We're often asked about how to link to our comic, so here is a guide for bloggers, journalists, and everyone else in-between.

How do I link to the current comic?
If you'd just like to generally link to our main Joy of Tech page, on which the comic changes every few days, you can link to http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/index.html or http://www.joyoftech.com/joyoftech/index.html. If you want a cool little graphic that changes as our comic changes, try out the Amazing Joy of Tech thumbnail!

How do I link to a particular comic, especially the current Joy of Tech?
Each new Joy of Tech comic is simultaneously added to the Archives, so you can find its permanent resting spot there. Just click on the Archives link, , and use the links available there. That way you know you will be directing your friend, or social network, or your audience to the correct comic.

Is there a preferred way to link to the Joy of Tech comic?
You bet! Because we derive our income from page views, we'd prefer that you publish a snippet or teaser image of the comic, then link to the comic's .html page in our archives. That way you get a story, and we get a bit of traffic to help us make the next comic. (A great example of that is here, thanks Brainrow, or here, thanks Laura, or here, thanks Mac Observer!)

On the 'Net today it's really common to see images used without attribution. It's just so easy now to take an image and post it up without thinking. But imagine if you were an artist, and you made your income from the people that came to your website to look at your pictures. Now imagine if someone else published your images in their entirety on their own website. I'm sure you would find that a little frustrating. Sure, we do get some traffic from people seeing a comic and then typing in our URL or googling us, but it is only a tiny, tiny fraction of what a real link will bring us. So we really appreciate it when someone take a few minutes more and links to us in an awesome way. (If you do, let me know and I will often return the favour by posting your link as a "Mighty Link" on our comic's page.)

Anything else you want to get off your chest?
Linking directly to the image of the comic on our server isn't that polite either, as that uses up our precious bandwidth. And please don't remove the copyright notices, our url information, or change the text of the comic without asking us first.

There, our rant has ended, the guilt trip is now over. :P

Can I publish an entire comic on my blog?
Well, you can publish a comic or two on your blog, but again, we'd much prefer that you publish a snippet or teaser image of the comic, then link to comic's .html page in our archives. Just like we would do if we were linking to content on your page. Again, if you have a question, please ask permission first.

Can I license the comic for publication on my website?
Absolutely. Just send us your request and site information, and we can work out a deal that makes both of us very happy. There's more about licensing here.

Can I publish a translated version of the Joy of Tech?
We've worked out several deals with foreign language sites to translate the Joy of Tech comic into different languages. In return for a small licensing fee, they host the translated comic on their site, and we link directly to their page from our site. They also get the use of two sizes of thumbnails, so they can link to their comic page from their main page, and also build up their own archives page. So they get some great content to keep viewers coming back to their site, and we send them our foreign language traffic. It's a nice partnership. If this is something that would interest you, send us your request and site information.