It's a kick in the teeth from Photobucket. All my photos are stored on my hard drive (and backed up) so I don't have photos on PB that I need. I made all my photo albums on PB private so they can't be viewed and logged off (but did not close my account). I have 1 gig of photos on their server that will remain there unused until PB closes it virtual doors - which won't be long.
But on to the future... You will want to get a new image host and transfer the critical albums on PB to your new host.
Try some different photo hosting sites and see how you like them. We post a lot of photos on Britbike.com/forums and the guys there have been using several options. Some require a payment of about $25-30 per year (compared to PB's $399!) but some are free.
Two free sites - imgur.com and postimages.org have been used by Britbike forum members, with postimages taking the lead by a long length. That was my choice, initially spurred by the incredible ease of sign up. It turns out that everything is easy and fast on postimages. We are all liking it a lot.
Postimages states that the reason for their existence IS to host images (3rd party hosting).
Postimages requests that you post in a way that links back to their site to please their advertisers. This is easy and not inconvenient to users. When you click the share button it will display several options two of which are well suited to ToolTalk and other forums. The Thumbnail link posts a small picture that when clicked will open the full size image in your postimage album (thereby meeting their request for a link back). The Hotlink will post a full size image but if you click it it will also take you to the image in your album on postimage (also meeting their request for link back).
Postimages does not allow others to view your photos unless you give them the link. There are no "most viewed" photos, no viral images, etc.
You can upload multiple images with one click. It goes very quickly. I don't know what the limit is but I haven't hit it yet. One of the posters on Britbike is a photographer and he is loving the upload speed annd ease of postimages.
Another great feature is that the Thumbnail and Hotlink can be posted directly into your post. No clicking the forum's "insert image" button. When you click on your album image's share button, the list will pop up and there's a blue button at the end of each link. Click that blue button and the link is automatically copied and ready to paste into your post.
Well, sorry for the length of the post. You can tell I like postimages. But it is gaining ground exponentially on Brit bike.com, so it's not just me liking it.
Regards
Al
Here's the thumbnail:
Here's the Hotlink:
