Imgur blocks access to most VPN IP addresses so any posts using the host will result in many users being unable to see the content. Sometimes only remote viewing is affected but is also often blocked when trying to open in new tab and view at the parent site.
Consider uploading to the fediverse or using a privacy-respecting hosting service like postimages.
It’s funny really… what was the quote? You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain.
Imgur was started back in the day to provide a no-bullshit image host, because all the others were too corporate / too monetized / too much bullshit/enshittification. So MrGrim started Imgur to fix that.
Then MrGrim took a bunch of VC money, and they eventually sold out, and now the result is the sad shell of what it once was today.
Yeah. I remember ye olde days of Imgur. NSFW in gallery and stuff. Now it’s just shitty. It was a pretty gradual thing. I don’t even remember exactly what made me stop using it.
Nah, it was started as an image host for reddit. It has always been extremely corporate. The site has even always almost been reddit with the same up/down vote and comment systems.
I wonder if using a hash-based system could work slightly better (on platforms where you can’t edit image links) in these cases where a platform decides to stop serving to some users or go defunct. So that way, you can at least have a slight chance of ‘fixing’ an image after the fact.
It wouldn’t work with most image share sites, but at least you could rehost it on a mirror yourself.
I really wish we had this. A browser that allows loading files directly using P2P Torrent V2 hashes to load files or even static websites. Opera supports torrents but not as a direct replacement to http.
Then you could simply upload images to some random torrent seed box to host them and distribute them.
This seems problematic… if I click on a link to something that infringes on a copyright, my system is being used to distribute copyrighted material. That would be exposing me to legal liability without me knowing. Also it’s using my bandwidth without my knowledge.
Yeah I do download from torrents, but I do it with the knowledge that whatever I download is going to be redistributed by my computer, so I know to make sure the VPN is on. Something built into a browser is doing this without the user’s knowledge.
Maybe creating a browser extension to do something like this would be ok, people are opting in when they install the extension. But then the torrents wouldn’t work for everyone and given the problem we’re trying to solve is links not working for everyone, that doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Shit even without a VPN, it might not work unless you make damn sure to link the correct direct image link and not the imgur container link. This has been an issue with imgur on other social media for years now.
Could you please specify how to tell them apart?
The correct one has a file extension.
You get the image URL by right-clicking on the image and selecting ‘copy image link’ or whatever it is in your browser. It looks like ‘i.imgur.com/33blahbleh.jpg’, whereas the page URL is ‘imgur.com/gallery/cat-making-pizza-33blahbleh’.
If you use the app, I doubt it that they give you the direct image URL anywhere.
It’s by design, to incite people to spend time on the imgur website/app with ads instead of just using for image hosting. It used to be a nerd-friendly image hosting for redditors at the beginning, but about 3 years ago they decided it’s time to try to look more respectful to make some more money out of it. They banned NSFW (and probably whatever else their investors/advertisers/payment processors don’t want to see) and automatically deleting images uploaded anonymously and not accessed enough. Interestingly, similar timing as the Reddit API debacle which created a big wave of new comers to Lemmy, including myself.
They are not a reliable image hosting service anymore, by design. https://help.imgur.com/hc/en-us/articles/26479362527771-Imgur-Terms-of-Service-UpdateI remember they banned NSFW everywhere but Reddit. They still show NSFW through Reddit, or at least used to.
Initially, it was made by a redditor to make Reddit image posting easier when Reddit was text hosting only. So anything allowed on Reddit was allowed there.
Then they added their own optional public gallery on imgur directly, with public comments. They didn’t allow NSFW there.
3 years ago they decided they didn’t want to be an image hoster anymore and focus on their gallery, which coincidentally also allows showing more ads. So they have been cutting anything that does not fit there anymore, nsfw, anonymous hosting and low view images etc.
You don’t see imgur because you use a VPN.
I don’t see imgur because I won’t enable their Javascript.
We are not the same.
How do you disable site specific JavaScript?
NoScript extension
I don’t see imgur because I use a vpn and also because I am in the UK. We’s diffrunt.
Innit
I don’t see the images when I’m on the VPN or off the VPN.
I’m more shocked people still use Imgur for anything anymore.
Also, anyone in the UK not using a VPN won’t be able to see them, since imgur chose to block the UK rather than adhere to age verification laws.
Whatever one thinks about that legislation, other countries (including the whole of the EU and Australia) are likely to do the same and it seems likely imgur will become a US-only resource…
Well, that and due to them being investigated for how they handle children’s data and access, it had appeared that a fine was heading their way.
I’m on Fedia and not using a VPN, I never see imgur thumbnails in the posts, I always have to manually click on a link. I rarely bother to click.
I just yesterday was trying to re-upload a video posted to Imgur that many people couldn’t see. Is there a good, privacy-respecting service for videos? Postimage wouldn’t allow me to select the MP4 file. It was under 5MB.
Iirc Lemmy itself allows uploading videos when posting, though perhaps this differs per instance.
catbox.moe usually works, but I can’t upload anything to it if my VPN is active. >…>
Thank you! I’ll keep that handy for future reference.
A lot of countries, ISPs, etc. also block Catbox. Though I am confused by the VPN problem, because I also often have issues with Catbox on a VPN, but their FAQ actually suggests to use a VPN to use the service if your country or whatever blocks it. So they clearly are not intending to wholesale block VPNs or anything.
I think the inconstancy has to do with whether your VPN of choice is allowing itself to be used for bot scraping and other shitty resource hogs. Back when AI scrapers were running openly via their own company’s network and then started to get blocked by IP, the scrapers didn’t stop. They just went to VPN.
So on VPN it’s not unusual for me to be fine and then suddenly get blocked from sites, or just extra captchas, Cloudflare checks and the like out of the blue; I’ve come to assume that just means someone’s using it to be shitty. Switching proxies helps occasionally, but not always. I live with it.
Is there a good, privacy-respecting service for videos?
This question is especially tragic because we have a Fediverse video service – PeerTube – but the design of it isn’t quite right for your use-case.
It’s true and I won’t turn off my vpn for companies that do this crap.
Prepare this is gonna get a lot worse, though.
Thanks Imgur for saving me from Imgur
Lemmy.zip has the same problem when browsing on mobile. There’re a lot of moving parts on the fediverse, and it seems like there is constantly something broken.
I’m in the UK. I can only see imgur when I do use a VPN.
I’m also in the UK, and imgur blocks my VPN, so I get the worst of both worlds.
I have to use a VPN to see imgur pics because the UK government is run by wankers 😭 And I don’t even live in the UK proper, I’m in N. Ireland, but I’m subject to those bullshit laws with zero recourse.
Did I just become an IRA man? 👀
I live in California and still get randomly geoIPed to the UK. I start noticing it when imgur stops loading.
To be fair, the UK and California are very close to each other, so that’s understandable. Same planet, that’s a mistake that’s easy to make.
The IRA existed for a reason, that reason never really went away.
Consider uploading to the fediverse
I would, except GIFs cannot be uploaded. Every single GIF I’ve ever tried to upload+post is met with ‘400 unknown error’. Hence Imgur, sometimes catbox.
Blame your instance, not “the fediverse”. Sounds like your admin configured their Lemmy instance to reject GIF uploads in an attempt to save on storage space because GIF files are so large compared to modern formats like WebP, AVIF, JPEGXL, etc.
try imgflip
Don’t use VPN! Easy! /S
