Hotlinking with CPG - yes or no?

[Carsten]

Hi,

I know that there have been lots of feature requests like "I want to link from Coppermine to other servers" and the answer always was "no".
Ok, maybe it's not an easy hack, but for sure it's technically possible.
So why is the answer always "no"? It is cause the dev team don't need it for its own purposes? Or is it cause CPG should not be a tool for hotlinkers and leechers?
If these moral issues already have been discussed earlier, please give me the link as I couldn't find it.
Otherwise - what is your opinion about it? Especially the dev team's opinion would interest me.

Thanks, Carsten

[Nibbler]

There is already a discussion about this

http://forum.coppermine-gallery.net/index.php?topic=8155.0

[Carsten]

I already found and read that tread. It's one of those "we don't need and code it, but if you will, it's ok" discussions.
Of course one is allowed to code it, we are speaking about GNU software.
But if somebody really would do so (and perhaps even change the table structure of the db) would it be welcome and perhaps become part of CPG 1.4 or would the dev team say "we don't want CPG being a tool for leechers"?

[Casper]

Did you read it all, and the linked thread, which has the mod, http://forum.coppermine-gallery.net/index.php?topic=8287.

[Carsten]

Yes, I also read that thread before starting this one.
I agree, it's a fast and universal hack, but though, not the most comfortable one.
To be perhaps more precisely - I don't want to hear technical possibilites, but would like to have an open discussion about the morality of a more advanced "hotlinking" feature in Coppermine - with automated thumbnails and so on ...

[Tarique Sani]

But if somebody really would do so (and perhaps even change the table structure of the db) would it be welcome and perhaps become part of CPG 1.4 or would the dev team say "we don't want CPG being a tool for leechers"?

Wether Mod X will make it into the main distribution generally depends on -
1) How useful the feature is
2) Is the feature admin settable
3) Does it disrupt the normal Coppermine functioning
4) Is it secure enough for general consumption

But do note that almost any mod made is definitely listed in the Mods/hacks board

[Joachim Müller]

Carsten is right: this is a question as well "do we want this feature to be in coppermine?". It's a matter of taste, and a question if it's the direction we want the software to take. There are many features users request that I don't feel comfortable with: e.g. admin mass mail never made it into coppermine core, although it would have been easy to implement. Other "messaging" features that would have turned coppermine into a pain in the *** for users who registered have been turned down.
I admit that I wouldn't want a hotlinking feature to reside in the coppermine core code, as it would surely be abused by the thousands of wannabes who don't give a damn about stealing other's bandwidth without approval.
Of course this is only my personal opinion - maybe, if the majority of coppermine dev team members votes in favour of hotlinking, it will still go into the core code. I just want to make it clear that I'm against this move, as it would clearly hurt the software's reputation in the long run.

GauGau

[Tarique Sani]

Pictures residing on other servers can be for a very valid reason, specially for very large installs - I would like to see this with a feature where in the domains from which pictures are linkable are to be approved / set by admin

[haha]

Well I think DEV team cannot do this. that's why they are behave like this. Am I write mr Gau Gau.. and others? Are you responsible of whole world websites? this is GNU software you have to add this script i think..

[Casper]

this is GNU software you have to add this script i think..

Well I think you have not read the thread correctly.  As Tarique said, any hack/mod put on the board that works would be here for others to use.  We do not restrict what others do with coppermine, and you are free to code this yourself, and use it.

All that has been done here is is people have explained their own view.  All the supporters of this software are volunteers, and we do not take orders from users, we constantly try to improve coppermine in ways we see as a benefit to most.

I do not see any bad behaviour above, except perhaps in posts like yours, that think you have a right to come here and complain about how this great FREE application works.

[Tarique Sani]

And before anyone jumps - Casper means Free as in Freedom not Free as in Beer

[omniscientdeveloper]

I actually like the idea also. Like Tarique said, it could be for a valid reason. I can also understand Gau's point. As a project manager, this is his job. Consider this: no matter how hard we yell and scream at Microsoft for having unsecure products, do they jump when we say "Secure it!"? I don't think so.

I, personally, would like to see Coppermine work well in enterprise environments. For me, it's too quirky to use for sites that could have 1mil+ users or sites with millions of pics. All this will be changed slowly, with future versions, I'm sure.



-omni

[Joachim Müller]

I agree that hotlinking is a good idea if the admin of the server the hotlinked files are on has got a choice. My vision (similarly to Tarique's suggestion) would be a small PHP script you (as coppermine admin who wants to hotlink) could send to the remote server admin. If he accepts to put it on his server (e.g. into the folder the hotlinked pics will reside in) the hotlinking will be a good idea. But then the hotlinked webspace will at least have to have PHP in place, so it can't be cheap webspace on a "static content only" server.

GauGau

[Carsten]

Instead of a php file a simple txt or html file should work too, or have I misunderstood something?

[Joachim Müller]

depends what you want: if the remote server should only hold the full-size pic and coppermine is suggested to create the intermediate pic and the thumbnail on the webspace coppermine is installed on, then you're right. If the intermediate and thumbnail are to reside on the remote server, the remote server will need php and an image lib to buiold them.
The most advanced add-on to allow remote hotlinking one could think of might have both and use the one that is applicable.

Joachim