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Post by chipperhiker on May 18, 2018 17:57:49 GMT -5
It looks like the photos I've posted are back, including my avatar pic.
Did Photobucket give in and release everyone's photos without us paying their ransom fees?
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Post by nana on May 19, 2018 13:18:17 GMT -5
It looks that way! That would be nice for me because I wasn't able to use the fix that people posted about. My iPad must be too old.
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Post by pooka on May 19, 2018 13:56:10 GMT -5
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Post by chipperhiker on May 19, 2018 15:13:07 GMT -5
Thank you for the link, Pooka. I'm glad that they have decided to alter their course. I had no idea that it was such a tiny company!
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Post by mach12 on May 20, 2018 10:27:35 GMT -5
They really did hurt themselves when they made that change and I suspect it'l take awhile to get it back to where it used to be, assuming they ever will. My granddaughter is an award winning, published professional photographer with a successful business and had a commercial account with them since, like many photographers, she offers digital downloads in some of her photo packages. With the old Photobucket she could create a free account and then put the photos in it and then turn the account over to the customer so they could share the photos to their heart's content. Every year she attends an international photographer's convention and last year the Photobucket issue and alternatives was a main topic. She said hundreds and hundreds of photographers moved to other providers. I can't imagine many of them going back and that kind of reputation makes it an uphill climb.
I'm glad to hear they've seen the light (photography is all about light, right?) and wish them well but I'm going to keep an eye on them for a bit before I start using them again. If they don't recover then their storage goes away when the company folds and my photos stored there go away unless they're bought up or something. That's worst-case but after a career following the motto "hope for the best; plan for the worst" it's an ingrained habit I guess.
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Post by chipperhiker on May 20, 2018 18:46:34 GMT -5
I agree. They gave themselves a big black eye with their ham-handed maneuvering. I hope they find a way through.
I may not use them for future photos, but I am extremely happy that my photos that I've already posted have returned. Yay!
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Post by nana on May 21, 2018 5:08:18 GMT -5
Pooka, you must be glad, too! You had so many great pictures. I was really missing them!
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Post by pooka on May 21, 2018 10:32:44 GMT -5
More than giving themselves a black eye. They made themselves the villain of the story. They offered a service, mostly for free & built up a customer base. Then without any warning, they hold our images hostage & put a gun to our heads demanding overpriced tribute. They'd decided us casual users were deep pocketed commercial users. The $399 they were demanding up front was just wildly over the top for most of us. The 2.49 a month, $24.99 a year or the limited time fee of $1.99 a month, $19.99 a year is more in line. But this whole fiasco has left a bad taste in my mouth. I'd always thought treating your customers well was a cardinal rule in business. If they ever recover, it'll take years. In a lot of businesses, they'd rebrand themselves to escape the bad association with their old identity.
I don"t know what their business plan was for making a profit. Through advertising I suppose. There came a time that the ads were so intrusive, it would bog my old computer down, & their site became all but unusable. Chuckie clued me into the ad-blocker which made it usable again. I guess that's what set this whole thing blow up. The must have seen their ad revenues plummet & panicked. They shot themselves in both feet, then wondered why they couldn't walk. DUH!!!
Their new plan reported says,
Free: Photo sharing and ad-supported storage only. No third-party hosting. Basic: 2 gigabytes of photo storage and ad free hosting for $2.49 a month Intermediate: 20 GBs of photo storage for $3.99 a month Expert: 2 terabytes of photo storage for $8.99 a month Add third-party hosting to the intermediate or expert plans for $2.49 more per month I guess since most of us would be considered $3.99 a month Intermediate users & would need to add the $2.49 a month option for third-party hosting. So for $4.98, we'd make them happy. While free is always better, I could live with that.
We'll see. At least my old pics are freely accessible again without a browser add-on.
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Post by chipperhiker on May 21, 2018 21:28:15 GMT -5
Thank you for explaining that, Pooka. I wasn't at all sure when third-party hosting even meant! I am not the most tech-savvy internet user.
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Post by pooka on May 22, 2018 1:13:21 GMT -5
Yeah, the third-party hosting had me scratching my head at first when they sent me the nasty email demanding the $399 to get back in their good graces. I could see their ire if I was using my account for selling stuff on eBay or elsewhere, but I was using it for personal & educational purposes.
For me, money's pretty tight. My recurring monthly bills run me pretty lean as it is. I haven't even run my air conditioner the last couple of years because I can't afford it. This new deal at Photobucket gives a second life for all my old posts that were image rich. They were rendered all but meaningless without the pics.
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Post by chipperhiker on May 22, 2018 13:24:31 GMT -5
Very true.
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