I don't think there's every going to be a shortage of new members coming to this forum as asking where they can upload their images. So I'm tempted to enable the feature for the sake of convenience.

I have kept the feature disabled, not because I have a shortage of bandwidth or storage with my hosts, rather because I don't want to be responsible for the storage for other peoples work. When you host with a dedicated image hosting service you can be pretty confident those images will available for a very long time. I can't offer that level of data retention--things sometimes go wrong.

I also don't want this site becoming a gallery. There are other sites which are much better suited to that task.

And I also don't want to be responsible for hosting copyright infringing work.

What are others opinions, preference and suggestions on this?

Hi microUgly
I voted for allowing uploads because it would simplify the process for newer members and/or users, who need to show an example of what they are asking for help on. (Or even older members too ) It would be especially helpful if .svg's could be uploaded directly to the forums because helpers could see the actual work, with layers and ALL the details intact. (Although I realize that not all browsers can display them.)

I can understand your concerns about becoming responsible for finished images and not wanting to be like a gallery. Maybe you could include some comments on the upload page or in the upload area with kind of a disclaimer? Because you have the "Show it off" forums, I would think you'd not want to exactly discourage the posting of completed images. But just to maybe suggest other places which offer the gallery experience.

All that said, there certainly are plenty of other options available, as per your topic about where to host images. While I voted for allowing uploads, I can't say I'm overly passionate about it. InkscapeForum.com is an excellent support forum either way, imo!

Regarding the copyright issue, perhaps you could enlist the vigilance of all members, by posting a (sticky or pinned) topic about copyright compliance and infringement. I guess I'm thinking about how the topic Views far exceed the number who actually post replies. So any potential copyright violations would certainly be seen by many. I think pinned or sticky topics do eventually get read by most members, even if not on their 1st visit. Well, it's just a thought.

All best.
Brynn

brynn wrote:Regarding the copyright issue, perhaps you could enlist the vigilance of all members, by posting a (sticky or pinned) topic about copyright compliance and infringement.

You mean like this topic? It's linked from posting page, but I might need to make it more obvious so it's not overlooked.

brynn wrote:I can understand your concerns about becoming responsible for finished images and not wanting to be like a gallery. Maybe you could include some comments on the upload page or in the upload area with kind of a disclaimer? Because you have the "Show it off" forums, I would think you'd not want to exactly discourage the posting of completed images. But just to maybe suggest other places which offer the gallery experience.

I was thinking perhaps of only allowing images in the general inkscape forums where I know people will only use it for illustrative purposes. The Show it off forums would not allow uploads to force people to host with a suitable site.

The other problem is that ideally you set a limit per user for how much they upload. This creates the problem that they need to delete files, files that may still be relevent to someone who finds the topic in future.

I also have the option of using the ImageShack XML API to allow you to upload directly from posting page to ImageShack and have the correct BBCode put in the text area. The only downside is that you can't upload SVGs to ImageShack.

I voted yes.
I think it would be a great benefit to the InkscapeForum.com to have this feature. I have a site with a few thousand user uploaded images and I find that a short notice about copyright (with a link to more information) where uploading occurs is enough to get the message across. You could also include a note about the permanence of images in the same places. I don't think many people really expect their images to last forever, though I suppose you'll get one or two who think you're a backup service.

With regard to the site becoming too much like a gallery, I don't think it's something to worry about yet, especially since there only seem to be a couple of posts to the Finished Work category each week at the moment. I agree that if it does become a problem you can encourage people to use other services and post links to their images.

You mean like this topic?

Well, you would know more about exactly what might be needed, but I was thinking of a topic devoted only to copyright issues, that's pinned/sticky, not just linked. That way if anyone is unclear, they can post a reply and ask for clarification. I'm not sure if you're worried about potentially actually having to deal with formal charges (some are, some aren't). But the more clear info that's readily available to members, the less likely a complaint might be made (and the more forgiving the authorities).

The other problem is that ideally you set a limit per user for how much they upload. This creates the problem that they need to delete files, files that may still be relevent to someone who finds the topic in future.

As someone who frequently searches out and reads tutorials, I find nothing more frustrating than missing illustrations. I'm not sure what kind of limits you might be thinking about, in terms of how much each member may upload. But if you will be not allowing uploads from the Show it off forums, meaning you will only be getting illustrative or sample images, I guess I can't imagine a member needing to upload so many that they become a problem, so many that they need to be limited. Maybe over several years, I guess. Maybe that's your point?

But again, I'm sure you know much more about all of this than I do.