Is it okay to hotlink thumbs in FHGs?
 

Is it ok to hotlink thumbs in FHGs on your site if you link them to the gallery?

Big NO NO I guess.....

i would contact the sponsor first but i doubt it.

Nope, and many sites won't even let you submit to them with hotlinked content.

for the most part thats a NO but a search on google images reveals LOTS of people doing it ( especially for nastydollars )

I assume you mean on sites that are NOT TGP galleries...
TGP owners hate it..

but for freesites, blogs, etc, I can't understand why the program owners would get upset.. after all, they're already providing the FHG, why can't you use a thumb from it as a preview???

I've asked a few sponsors, and they don't have a problem with it IF their security can allow it :)
They're never willing to change the .htaccess though :)

Yes, I mean on blogs. I just hate to upload a lot of thumbs.

most sponsors dont allow it!