Oh dear, we have lost access to IMGUR in Blighty, and I've got a photodump to do!
Any suggestions chaps?
Will
That's not good, I'm sure we had some photos on there at one point. Photobucket has a limited Free plan where you get x number of photos before they charge you. A Google Drive is an easy storage solution but I've no idea how to link them to a forum post! The easiest/cheapest method seems to be a free blog site where they'll be hosted for free.
I'm in a similar boat having used Imgur for a good few years now.
It's still working, you just can't access it from a UK IP address, which feels quite odd. When I say feels odd - as in it feels unusual to be on the wrong side of a digital geo fence. From a technical and business perspective I very much understand why this is a thing.
I did use Google Photos for a good while prior to Imgur, but something changed on it to make linking photos to a forum hard work.
I am wondering about using the LAF gallery feature. Seems the big players aren't very stable, so might try something hobby specific.
The whole faff of posting photos really does put me off doing write-ups lately.
got this link from Thewargamesforum. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gzxv5gy3qo.amp. The reason appears to be arguments with the regulator over age verification.
If it's the regulator that's having 'problems' with the hosting of images, without age verification, won't that affect sites like Facebook ?
Or do/does Facebook already know everyones' age ? :-\
You might guess from the above, I don't do ANY of the social sites. :D ;)
This is going to play havoc with next year's Painting Competition. I suspect that a number of us use IMGUR to post our entries.
I had a small batch of photos from my recent recreation of CHARGE's Sittingbad game that won't be going up in Photos for a while.
I've just checked the Painting Competition pages for 2025, many entries are now blocked-off.
QuoteThis is going to play havoc with next year's Painting Competition.
That's a
very good point !!
....and there are HUNDREDS of Will's (Lord Speedy's) pics that have been blocked. :(
Quote from: Techno 3 on 03 October 2025, 09:47:15 AMOr do/does Facebook already know everyones' age ? (https://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/Smileys/SoLoSMiLeYS1/undecided.gif)
Quote from: Techno 3 on 03 October 2025, 09:47:15 AMOr do/does Facebook already know everyones' age ? (https://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/Smileys/SoLoSMiLeYS1/undecided.gif)
Already knows. Facebook required parental consent for 13 to 17 year olds opening an account, now they use a video or digital ID for 'Yoti' age verification. Not fool proof but a slight improvement over 'responsible' parents creating accounts for 6 year olds :o
Has anyone tried a "VPN" as an Imgur workaround ? I've used the free 'Browsec VPN' extension for some US sites. Big business over there had this wee habit of selling user ID to 3rd parties without your consent. Hefty fines under EU regs so those US companies just blocked any visitors from the EU.
Quote from: kodiakblair on Yesterday at 08:54:00 AMHas anyone tried a "VPN" as an Imgur workaround ?
I'm not sure that will help, and correct me if I misunderstood, but the issue seems to also be with Pendraken's server, as well as individuals in the UK, so Pendraken can't access Imgur images.
Additionally I have heard that the UK Parliament is looking negatively at VPNs so they might not work forever. (That may just be a rumour, but even if it isn't they will eventually notice the uptick in VPN usage that is inevitable given the governmental restrictions. I also don't know how they'd regulate VPN usage but I would have said the same about everything else they are now regulating so...
I confess I'm not a resident of the UK so I'm not following this whole debacle particularly closely)
QuoteI'm not sure that will help, and correct me if I misunderstood, but the issue seems to also be with Pendraken's server, as well as individuals in the UK, so Pendraken can't access Imgur images.
No. This is fundamentally wrong.
The server is not involved in this, so its location isn't important. The link to an Imgur image is a 'deep link' so it goes directly to the imgur server from the user's browser to pull back the image. The server merely contains the reference to that image.
So yes a VPN, giving your location as not the UK, works to both directly access Imgur app or website. And allows the images that are linked on the forum to show. But this only works on a per user basis - so it's not really much use in allowing Imgur hosted images linked to forum posts to work.
QuoteAdditionally I have heard that the UK Parliament is looking negatively at VPNs so they might not work forever. (That may just be a rumour, but even if it isn't they will eventually notice the uptick in VPN usage that is inevitable given the governmental restrictions. I also don't know how they'd regulate VPN usage but I would have said the same about everything else they are now regulating so...
I confess I'm not a resident of the UK so I'm not following this whole debacle particularly closely)
I think there are far too many valid security and privacy reasons for VPN usage, to allow the UK government to regulate them around age controls.
Imgur's approach to geo-fence the UK seems to be not directly in response to the OSA (the one the requires age verification). So frankly who knows the interaction between global companies and the laws of individual countries.
Quote from: fred. on Yesterday at 10:49:39 AMNo. This is fundamentally wrong.
One of few times I am delighted to be wrong! :D
I am in the US and can see my Imgur posted pictures in the battle reports. Can these be seen by the British forum members?
No. Imgur has blocked access to its servers from UK IP addresses.
It doesn't matter where the content was initially posted from.
To confirm precisely what Fred has said, I can see Kipt's IMGUR pics from my US IP or US VPN IP. When I switch my VPN to a UK IP, the images are blocked.
A bigger issue that is beginning to crop up is that more and more sites are blocking known VPN IPs. The more sophisticated (government, for example) are using AI controlled packet analysis to recognized any VPN encryption and block the IP.
Apparently the only way forum users can post pics that everyone can see is to find a UK server to host.