I have noticed a tendency of late, especially among new comers, to use the Create Content->Image link as the primary method of adding an image into the system. They then create a forum post referencing this image, usually without a link back to the image. Trouble is that while initially adjacent in the Recent Posts list they quickly become separated since Images do not allow a response; just some descriptive text. As a result the posts and image quickly become separated making the text of the post hard to follow! If you read your posts via the forums page I am not sure if you ever even seen the Image!
I do not believe that this usage of the Image option is what what originally intended!
To be honest I am not sure what the original intent of this capability was. But it does have two great advantages: You can upload the image directly from your own PC (rather than via a hosting service) and it provides you with a thumbnail option that you can then insert in your posts (although I have never seen this done).
The big disadvantage is that while you can provide some descriptive text for the image, it is impossible for others to respond to the image directly. So they have to create another thread referencing the image and, hopefully, providing a link to the image! This all results in a very disjointed flow of information around the topic in question! Unless the image is strictly a standalone image, this is not usually the best approach!
While it may be a little more effort, it is really much better to upload to your album and insert from there!
Please read Adding Images to Posts, Blog Entries, Articles, etc. for complete information on this topic. Thank you!
Joined: 2005-01-26