no
that is my point
I do not upload my images to the CPF server
I only link to images on my imgur photohosting site
CPF now changes the photo link to their own private host. They are literally downloading the image from imgur, placing it on their own host, and deleting the link to the original imgur source.
in the past this was optional, we could choose to upload to the CPF server, or not. It is no longer optional, instead it happens automatically now.
Personally I strongly dislike when forums require registration for images or worst yet, links. If its a forum where I plan on participating somewhat regularly then it’s a lesser issue but otherwise it means I have to create yet another account and also remember to login just to see the images. Ugh.
Geez. I cannot believe they go that far. If anything it seems like allowing external images would be desirable since it would mean less storage used and load for your server.
otoh
if they want to create a sales database that can be monetized,
then the steps they are taking to own the images, and prevent user content deletion,
there are pros and cons to obfuscation
I can link to an album on my photo host… but that only puts a link, not an image, inline… people dont prioritize clicking links
otoh
if a site, like CPF, or also Reddit, wants to upload the image I post to their own server, I could see that as helpful to me also… it means my image just got cloned, and stored in a separate server than my image host
so, if my image host stops working, there is another copy elsewhere
not that I think I need to own images I post… actually, by posting them, Im making them free for the taking… Im under no illusions that my photos are so special that I need to monetize them…
CPF is what it is and even before it began dying on the vine in late 2017 and before they got their software back on track before then, one could see that things were slowing down.
I never had a problem with their mods, but then I’m not really a dickhead, so I have that going for me?
Boutique lights began waning at that time and people here on BLF began to mod cheaper lights, since they had the gumption and expertise to do so, so the progression was set in motion.
I don’t personally mod lights, but I love reading about people who do.
Horrible forum, so many rules, unless you say “Wow, lovely light” you’re in trouble. Dare to criticise Surefire, and you’re toast. She struck me as a tyrant. Clearly she made a lot of money from advertisers, and didn’t want anyone to impact the income stream eg by making negative comments about favoured brands. Comments about “cheap Chinese junk” were fine.
He was the reason I left. Horrible man.
It’s a shame because some of the reviews are very high quality, albeit a tad OCD. Informative, well written, with good measurements. And some of the comments were extremely well informed. I don’t have issues with someone saying “that’s junk” as I’m an intelligent adult, and I can reach my own view based on the totality of comments and reviews.
Maybe not appropriating as such, just restricting access to members. I assume that more members means more advertising revenue, and that of course is the core motivation of CPF from Greta’s point of view. It also means less bandwidth on the servers, which reduces overheads. Servers and hard disks are not cheap, and wear out with time.