is image URL actually hotlinking ?

  • Resolved anonymized-14293447

    (@anonymized-14293447)


    7 years, 11 months ago

    This is an elementary question, but I need to understand.
    In my business directory users can show images on their profile page by adding them with a URL, i.e. the images are not recorded in the medialibrary/database but I can see them in the edit-screen associated to the different users. I think this helps SEO of the urers’ personal websites, but is this actually hotlinking/content-scraping ?

Viewing 8 replies - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
  • Andrew Nevins

    (@anevins)

    WCLDN 2018 Contributor | Volunteer support

    Does the domain allow you to use their images and know that you will be using it for this purpose?

    Thread Starter anonymized-14293447

    (@anonymized-14293447)

    yes absolutely, the system (theme) is built that way: on creating their company page they input URLs/texts in a form which wraps them in a listing.
    I was just wondering if I should assure users that I’m not hotlinking from their site (am I?)

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by anonymized-14293447.
    Andrew Nevins

    (@anevins)

    WCLDN 2018 Contributor | Volunteer support

    It sounds like it’ll be in the hands of users to point to images that they’re allowed to use.

    Andrew Nevins

    (@anevins)

    WCLDN 2018 Contributor | Volunteer support

    This is hotlinking btw.

    Thread Starter anonymized-14293447

    (@anonymized-14293447)

    in other words, I cannot tell them I’m not hotlinking, because I am, but they are aware of it because they are doing it willingly. ?? I just want to promote the fact that SEO-traffic is improved towards their sites because images are not on my server, but at the same time I don’t want to sound like I’m spoiling their bandwidth

    Moderator Jan Dembowski

    (@jdembowski)

    Forum Moderator and Brute Squad

    In other words, I cannot tell them I’m not hotlinking, because I am

    Yes.

    but they are aware of it because they are doing it willingly.

    Not necessarily.

    I used to prevent hotlinking but generally turned it off. But I do look at my logs (which is gripping reading, I can’t put it down) and when I find a lot of traffic I 301 the image they get to something visually unpleasant.

    Hotlinking is not nice. Please don’t do it.

    Thread Starter anonymized-14293447

    (@anonymized-14293447)

    Big dilemma, because the theme works like that. Users add their blogs’ images by writing a URL. I guess there’s no way out in this.

    Moderator Jan Dembowski

    (@jdembowski)

    Forum Moderator and Brute Squad

    *Reads. Reads again.*

    Well, if they’re doing it themselves… then you are OK but you may want to consider working out how to make your user upload images to your site instead permitting them to use img URLs.

    Our Gravatars are hotlinked but that’s how Gravatar works by design. It’s not like you are doing this without their input.

Viewing 8 replies - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
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