Overview and Organisation

The goal of the DF Media Gallery is to offer a library of quality drug/drug related media which is easily searchable and viewable by forum members, non-members and guests.

In addition to the Media Gallery, page members are also provided with a personal album facility (Members Albums), to upload, keep and share a broader range of media. Media can easily and quickly be uploaded to the Forum using a smartphone, tablet or computer. Uploaded media (Images, video and audio files) should be saved to the most appropriate drug category (or sub-category) within the Gallery or within personal Members Albums.

All media uploaded should be quality, however, the Media Gallery and media uploaded to Members Albums have different guidelines, privacy settings and allow different levels control. All members should be aware of the structure of the DF Media page, specific guidelines and privacy settings before uploading media.

Navigating Forum Media

Navigating Forum Media can be done in a number of ways and the following steps are not intended to be exhaustive. Note that the screen shots provided below show how the page is displayed on a computer. The appearance of the page varies slightly when viewed on hand held devices however the various tabs, buttons etc. perform the same function.

Accessing DF Media

DF Media can be opened by pressing the 'Browse' tab at the top left of any page then selecting ‘media' from the options provided in the menu bar:



Alternatively, use the forum Quick Links function by hovering over the ‘Browse’ tab, selecting the arrow/down symbol on the right, then pressing ‘Media’ from the drop down menu as indicated below.

Viewing new media

New media uploaded by members can be accessed either from within the Media page by selecting ‘New Media’ from the ‘Media Navigation’ box on the left of the screen or from any page using the Quick Links function provided within the ’New’ tab.

Searching Media

The search engine at the top right of the page will default to only searching media when opened when within the media page. If you require more extensive search parameters, the ‘Search Media’ button on the left of the page within “Media Navigation’ opens the advanced search engine. This search engine also defaults to searching only the media/gallery and has several additional search parameters which can be filled out as required.



General browsing of the Media Gallery categories and sub categories can easily be done by selecting from the drop down menu from within ‘Categories’ on the left hand side of the page. The media content/category which is being browsed can also be filtered/ordered if required.

Watch Category

If you have a particular interest in a Category, the ‘Watch Category’ feature may be useful. When a particular category is open, ‘Watch Category’ is displayed (on the right of the page). Once selected, this feature allows users to receive notifications (e-mails or page alert) when activity within a category (or sub-category) occurs.

Adding Media Content

Media Guidelines

All members should follow the guidelines below. This will assist DF by making the Gallery more appealing to members and non-members and encouraging growth.

• All media should be good quality; blurry pictures, poor quality videos/audio etc. should not be posted.
• Media relevant to a Gallery Drug Category should be put within the relevant drug category not left within personal Member Albums.
• Personal media, gifs, NSFW should be kept in Members Albums.
• Members should remove any personal digital information contained in digital photographs
• Explicit material should be strictly set to private.
• All images are subject to the rules and terms of use.

Creating a Members Album

If the intended media upload is not appropriate for the Gallery, a Member Album should be created. This could be done by first selecting ‘Add Media’ from within the Media page, then, using the drop down menu select the first option (‘create an album’).



The following screen will pop up, then name it, describe it and change the viewing permissions (who will see the contents of the album) if required:



Viewing Permissions within Members Albums are set to be visible to other members by default however bear in mind that page members have different tastes and just because you can share media doesn't mean you should share media. Members should be aware of all privacy settings in all albums at all times. See ‘Viewing Permissions’ and Privacy’ for additional information.

Adding Media

The first step to add media is the same as creating an album. Whether adding an image, video or audio file into the Drug Gallery, Wiki Images or Members Album, the screen display is similar. From within the Media Gallery, the ‘Add Media’ button within the top right hand side of the screen could be selected.

Alternatively, from the top of the page the quick links ‘Create’ tab could be selected followed by pressing the ‘Media’ option from the drop down menu to add media.



This will open the form shown below which is the same regardless of media type or container (media storage location). Fill the required fields out indicated below:



After a few seconds the media should upload (although some media sources/types do require staff approval/verification) and you will then be prompted to add a title, description and tags before pressing ’Save Media’ at the bottom of the page.

If ‘Embed a Video’ was selected from the media format above, a URL from an external site is required to be added (typed, cut and pasted etc). The link needs to be from the forum approved media sites which are shown below the URL input box. After inputting the URL, select the + button to upload, then follow the final steps above.

Managing Media

After media has been uploaded, various edits can be made to the appearance, location, name, description, privacy etc.. If members are unsure of the quality, content or correct location for the intended upload it should be placed within a Member Album until any uncertainties have been cleared up. The answer to most queries is likely to be found within the main forum pages, in member groups or through conversations with other page members.

As with many forum functions, multiple ways of editing media are available and the most suitable will likely depend on media type, the device used and personal preference.

Editing Albums

Edits to existing albums can be made by selecting ‘Your Albums’ from within the media page. This brings up a thumbnail image of the content of your album(s). To edit the album select the tick box in the left-hand corner of the thumbnail which opens the inline member moderation options and a drop-down menu as indicated below:



From the options above you can delete the album, ‘edit’ the album by changing the name and description or alter the privacy settings. If album deletion is selected you will be prompted to provide a brief reason why and changing the album name and description requires filling out the relevant fields as directed. Further information on privacy settings is provided in ‘ Changing Viewing Permissions’.

Editing Individual Media

Inline moderation is a quick and straightforward way of making edits and the same steps could be used to edit individual media content as above. The drop-down menu allows edits to location, name and description. However, if additional changes are required, the individual media item should be opened where more edit options are available. When an individual media item is selected, the layout below should appear on the right-hand side of the page which allows saving/downloading media, moving media, deletion as well as some basic editing tools (crop, flip etc).


When/if the ’Edit Media’ button is selected, the ‘form’ below will open and options similar to those offered when the media was uploaded are offered as well as the option to add captions to the media file.

Privacy and Viewing Permissions

When media images, audio or video is placed within the Gallery, the default Viewing Permissions are:

• Drug Gallery/Wiki Images: Viewable to all, member, non-members and guests.

• Members Albums: Members only.

The option to change Member Album viewing permission settings is provided when the album is initially created. It can also be changed at any time after the Member Album is created. First, navigate to the album you want to change (by selecting ‘Albums’ within your profile page or ‘Your Albums’ from within the ’Media’ page) and open the album that requires adjusting. When the album is opened, on the right-hand side of the screen a box headed ‘Album Permissions’ is displayed. Who has viewing permissions for this album is shown across from ‘Can View Media’. To change that setting select ‘Change Permissions’ as below:


When ’Change Permissions’ is selected a screen similar to that displayed when the album was first created is opened. To change viewing permissions, select from the drop down menu remembering to confirm your selection by pressing the ‘Change Viewing Permission’ button.

Removing EXIF data from photos

When a photograph or image is captured on a digital camera or smartphone, a large amount of additional information (metadata) relating to that image is also captured and embedded within the image and device. The information stored in media files is referred to as EXIF data (Exchangeable Image File Format) and is information on the camera, lens and photo settings. It also contains the time and GPS data so removing all of this data should be done prior to sharing photos on this (and any other sites) where this data is not removed automatically. Removing the GPS data from their smartphone is likely what springs to mind to many so rather than deleting afterwards, the location functions within smartphones could be disabled beforehand using the (approximate) steps below

Android phones vary slightly between make and model but all follow a similar route to turn off geotagging:

1. Open the Camera app on your Android smartphone or tablet
2. Tap on three horizontal lines to open the menu
3. Now, tap on the gear icon
4. You will see the camera settings
5. Tap on GPS tag (on some devices this option is named differently, for instance, geo tag, location tag, etc.) and turn it off.

To turn off geotagging on location an iPhone:

1. Open Setting
2. Select ‘Privacy
3. Select ‘Location Services'
4. Select ‘Camera’,
5. Select ‘Never’ from the ‘Allow Location Access’ option.

However, that still leaves a whole raft of EXIF data stored within the image. Most are of no consequence however so much information is stored within photos it is recommended all Exif data is removed using either software included (with Windows typically) or free download Exif stripping tools.
Exif data (or equivalent) is also stored within other forms of media (videos, audio files etc) however these cannot currently be downloaded from the site so the contained data is not so readily available.
The process of stripping data also reduces file size which is useful as there is a limit to how much data can be stored in personal albums and on the forum.

Sharing media on Facebook

Media uploaded to DF can be shared on various social media platforms by both members and visitors to the page. How the media is shared varies between the type of media. For example, videos may be shared by selecting the share arrow symbol located within the top right corner of the video to be shared. Within the centre of the screen options for sharing to social media are provided as well as further options if required.

Sharing an image can be done by copying the image link directly from ’Share This Media’ on the right hand side of the page then posting on the relevant platform.

Downloading media

Currently, only images can be downloaded from DF by selecting the download icon when an individual image is open.

Providing feedback on media

Providing feedback on uploaded media is encouraged by page members to maintain media quality and promote expansion of of the Media Gallery. Feedback can be provided when the media is being viewed using the buttons indicated below and described in the following sections.

Comment on media

Comments can be made on media content when a particular media image, video etc is open in the same way comments are made within forum pages. The visibility of comments is determined by the Viewing Permissions of the media content and can change over time if the permissions are changed at a later date.

Rate media

Rating an image is done using the 5-star system (1 star being terrible, 5 being excellent) in the same way comments and threads are rated. The option to ‘like’ media content is also provided when the media is opened.

Reporting media

Media Gallery content which does not adhere to the site rules, is offensive or misleading should be reported. Reporting within DF posts, thread or uploads is anonymous, is required for promotions and assists staff.