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Post by evangeline on Jul 7, 2017 7:40:44 GMT -5
Hi. Pooka's having issues with Photobucket and now I see other communards' posts with the same error message. I don't post photos too often, mostly using Dropbox now. Is there a consensus solution to photo-hosting sites??
Pooka, can you repeat what you posted on another thread (I can't find it right now) about why PBucket wants to charge you $300 per year??
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Post by pooka on Jul 7, 2017 12:46:36 GMT -5
Here's a link to the thread where this started, & my initial post after nana asked what happened to my pics. Purple Martin LIVE WebcamI got an email from them saying, "WE NOTICED THAT YOU HAVE BEEN USING PHOTOBUCKET FOR 3RD PARTY HOSTING. TO RESTORE YOUR 3RD PARTY HOSTED IMAGES, PLEASE UPGRADE TO A PLUS 500 PLAN.""Photobucket defines 3rd party hosting as the action of embedding an image or photo onto another website. For example, using the <img> tag to embed or display a JPEG image from your Photobucket account on another website such as a forum, Etsy, eBay auction listings, a blog, etc. is definitively 3rd party hosting."The price for that is $399.99 per year in advance, with no payment plan option to pay a monthly rate. I guess they assume I'm a business that has a budget to cover such an expense, & have a pile of cash to pay that, but I don't. I'm unsure of what option I've got. I might be able to squeeze out $33.3325 per month, but not the full $399.99 per year in advance. As for now, my addiction to show & tell has ended. I'm in the hole right now trying to keep up with bills & expenses. This wizard has no gag in my bag of tricks to fix this. I'm at a loss. In looking around for a better option, I found a number of articles complaining about Photobucket's snap decisions to switch to a more fee based model without notice, rather that depend on ad based revenue. It's sent shock waves all over the internet. One piece mentioned a stamp collecting discussion group who use them who is now up in arms that their site is all but disabled because all their stamp pictures are virtually being held hostage for profit. Here's a sample of the responses. The first on shows the unsettled tone of the reactions. Photobucket says photo-f**k-it, starts off-site image shakedown No more freeloading graphics, it wants its $400-a-year cutAmazon and eBay images broken by Photobucket's 'ransom demand'This is the one that mentions the stamp collecting discussion group. Photobucket alternatives for third-party hosted images I'm unsure what the best alternative is. Here's a Google search I did that has links to a number of list's of different sites that host images. Best free third party image hosting sitesWith the backlash, perhaps they may rethink this move, but I doubt it. It's the wave of the greedy to monetize everything we do online on the backs of the users. I'm wary of where to move my pics to, because I don't want to be caught short & have to go through this again. We've become so used to the internet being free for the most part, with some things charging a fee, but mostly they depend on ad revenue to pay the way like TV. With the prevalence of more intrusive ads, & ad blockers that followed, some sites are trying to throwing the costs directly on users. This does not bod well for us regular folks. I'm sure there are many like me who just plain can't afford all these fees. This move will just freeze out people like me. The internet has become the great equalizer for groups good & bad, giving us a voice, where before we had none. This latest move by Photobucket is the latest salvo in a war between those who have, & those who have not. I'm unsure of my next move. Right now this is threatening my life's work of late. For the first time in my life, I've been able to do something that helps & informs other on a subject that matters to me & others. I'm somewhat at a loss. Even my words fail me. We're like pilgrims on the open road being waylaid by bandits at every turn. Where are the Templers when you need them? But even they charged fees for some services. They got too rich & powerful. It led to their downfall at the hands of the greedy, & men of political power. There will always be those who think the little guy shouldn't be allowed to be too free. Those with power will always squeeze the little guy for profit if they are allowed to. This is nothing new. Extortion is an old game of extracting a price for something we hold dear. I don't begrudge making a reasonable profit, but when it goes to extreme, as in the latest trend, it's gone too far. This is going to be a tough hurtle to find my way around. I don't want to be caught in this trap again. I'm going to have to look long & hard before I make my next move.
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Post by nana on Jul 7, 2017 21:16:54 GMT -5
It really is a shame. Even without pictures, though, your knowledge is still there and is so helpful. They can't take that away, thank goodness!
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Post by pooka on Jul 8, 2017 2:39:06 GMT -5
But nana, when I'm dead, I'd hate to leave my writings full of holes where the pics should be. Perhaps I should compile a PDF book of some of my best posts. I could upload it to The Internet Archive, & pass it around.
I've had some tell me I should write a book. Some have told me they like the way I write, but with many writers (I can't believe I'm calling myself a writer), I'm insecure about that. My sister says I have a certain style that's good, but again, I'm ever the overly critical eye for my own work. I try to write in a way one might speak. Often I try a bit too hard with my quotes & flowery language. I try to make it enjoyable to read. Maybe I'm a little insecure of my lack of formal education. Though I've met more than one person with collage degrees that seem dumb as a post.
There may be enough posts to edit together for a book of sorts. I'm not bad at a short form of a page or three. I'm not sure I could keep enough focus to write anything in a long form. I tend to get the bit in my teeth, & run with it. I don't always know where I'm going though. Sometimes it requires someone to ask the right question to set me flying. If I'm in a spirited mood, I might write a colorful rant. I've heard the best method is to write as much as possible. Most of it might be trash, or at least sub par. But over time, every now & then, something good shows up if you're lucky. I have no illusions of writing any noted literature. But if I could at lest write something informative. That would be enough.
This latest issue has somewhat stumped my dialog. I feel like I'm being personally attacked, though I know that's not true. But feeling & knowing are not the same thing. It's that feeling like someone has kicked the chair out from under you, sending you sprawling & scrambling for something to grab hold of. It's one more thing to have to deal with that I have no stomach for.
In life, I say all the time with anything you do, try different methods, & when you find a way that work well, always do it that way. I thought picture posting was a settled thing, now it's up in the air. I just have to roll with the punches, & work this thing out.
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Post by evangeline on Jul 8, 2017 7:15:59 GMT -5
Pooka, there are a lot of writers out there who don't have a 'voice' that is distinctive. You do. Your writing could only come from you and that's a gift. All the college degrees in the world can't create a voice.
Do you have access to all your jpegs?? Or are they stuck in Photo Bucket?
As for the forum, I can't see Chuckie's images anymore, among others. Maybe he's got some ideas?? (Correction: I can't see his images on the other site 'cause of course you can't embed an image on that site. Maybe one the of the Ranger folk will come up with a solution.)
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Post by pooka on Jul 9, 2017 3:00:53 GMT -5
evangeline, my brain is like a sponge that's soaked up things on just about every subject imaginable. Some stuff that even I don't understand. Be it history, nature, science or literature. I know none of them well, but I know a smattering of all of them & more. Some things stick in my mind, like a jumbled scrapbook with no index. Some things I only half remember, but when I want to use it in my writing, I look it up to get the facts or quotes right. That 'voice' you say I have, I don't really see or hear it myself. I can't step outside myself to observe it from a third party distance. I try best to be understood & stretch my vocabulary as much as possible to give my writing a spice of added depth. I've picked up nautical terms & phrases from my dad. I've got a treasure chest of colloquialisms I've gleaned from everywhere. A lifetime of listening I guess. We are all the sum of all our yesterdays til now. Maybe I was paying a little closer attention than some. Perhaps my brain is wired a bit off than the norm. I'd never written anything til I joined here in late 2010. I seem to have access to my pics by going directly there. They just block it being directly linked anywhere else. Here's a direct link to my library. Some things are organize somewhat. A lot of it is just dumped there as I go. model74's library at Photobucket I'll just have to sit down & go through some of the other hosting sites, & read some recommendations. I don't need any fancy editing features. Just a place to upload the images, & maybe a way to organize them if possible. I kinda feel bad now, because I've recommended Photobucket to a lot of people, because it has worked very well for me. C'est la vie I guess.
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Post by nana on Jul 9, 2017 7:16:19 GMT -5
Well, who knew they were going to do this? Although my husband, ever the voice of Management, pointed out that since Photobucket gets its big money from advertisers, if you use their service to put pictures elsewhere and nobody's seeing those ads, pretty soon advertisers will stop paying them and there goes their business model. They might figure out a way to send the ads WITH the pictures. Now wouldn't that be annoying!
I agree with you, Evangeline. Pooka, you have a definite voice, and it is enjoyable and interesting. Good writing isn't only about novels. One of my favorite writers is Stephen J. Gould, who wrote essays about natural history topics from fossils to black holes in a way that laymen could understand. Right now I'm in the middle of Neil DeGrasse Tyson's latest, "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry." Also excellent. And the chapters are short and as easy to understand as he could make them, but definitely not oversimplified. But what makes writing special is when the personality of the writer shines through, so you feel you are not just learning some facts or hearing a story, but sitting with a friend. So. You qualify as a writer!
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Post by pooka on Jul 9, 2017 12:22:19 GMT -5
I had no problem with Photobucket's ads in the past. I mostly didn't notice them even though they were there. But in recent months, the ads had become so intrusive & numerous, it was bogging my old computer down making their site almost unusable. I commented about it, & Chuckie pointed me to a Firefox add-on called uBlock. It blocks everything. The difference is like night & day. Not long after that is when I got the notice that I was using them for third party posting, & needed to cough up $399.99 for that privilege. As you see from the links I posted, the reaction by me & others has been wholly bad & irate in some very nasty language. They've painted themselves as a villain of this story. There seems to be a trend in business to blame the consumer for the their business plans going awry. Look at the bad press some of the airlines are getting for some bone headed moves they've made of late. It's plain greed & poor management. The latest is "United Destroys $40K Custom Wheelchair". A quote from a travelpulse.com article said, "The airline subsequently offered the use of an alternative chair, one that was not at all suited to Duthion’s condition. What’s more, United reportedly told the group they had to use the alternate wheelchair or else sign a waiver declaring that they had refused the airline’s “help.” It's like some businesses are trying to do a lousy job, & we should just shut up & take the abuse. They all say "We value our customers", but that a load of bull. They value our money, & we should shut our traps, & take what ever they shell out & like it. It would be one thing if these events were isolated incidents, but there's way too many stories like this in the news. It seems like a prevalent trend. It's just corporate greed at the heart of this issue. They don't care how they treat use if it means more money in their pockets, & that filters down to the rank & file at every level of employees. This seems true of businesses of all sorts. Businesses complain of overly intrusive rules cramping their style. These incident are why there are so many rules & regulations. Businesses will do anything they think they can get away with to add to the bottom line. They won't police themselves, so after public outcry, consumers will demand government regulators do something. It use to be that a businesses valued their good name in the public's eye as in the quote from Shakespeare. Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands; But he that filches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him And makes me poor indeed. But they seemed to have turned this thought on it's head. They value their purse more than their name apparently. They think they can be both enriched & have a lousy reputation. This is the logic tyrants operate under. But as we know from history, all tyrants fall eventually. Tyrants in business or politics can only reign if we allow it. Sometimes it takes violence to topple them. Other times it take unified push back by the masses to force a change. Greed seems to be the order of the day at every level in politics & business. So why should this surprise any of us. Our fractured society has brought this on us. The only way it's going to change if we unify, & oppose it. We obsess in making mountains out of mole hills, & ignore the Everest that's looming, & about to fall on us all. Are we slaves to be abused, or are we free people that shouldn't be trifled with? It's our choice. How's that 'Voice' for you? To harsh maybe? I think I'm being restrained given the present atmosphere.
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Post by nana on Jul 16, 2017 21:18:38 GMT -5
Not too much! I think you nailed it right on the head. Greed is the cause of a lot of evil everywhere you look in the world, not just for us and our picture troubles. Pollution, the opioid problem, the bursting of economic bubbles...you name it, and someone's greed is at the root of it.
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