IMGUR Image-Hotlinking

[mystica]

Oh, man-o-man! I'm in love with Imgur.com!
Of the numerous sites I've raved about in the past, this one really takes the cake. In fact I luv it so much, I'm gonna marry it!

Until recently, I've always considered Loldepot.com as the No.1 site for image-hotlinking. Loldepot beat all other image-hotlinking sites hands down IMO, because it was fast and hassle-free. There were no adverts, no rego/sign-in hassles & no captcha hassles. It accepted all image-kinds, and it was fast! A little while ago however, the Loldepot domain expired and sadly, has now gone the way of the dinosaur.

In the search for an image-hotlinking site of comparative coolness, I stumbled across Imgur. And she's a beauty! There's a ton of image-hotlinking sites out there, and everyone has their preferred site, yeh? But I think this one truly stands out from the crowd, and is well worth checking out.


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Yeah, yeah, what makes it so special, Mystica?

Glad you asked! Check out these features:
(Most sites have some of these features but very few have all of them. Ingur does).

Features:
* Totally free
* Totally anonymous
* No adverts
* No captchas or timers
* No rego or sign-in required (but some added advantages if using the free-rego option)
* Accepts all major image-types
* Unlimited number of image uploads
* Unlimited time on file longevity
* Up to 10MB file-size on each image
* Offers drag'n'drop fuctionality to upload images
* Supplies image-delete links
* Very fast
* Plus access to Ingur's API (for non-commercial use)

But the best part is the free add-on tools that make it even faster & more hassle-free:
eg.

Firefox or Google Chrome Extension:
Adds a right-click option to your context menu which permits screen-capture by page, view, or defined area. And which then automatically loads the image up to Imgur and gives the hotlinking URL (all via single-click functionality).




Imgur Uploader:
A lightweight desktop tool which enables direct (or right-click) selection of image-file on HDD, automatically loads the image up to Imgur, and gives the hotlinking URL (all via single-click functionality).




Plus an extensive list of other likewise cross-platform tools.
See here for full list of add-ons: http://imgur.com/tools




Really, check this out if you want a free top-notch image-hotlinking site.
If this site was a chicky-babe, she'd be smokin' hot!

Homepage: http://imgur.com

[T3STY]

Nice find mystica!
Although, this site misses one little BIG feature: Automatic thumbnail link generation. On ImageShack.us I can upload any filetype (up to 100 files per session) and I get a thumbnail link which shows the full-size image when clicked.
Instead, imgur.com generates the thumbnails (without even maintaining the image aspect ratio, all thumbnails are square) but not the thumbnail link, which I have to build manually...

Anyhow, purely clear UI, no adverts and free; good find!

[T3STY]

I have signed up, thinking I would find something more than any non registered user. Unfortunately, I have to say that I am disappointed at all... they only offer a file manager for free registered users, where you can't even delete uploaded images.

imgur offers:

• Supported image files: JPEG, GIF, PNG, APNG, TIFF, BMP, PDF, XCF (TIFF, BMP, PDF, XCF files are converted to PNG)
• Unknown (unlimited?) simultaneous files uploading
• Up to 1MB for non registered/free users. Up to 5MB for Pro; compression is used when exceeding this limit
• Non viewed images are deleted after 6 months. Removed from your album (registered free users) after 3 months
• Image thumbnail generation; Small (Square 90x90), Large (640x520 variable)
• Auto-generation of clickable links (both HTML and BBCode)
• Image resizing/edit options
• Tools for stand-alone uploading from desktop and browser
• Free to use API

Instead, this is what ImageShack.us offers:

• Supported image files: JPEG, PNG, GIF, ICO, BMP, TIFF + AniGIF for registered users
• Up to 100 images simultaneous uploading
• Up to 5MB filesize for non registered/free users; 10MB for Pro; compression is used when exceeding this limit
• No file deletion for non viewed images. Deletion available for registered free/pro users
• Image thumbnail generation (150x90 variable) + (optional) full size indicator label
• Auto-generation of clickable links (both HTML and BBCode) and thumbnail clickable links
• Image resizing/edit options
• Video uploading is allowed (up to 15MB); Supported video files: avi, mkv, mpeg, mp4, mov, wmv, 3gp, flv, and many others
• Tools for stand-alone uploading (Imageshack Uploader) + Imageshack browser toolbar and other smartphone related tools
• Free to use API

It doesn't have a nice UI like imgur's one but as you can see, Imageshack offers much more than imgur, this is why I'll keep using it and I suggest you to give it a try

[mystica]

Instead, imgur.com generates the thumbnails (without even maintaining the image aspect ratio, all thumbnails are square) but not the thumbnail link, which I have to build manually...

Not true, T3STY. Check again. Thumbnail links are produced via the right-click menu. And aspect is maintained, it's just reshelled as a square. Here's an example of a small thumb that has had its aspect deliberately distorted. (As you can see, it's square because of the reshelling but the deliberate distorting of the aspect is maintained):

... you can't even delete uploaded images.

Yes, you can. See the delete-link in the image below?

Unknown (unlimited?) simultaneous files uploading

Yes. Unlimited simultaneous (see example image below) file uploading is available via your mouse's right-click menu. It's a single-click operation done after selecting the target-files. (the Imgur item is in the mouse's "Send To" menu).

Up to 1MB for non registered/free users. Up to 5MB for Pro; compression is used when exceeding this limit

No, the limit is 10MB per file (see image below from FAQs). Compression is only used on large files to save their server-space but you're unlikey to notice quality difference.

Non viewed images are deleted after 6 months. Removed from your album (registered free users) after 3 months

Not quite true. Images have unlimited longevity, provided they're viewed once every 6 months. (Again, this is outlined in the FAQs).



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Appreciate the feedback there, T3STY. But your review wasn't exactly accurate, yeh?
I've nothing against ImageShack myself, it's just that I find it cluttered from all the advertising which I find annoying. So I still think Imgur's way better.
Each to his own, I guess.

[Sakuya]

Personally, I use imgkk (made by a friend) or flickr (snagit exports and copys the link to the clipboard when i hit printscreen) but I'll keep this in mind.