Bitcoin Forum

ㅤ

From when it's not working? When you used this method last time? I wasn’t aware about this method to use image. I always uploaded image to the image hosting site and copy the bbcode from there. Didn’t even know such method existed lol.

I wouldn't accuse bitcointalk block image from medium without additional proof, it's possible Medium now forbid hotlinking or automatically block certain IP/domain to prevent DDoS.

Jeez....that's the way I've been posting images here ever since I learned how to do it.  I didn't realize there was another way.

I doubt there's any sort of bias against Medium on the part of the forum or a ban against linking to images hosted there, because I suspect we would have had an announcement (though I could be wrong). 

What I'm wondering is whether anyone else is having the same problem you're having, Ratimov.  That would probably answer your question in full, though it might not provide a solution.

I usually hotlink images from my own server, so i cannot say i've experienced this problem before... This being said, there could be multiple explanations, i've listed them from most plausible to least plausible:

• Medium started disallowing hotlinking from their server. It's an age-old problem: services suddenly realize that their bandwidth is being used to hotlink images without them being able to monetize said traffic and start blocking hotlinking without giving notice. A long, long time ago, i even had people threatening to take me to court because i disabled hotlinking from my servers (they were stealing my bandwidth to serve my images straight from my host without even asking me, so i basically replied: go ahead, i'll see you in court... needless to say that nothing happened)
• Medium changed something on their WAF, scripting or local firewall without the intention to block hotlinking, but still with the same end result
• Bitcointalk is behind cloudflare, and it has been known to act strange when posting (for example) blocks of code
• Bitcointalk itself changed something in their image proxy settings

I tested some images. My take is that the "*" could be the key here. The format of all the image links from Medium containing this character. I couldn't find any other servers having that kind of link format to test.
examples here:


Interesting that the format of the links didn't change, there are old posts with the "*" in them.

Theymos it the one to answer

the other PNGs are working fine.
https://cdn-icons-png.flaticon.com/512/29/29072.png

That might cause copyright problems: the forum (https://bitcointalk.org/contact.php) for instance has this explanation:
Hotlinking gives credit by default.

That's easy to test (https://loyce.club/other/test.html): hotlinking to medium.com works fine :)

Hmm... That's interesting... A * isn't a common character to see in an url (afaik). Maybe cloudflare or the imageproxy can't handle this...

True, but i don't host pictures that are copyrighted... As a matter of fact, i usually host diagrams i've created myself or screenshots from open source applications...

Eventough this test is conclusive, there's always the chance medium is blocking bitcointalk's imageproxy and nothing else (or they could be using a blacklist instead of a whitelist). It's not that common, so this is probably not the case, but it's certainly not impossible. This way, your test would run fine, but images inserted into bitcointalk would not...

Even though I personally dislike adding various extensions to my browser, sometimes there is simply no other option if you're looking for comfort. I suggest you take a look at the imgur Uploader (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/imgur-uploader/lcpkicdemehhmkjolekhlglljnkggfcf) extension for Google chrome browser.

Imgur Uploader is a tool that lets you easily upload images and screenshots to your personal imgur account or anonymously. Just right click on an image anywhere on the web, then click 'Rehost Image.' Easy as that.

If someone with a running server could test it, just make a image file with a "*" in the name and post it here to see if that will work so we can cross out this suggestion.
I know LoyceV has a server running but I don't know if he has the time for that :).

EDIT: Thanks mocacinno for your quick reaction :) One crossed out.

here you go :)
https://mocacinno.com/hotlinkimages/hw*_small.png

So, apparently, it's not the "*" symbol

The complete url is:
https:// mocacinno.com/ hotlinkimages/ hw*_small.png

It takes only few seconds to right click, save and than upload any image and post link in forum.
I don't see how it can be so uncomfortable unless you are posting images with every single post you make, and that would be borderline crazy.

How do you navigate so many tabs in your browser? :)

Ctrl Tab

Medium is blocking the image proxy (ip.bitcointalk.org) from accessing its images. I don't try to bypass blocks like these.

I could allow Medium images to be hotlinked directly rather than being proxied through ip.bitcointalk.org. Medium blog owners wouldn't have access to the IP logs from this, right? Does anyone think that this would be a bad idea?

Yes! I rather not see Medium images than give them access to Bitcointalk user's IP addresses. I like the image proxy and I think it should remain active for all sites without exceptions.

Agree with LoyceV better to keep all images proxied through ip.bitcointalk.org, and let say if you allow Medium then you will open a door to requests to add more exceptions e.g. Tumblr, Quora, linkedin.

 ;D

The worst part is: i usually have even more tabs open... I especially did some closing before taking a pic, leaving only the tabs i really need open

Anyone knows how many people here are actually doing something similar like Ratimov?
I don't know anyone else who is using medium images like this, and I don't think we need to change anything in forum just to make one person more comfortable ;)
He said that images showed before in forum, that means Medium made some recent changes with blocking the image proxy.

I think you have serious case of multi tab addiction sir.
People say woman are usually better in multitasking, but I guess they never examined bitcointalk members  :D

So you're saying Ratimov caused Medium to block Bitcointalk's image proxy? It could be they didn't mind just a few images being hotlinked, but don't like it on a massive scale.

No I am not saying that.
All I am saying is that probably nobody else is using images from Medium like this, so it would be statistical error to change anything in forum just because of him (unless he is some VIP).
Medium probably blocked some other similar websites, not just bitcointalk image proxy.

I think the image proxy should remain for all images, no matter where they are coming from. Rehosting the images is probably the best course of action anyway, since you never know what will happen to the original source in the future. Image hosts exist for a reason, and they are free, so why not use them?

Yeah, we've already concluded that you are unique in this case.  ;)
There is no reason why you shouldn't find a way to make that job easier. Have you checked out the extension I suggested (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5395998.msg59972976#msg59972976)? You can literally rehost any image from the Imgur servers with just a few clicks.


You also have theymos' explanation, in case you missed it.

Am on the same page with you, I also never knew of this image posting method until now, and also imagining how faster this method can be, because finding an image, downloading it, then upload to imgur and then copy link to the forum sometimes is time consuming most especially when there are many images to post, you end up sanding several hours creating just one post.

Back to the topic of discussion, I think @mocacinno already said it all, it could possibly be one those he listed that's causing the problem, or maybe something else entirely, am not a tech savvy person so I can't really make a valid suggestion of what the cause this problem might be, but then, I do hope a solution of found.

I don't know exactly how much images I upload per week and I won't count them, but I know that using some software like ImageUploader makes uploading multiple images much easier and faster.
I have simple solution for you - try not doing so much translations of complete articles from medium and you won't have to upload so much images ;)

I understand what you are saying, but at least you can skip one of those steps. The images don't have to be downloaded from the source to your computer. Imgur allows you to paste the URL of a picture and it then does it for you. Doesn't change much, but at least you don't have to download them to your PC. You also have to paste one URL at a time, which is a pain in the ass if you plan to use dozens.

That's something completely different, it's related to the forum itself. Medium is a third-party who (apparently) banned Bitcointalk's image proxy.
A real solution would be an image host dedicated to Bitcointalk, and integrated as well, but I guess that gives copyright headaches. The problem with using external sites for images is that they can disappear at any moment. I used to use tinypic.com, which disappeared. I now usually use loyce.club/other for my images, but at some point (give it 100 years), it will be gone. Hosting images on the forum itself would ensure they survive as long as the forum survives.

Medium isn't friendly with Bitcoiners, because study shows most are criminals, psychos, anarcho-capital-libertarians, anti-social, white supremacists, neo-nazists. What did I miss? Short-sighted and unethical towards the environment?

JK.

We're also borderless! Introducing the ingenious "proxying the proxy":

Example with your image:
https://blackhatcoiner.com/?img=https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/0*jzEzWBkwCBEHtEoZ.png

I don't know, though, if it's more easier or faster for you to download and upload it in an image file hosting services. That's just my improvised alternative.

What's going to happen when some new websites start to do similar thing like Medium with blocking bitcointalk?
You are going to complain and ask theymos every time to unblock all other websites, or you are going to find one solution that works for everyone else now.
We can even do small test and see what's the time difference with your method and one I am using.

I do not understand what the problem is with using a free image sharing service? I mean, really, free is good... and that is what they are for. Images are hosted in image hosting services so that they can be delivered to the web in an optimal manner. In addition, you have the advantage that the image will always be available and unchanged. I think the benefits far outweigh the need for adding a few more steps to post the image.