Photos, Images, Comment Images & Videos- Please Read UPDATED 12/20

Updated Friday 12/20 See additions at the end of the following announcement (how to add image comments via an outside image hosting site).

Hi All,

I wanted to bring attention to a few issues with images and ask that everyone follow a few guidelines with regards to this as the image hosting on this site is beginning to get very heavy and unfortunately I'm not rich and cannot afford to host thousands upon thousands of art images belonging to other people and such.

Copyright Issues:

I'm noting some definite copyright issues as many members here have art images in their photo albums, let me say this the only way I know how; if you do not own the rights to the images then they do not need to be in your photo albums. The photo feature is for members to share their "personal" images, it's not a means for me to pay more money to host thousands of non-members art and images.

I know someone is going to ask this. What if we have permission to have their art in our photo album. Answer: If you have verifiiable permission then that's ok BUT no more than 10 images of art that you have permission to share.

Image Size:

Please make sure you size down large images to a reasonable size prior to uploading them onto the server. There's no reason to upload a 1024px (that's a width size) into a photo album, these images are very heavy and very large; they take up the space of about 3-4 normal images. For viewing purposes 450-500 px wide is more than adequate.

Comments & Image uploads:

There are tons of free linkable comment graphics available online. So, when creating comments on people's pages please use those many resources verses clicking the upload image feature. I've noticed some people only use the upload utility when commenting and that's ok if it's a personal picture you're wanting to share with a few friends but if it's some sparkle graphic etc. then please utilize the tons of free comment graphic sites where you can just "grab the code" instead of bogging down my file space using the upload utility. (Members can feel free to share their favorite comment graphic sites if you like)

Excessive Images:

I've noted some with nearing 1000 and over a 1000 images in their photo albums, that's excessive (I'm not Facebook or Myspace, and to be honest I just can't justifiably spend additional money so people can be excessive) and to be honest the likelihood of someone scrolling through 60 pages of images is pretty doubtful. Please try to keep image amounts down between 200-500 Max.

Videos:

Videos are very large and bulky, the upload of videos has not been allowed on here for over 3 years but I still note many who are still doing it. There are notices even on the Add a Video link that clearly states no uploads are allowed). If you have uploaded videos onto the site I would ask that you please remove them and upload them to youtube or Google etc and then copy the code on the site to share them on your profile.

I will also be sending this out via a site wide email and then after 30 days I will begin looking into the many issues with the above; if they have not been corrected then I will be forced to ban the accounts (which is the only quick way for me to scrub all their image/video data) and then reinstate them, which will leave the member with a blank pallet to start over. I really don't want to do thatbut I don't have time to pick through peoples photo albums and videos to ascertain what should stay and what should go.

I'm not trying to be harsh with this and I truly wish I had the funds to afford everyone all the space their hearts desire but I don't and with that I ask that everyone take the time (if this pertains to you) and make sure you're within the above guidelines; if you're not then please make the necessary changes to your accounts.

Many thanks for your understanding and I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday!

Hugs,

Starr

Updated Information:

• If you use a cell phone or digital camera as most do for pictures, upload them to your computer and then you can install one of the free tools below to resize your images for the web. Digital cameras and even cell phones often take very large pictures, some can be a few mbs a piece, which is VERY LARGE - these tools will make it simple to resize your images with a click.

• Windows Users - Image Resizer Tool

• Mac Users - PhotoToolCM (you'll have to scroll down to the PhotoToolCM for the download)

I use the image resizer tool for windows and it works without any issue on my system.But you can also put "image resizer" into a google search and find others these are just 2 examples of tools for resizing.

• For comment images many people use Magickal Graphics here's their link or click this link to review a google search of comment graphic websites.

Updated 12/20/11

I've noticed after going over this issue numerous times that some are still uploading images into comment walls instead of using outside image hosts. Here are step-by-step Directions for adding comments and images via outside image hosts such as Magickal Graphics.

Example Magickal Graphics they host tons of images for comments - if you go to their main site and look on the left hand side of the page there's many different categories for you to choose from - like Days of the week, fantasy etc. when you find an image you like - you'll see the code underneath (see below screenshot) -

Copy the code and then paste it (right click then paste) into the comment via the HTML button on the comment wall (screen shot below as well):

I hope this helps with any confusion on how to add images from outside hosts.