Quick reply image uploader

[Peter Cunningham]

Forum URL: thewoodsforum.boards.net/

Saw it there but I guess the plugin was removed from the library?

I want one for the quick reply, but not the one that required an account on another site that still exists.

How can I get the one they are using

[Scott]

Peter Cunningham -

The plugin they are using was never in our library. There was a similar plugin in the library but it was removed due to security concerns.

[Peter Cunningham]

Apr 16, 2024 6:36:42 GMT -8 Scott said:

Peter Cunningham -

The plugin they are using was never in our library. There was a similar plugin in the library but it was removed due to security concerns.

If I find a way to DL it am I allowed to use it on a pb forum

[Scott]

So long as it doesn't violate our policies, then yes.

[Peter Cunningham]

Apr 16, 2024 6:52:19 GMT -8 Scott said:

So long as it doesn't violate our policies, then yes.

Do you know how to get it if it's not listed here

postimages.org/plugins

[Scott]

Peter Cunningham - sorry I do not.

[Peter Cunningham]

Apr 16, 2024 14:58:09 GMT -8 Scott said:

Peter Cunningham - sorry I do not.

Are there any pb plug-ins like this? I looked at external resources. But I don't want people to have to create accounts with cloudinary or vgy or anywhere else.

[Scott]

I'm not aware of any.

[Kami]

Apr 17, 2024 6:04:48 GMT -8 Peter Cunningham said:

Apr 16, 2024 14:58:09 GMT -8 Scott said:

Peter Cunningham - sorry I do not.

Are there any pb plug-ins like this? I looked at external resources. But I don't want people to have to create accounts with cloudinary or vgy or anywhere else.

Scott's done the short answer, but I want to go ahead and give a more detailed explanation so you understand why you're not finding what you want more readily available.

1. Plugins aren't all that special.
What I mean by this is that plugins are simply plain ol' javascript, things that are rendered for your view on your end — broadly speaking, no data is sent to PB's server. In order to create a plugin that allows you to upload images to a post, that plugin needs to be connected to an image host or other database as the uploads aren't sent (and cannot be sent) to PB's servers.

2. A majority of image hosts do not allow their service to be used as a content delivery network (CDN).
Each service has a different threshold from when something switches from "normal" usage to what they consider being a CDN, but as a rule of thumb they generally don't want to see a lot of traffic to images coming from one specific source near exclusively. In order to help prevent this and monitor if their service conditions aren't being followed, most require an account to be made. There are sites that do not require this, but their definitions for being a CDN are usually far stricter and anyone found in violation of that may get the website and/or host of the website blocked from accessing their servers (meaning no one can use their service across all of PB, if they decided to block PB due to what they consider CDN activity).

3. Running image hosts are expensive.
We saw this a few years ago with Photobucket locking everyone with a free account out of their images until they upgraded; over the years many free image hosts have gone belly up simply for it being too cost-prohibitive to run an image host that doesn't require an account or a subscription but also doesn't have overbearing ad sponsorship. As a result, the image hosts that are available today are much more careful about how their services are used.

4. An API of some sort must exist to create a plugin of this nature.
You can't send information and data to a server without permission from the server's owner. If an image is uploaded externally, away from the server's own upload page, there has to be something in how the external upload is handled that tells the server that it is OK to receive and store that image. Many image hosts opt NOT to allow this, which means that plugin creators have very few options with which to create an interface to allow PB users to upload without leaving their forum / having to create an account on the host's service.

5. Plugins require upkeep.
If you've found a forum that is utilising a plugin that is not publicly available, that's usually because the plugin was created as a bespoke feature for that forum. This allows the plugin creator to (among other things) make sure they are able to continue supporting that plugin without it taking too much of their time. Plugins that are publicly posted — especially ones of this nature — require a lot of upkeep technologically (keeping up with both changes to PB as needed, and changes to the host as needed including terms of service changes), and interaction with the PB community at large in order to support the functionality as well as provide guidance and help to forum users interested in using the plugin.

--

All of these factors combined mean that making an image upload UI that fills all the following conditions simultaneously:

- no external account
- doesn't cost money
- doesn't break the host's tos
- doesn't break PB's tos
- is reasonable to upkeep
- that doesn't present security problems

is virtually impossible, unless you have someone willing to invest in doing so either for general use, or dedicated for your forum. You have to make a compromise somewhere, and that's why the things available publicly require you and/or all users to create an account with an external service in order for the plugin to function.

[bigballofyarn]

I think I found a semi-working solution for you. However, this does come with its own set of problems. 

ProBoards wasn't listed as a specific plugin on PostImage's website.

However, the directions they gave for ZetaBoards work a little on my ProBoards forum.

I added the following to my global footers. I didn't write the code. It was provided by PostImage for ZetaBoards.

<script type='text/javascript' src='//mod.postimage.org/zetaboards.js' charset='utf-8'></script>

The "Add image to post" now appears in the quick reply the way it does on the forum you linked and is fully functional.

Be familiar with their terms of use though. postimages.org/terms

Edit:
It also seems to add an upload link under the subject box when you are creating a new thread. However, the script only seems to work on my forum when it's in the quick reply. It doesn't appear to work when creating a new thread or using the advanced reply. So, this is in no way a perfectly working solution. However, it does work in the quick reply. You may not want broken links appearing in two other places on your forum. It also seems to shrink images even if you tell it not to resize them.

I might play around with things after work and let you know if I figure out a better solution because this is far from perfect in my eyes. The script wasn't intended for ProBoards and while it works in the way you want it to work, it comes with issues.

[Chris]

Apr 18, 2024 4:32:35 GMT -8 bigballofyarn said:

I added the following to my global footers. I didn't write the code. It was provided by PostImage for ZetaBoards.

<script type='text/javascript' src='//mod.postimage.org/zetaboards.js' charset='utf-8'></script>

Placed that script in a plugin and tweaked it to work a bit better with Proboards' platform:

PostImage Uploader Plugin (for Proboards)
(Downloading and Importing Plugins [GUIDE])

Note: Zeta uses the older PBv4 URL and image tags instead of the newer PBv5 ones, but Proboards still accepts them as of this writing. PostImage also requires all images to be wrapped in a clickable link to their site, whether thumb or full size.

v0.0.2 - Switched to built-in WYSIWYG surroundSelection method for proper text cursor placement
v0.0.3 - Added ability to relocate button via element#postimage-button
v0.0.4 - Extracted URLs to rebuild BBCode/HTML to avoid additional injected content from the domain
v0.0.5 - Added language support
v0.0.6 - Fixed double buttons when shoutbox enabled on posting page or relocate ID is used to reposition the button
v0.0.7 - Added Advanced Options tab, added skipping via form class (can now skip shoutbox), added BCP47 lang codes for proper language selection

[bigballofyarn]

Chris,
Jackpot! It works perfectly in the quick reply, advanced reply, and when creating a new topic. Very nice work!

[Peter Cunningham]

Can we give Yarn and Chris a round of applause? Wow. Thanks!

[bigballofyarn]

I didn't do much other than research and bug testing, but I'm happy it led to a working solution for ProBoards. Mr. Yarn and I were going to look at it after work, but a super developer here worked his magic. We're all part of a big team here. *Group hug*