Photobucket Image Fix!!
 

Like many Pprune members I have previously used Photobucket to upload pictures into posts of Pprune. I am therefore very disappointed that Photobucket now want to charge for enabling 3rd party hosting:ugh:

So, if you see any "PLEASE UPDATE YOUR ACCOUNT TO ENABLE 3RD PARTY HOSTING" from photobucket, try this fix:

If you're using Google Chrome, go to the three dots on the right side of the screen and click them. A drop down should appear. Hover your mouse over "More Tools," and when the next drop down appears, click on extensions. Go to the link towards the bottom that says "Get more extensions." In the search box, type "Photobucket Fix," and hit enter. Click the install button and once it's done, you should be able to see photobucket pictures again.

For FireFox users, click on the three bars on the right side of the screen, then click on add ons. Click search for "photobucket hotlink" and click install. Same result.

Another fix that appears to work is that you append "~original" to the end of your original link, blocked photos will/may magically reappear. So the above fix should also work for any old historical photobucket stuff which people have posted, and can't be bothered editing the links...

It seems that some Pprune posters have closed their Photobucket accounts. The above fixes will not help in that case.

Worth looking into.

Works
 

This works for me too.

No doubt some PPRUNE maestro admin could fix all relevant posts with the stroke of a key or few. That would be nice but of course may not last forever since photobucket could likely easily enough react unfavourably.

Seems to "Download original size photos".

"Closed" threads can not be edited.

You can search for your relevant posts with the search tool.

Search for exact username with Keyword - photobucket with results by post.

Long threads result in the usual PPRUNE deleted post numbering error and consequent erroneous links but I found one post easily by going back a page.


http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...3.jpg~original

"http : //i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy118/jimjim146/P1010763.jpg~original"


Weirdly the following works with original URL - the one above didn't.

Can a single use of "~original" be "opening" the account?

Ah! It's a cookies thing I think. Use "~original" once then it works for a while at least. Doesn't work subsequently in a new Private Window session.


http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...3.jpg~original

Just use the Pprune album........

Yes, you can now! But four years ago it was not available. It would be a pity for Ppruners not to be able to see and enjoy those pictures in the older postings!

It's strange, but my PB links have never stopped working:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ps726dcd7a.jpg

I have found that IMGUR is a good alternative to Photobucket. Quick, simple and free.

But remember to select "Hidden" under album options, unless you want your pics to be visible to all.

I'm a simpleton, so there may be issues with IMGUR that I haven't spotted.

Alternative!
 

It is not about an alternative.

The issue is that people have for years and years uploaded images to photobucket with the expectation that they would be safely published for the rest of time.

Photobucket suddenly blocked the images and demanded cash.

Of course I imagine that not many people paid up.

At present the best looking idea for occasional use is to use the pprune free storage.