTH, I think you'd be quite correct in assuming that the links wouldn't have been removed anywhere near as quickly. Nobody would have bitched to the originators of the links.

Crude, but effective.

I just changed mine around to send broken images, but you had the guts to change yours... Brah-Voe...

You're right, the people who linked without permission did something that they shouldn't have. However, in return, you did something that you shouldn't have.

You could have simply removed the picture alltogether, or threw up a simple tiny jpeg that said "Don't steal from me".

At least you could be adult enough to realize that the way you handled this was just as wrong as what those linkers did to you in the first place, and apologize for it.

YOU are in control of your own actions. Nobody twisted your arm into switching the linked picture with the disgusting one that you did. You chose to do that because you had some need to "get back" at someone (anyone would do in your eyes, apparently) over the whole situation, even if the overwhelming majority of people you "got back" were completely innocent of wrongdoing, and had absolutely no connection to those who stole your bandwidth.

If you can't understand that, then I truly feel sorry for you, as you look like a grown man in your photos. Grown men should know better than to react so childishly to such situations.

Once again, I put up a photo that I knew would have the hotlinks removed in the most expeditious manner. Had I deleted it, or changed it to just a message, it'd still be there... sucking up bandwidth.

There is also some lesson teaching, in that the person who hotlinked in the first place is usually embarrassed and yelled at, and learns not to do that again.

Most, if not all, forums have terms and conditions against linking to photos that reside on third party systems. These people broke those rules. I hope that you are giving them as much grief as you are giving me.

Ravnwood,
Awesome idea. I only wish I had thought of it first. Everyone thinking it was wrong are the same people out there searching the internet for Janet Jackson's boob. Get over it. Bitch at the people who have still have that link on their board. They are the ones violating your "innocence".

What in the hell? Are you people serious??? Some assholes hotlink an image hosted on Ravenwoods server, he changes it in hopes that people unlink it, and you fuckers are getting onto him for it??? Do you see what this is? Take a step back there, innocent reader and look at the big picture here. This is the internet, and whether you like it or not, your kid is going to see porn. It may be with you sitting there with him while playing a game, or while he's at a buddy's house getting into stuff -- your kid is going to see porn! No matter where! Hell, watch CBS and get a full spectrum of it. Steve can do whatever the hell he wants to ANY file on his server. Its not his fault someone is stealing that image (and bandwidth) from him to be displayed on another site. I would do the same damn thing a million times. If you don't like it, then tough shit. Get the hell over it, and welcome to the world wide web. Damn! Blame everyone but the people responsible! That's the attitude of everyone these days, it seems like. Steve, keep on doing what you're doing!

Steve,

When I click on a link I don't look at what host it is coming from, and neither does anyone else. In firearm safety terms, you violated this rule:

Know your target and what is beyond. Be absolutely sure you have identified your target beyond any doubt. Equally important, be aware of the area beyond your target. This means observing your prospective area of fire before you shoot. Never fire in a direction in which there are people or any other potential for mishap. Think first. Shoot second.

You were aiming at the bandwidth theives. You also hit the the innocent people reading their stuff.

I'm just saying. Please feel free to tell me how stupid this analogy is, if you don't agree.

Yours,
Wince

Gee Wince,

You might be right. Someone could have been seriously injured, maimed, or killed.