Broken links to external picture hosts, etc

Community
#1

Salutations everybody,

My messaging habits have roots in the BBS days when ASCII text was all we could publish on telephone/modem based networks, like Fidonet, Synchronet, etc. The features were quite limited compared to today’s ability to web together posts integrating audio-visual objects and links to even more of such posts. The problem with external hosts is when they fail it defeats having those internet features, that when local hosting comes handy but at a cost.

I propose asking the forum software author to consider an addition meant to manage both internal and external picture links simultaneously by combining them, in order to strengthen the system instead of dividing damage control - which i view as an enormous cost in terms of man-hours at multiple individual user levels, assuming i’d have the permission level to correct all broken links in the 1st place.

A host manager feature would centralize easy corrective counter-measures, for example presently my pictures posted on PostImages.Org are missing though there’s a backup with the .CC domain - which is still useless at the moment because i’m not going to invest days if not weeks searching for broken links and possible updates i just can’t use anyway…

The loss ain’t trivial, it is immense and most demotivating. What i suggest is to develop a sturdier illustration system where originals are kept locally while external servers contribute with their bandwidth until broken and then replaced with the alternative copy. Or even better, multiple-source copies until falling back to the local original…

Doing so would imply the creation of an additional dialog window when posting pictures, automatically asking for optional sources to supplement the local host, not replace it despite damaging consequences in case of failure. When there’s place for 2 why not 3, or 4?.. So there shall be a pile of possible external hosts to try before finally resorting to local hosting, if desirable.

It may never happen but that’s still a more logical/productive solution to manage the problem globally IMO.

Good day, have fun!! :peace:

#2

the best solution is to post the images so they are hosted locally. you can copy and paste images so you don’t have to download them. relying on 3rd party hosts is risky

6 Likes
#3

Salutations LegalCanada,

There’s a format which served me well on Cannabis dot Com until i criticized its proximity with the piss industry, it was to provide an alternate link right below the picture, just in case.

Yes, but the user interface is so basic i didn’t know i could drag the object directly from my file manager and post it here. Now that i’ve seen it at work i guess i’ll figure how to optimize my use of it without much effort!

That’s an excellent reason not to accept http links, hence i can’t but agree with every point. I was expecting to find a menu item where there’s none to begin from, count on me to find a better balance in the future…

…

While i think of it i’d suggest the addition of a [ Spoiler ] wrap, meant to hide content unless the reader looks inside.

Nice development, thanks for all replies.

Good day, have fun!! :peace:

#4

There is a hide content option called summary;

Summary

This text will be hidden. Click on the right hand cog in your message editor to create something like this :slight_smile:

1 Like
What are you listening to?
#5

Salutations DirtDigger,

Many thanks, both issues solved today!

Good day, have fun!! :peace:

1 Like
#6

If the you need to rewrite all https://s31.postimg.cc URLs into https://s31.postimg.cc I can do it for all your posts…

In the future, please use our “local” upload to OG server as I’ve suggested to you way back in 2016 in our PM discussion.

System we use (Discourse) already does it - it automatically mirrors all external files linked locally. The problem is that postimg.org is not sending correct file headers for files uploaded and this way “resists” our software.

3 Likes
#7

Hi again LemonadeJoe,

That’s certainly the easiest remedy as far as i’m concerned, though i’m not sure it’s always containing the “s31” string. In any case, if PostImg dot Org is broken for me then i guess that’s also true for everyone else… Go figure what’s the most suitable approach. Decisions… Decisions… Not mine to tell. Thank you anyway!

It was a generous offer which i’d have been willing to benefit from and yet what seemed obvious happened to seem impossible somehow. Local hosting is desirable, i must have been too concerned with bandwidth to insist.

Yes, i now confirm this instruction was given. No idea what went wrong besides interference from my own old on-line habits and expectations.

Then i’ll be most relieved to reject this host when posting here - and even use this opportunity to suggest that all users should be formally informed about what more of those need to be avoided!

Perhaps the PostImages domain failure was the best outcome possible!.. :construction:

Good day, have fun!! :peace:

#8

Looks good… After replacing URL in 76 posts majority of images work…

I can only recommend to everybody not to use external service (and I try to contact all members which I see using external hosts that “resists” our image mirroring - luckily there are only few like this)

2 Likes
#9

Then again what more is there for me to say except:

Well done!!

…and thank you.

:peace:

#10

Hey legal Canada!… It’s your friend from New York. Lost touch with you, hope you hit me back.
Be well :-). 10-28-2020

#11

I edited out your phone number.
I advise you to send him a PM with any personal information.
Thanks

#13

He is set to private, how would I DM him, then?