Why do some sponsors still block hotlinking to thumbnails?
 

This is so 1990's. I can understand blocking hotlinking to the full images but why to the thumbnails. The most low tech thing you do as a webmaster is to pull thumbnails and upload them to your host.

Why should I have to do that when I can paste a link. It's very time consuming. Most sponsors see this and allow linking to the thumbnail.

BW won't be shit for this so what's the excuse? 9/10 sponsors seem to allow it?

You should have a choice, but I personally prefer hosting all thumbs myself, it's the only way I know for sure there won't be any broken thumbs ever, no slowloading thumbs, much more reliable in my opinion.

If you don't host it, you don't control it - and all the TGP/MGP owners must make this effort to save themselves from upsetting surfers. The issue wouldn't be a hotlink to sponsor stuff so much as the site owners not being able to determine which are that and which are just hotlinks of everything on someone else's dime with different ref codes.


Brad