Photobucket's 'ransom demand'

[mark.s]

Hi All,

Please be aware of the Photobucket problem that effects those with accounts and those wishing to view the images on this and other forums.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40492668

Best way to add images to the forum is by using the upload a file option next to the create thread link. Its easy and straight forward.

 

[mark.s]

@Cole@MBS can't see the MBO trip images due to this reason, can you email a good selection to my email address.
Thanks.

 

[Yugguy]

And it's ruined the classic detailing world 3-month Astra detailing thread!

 

[Chrishazle]

This ransom demand is all over all forums I frequent, as well as Twitter etc, as PB do not allow 3rd party linking unless you've paid $400 to upgrade your account. Many very unhappy people, for precisely the reasons given above and more.

Alternatives suggested are Flikr, Imgur.io and postimage.org - but of course that means you have to transfer your images then change the link in the post the photo was in - wonderful (I don't think).

 

[ZZZZ]

The problem is - even if it was humanly possible [for me] to go over a couple of thousands posts to replace pb links with flickr ones, most forums (this and the other side, for sure) won't allow editing after a certain period of time.

All I can do is keep checking if they (photobucket) messed it up already, or not yet.

I actually stop using them about 18 months ago, but photos in all the old posts are linked to pb.

It is quite disgusting they introduced this charges retrospectively, a decent thing would've been to ask for any future links to be payable, thus giving a customer a choice.

 

[KennyN]

Just spent the last three nights on backshift removing my pics + vids from PB onto my desktop at work.

Now using a Flickr account which is at least free at the moment.

If PB had asked for a small monthly "maintenance charge" then i would have considered it but $400 is a pi$$ take.

Kenny

 

[MissyD]

Have quite a lot of pics on photo bucket, will I loose them?

 

[KennyN]

Have quite a lot of pics on photo bucket, will I loose them?

If PB go to the wall then i would imagine you would.

They have / are stopped allowing (free) linking to forums etc. and that is the only reason i had an account. No point having relevant car / bike pics if you cant post them onto forums such as this.

Kenny

 

[MissyD]

How easy is it to move them?

 

[KennyN]

How easy is it to move them?

I could still use my account to link pics as they obviously hadn`t got to me yet , so i set up a test thread on a bike forum and copied them one at a time into this "test" thread. I then dragged them onto my desktop and then into a newly created folder.

There is probably a much quicker way to do it but i was in work and had plenty of free time.

Kenny

 

[flowrider]

I have just finished copying all the images i had on Photobucket to my PC, I have now deleted my account.

 

[LostKiwi]

Talk about inventing a self destruct button....
I stopped using them about 4 years ago. So glad I did now!

 

[ZZZZ]

Indeed - if their ad revenue wasn't what they wanted (hence the move, I suppose), it will dry out pretty fast now - most free customers will leave, and the paying ones are not pestered by the ads anyway.

 

[ZZZZ]

I was monitoring my links, and they have gone just now, rendering many posts, e.g. the DRL mod one in the DIY section, useless - it had 30-odd pics in it ...

 

[Yugguy]

Stick it all in a free AWS S3 bucket.

 

[Chrishazle]

Just found on t'other side :

Photobucket' statement, big lol at the last bit:

Denver, Colorado (July 6, 2017) One of the world’s leading photo storage and hosting sites has begun notifying its largest commercial scale users that it will now offer an unlimited third party hosting subscription plan.

John Corpus, CEO of Photobucket, said that historically the company “relied heavily on advertising revenue but that major industry-wide changes in the advertising space have greatly impacted Photobucket, including the rise of ad blockers and the Company’s explosion of 3rd party hosting that generates zero revenue.”

“This model is no longer sustainable,” Corpus added.

Corpus noted that seventy-five percent of Photobucket’s costs originate from non-paying users leveraging 3rd party hosting. The majority of the industry has either eliminated 3rd party hosting or imposed variable pricing based on consumption. To address the market, Photobucket has added unlimited hosting to its Plus 500 Subscription plan at a competitive fixed price.

Photobucket modified its Terms of Use in the second quarter of 2017. The Company began notifying non-paying users through email and on-site messaging that the Plus 500 plan offers 3rd Party Hosting for both commercial and personal use requiring no development or technical experience. Photobucket users who elect not to subscribe to the Plus 500 plan are always able to access all of their photos and migrate to alternative solutions if they so desire.

In Photobucket’s 14-year history, the Company has amassed over 100 million registered users, over 15 billion images stored, with 2 million daily uploads and 60 billion photos accessed monthly.

“With all the photos stored and shared, nearly everyone interacts with a Photobucket hosted image on at least one page across the web over a sixty-day period, putting the photo hosting service as a significant part of the internet,” Corpus said.

Corpus said that “initial results for the Company are positive. This path to a more sustainable business model allows us to develop an even more robust product to meet our customers’ needs.”

“We are grateful for our customers’ continued support,” he added.

 

[SL63 Mark]

There is probably a much quicker way to do it but i was in work and had plenty of free time.

Kenny

^^^
LOL

I seem to be OK so far, I copy the PB "IMG" link and convert it to plain text and upload it the various forums I use, no problem so far.

 

[AMGeed]

Stolen from the other side.

If you keep all your photos on Google Photos, you can use this link to paste the url of your photo and copy into any post.

https://ctrlq.org/google/photos/?_ga=2.45173220.1389181564.1499604798-536097360.1499604798

 

[00slk]

I just tried this and seems to have worked....so far

 

[00slk]

Spoke too soon, every picture I posted on all the forums I have used in the last 10years have gone.
Big issue now is to start down loading all the pictures to my laptop and photobucket have stopped allowing this
I will try again tomorrow...................May have been too many at one time?