Generally a good idea as long as the user doesn't completely shutdown his page. Users can currently delete their entire directory if they choose. I'm not sure I want to prevent them from closing their directories just because they've posted images in the forum.

Another option was that when a message is posted, the image is automatically grabbed by the server and stored in a special directory for message images. Whether it was originally in the home directory or on some other server, the image would be copied to the 8052.com server where it would be preserved forever. The main reason I didn't do this was due to copyright considerations. Then again, I could just make the server do this anyway and post a "copyright take-down" notice so that if any copyright-holder finds their material on 8052.com in this manner, a quick message to me solves the problem. I'm not sure what kind of legal exposure this would leave me open to.

The final option that I was leaning towards is the option I eventually abandoned due to the interface issue. It'd be nice if you could attach code or images to a message and those attaches would be forever attached. If it were code, the code could be downloaded by clicking a link or perhaps it could be embedded (and displayed properly with PRE tags) by using a tag such as [CODE1] which would display code upload #1 at that point in the message. Likewise, a tag such as [IMG1] would automatically insert the first image specifically attached to that message.

In theory this last option would be very robust and not particularly difficult for me to code. But my question was how to implement it in a way that would be easy for people (other than myself) to understand.

Regards,
Craig Steiner