TalkImg.com - Image hosting for BitcoinTalk

[Learn Bitcoin]

First, Thank you very much for a dedicated image hosting service exclusively for Bitcointalk users. The first impression it gave me was that it felt like a clone script of Imgbb.com with some suitable modifications (Maybe better service than imgbb). Let's see; we will figure it out.

No one can predict the future, but normally I don't like to let go of this type of project. So my plan is to keep it online as long as possible. -snip-

I hope you can continue this service for a long time. You have been here for more than ten years, and I hope you will be around for a long time. I don't know if any of you remember VB1001, who created wohats.com. This guy disappeared for a couple of years now, and Wohats.com is not available anymore. I hope it won't happen with you and you continue to stay around.

Good luck!

[img//]http://https://img001.prntscr.com/file/img001/56VHtmgvReSHr1sCm18Qrw.png[/img]

I already use it. Really it's a great invention for BitcoinTalk Community.

I don't think you have used his service. At least the image you shared doesn't say that.

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[hugeblack]

It's good to see someone making effort and time to try to make the forum better, especially since this service is free and hosting images is relatively expensive, so placing some donations would be good.

- Possibility to define the size or width of the image in BBCode. ^{(no scheduled date)}

I think that adding userscript will make things perfect and solve this problem. by using it, you will get a small button at the top of the posting box. You can then click on it to choose the image from your device, choose the dimensions, and the result is to get the final modified code.

Additional suggestion:
Host the bitcoin price so that the user uses a link like ----> TalkImg.com/btcprice and gets an updated bitcoin price image automatically (combining it with userscript will make everything perfect.)

https://talkimgac./2023/04/28/logo_v3_big7a643c252132fc24.png

I think you need to edit your image link

[libert19]

The only constraint members like me might have, is that some of us use third party screenshot and image uploading apps like Sharex. These apps upload images automatically to preset sites like Imgur, So I wonder if it would be possible to incorporate your site to such apps.

I dunno for sure but I looked around a bit and sharex appears to support custom hosts, so you might be able to change the host and get done what you are looking for? I don't have pc to check otherwise I'd confirm it personally myself 

[ABCbits]

Great work OP. The website UI is simple, i didn't experience any problem testing your website and the ToS/privacy page are easy to read.

In an initial phase, because I don't know how well accepted the service will be, I'm using cloud services, such as support for website hosting, which, as it still has little space, means it doesn't have a high cost. Let's see how things evolve, and if it goes well, I'll try new solutions. Perhaps, I can appeal for donations, but at this stage I did not think it was right to do so.

The only sensible way is to opt for ads. They might cause some minor annoyance but someone has to pay the bills.

Also consider paid version which let user upload bigger image size, upload more image and hide all ads.


Testing the service,

[RickDeckard]

The only constraint members like me might have, is that some of us use third party screenshot and image uploading apps like Sharex. These apps upload images automatically to preset sites like Imgur, So I wonder if it would be possible to incorporate your site to such apps.

I dunno for sure but I looked around a bit and sharex appears to support custom hosts, so you might be able to change the host and get done what you are looking for? I don't have pc to check otherwise I'd confirm it personally myself 

ShareX does support custom upload hosts[1] but I'm not sure that you'll be able to add TalkImg for now. Perhaps later in the development stage joker_josue will be able to create a .php file that could be used as a basis for ShareX to run on.
[1]https://getsharex.com/docs/custom-uploader

[joker_josue]

https://talkimgac./2023/04/28/logo_v3_big7a643c252132fc24.png

I think you need to edit your image link

Edit the image why? It is working and hosted on my servers.
That link you edited is not correct.

It will be noted, that I use cloud services, and therefore the official link may be beyond the simple talkimg.com.
I'll add that info in the OP.

Also consider paid version which let user upload bigger image size, upload more image and hide all ads.

I do not intend to advertise on the site. I find more interesting the support of the community through donations.
But if you use ads, subscription campaigns will be the same. That is, not exaggerated and maybe just a banner on the homepage.

Now the focus is on making it a useful platform for the community, and then if it really grows, I'll think about these aspects. 

The only constraint members like me might have, is that some of us use third party screenshot and image uploading apps like Sharex. These apps upload images automatically to preset sites like Imgur, So I wonder if it would be possible to incorporate your site to such apps.

I dunno for sure but I looked around a bit and sharex appears to support custom hosts, so you might be able to change the host and get done what you are looking for? I don't have pc to check otherwise I'd confirm it personally myself 

ShareX does support custom upload hosts[1] but I'm not sure that you'll be able to add TalkImg for now. Perhaps later in the development stage joker_josue will be able to create a .php file that could be used as a basis for ShareX to run on.
[1]https://getsharex.com/docs/custom-uploader

The system I use has the ability to have a public API that would allow for this situation.
But for now it's too early for me to explore that aspect.

But if it's a feature requested by many users, I can review that situation.

[robelneo]

Have tested it on my current avatar and I like that they have a lot of options when it comes to the sizes, I have bookmarked and will definitely be one of my options, I hope you can sustain it, is this hosted on a dedicated server I hope you can find a way to monetize it either from donation or from ads.

Checking whois it's good to know that you have already paid two years for the domain, I'm sure if you opted for donation or showing ads it will cover before the domain expires, once traffic starts to increase you're going to get a lot of advertising offer

Domain:talkimg.com
Registrar:NameCheap, Inc.
Registered On:2023-04-14
Expires On:2025-04-14
Updated On:2023-04-15
Status:clientTransferProhibited
Name Servers:ns1.konexys-server4.com
ns2.konexys-server4.com

[elevates]

Since the IP adress is saved I have a question. What happens when someone uses aVPN or the TOR browser. In that sennse spam can get out of control as the images cannot be deleted. To control spam on the server I think another mechanism needs to be buit.

I think it is a ver costly but user friendly idea. I am not sure what will you do to sustain it in the long run. You need to put in place some kind of revenue earning model to keep this service active.

[macson]

i tried your site and noticed how easy it is to use it

Code:

[img]https://talkimgac.oss-us-east-1.aliyuncs.com/2023/04/29/Screenshot_109fxxxx.png[/img]

keep upgrading this site btw

[Faisal2202]

- No registration of user information is performed (only the IP is saved for spam control).

UI is great and user-friendly just like "imgBB", almost very similar to it. Plus the really like the idea but it makes difficult to protect our privacy, AFAIK, IMGUR and imgBB also record our IP to control spam but i don't know why someone who cares about his/her privacy and wants to keep their identity hidden, will use this platform, as they know the moderators of this tool is also on BTT and things can be sabotaged (no accusing just fact).

So most of the users will not recommend it for image hosting, as imgur and imgbb are not managed by any BTT member (AFAIK). On the other hands, this tool will come very handy because sometimes i face problems in imgur when i am on smartphone so i have to shift to the imgbb which i don't like because they put links in their bbcode so i have to manually remove them which is time consuming.


-->image is just to test the working of your website

• i think you should also not include links in it but idk what benefit is in it, so.
• You should add the webp format too as it will be more handy
• And are you using Amazon S3 Bucket to store images?

[SFR10]

- Images must have a maximum size of 2.5MB.

There's a minor mistake on your website that points to the max limit being 2 MB only.

Worst case scenario, disable new uploads, and keep existing images. But I hope to make sure that never happens. It all depends on community support.

Whenever it gets close to hitting the limit of the service you're using, you can probably add a progress bar in the header area to clearly show the situation to your users and ask for a donation of some sort.
/Bookmarked

[joker_josue]

UI is great and user-friendly just like "imgBB", almost very similar to it. Plus the really like the idea but it makes difficult to protect our privacy, AFAIK, IMGUR and imgBB also record our IP to control spam but i don't know why someone who cares about his/her privacy and wants to keep their identity hidden, will use this platform, as they know the moderators of this tool is also on BTT and things can be sabotaged (no accusing just fact).

All existing services make this or another type of registration. In these services, you don't even know who is behind it, it could be someone who is also on Bitcointalk.
In this case, you know who you are dealing with, someone who is present and accessible, ready to clarify any questions.

Either way, you can always use VPN. The website does not have any limitations in this regard.

• i think you should also not include links in it but idk what benefit is in it, so.
• You should add the webp format too as it will be more handy
• And are you using Amazon S3 Bucket to store images?

Answer to the points:
- That's another thing I won't want to insert, advertising links on BBCode. The only link will be to the image if you choose this option.
- WEBP images are not supported by the forum so at this time they are not accepted. I have plans to implement a converter for these cases, but until then it is not possible to upload this format. If you have images in the format, just change the file extension to JPG or PNG and it should work.
- I thought about using Amazon S3 Bucket, but it doesn't allow hotlink protection to work on BitCoinTalk only. In this sense, I am resorting at this initial stage to Alibaba Cloud OSS with a server in the USA. But the objective will be to use a dedicated server for this purpose, because in the medium term it has lower costs.

There's a minor mistake on your website that points to the max limit being 2 MB only.

Thank you for the warning. Situation resolved.

[Josefjix]

UI is great and user-friendly just like "imgBB", almost very similar to it. Plus the really like the idea but it makes difficult to protect our privacy, AFAIK, IMGUR and imgBB also record our IP to control spam but i don't know why someone who cares about his/her privacy and wants to keep their identity hidden, will use this platform, as they know the moderators of this tool is also on BTT and things can be sabotaged (no accusing just fact).

All existing services make this or another type of registration. In these services, you don't even know who is behind it, it could be someone who is also on Bitcointalk.
In this case, you know who you are dealing with, someone who is present and accessible, ready to clarify any questions.

Either way, you can always use VPN. The website does not have any limitations in this regard.

The website is mobile friendly, which is a significant advantage over Imgur, which requires a user to be on a desktop version to upload images and does not work on my mobile.

I'm afraid but I don't use sites without SSL because it simply sends the wrong message, it's a red flag for me I know it's not a big deal for some but it is for me or is the site still under development? How do you keep attackers from cloning this site if our data is not secure?

[joker_josue]

I'm afraid but I don't use sites without SSL because it simply sends the wrong message, it's a red flag for me I know it's not a big deal for some but it is for me or is the site still under development? How do you keep attackers from cloning this site if our data is not secure?

The site has an SSL certificate, provided by cPanel (powered by Sectigo). Renewed every 90 days.

Code:

Certificate ID:	talkimg_com_b4766_cd833_1689379199_f718a7db1bb50b386ced1601bb93489b
Domains:	
talkimg.com
www.talkimg.com
Issuer:	cPanel, Inc.
Key:	RSA, 2,048-bit (b4766f13 …)
Expiration:	Jul 15, 2023 12:00:00 AM

I also point out that no data about the user is collected, only the IP is registered with the image for spam control.

If you are a contact or are on a site called TalkImg that requests some information from the user, it is fake!

[Onyeeze]

Using this Talking.com to upload Image in bitcointalk I hope that the images will not have duration of expiration, because their's some of apps that you will use to upload images in other platforms after some time it will disappear depending the option you choose during the upload, I have not upload anything in bitcointalk before, I don't know if I'm not due to upload any image I would have try this site to upload.

[dkbit98]

So that will be the next step will be to better structure the backup system so that everything can be kept online. In this initial phase I am using cloud services to ensure the hosting of the images, and based on acceptance by the community, I will readjust to keep everything safe. As I said, the evolution of the project will depend on how the community accepts it. I want to grow at the pace of community acceptance, because that's the only way I'll be able to keep everything working in a viable way.

Important question I forgot to ask is how do you plan to provide funding for hosting servers, maintenance and protection against ddos attacks? (Ads, donations, ?)
We all know this is not free, and if website grows it will need much more money to keep everything alive.

When uploading, a link is generated that serves to delete the photos. If you save the link, you can do this later. But, in a way, this is what you want to avoid, so as not to generate a post without images. And if the user wants to have greater control over their photos, they can request an account.

I uploaded some images for testing but I didn't notice any link for image deletion... I will have to check that again, and maybe you can make it more visible in next updates.

- WEBP images are not supported by the forum so at this time they are not accepted. I have plans to implement a converter for these cases, but until then it is not possible to upload this format. If you

We now have new main developer and script patch king in forum, so maybe he can make some workaround for WEBP images.
I am taking about PowerGlove 

[taufik123]

Finally there is image hosting managed by Bitcointalk forum members.
I used to use postimg.co and never used any other image hosting. But sometimes there are some errors that make the images not appear and also quite often fail to upload.

TalkImg might be my second option for some images that I will upload on the forum. 

- It is only allowed to upload images in formats accepted by the forum (JPG, JPEG, PNG).
- Images must have a maximum size of 2.5MB.

Although you said that the only images allowed are the formats accepted by the forum (JPG, JEPG, PNG), gifs are also acceptable and can appear on the forum.
The important thing is not to exceed the 2.5mb limit.

example of a .gif file that I uploaded with a size of 1.1 mb


This feature may be very useful for me or other members, because I generally have to adjust the image size manually if the original image displayed is too large.

So that will be the next step will be to better structure the backup system so that everything can be kept online. In this initial phase I am using cloud services to ensure the hosting of the images, and based on acceptance by the community, I will readjust to keep everything safe. As I said, the evolution of the project will depend on how the community accepts it. I want to grow at the pace of community acceptance, because that's the only way I'll be able to keep everything working in a viable way.

Important question I forgot to ask is how do you plan to provide funding for hosting servers, maintenance and protection against ddos attacks? (Ads, donations, ?)
We all know this is not free, and if website grows it will need much more money to keep everything alive.

This is a good suggestion. For the sustainability of TalkImg's image hosting, there must be a donation button so that those who want to donate and support the website to continue to exist can donate directly via Bitcoin or other coins. Image hosting requires storage that has to be upgraded when the capacity is full and this will continue, as well as maintenance costs and some other support.

When uploading, a link is generated that serves to delete the photos. If you save the link, you can do this later. But, in a way, this is what you want to avoid, so as not to generate a post without images. And if the user wants to have greater control over their photos, they can request an account.

I uploaded some images for testing but I didn't notice any link for image deletion... I will have to check that again, and maybe you can make it more visible in next updates.

I also found this confusing. I tried uploading an image and wanted to delete it.
But the delete link actually appeared on the initial image upload.
But it does not appear when using the view link or direct link of the image that has been obtained.


Maybe I should ask to register an account to have full access to the uploaded image so that it can be deleted easily when there is an upload error.

[1miau]

Hello, Sir!
Good project, Sir!
Much success!

 


I really appreciate your effort to code such a site for Bitcointalk members to upload pictures for including them in our posts. 
To create awareness about your website, I've written a topic about it in our local German section and linked your website + original post from Meta in it: Neue Seite zum Hochladen von Bildern zum Einbinden der Bilder in unsere Beiträge
If more members will know about it, more mebers will upload pictures on your website.

[LoyceV]

I am resorting at this initial stage to Alibaba Cloud OSS with a server in the USA. But the objective will be to use a dedicated server for this purpose, because in the medium term it has lower costs.

There's a problem with this: you don't own the image-location now! When I first tested TalkImg, I got this link:

Code:

[img]https://talkimg.com/images/2023/04/22/bitcoin-logo-1-1-267084567290052a980fb3a46d.png[/img]

And this was good!
When I tested it again, I didn't look at the link closely:

Code:

[img]https://talkimgac.oss-us-east-1.aliyuncs.com/2023/04/27/logo2f1be96d6b5142e35.png[/img]

That's not good: This domain is owned by Alibaba Cloud. If they decide to change the URL (be it soon or 10 years from now), all embedded images are gone. It also means you have a vendor lock-in: you can't move to a different webhost anymore without losing those images. I'd say change this while it's still early.

My suggestion is to add Delete button, if user decides to delete image himself for privacy or any other reasons.

If images are created after embedding them on the forum, it will still create broken image links. The user could just edit their post so the image isn't shown anymore. It's better to have a delete-button that only works for a short time.

• What will happen to the image database if something happens to you? Would you consider give access to another (trusted) user in the future perhaps?
• Are you considering backups in the future? It would be a tremendous loss if anything happens to the pool of images later down the line;

I wouldn't mind making regular backups (rsync) of the data. Ideally, a few people should do that, and if joker_josue ever loses interest, the data could be restored on talkimg2.com. All we'd have to do is kindly ask theymos to replace the domain in the forum database and the images are back.

Shouldn't the website be accessible only to bitcointalk users? Like everything on the Internet, as soon as it gets more attention surely people will start to upload dozens of images (and probably some illegal as well).

It shouldn't be too hard to disable hotlinking from any other site than Bitcointalk's image proxy. It's not perfect though: other sites can use the same proxy too.

Request: please add height and width tags. This post has only width tags, which means my browser doesn't know the image height until it's loaded. By adding full size tags, other content on the forum doesn't move when the images are loaded.

It would be very interesting if you obtained approval from the forum administration to integrate the site within the image tools for ease of access.

That doesn't really fly with the way Bitcointalk handles image copyright complaints:

That image is hosted elsewhere, and we are only proxying it from the original location in order to protect user privacy. You should not complain to us.

Also consider paid version which let user upload bigger image size

There's no point: Bitcointalk's image proxy has a size limit.

After a few years of noticing how many images do not appear correctly in the forum or are very slow to load, not to mention the images that stop appearing after a few months or years, the TalkImg project was born.

When I started using Bitcointalk, I used tinypic.com. My very first post now has a dead image. Permanent image storage is really a good thing.

[joker_josue]

Important question I forgot to ask is how do you plan to provide funding for hosting servers, maintenance and protection against ddos attacks? (Ads, donations, ?)
We all know this is not free, and if website grows it will need much more money to keep everything alive.

I hope to draw on donations and perhaps accept an advertising banner similar to subscription campaigns if any campaign managers are interested. I just haven't mentioned it yet because I thought it was too early to talk about it.

Although you said that the only images allowed are the formats accepted by the forum (JPG, JEPG, PNG), gifs are also acceptable and can appear on the forum.
The important thing is not to exceed the 2.5mb limit.

You're right, GIF is also supported. Forgot to mention. I will update the OP later.

I really appreciate your effort to code such a site for Bitcointalk members to upload pictures for including them in our posts.  
To create awareness about your website, I've written a topic about it in our local German section and linked your website + original post from Meta in it: Neue Seite zum Hochladen von Bildern zum Einbinden der Bilder in unsere Beiträge
If more members will know about it, more mebers will upload pictures on your website.

Thank you for doing this, it will really help to popularize the service.

There's a problem with this: you don't own the image-location now! When I first tested TalkImg, I got this link:

Code:

[img]https://talkimg.com/images/2023/04/22/bitcoin-logo-1-1-267084567290052a980fb3a46d.png[/img]

And this was good!
When I tested it again, I didn't look at the link closely:

Code:

[img]https://talkimgac.oss-us-east-1.aliyuncs.com/2023/04/27/logo2f1be96d6b5142e35.png[/img]

That's not good: This domain is owned by Alibaba Cloud. If they decide to change the URL (be it soon or 10 years from now), all embedded images are gone. It also means you have a vendor lock-in: you can't move to a different webhost anymore without losing those images. I'd say change this while it's still early.

You're absolutely right!
I set it up like this, for the sake of starting resources. But, I already realized that it is not the best strategy. It is part of the experience and learning. My idea is to keep the service for as long as possible! In that sense, I can inform you that I am already making preparations to adjust the server.

I can inform you that the new images to be uploaded will no longer be directed to the cloud service!
So I appeal to those who have already uploaded images that they are using in posts (which were not just for testing) to upload them again.
There weren't many and I believe most were for testing. Either way, I will logically leave the cloud service active as long as possible.

Code:

[img]https://www.talkimg.com/images/2023/04/30/logo_v3_big15552fcf6c36af30.png[/img]

If images are created after embedding them on the forum, it will still create broken image links. The user could just edit their post so the image isn't shown anymore. It's better to have a delete-button that only works for a short time.

Perhaps I will be able to implement this type of time button. But, at this stage, the only way to delete it will be to save the link generated at the time of upload. If you don't save that link, you won't be able to delete it again.

Request: please add height and width tags. This post has only width tags, which means my browser doesn't know the image height until it's loaded. By adding full size tags, other content on the forum doesn't move when the images are loaded.

It's part of one of my future development plans. Thanks for your help with everything, including the tests you've been doing before. You've only been helping.