external sites using delica.ca images

[RichD]

http://www.delica.ca/forum/download/file.php?id=7811

Should not be able to do that.

I came across one of my photos on another forum that was used without my permission. The src is that URL. I have no way of removing the image as the original post is not in the URL.

I don't mind this particular case but it got me thinking, "Are there any photos I don't want reposted?" Dammit. I didn't want to have to think about this.


I can't decide what is more annoying: the lack of netiquette, or the fact that the forum engine even allows this.

[jessef]

As far as I'm aware, anything you post on the web 'freely' without any copyright/watermark/labels tagged to the image is open for anyone to view, copy/paste and use.

If you watermark or copyright your image and someone uses it against your site/image copyright laws, then that is copyright infringement.

Cross-forum posting/sharing images has been and is world-wide.

If you don't want anyone to use your image, don't post it or copyright/watermark it. Otherwise it's there for the whole world to see.

[RichD]

I never mentioned copyright.


The choice to allow other web sites to embed your site's images in their pages is a choice, or an oversight in configuration - not a convention or a standard practice.

Its poor netiquette to post someone else's content on another site by embedding it directly. If someone is going to use something, they should ask. If they aren't going to do that, they can at least serve the content at their own expense and reference their source.


And I would like to know if there is a means for me to trace that photo back to the post it was attached to, which is a legitimate request.

[jessef]

I agree with the embedded link. Should not be allowed as Delica.ca is hosting that link to foreign site.

Misread your original post

[mark]

Hmm... unfortunately, all image files are stored in the same directory. While there exists a clear linkage TO the photo FROM the original post, there is no practical way that I know of to do a "reverse lookup" (i.e., find any or all posts linking TO a photo).

The only solution I can think of at this time would be to sequentially search through all posts associated with your username (which would be time consuming given that you have over 250 posts on the site).

I believe that there may be some way (at the server level) to block all photo "leaching" (within a specific directory). However, this could be overly restrictive (e.g., somebody wanting to post their own van photos from the delica.ca site in, say, a Craigslist posting would be blocked from doing so)...

[riverrob]

It is not great for people's photos to be able to be used on other sites, but i can understand how it could be difficult to control and stop such behaviour

[fexlboi]

A lot of websites block leeching with dedicated scripts.
The only way I can think of with phpbb3 would be to enable secure downloads in the admin area and set the allowed IPs/hostname to the IP of delica.ca. That might block other sites from hotlinking our attachments.