Toby Bartels wrote:
LittleDan wrote:
Maybe we should make it easier to include external images. Then, in reprints from the server dump, it would always either be linked externally or ignored. No one's infringing, I don't think, especially if we say that all externally linked images must be under fair use. Externally linked images would also decrease the server load.
We used to allow these, but got rid of them after a rash of links to <goatse.cx>. That they could change without any sign on Wikipedia (that is, no detection by Recentchanges or a Watchlist) was also a motivating factor.
I also think it is fundamentally immoral to have inline links to foreign images. It circumvents (probably illegally) copyright restrictions and steals bandwidth.
However, I find it fundamentally moral to include a link to the site or page which contains the wanted image. That way, the image owner gets credit and web traffic.
Axel