Those of you still using flickr to post images may have noticed a few flickr enhancements over the past week but I figured I'd summarize some of the more significant ones here.
1) When posting flickr images there is no longer a significant lag after hitting submit. Previously we were grabbing captions from flickr when the post was submitted. To speed things up we now grab captions from flickr when the thumbnails are built. If you change captions at flickr you need to make a token edit of the post if you want captions to refresh (we don't refresh captions every time a post is viewed to minimize overhead). When the post is first viewed there will be a lag until the captions refresh similar to when thumbnails are built.
2) You no longer need to post direct image links. Posting the page link will now also work. For example:
Posting the page link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lakebagger/31384737598/
or direct image link: https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1966/31384737598_12f70bf67a_m.jpg
will display as:
(the page link)
(direct image link)
Note: you still need post the direct image link if the photo is private. This is because we have no way of accessing the photo page when photos are private (unless you provide the direct image link). You can make the photo public at flickr, wait for it to thumbnail here, then make it private at flickr, but it may be simpler to just post the direct link to the size you want to display (1600 pixel "h" size recommended since we cannot grab larger sizes unless you direct link to the specific size).
3) We automatically cache flickr images posted here and display the cached version in the lightbox. This allows you to delete photos later at flickr to free up space if you are constrained by the new 1000 photo limit for free accounts. It also preserves them in case they get pruned by flickr if you are over the limit and don't want to pay for a pro account.
4) Automatic embedding of flickr videos. Just post the link to the video and it will automatically embed (you only need to post the flickr "embed" code for photospheres). Note: flickr videos and photospheres are not included in the cache so if you do not plan on paying for a "pro" account at flickr you may wish to host your videos or photospheres elsewhere so they don't get pruned by flickr. Examples:
Posting a video page link:https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/31354048442
or direct image link: https://farm1.staticflickr.com/490/31354048442_513cf194db_m.jpg
will display as:
So when the user wants to delete the photo for good what do they do? Delete it from flickr then ask you to delete your copy too? Also wondering about the legal side of this.
They can simply remove the image from their post and it will get deleted from our cache. Still need to add the code but the plan is when a post is deleted or edited to check if any removed image(s) appear in any other posts and if not delete them from the cache. The only thing we would preserve is the small thumbnail if quoted.
One more enhancement applicable to panoramas. Historically we only displayed panoramas up to 2048 wide if the flickr original was taller than 1024 pixels. This is because flickr provides no sizes wider than 2048 pixels (not wide enough) other than the original (too big). Now we display the cached version (resized to 1024 tall) so you can view panoramas in all their glory (but not too much glory). Here's an example (slood's image):
In the lightbox click the downward pointing arrow (to the top right) to see flickr sizes.
Also, if you hadn't noticed... Larger thumbnails for flickr images! We'll be rebuilding thumbnails for non-flickr images as well.
When in the lightbox I'm not seeing a link to the original source of the photo (e.g. the flickr page). I often like to go see what other photos are on flickr that were not included in a report. Am I missing something?
It should be there. Click on the downward pointing arrow to the top right of the lightbox, then "View on flickr" and it should take you to the photo page.
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