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#3801 2025-08-04 10:14:25

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 22,361

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut ....

GW wrote via email that he noted kbd512's suggestion of using Apollo Saturn as a test case for his spreadsheets.

He is currently working on the SSTO spreadsheet, so he indicated he'd need to develop stage spreadsheets to model Apollo.

The SSTO spreadsheets are (of necessity) as lean as possible due to the mission requirements.

As a reminder... he's looking for guidance on:

1) engine mount without gimbal
2) engine mount with gimbal
3) plumbing - includes delivery from upper tank through lower one and plumbing elsewhere as needed

it just occurred to me that vendors might have information they'd share if not prohibited by sales contracts.

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#3802 2025-08-05 08:51:47

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 22,361

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut ...

With the arrival of offtherock, I am inspired to ask if we might have your permission to convert all the banned users to inactive. You were trying to do that manually, but you ran out of time. kbd512 could upgrade everyone with a MySQL script. Would it be alright with you if we proceed? I don't think we have to worry about anyone logging back in if they were truly banned, and there are very few such persons. Anyone who is Inactive needs to apply at the newmarsmember portal, and we can make a decision in individual cases at that time.

https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.ph … 89#p233289

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#3803 2025-08-06 15:07:00

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 22,361

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut re post in spaceplane topic..
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.ph … 41#p233341

Thanks for the research you did on Delta IV and other multi-stage rockets.

Hopefully the information GW is looking for can be found. GW has been busy at the farm there in Texas.

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#3804 2025-08-07 14:35:09

SpaceNut: Administrator; From: New Hampshire; Registered: 2004-07-22; Posts: 29,581

Re: Housekeeping

You can also find the post in GW Johnson Postings and @Exrocketman1 YouTube videos

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#3805 2025-08-11 11:44:09

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 22,361

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut ... First, thank you for the reminder in Post #3804

In this post, I've collected the Business Opportunity posts.
I'm thinking of creating a new one based upon GW Johnson's work on SSTO feasibility. While the work is not yet finished and ready for publication, preliminary results are encouraging for the LH2 straight up scenario. I am interested in the idea of sending habitats to be welded into an orbital hotel. The body would become the habitats, and the engines could be unbolted and returned to Earth in a large return vessel designed for the purpose.

This concept would reduce the cost of construction of a large orbiting hotel significantly, compared to alternative small-piece-assembly scenarios.

Here are the existing Business Opportunity topics:

Business opportunity - Atmosphere Harvest by tahanson43206
Business Proposals 12 Today 11:37:41 by tahanson43206
2
Business Opportunity Oxygen Harvest by tahanson43206
Business Proposals 1 2025-04-15 06:29:44 by tahanson43206
3
Business Opportunity Harness Tides Make Compressed Air for Cars by tahanson43206
Business Proposals 1 2025-04-05 14:44:11 by tahanson43206
4
Business Opportunity Asteroid Defense Redirected to Asteroid mining by tahanson43206
Business Proposals 3 2025-03-25 11:02:40 by tahanson43206
5
Rotation Test Facility on Earth possible Business Opportunity by tahanson43206
Science, Technology, and Astronomy 18 2025-01-22 18:36:32 by tahanson43206
6
Business Opportunity by tahanson43206 [ 1 2 3 … 7 ]
Business Proposals 150 2024-12-01 20:53:07 by SpaceNut
7
Sea Level Rise Business Opportunity by tahanson43206
Business Proposals 23 2024-06-15 14:02:52 by SpaceNut
8
Laser Sculpture - Laser cut stone block - Business opportunity by tahanson43206
Business Proposals 3 2024-04-06 09:17:31 by tahanson43206
9
Business Opportunity Small Scale RTG Consumer Market by tahanson43206
Business Proposals 1 2023-12-26 08:16:30 by tahanson43206
10
Business Opportunity Synthetic Fuel from Solar/Wind Power by tahanson43206
Business Proposals 5 2023-12-18 08:57:54 by tahanson43206
11
Business Opportunity Plant based Fuel from Solar/Wind Power by tahanson43206
Science, Technology, and Astronomy 9 2023-01-29 18:37:00 by SpaceNut
12
Business Opportunity Fire Shelter by tahanson43206
Science, Technology, and Astronomy 10 2021-11-23 14:41:21 by SpaceNut

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#3806 2025-08-11 17:06:14

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 22,361

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut ... our membership contact turns out to be a former member! I've written back to ask for the user id. it is one of those that got swept up in the Great Hacker Attack, so it is in need of restoration. It appears that I do not have the power (as a moderator) to restore members to active status. Please stand by for a request to restore our former member, in case kbd512 is tied up.
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#3807 2025-08-11 17:20:33

SpaceNut: Administrator; From: New Hampshire; Registered: 2004-07-22; Posts: 29,581

Re: Housekeeping

What was the username?

As for the fuel tank they are of different configuration. Also anything smaller than an ISS module is not practical.

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#3808 2025-08-11 17:27:37

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 22,361

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut re #3807

Thanks for standing by to restore our former member. I sent an email asking for the previous ID. We should hear back by tomorrow morning, and I will post his reply shortly after I get it. My normal email check time is 8 AM New Hampshire time.

***
Other item ... I hope your home remodel is back on track! You need to have the new roof on before hurricane season gets serious.
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#3809 2025-08-12 05:54:29

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 22,361

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut ...

We have an opportunity to re-publish an article about a 36 mile long spacecraft to travel to Alpha Centauri ...

I looked to see what we have with Centauri in the title. It is an interesting list:

Topic Forum Replies Last post
Breakthrough Starshot: 20% light speed to Alpha Centauri nanocraft by Tom Kalbfus
Interplanetary transportation 9 2025-07-08 11:02:56 by tahanson43206
Starshot Grand Challenge: Mission to Alpha Centauri by Tmcom
Interplanetary transportation 2 2025-07-08 11:02:25 by tahanson43206
Earth Like planet around Proxima Centauri? by Void [ 1 2 3 4 ]
Science, Technology, and Astronomy 83 2024-04-05 17:58:39 by Mars_B4_Moon
Is Alpha Centauri the new "Mars"? by Tom Kalbfus [ 1 2 ]
Martian Chronicles 48 2023-08-20 18:38:00 by Mars_B4_Moon
Laser Sail to Alpha Centauri, followed by human upload and download by Tom Kalbfus
Interplanetary transportation 8 2016-09-11 03:52:54 by Tom Kalbfus
Alpha Centauri Bb, if it exists, can it be terraformed? by Tom Kalbfus
Terraformation 6 2014-04-18 07:56:55 by Void

I don't see a good match for this article, so will start a new topic.

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#3810 2025-08-12 06:27:58

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 22,361

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut ...

While trying to find our former member in the archives, I found this remarkable post by Palomar:
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.ph … 267#p31267

This is a short history of Thomas Paine. I had not read this particular bit of history before, and was delighted to find such a gem in the archives of this forum.

Our former member cannot remember the ID he used. I looked for possible matches with the clues he provided and we did not have success. I then looked in the archive, and while I found nothing in the search, I ** did ** find posts by members including kbd512, several others, and Palomar.

I sent another email to our former member, with advice on how to use the User List and the Search tool to try to find the former ID. If that does not work we can certain use one of our 19,000+ TestID's.

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#3811 2025-08-12 18:56:36

NewMarsMember: Member; Registered: 2019-02-17; Posts: 1,645

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut ... our former member decided to give up on trying to remember the old name, and has requested a new ID. I can do that, so all we need is the new ID he wants. We should be back in business in a day or so.

(th)

Recruiting High Value members for NewMars.com/forums, in association with the Mars Society

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#3812 2025-08-13 07:53:24

Scarecrow: Scarecrow; From: Available if desired; Registered: 2017-10-25; Posts: 3

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut ...
This is tahanson43206 testing the new account for Scarecrow.
(th)

This ID is intended to show up as a report of the latest member registration on the Index page. This procedure is needed because NewMars no longer accepts random registrations. For contact procedure, see:
[url]http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=9363[/url] and go to the most recent post.

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#3813 2025-08-13 15:03:06

SpaceNut: Administrator; From: New Hampshire; Registered: 2004-07-22; Posts: 29,581

Re: Housekeeping

Good that decision to create as fresh an acount as possible. I did look at my email to see if I remembered the user but did not. Hopefully this new memeber will join in.

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#3814 2025-08-13 18:07:11

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 22,361

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut ... Scarecrow wrote newmarsmember to report a successful login. I quick-as-a-wink attempted a login on the account, and was happy to see that Scarecrow changed the password. However, I get the impression Scarecrow is pretty laid back, so he probably won't be getting into tussles with our more animated members.

On the ** other ** hand, he said he has a bit more personal time these days, so he may find something going on that is of interest.

I am ** really ** happy to have two new members after a long dry spell.

Question for you ... Are you keeping an eye out for an affordable newer computer? I ask because the local national computer chain has a stash of 27 HP laptops from 2024 that they are offering at a modest price. I bought one for a project that GW Johnson gave me, and it is pretty nice. It has a 17 inch screen, which is huge compared to most of my laptops. It has 16 Gb which is way more than GW needs, but on the other hand, it's nice to have. The SSD is 512 Gb, which ought to hold up for a while. It has Windows 11, which has some small differences from Windows 10.

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#3815 2025-08-18 17:40:05

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 22,361

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut re multiple posts....

It is good to see you back engaged with us!

Thanks for multiple posts on the exploration theme!

***
Calliban is making great progress on his wind mill. The decision to put the power take-off at waist height is a major improvement!

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#3816 2025-08-21 07:30:32

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 22,361

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut re first experiment with a bookmark

Thank you for being the first member to venture into this new capability for the forum.

To make an ideal bookmark, a search for it should yield just one citation.

Here is an example:

http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 08#p233708

The link above points to a bookmark for one of Calliban's posts.

I just tested it, and I got just one citation when I set up the search screen with:

[check] Meta
Keyword: bookmark and calliban and solar
author: tahanson43206
Topic or Posts: Posts

When you create a bookmark, test it to make sure it yields only one post.

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#3817 2025-08-25 09:26:30

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 22,361

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut re Space Plane topics...

Here is a list of topics with "space" and "plane" in the title:

The military is building a space plane by SpaceNut
Not So Free Chat 3 Today 11:04:50 by tahanson43206
The Space Plane Corporation by PhotonBytes [ 1 2 ]
Single Stage To Orbit 39 2025-08-21 11:36:39 by PhotonBytes
On Earth Test System for Optical Plane space vessel Heating Pipe by tahanson43206
Projects 1 2025-04-15 08:34:19 by tahanson43206
Optical Plane Photon Capture Deep Space Exploration Vessel by tahanson43206
Projects 8 2025-04-01 12:27:05 by tahanson43206
Space Plane to launch from Rail by tahanson43206
Science, Technology, and Astronomy 8 2025-01-13 10:57:43 by tahanson43206
Space Plane design by Space-Plane.org by tahanson43206

I'd like to see a topic devoted to GW Johnson's challenge:

Create a spacecraft that can return to Earth safely after a vertical launch.

GW's challenge shows that a vertical launch SSTO system using LH2 and LOX can reach LEO if the inert fraction is 4% (or thereabouts)

The mathematics needed to achieve this result requires an iterative methodology which GW is willing to show to anyone who is interested.

I'd like to see members of NewMars forum make a contribution to this tight focus.

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#3818 2025-08-26 14:24:04

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 22,361

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut ...

First, thanks for adding to the Sierra Nevada topic: https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.ph … 52#p233852

Please see if you can shake the information trees a bit... the information from May is good but not helpful..***

***
Second, best wishes for continued progress on the home remodel! The weather is holding but another hurricane is winding up. I'm watching for news you got the roof covered at least. That's been a long time coming ... contractor issues I know.

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#3819 Yesterday 15:55:02

SpaceNut: Administrator; From: New Hampshire; Registered: 2004-07-22; Posts: 29,581

Re: Housekeeping

after making a post at the top of the refreshed page this message shows.

Debug: Database connection successful

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#3820 Yesterday 17:15:31

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 22,361

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut re multiple posts ...

First, re #3819.... yup! That is left over from work we did on the FluxBB software. We cleaned up most of the debug messages, but that one got away from us, and there is not a prayer that we are going to fix it.

kbd512 is able to offer only a tiny amount of time to support of the forum these days, due to his many responsibilities and the way things are happening all at once.

It would take many hours on my part to try to find where that message is coming from, and even if i found it, kbd512 couldn't fix it.

That said, thanks for reporting the message, and please ** do ** keep watch for anything else like that !!!!

Then! Thank you for all the neat links and text you found in support of several topics! The links about the flyback booster concept are particularly interesting in light of the current work by PhotonBytes and simultaneous studies by GW Johnson as reported here on the forum from time to time. Not everything GW is doing gets reported. For one thing, I have lost access to imgur.com, so although the old images are served properly, I can't add any new ones. I have no idea why, but a guess might be that I have consumed a huge amount of disk storage and haven't paid any rent. That has to end some time, and apparently I hit whatever limit may exist.

***
Best wishes to you for all possible speed with your new roof. The hurricane season is just starting up, and while you missed the bullet with Erin, New Hampshire is going to be in the bull's eye at some point.

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#3821 Today 09:44:34

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 22,361

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut re image storage problem ...

It appears that I have exhausted the supply of free storage at imgur.com. They are continuing to serve the images already linked from their site, but they are refusing to accept new images.

We could store our own images, but kbd512 is too busy to spend any time on it.

In the mean time, I wondered if the phpBB3 test site might be able to store images. It turns out it can. What I'm hoping is that it might be able to serve images here from the phpBB3 site. Here is an opening conversation with Gemini about the possibility:

phpBB3 Image Storage and Attachments
Conversation with Gemini
phpBB3 image store question - Hi Gemini! Thanks for your help with numerous previous questions. This one will be an exercise for your search skills, and for your ability to interpret documentation. I am hoping that phpBB3 may offer the ability to store images. I am set up as administrator of a test site using phpBB3. The test site is running on Azure, and it seems to be stable. I am also a moderator for a FluxBB site which cannot store images. We've been using outside agencies such as imgur.com, but would like to pull images from our Azure site if that is possible. Do you know if phpBB3 offers an option to store images? I have the site open and can enter commands as might be needed.
***
Yes, phpBB3 has a built-in feature to store images as attachments. This functionality is enabled by default. As the administrator of your test site, you have full control over the settings, allowing you to configure how images are uploaded and displayed.
Key Information & Configuration
1. Attachment Settings: The main control for image storage is in the Administration Control Panel (ACP). You'll find a Posting tab, and within it, an Attachment settings link. This is where you can manage various aspects of attachments, including:
Display Images Inline: This setting determines whether attached images show up directly within the post or as a text link that users can click to view. You can change this to suit your preference.
File Size Limits: You can set the maximum file size for a single attachment and a total attachment quota for a post. It's often necessary to increase the default limits to accommodate higher-quality images.
Allowed File Types: phpBB3 allows you to specify which file extensions are permitted as attachments. By default, common image formats like .jpg, .png, and .gif are already enabled. You can manage these in the Manage extension groups section.
2. Image Storage Location: When a user uploads an image as an attachment, phpBB3 doesn't store the file with its original name. Instead, it places the files in a dedicated /files directory and gives them a hashed filename for security and to prevent naming conflicts.
You'll need to ensure the /files directory on your Azure server has the correct permissions (often 777 or -rwxrwxrwx) to allow the phpBB script to write to it.
3. User-side Functionality: Once the settings are configured, users can upload images directly from the post editor when they create or reply to a topic. There will be an Add Attachment section where they can browse for files on their computer and add them to their post.
The ability to use the phpBB3 site on your Azure host to store images will allow your users to upload content directly to your server, eliminating the need for external services like Imgur.
How to upload an attachment in PHPBB
This video provides a brief demonstration of how a user uploads an attachment in phpBB, which is the functionality you're asking about.
How to upload an attachment in PHPBB - YouTube Multimedia · 4.7K views
***
Gemini, this is ** awesome ** .... Thanks for your discovery of the feature, and your careful explanation of the procedure! I checked the Attachments setting and note that the default setting is 'off'. The default setting for images is display. I will set Attachments to yes and image display to no. My purpose here is to serve images on the FluxBB site and to save them on the phpBB3 site. My hope is that the links will operate if exercised from the FluxBB site.
***
That's great to hear! It sounds like you have a solid plan.
You are correct that the default attachment setting is "off" in some phpBB3 installations, and you will need to enable it. Setting attachments to "yes" is the first and most critical step.
Your strategy of saving images on the phpBB3 site and linking to them from your FluxBB site is a clever solution. However, there's a crucial detail to be aware of regarding the links.
Understanding the Attachment Link
When a user uploads an image to phpBB3 as an attachment, the link to that image is not a simple, static file path. The links are dynamically generated and include a unique ID for the attachment. The format of a typical phpBB3 attachment link looks something like this:
your-phpbb-site.com/download/file.php?id=123
The link points to a script (download/file.php) which then serves the image file based on the unique ID (id=123). This dynamic link is designed to handle things like user permissions and attachment counters.
Implication for FluxBB:
You cannot simply find the image file in the /files directory and use its path directly (e.g., your-phpbb-site.com/files/hashed-filename.jpg). Those files have hashed names and are not intended for direct access.
You will need to get the full dynamic link to the image from the phpBB3 post. Once you have that full link, you can then copy and paste it into an [i m g] tag or a regular link on your FluxBB site.
For example, on your FluxBB site, a post would look something like this:
<sample removed due to live code>
This should work perfectly, as the link simply needs to be accessible via a standard HTTP request, which the phpBB3 script will handle. This approach allows you to centralize your image storage on the Azure-hosted phpBB3 site while still displaying them for your community on the FluxBB forum.
I sure hope this works! I've run out of free storage at imgur.com, and the Azure site has a generous allocation of storage with the subscription. I'll report this discussion to the forum, and attempt to implement the procedure! Thank you Again!
That's an excellent reason to make the switch—moving to a platform you control with generous storage capacity is a smart move. Centralizing your images on your Azure-hosted phpBB3 site will give you more control and reliability, eliminating the dependency on third-party services that can change their policies or storage limits.
I'm confident that with the steps we've outlined, you'll be able to get this working successfully. The process is straightforward: enable attachments, upload the image to a post on your phpBB3 site, copy the dynamic link provided, and then paste that link into the [i m g] tag on your FluxBB forum.
If you encounter any issues during implementation or have further questions, please don't hesitate to reach back out. I'm here to help!

I have set up a topic in the phpBB3 site to experiment. As you recall, you are set up on the phpBB3 test site, so you can participate in the experiment if you would have time to do so.

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#3822 Today 10:09:54

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 22,361

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut .... the test below will attempt to show images created by GW Johnson for his rockets course ...

http://40.75.112.55/phpBB3/download/file.php?id=1
http://40.75.112.55/phpBB3/download/file.php?id=2

As I enter this post I have ** no ** idea if is going to work!

OK! The links test works! Now I'll try the display option!

file.php?id=1

file.php?id=2

The display option did not work. I think the file type is the problem. I think img expects a file type such as jpg or png.

OK ... Gemini suggested trying to capture the path to the image by right clicking on the image.

Here goes an attempt:

h t t p / 40.75.112.55/phpBB3/download/file.php?id=1 << well! That didn't work!

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#3823 Today 10:47:16

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 22,361

Re: Housekeeping

For SpaceNut .... it appears we can now serve links to images, and that is a big improvement over the status quo.

However, I'm still interested in serving images directly for viewing. Gemini seems to think that might be possible, but it will take some work.

Here is a follow up conversation in which we review options for direct display:

Hmmm.... we appear to have a bit of a challenge from phpBB3.... I performed a right click on an image and got this: h t t p: / / 40.75.112.55/phpBB3/download/file.php?id=1
That is the same as the link that works in link mode.
You've correctly identified the problem. phpBB3's download/file.php script is designed to prevent hotlinking, which is when another website directly embeds your images. It checks the "referrer" (the website the request is coming from). If the request doesn't originate from your own phpBB3 site, the script won't serve the image directly, resulting in the blank line you're seeing on your FluxBB forum.
While some phpBB3 configurations will append a &mode=view parameter to the URL to bypass this, it's not a universal solution because the underlying download/file.php script still has to allow it. Your observation that the link is identical regardless of the display mode confirms that your specific setup is not configured to provide a separate, hotlink-friendly URL.
Since modifying the core phpBB3 files or server-side configurations is complex and risky, the easiest solution is to use a simple online service that converts the phpBB3 URL into a direct image link. This service will act as an intermediary, fetching the image from your phpBB3 site and then providing a static URL that your FluxBB forum can display.
The Best Way Forward
Use a Hotlink Proxy Service: Search online for "image proxy," "hotlink proxy," or "image URL converter" services. These are free, temporary tools.
Paste the URL: Take the URL you have from your phpBB3 image (h t t p : / / 40.75.112.55/phpBB3/download/file.php?id=1) a n d paste it into the proxy service's input field.
Get a New URL: The service will provide you with a new, static URL that ends in an image extension (.jpg, .png, etc.). This URL is what you'll use in your FluxBB posts.
Example of what the new URL might look like: h t t p s : / / example.com/images/some-long-string-of-numbers-and-letters.jpg
This method sidesteps the hotlinking protection on your phpBB3 site and provides a reliable way to get the images to display on your FluxBB forum without any server-side modifications.
OK! Thanks for the hint that there may be a work around ... I "own" this Azure site, so we have some leeway in how we do things. I should be able to create a link from the FluxBB site to the file stored on the phpBB3 site. I wonder if we can ask phpBB3 to show us the actual path to the file it saved? Here (again) is the u r l for the successful link mode:
h t t p : / / 40.75.112.55/phpBB3/download/file.php?id=1
You've correctly pinpointed the core of the problem: phpBB3's file serving script is designed to prevent hotlinking. This means it checks where the request for the image is coming from (the "referrer"). If the request isn't from the same phpBB3 site, it blocks the image from being displayed directly, which is why your FluxBB [ i m g] tag results in a blank space.
Why You Can't Get a Direct Path
You're wondering if you can get the direct file path, but phpBB3 is designed to prevent this for security and functionality. The system doesn't store files with their original names or in a publicly accessible directory with an obvious path. Instead, it uses a hashed filename and stores the files in a dedicated directory, typically /files, which is often protected from direct web access by server-level rules.
The URL h t t p : / / 40.75.112.55/phpBB3/download/file.php?id=1 is a dynamic link. It tells the server to run a script (file.php) that then retrieves the file from its hidden location based on the ID. This process is what allows phpBB3 to track downloads, manage permissions, and, most importantly, prevent unauthorized hotlinking.
The Most Reliable Solution
Since you have administrative control over the Azure site, the most robust and secure solution is to configure the web server itself to allow your FluxBB site as an "allowed referrer." This is a server-level change that will permit your FluxBB domain to directly request images from your phpBB3 site's download/file.php script without being blocked.
Here's how to do it:
Locate the .htaccess file on your Azure site's phpBB3 installation. It's usually in the root directory.
Edit the file and add a rule to the hotlinking protection section. The code to add will look something like this:
Apache
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http(s)?://(www\.)?your-fluxbb-domain\.com [NC]
RewriteRule \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif)$ - [F]
You would need to find the existing hotlinking protection rules and add a line that specifically allows your FluxBB domain.
This is a more technical solution than a simple settings change but it is the proper way to establish communication between the two sites, and it's something you have the authority to do. It also maintains the security of your phpBB3 file directory.
This video, while not about your specific issue, provides an overview of how to upload attachments to a phpBB forum.
How to upload an attachment in PHPBB
How to upload an attachment in PHPBB - YouTube
DigiOz Multimedia · 4.7K views
Thanks for your advice in this situation. I like the idea of being able to restrict access to files to just the authorized web site! Thanks for that coaching. Please note that the video about how to upload a file is redundant, because we are discussing a file that was uploaded with success. We are past the uploading phase, and dealing now with the delivery. I can report that with your assistance, we have achieved a major step forward. Our members who need to show images can now do so via links. That is a ** big ** improvement. I can investigate the htaccess idea you suggested. For now, let's claim victory and call it a day!
That's fantastic news! Congratulations on achieving a major step forward for your community. Getting the link method to work is a significant victory and a completely viable solution for your members to share images.
You've correctly noted the distinction between the uploading phase and the delivery phase, and it's great that we've found a working solution for the latter. The ability to use your own Azure storage is a huge benefit, and the link method provides a reliable way to do that immediately.
If you ever decide to pursue the .htaccess solution to enable direct image embedding, feel free to come back and ask for more detailed guidance. For now, it's great to know that your members have a functional way to share their content.
Enjoy the successful implementation!