Image hotlinking

[Dan]

I turned off image hotlinking from remote sites until I can find a way to solve the bandwidth consumption problem. We sucked up 25 gigs this month (yay!), but most of it was probably from image hotlinking (boo!). vBulletin and the Resource Directory aren't bandwidth intensive.

I'm piggybacking another hosting account, so I'll have 35 gigs a month now. Hopefully that, and stopping image hotlinking, will solve the bandwidth crisis.

If I can get a sponsor or grant, I'll be off to a dedicated server.

 

[NHPlanner]

Let me see if I have this right....we can still link to images on other websites, but other websites can't link to an image on cyburbia?

 

[Dan]

That's right ... until I can scrape up enough funds to accomodate the increase in bandwidth from hotlinking. The other alternative, and I haven't found a way to do it, is to find a way to allow hotlinking of small images, but not large images.

 

[NHPlanner]

Is it mostly people linking to images in the Gallery? I assume it must be, since there really isn't a lot to link to in the forums or the resource directory.....I wonder if it's our friends from the scyscraper forums doing the linking.....that have only just recently posted anything here in our forums...

 

[Planderella]

FYI - I tried to log on last night around 8:30 p.m. CST and received a message about Cyburbia exceeding its bandwith.

 

[Dan]

Is it mostly people linking to images in the Gallery? I assume it must be, since there really isn't a lot to link to in the forums or the resource directory.

I poked around the logs a bit. I'm going to make a rough guesstimate, 50% to 60% of Cyburbia's bandwidth now. The number of visitors to Cyburbia are increasing steadily, but the bandwidth used is on a steeper upward curb; it's kind of like comparing the rise of medical costs in the US to the overall rate of inflation.