Discourse seems to automatically remove metadata from georeferenced photos that are embedded in forum posts. It should be possible to deactivate this function. Is this possible?
In a forum about geodata, the location data in photos should be preserved. It would be even better if the user could decide this on a case-by-case basis when uploading.
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Can see why that is default, a little spite fight enough to get the ball rolling on undesirable events. Moderation will always be too late.
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There is a strip_image_metadata setting which is currently enabled - it looks like that is the default setting.
It should be either this or the current default of always stripping off the EXIF metadata. Otherwise, it’s too easy for people to unwittingly divulge their home coordinates.
As a workaround, the photographer can open the original photos in an image viewer and copy the coordinates into the forum post. Another workaround is to upload the photos to a site like Wikimedia Commons or Flickr that publicly geotag photos.
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I tend to disagree. In which context would anyone publish a photo made in their home or backyard in this forum? The vast majority of photos posted are some interesting mapping situations. At worst, they may reveal the poster’s hometown.
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It doesn’t really matter whether a photo is taken at someone’s home or in a public place. Location data can reveal patterns of behavior that have privacy implications. I absolutely agree that the ability to upload geotagged photos to this forum would be beneficial, but this should be an opt-in choice the user makes. Keeping location data by default is just bad privacy practice.
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