Blocking image feed as a default for journals

[carta]

Title
Blocking image feed as a default for journals

Short, concise description of the idea
Incorporate an on-off toggle in the user info setup page allowing users to select whether their journal is included in the recent update feeds.

Full description of the idea
I understand that images posted in LiveJournal are posted in a public forum unless FO or Private. However, there are a lot of programs out that crawl LJ collecting pictures from the recently updated journals and then posting those pictures on a separate webpage, sometimes with links back to the userinfo and livejournal pages of the original poster. The average LJ user - who is not internet savvy, doesn't know about the Admin Console, doesn't know that these programs exist, and has a relatively small FL - would be surprised to learn that the pictures of her child's fifth birthday party are suddenly getting a wider audience than the people who have her friended. The odds of her picture being seen by the average internet user is low, but increases exponentially when it is posted on another webpage. Bandwidth is always an issue, of course.

An ordered list of benefits

• Doesn't eliminate the image feed
• Allows every user the option of protecting images and bandwidth, instead of just those "in the know"
• Helps keep image distribution limited to a foreseeable range

An ordered list of problems/issues involved

• People who write the image feed programs won't like it.
• May be difficult to separate the image feed from others.

An organized list, or a few short paragraphs detailing suggestions for implementation

• I am not a programmer, so I have no idea.

EDITED FOR CLARIFICATION BY ORIGINAL POSTER
(Changed "Description of idea" to better reflect my intent)