If you have ever posted in a forum, you have probably noticed that most sites don't allow you to upload images or files. This can be a problem since you may need to provide something additional to explain your question or answer. There are several sites that host images like ImageShack, FreeImageHosting or TinyPic. Each of these services incorporate advertising with your graphic, which I like to avoid when possible. Actually, TinyPic goes one step further and includes an ""Images You'll Also Enjoy" section, which seems a little risky to me. So I thought I would share an alternative to these options.
ImageHost.org provides the ability to upload a file 100MB or less for free. Don't let the name fool you, they allow any file type to be uploaded. So if you need to add a sample Visual Studio project, just zip it up and upload it to the site. Files are not deleted unless they have not been accessed for a period of time. I have outlined the current timelines below.
- Files under 1 MB will be deleted after 180 days of inactivity
- Files between 1 MB and 20 MB will be deleted after 90 days of inactivity
- Files above 20 MB will be deleted after 30 days of inactivity
You can upload a single file, or up to eight (8) files at a time. When uploading an image you will see the following page after the file is on the server. This page provides all the code necessary to use your graphic in forums, blogs, etc...
If you upload a non-image file (i.e. zip) the screen below will appear.
ImageHost does allow you to hotlink, but there are limitations. You can hotlink to a JPG, GIF, PNG file as long as it is less than 1 MB. You cannot hotlink a BMP so convert those to JPG or PNG. They also allow you to hotlink to Flash files (SWF or FLV). For SWF it must be less than 1 MB while a FLV file can be up to 10 MB.
So hopefully the next time you need to provide more information in a forum post, give this site a try.
