The Great Photobucket Nightmare of 2017 (or, How Photobucket Broke the Internet)

smitty_p

smitty_p

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As has been discussed in a few threads, Photobucket's policy change enacted on June 28, 2017 disables all image linking and third-party image hosting on free accounts, as well as some paid accounts. I've been doing a lot of searching on this and it has caused a huge headache all over the internet - from forums, to eBay users, to Etsy users...and more. Photobucket has created a real PR nightmare.

The result is that this affects any image that is linked back to Photobucket which anyone may have posted on any website on the internet.

What this means to all of us is that posting images linked back to Photobucket, such that the images appear as an embedded image in the post, itself (called, "third-party hosting" or "hotlinking"), is only allowed on the most expensive plan, called P500. The P500 pricing tier costs $399.99 per year.

If anyone has seen my posts in other threads, I had been hoping that by consuming a very small portion of my available space (less than 2%), that I could escape notice. However, that hope turned out to be false, as I've been caught, as well. The algorithm got me!

So, what do we do now?

Well, fortunately, The Tone Rooms is built to allow members to upload images and link from the forum, itself. Essentially, TTR is it's own image host. This is really cool.

There are other image sites. I'm currently hunting for one to use. For TTR posts, I will probably use the image hosting capability of this forum, but I still want a host for other posts I may make elsewhere. My concern is that if Photobucket survives this, that other sites may decide to do something similar.

Since the TTR staff has opened up the forum for editing old posts, I am going to start the arduous process of uploading pics here and to attempt to re-link to the appropriate image. I have over 1500 posts here. I may miss some, but I hope to do the major ones...like my Les Paul Studio Project, etc.

So, there you have it and there you are...
 
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I've said in other posts that I have a habit of making myself unpopular by being flippant or showing a sense of humor that differs to most.
Here I go again :-(
This Photobucket thing doesn't worry me in the slightest, actually I'm a little pleased. Once a thread has run it's course I (almost) never go back. I'm happy to see most of my internet footprint disappear. Stand tall and look forward is what I say, well at 5'7" it's hard for me to stand tall :-)

EDIT, Before anybody suggests old threads are great for educating newcomers such as myself ...
No, I just ask Adrian, he knows all about everything.
 
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I see your point when images are used just to reinforce general banter.

I think where it becomes a particular headache is with things like build threads or "how-to" threads. I've read these kinds of threads (and they may even be a few years old) on other forums, websites, and blogs and have gotten a lot of good information from them, particularly when illustrated with images. In most cases, I've discovered these threads simply by doing a Google search for something, and the thread will show up as one of the hits. Certainly, the thread may have run its course from the standpoint of those who were immediately engaged in the thread. But, such threads are timeless in the sense that they can still be good sources of information well after the threads have run out of steam for those who were posting.

The way things stand now, if the poster used Photobucket to provide informative illustrations and has not "upgraded" to the P500 plan, those threads are nearly useless.
 
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This is where being technologically stupid comes in handy there Smitty lol.I mean ive figured out how i can resize a picture or 2 to post all here but all that stuff you guys are talkin about hosting sites and 3rd party this and that i have no clue what your talking about.:)
 
Photo bucket will survive this.
They will be kept afloat by the Facebook people and
the "OMG I lost my phone! My life is over!" people.
Once they survive, every other image hosting site
will follow in their footsteps and also survive.

I have spoken.
 
Tony M. said:
Photo bucket will survive this.
They will be kept afloat by the Facebook people and
the "OMG I lost my phone! My life is over!" people.
Once they survive, every other image hosting site
will follow in their footsteps and also survive.

I have spoken.
Click to expand...

I agree. They will survive. I didn't adequately express my thought.

My question is whether Photobucket survives relatively unscathed, or if the fallout will be so severe that they survive, but with a big black eye.

If they come through pretty much unscathed, it may embolden other image hosts to try something similar. If they take a big hit and have to reverse course or restructure their pricing again, it will serve as a warning to others.

On the other hand, it is entirely possible that Photobucket actually WANTS to lose its free users. It may be trying to recreate its business model to focus on more of a business-centric clientele, instead of a more consumer-oriented clientele. Forcing us out may be part of the plan.

BTW, the Facebook people aren't affected. You can upload images directly from your PC or phone to Facebook. No image host is necessary.
 
Is there anybody who has an Internet account that DOESN'T come with a heap of free web space?
 
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DonP said:
Is there anybody who has an Internet account that DOESN'T come with a heap of free web space?
Click to expand...

That's a great point, Don, and it would be a simple affair to link to a pic. However, it's not unusual for us in the US to switch ISPs relatively often. I've used three different ISPs in the last 10 years. So, I like to have a more ubiquitous storage platform and email that is not tied to a single ISP.

I mean, I do have email from my ISP, but I tend to use a web-based client.

You do prompt a thought, though. I may check and see what kind of storage my ISP offers, just as an option.
 
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DonP said:
Is there anybody who has an Internet account that DOESN'T come with a heap of free web space?
Click to expand...

smitty_p said:
That's a great point, Don, and it would be a simple affair to link to a pic. However, it's not unusual for us in the US to switch ISPs relatively often. I've used three different ISPs in the last 10 years. So, I like to have a more ubiquitous storage platform and email that is not tied to a single ISP.

I mean, I do have email from my ISP, but I tend to use a web-based client.

You do prompt a thought, though. I may check and see what kind of storage my ISP offers, just as an option.
Click to expand...

Yes, storage is one thing, but third party hosting is a convenience that most cloud storage does not provide.
 
Yes, it will cost the Photobucket subscribers $400 per year to allow 3rd Party Hosting. They have smaller plans for increase storage, but none of the smaller plans allow the full Hosting feature. They also have a plan that eliminates the annoying ads for $2.50 per month.

Just about all my images at the Metroamp forum are gone, though they are still at Photobucket. Some of us know SG Lou and his high level of luthiery. He has graciously posted wonderful pics of his skill in a few forums... and yup... they're all gone!

F PHOTOBUCKET
 
Try Imgur. Easy to use. You don't even need an account to upload and share images. But an account will allow you to store albums and so forth. There is no way PB will survive with the current business model.

I have 2 PB accounts. One I got locked out of a few years back, but I still use it since it is all public. And a newer one. But they are useless to me now, if I can't share my geetar photos with you mofos.

If this doesn't sort itself in short order, I will permanently switch to Imgur (which I already use some) and never look back. Shucks, anyone with a facebook account can upload all the photos they want and share the photos anywhere else, too. I just hate to even show activity on FB. :p
 
mdubya said:
Try Imgur. Easy to use. You don't even need an account to upload and share images. But an account will allow you to store albums and so forth. There is no way PB will survive with the current business model.

I have 2 PB accounts. One I got locked out of a few years back, but I still use it since it is all public. And a newer one. But they are useless to me now, if I can't share my geetar photos with you mofos.

If this doesn't sort itself in short order, I will permanently switch to Imgur (which I already use some) and never look back. Shucks, anyone with a facebook account can upload all the photos they want and share the photos anywhere else, too. I just hate to even show activity on FB. :p
Click to expand...

Does Imgur allow you to set your albums/images to private, so they aren't just seen and shared by everyone?
 
I have thousands of photos on Photobucket...all from my hot rodding era....I haven't thought about them or looked at them in years....
 
Just like the drug dealer standing on a corner offering the first hit of crack for free.
 
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