In recent weeks photos have a been a source of attention, reaction in the ActiveRain blogisphere. These range from improper hosting, stealing and hosting. I am all for using images but there are some things that need to be thought of before random posting of images in blogs and comments.

1. If images are going to be use then make sure they are hosted correctly on image hosting company like Photobucket.com or your own servers. I recommended Photobucket.com in my Customizing Profile Blog because there are members on the AR network without their own website. I use my Advanced Access website to host all my images so bandwidth is not borrowed and I can format them to fit where I want them. 

2. Images should not be hi-jacked, stolen or borrowed without permission from the original designer or photographer. Using someone else's images without permission is no different than republishing an article written by another author. Stealing is stealing and shouldn't be tolerated at any level.

3. The use of images is of some concern. Due to the nature of the ActiveRain Network, professional networking site, I find it distracting that blinky's, flashy's and rotaty's (I apologize for the lack of better terms) images are being used in comments and in blogs. If images are going to be used please try to limit them to quality images that have purpose in the network. An example is Eric Bouler's New Orleans Blog. By taking all his own photos and hosting them he has created an extension of his websites. They are professional, high quality and bring life to his blog.

I guess there could be an argument made against my ClustrMap in my profile comments. But the point is that images should be wisely as not to distract from the original post. I would hate to see ActiveRain morph into just another social network. Help retain the integrity of the network and protect IPR by using images correctly.