Bandwidth:
The amount of traffic that is allocated by a web server. (KB/MB/GIG per second)
So how is it possible for someone to steal bandwidth? Think of it this way. Suppose the authorities only allowed commuters to travel on certain roads. If there were only a few commuters then traffic would move pretty smoothly. However if the roads were loaded with commuters (eg. during rush hour), then the traffic would move very, very slowly. This is the same case with bandwidth where the web server regulates the amount of bandwidth allowed. Just like travelling on roads is necessary for commuters to get somewhere, bandwidth is necessary for surfers to access the contents of someone's web account. The more people trying to access the data, the more congested the bandwidth becomes so the overall connection is dragged down. In fact, some sites have been blocked and pulled down due to the overload of traffic! (eg. Student Job Services Websites at the end of the semester) And to add on to that, some web servers are known to charge the web account holder if they exceed their allocated bandwidth.
But we haven't defined 'bandwidth robbery' yet. Is accessing someone's popular website considered robbery? Is linking to someone's website considered robbery? The answer to both is no! Accessing and linking to websites is what the Internet is really all about so it isn't wrong at all. The problems occur when people start linking to files that are NOT of HTML/HTM extensions. Why? Because HTML/HTM files are relatively small compared to other ones such as image and multimedia files. The amount of space images take up depends on several factors but generally, images with high resolution are large. One surfer accessing the image through the website's server may be equivalent to thirty-six surfers accessing a HTML file of the same website. Now multiply that by the number of people actually accessing that same image file and thus a traffic jam occurs much faster and often on the information highway and the value of the website is decreased due to increased loading time because of bandwidth robbery. MP3s, WAVs, AVIs, MOVs files generally tend to be even BIGGER than image files (GIF and JPG) so you get the idea of how congested the system gets.
Specifically and in clear terms, bandwidth robbery is the direct linking to non-HTML/HTM files. If someone grants you permission to use their data, do them the courtesy of NOT clogging up their bandwidth. Don't directly link to the file(s) because not only are you clogging up their bandwidth, you're also unfairly taking advantage of them by using their webspace for storage of the file which is not a way to thank them for letting you use the file in the first place. Instead, _download_ the file and upload it into YOUR account. Image files can be downloaded by using your right mouse button (click over the image) and selecting from the menu 'save image' or something like that in most browsers. Other files may be downloaded by conventionally clicking on them (eg. MP3s). One other good reason to upload the file into your own account is that way, you won't have to worry about a broken image/link just because that other person removed the file or uploaded a different one under the same name. Stopping bandwidth robbery is something that benefits everyone.
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