Photobucket problems ... and how to fix them

[Deleted]

This has appeared on the Photobucket blog:

Update: During the planned maintenance last night, we encountered an unforeseen issue. Our team is continuing to work on resolving that issue, and we will provide another update as soon as possible. Rest assured that your information and content is safe. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support.

(last updated November 4, 2016 – 2:50PM MST)

blog.photobucket.com/status/



>>>>>> NOTE <<<<<<

In August of 2017 Photobucket took action against pictures hosted with them that were posted on "3rd party" sites.

That meant that Photobucket replaced many pictures throughout anyport with large gray squares.

Do not despair. Your threads are not ruined. Scroll down to Reply #4 to learn how to fix them.

[Deleted]

Photobucket photos are now displaying on this site again, but the Photobucket site is still not able to upload new photos. Patience!

[Deleted]

Everything is now back to normal at Photobucket -- I hope.

[bixaorellana]

Many of us have been affected by Photobucket's abrupt harshness in enforcing the 3rd-party rule. Admittedly it's a rule they probably had all along, but who actually reads the terms of service, right?

This will be poor consolation, but at least it's a way to recover an image you had hosted on Photobucket, but that you are unable to locate in your own files:

Go to your Photobucket account and select the picture you need.
Click on it to open it.
When it opens, you may or may not be able to see your image, depending on whether or not it's one that P'bucket has frozen.
HOWEVER, whether you see the image or only the ugly gray square, right-click on it and select "save image as" / "save picture as" / or whatever the phrasing is that your particular browser uses.

[bixaorellana]

There are numerous beautiful threads all over Anyport that are currently lying in ruins because of photobucket pulling the plug on many of us.

This is a shame, not only because of the effort that went into making them, but also because anyport's threads are accessed daily by people from all over the world.

I have figured out a way to fix our photobucket-damaged threads.
This method uses Postimage as the image host. (If you are not currently using that site but are interested, all the information you need is right here.)

All you have to do is:
1) Open and sign into your Postimage account.
2) Open the thread you want to fix and click Edit on a post.
3) Copy the urls and paste into Postimage's URL uploader. *
4) Once they are uploaded, copy each new url and paste it over the corresponding photobucket url on your Edit page.

The new urls will have numbers that match the ones on the photobucket urls. Be aware, though, that Postimage will generate your urls in numeric order.
So, in case that's not the order you want for the post, you need to pay attention in order to paste the new url over the correct old one.

Here are some visual aids, but please post any questions you might have.

Messed up post:


Messed up post opened to Edit page:


Postimage's upload page:


Proceed:


Now to use your new URLs -- A.


Now to use your new URLs -- B.


And this is what you get. Proceed until each bad one is replaced with a good one.


*Instead of copying and pasting each photobucket individually into Postimage's upload box, you can copy and paste the entire block of those photobucket urls from the Edit page. You must then be sure to go into the upload box and delete every bit of text and all tags before proceeding. I like this method better, but it involves its own kind of tedium.

[questa]

Yesterday I scrolled through over 50 pages of posts in Image Bank looking for K2's post. Reading all the comments about wonderful photos but seeing only pb blocks was very sad. Thank you, Bixa. for all the work you and others have done to help us restore our threads to their former glory.

[bixaorellana]

It has to be admitted that renovating a thread where Photobucket has wiped out the pictures is a project. However, if you follow the steps outlined above, you can restore your threads exactly as they were before.

My suggestion as a way to start is to either go to your Profile & click on "View this member's recent threads" or, better yet, just go into a board where you know you've made a bunch of threads and pick out a favorite to fix. Lather, rinse, repeat.

[questa]

Once we start re-establishing our threads there are other things to consider...

Do I reproduce the whole thread as originally posted or edited highlights?

If other members have added to the thread amongst my posts, do I include their posts in my new thread?

Where others have given feedback on my pictures etc do I include their comments in the thread as they
originally appeared?
If so, this could probably be done as a C&P of the comment followed by that member's name, typed in,
rather than trying to C&P the whole page.

After hours of 'work' and sometimes frustration, I, for one would like to see the comments and questions/answers reproduced in the newly made thread. I value the feedback and am pleased if some of my posts have given enjoyment to others.

Of course, all this overthinking is to delay me from actually starting on the project.

[bixaorellana]

Really, none of those things are considerations!

Questa, the only thing that will be altered in the threads is the ugly gray squares. They will be replaced by the pictures that are supposed to be there and there will be no reason to change anything else.

Please re-read the tutorial & you will see that all you'll be doing is editing the original posts by replacing the photobucket URLs with postimage URLs.

[cheerypeabrain]

Would it be ok if I just started another Leicestershire thread? I know that the old one contains comments from folk which is a shame...but it's photobucket's fault not Anyport's so I'm sure that members will understand...?

I can load some of the old pics onto Flickr from my own files when I have the time as well if they're needed (on the new thread)....

[bixaorellana]

Cheerykins, obviously anything you do is okay, but .......

I hope that first you will just try the method outlined in Reply #5. Really and truly, it is much easier, faster, and more accurate than making a new thread the way you're proposing, preserving the thread exactly along with all the reader comments.

Admittedly, the tutorial as laid out, showing every step, does look daunting. However, once you try it, you will see that it's not only quite easy, but also satisfying in the sense that it not only seems like a magic trick after the despair of seeing the photobucket pictures disappear, but also gives the joy of confounding their evil plan.

Please just give it a try with one of your gray squares anywhere on anyport:
1. Make sure you are signed into Postimage first, then choose "upload by URL" in the upper left corner of the Postimage page.
2. In Anyport, click "Edit" on the post containing your gray square.
3. Copy the picture url -- only the url, no image tags or anything else. (i.e., everything from http through jpg)
4. Paste into the space provided on Postimage & click "upload".
5. Copy all of the "hotlink for forums" url you'll get from Postimage.
6. Paste that over the photobucket url & its tags, then hit "save changes" on your anyport Edit page. (see A. and B. in tutorial for these last two steps)

Please -- everyone who has pictures obscured by a photobucket gray square, give this method a try!

pee ess ~ to Cheery and others who are reluctant to start using yet another photo-hoster: the reason I'm suggesting Postimage here is because it's a good host and accepts urls for hosting. So far I can't figure out a way to use the url method with Flickr.
Please, anyone who knows how to do that with Flickr or any other photo-host, please post your method here.

[cheerypeabrain]

I'll give it a go

[questa]

I guess I had better try it out as well. I have time issues as well and have been procrastinating.

[bixaorellana]

Jul 15, 2017 10:10:48 GMT kerouac2 said:

A new set of smileys has been installed thanks to the dedication and hard work of Bixa, but the ones in older messages are gone for good.

But no ~ our good old smileys can be put back where they are missing!

When you see one of your posts that has an ugly gray Photobucket square where a lovely old-style smiley should be, do this:

Click on Edit
Highlight the offensive photobucket url & its tags
Click on the smiley icon over the message box
Click on "View all Smileys" at the bottom of that box
Click on the smiley you want

Done!

[bixaorellana]

So far, I have replaced around 1500 images on my threads and can report that there are a couple of ways to streamline the process outlined in reply #5.

First, I'd would say that fixing one post at a time makes life much easier, rather than trying to re-host everything at once. Do only as many posts -- even if only one -- as your spirit can bear at a time.

Second, I've found that hitting Edit, then going through & removing old image tags before copying the photobucket urls is easier than the way suggested in reply #5.

Third, some good news: even though Postimage insists on clean, intact urls, it doesn't care if you include pieces of text in what you paste in its uploader. It simply ignores the text and spits out the nice new urls.

[kerouac2]

Now that is good to know!

[questa]

Bumping these words of wisdom up again...

I have tried to get the various techniques to work with no luck. The instructions written in purple from the "alpha tester" go OK until the actions grid which appears as expected but does not have the "Download album" link, just the rest of the grid. Could pissbucket be sabotaging the process?

I will have another attempt this evening using just Bixa's list at reply #11. It looks more like steps I am familiar with. Our cool weather of the last few weeks has thrown up 33C today and my brain has turned to mush

How are you going Cheery? and have others had a go?

[bixaorellana]

Oct 17, 2017 3:05:06 GMT questa said:

The instructions written in purple from the "alpha tester" go OK until the actions grid which appears as expected but does not have the "Download album" link, just the rest of the grid.

That had me confused until I read back up the thread, Questa. Thanks for bringing it up. I will remove that post, since the instructions no longer work.

Yes, please see what happens when you follow the steps in #11. Let me know if you have trouble and I will do what I can to help, in PM, if you prefer.

Something I failed to mention which may have a bearing on following my instructions: I ALWAYS set up my posts in BBCode -- NEVER in Preview. Preview is too sneaky and can mess you up when you're making a post. Only use it for previewing.

[bixaorellana]

Note for anyone who has trouble with the method in #4 or who just doesn't like it, there is anpther way.

If you know where you have the pictures for a particular thread filed, you can do this:

1. Click Edit on a post.
2. Copy down the numbers of your pictures in that post -- they will be the last numbers before .jpg
3. Go to your preferred signed-in hosting site & hit "upload".
4. Click the button which directs you to choose pictures to upload.
5. Navigate to the pertinent file in your computer and used the copied numbers to select the pictures to upload.
6. Proceed as usual with the process at your hosting site.

[questa]

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, come to the big tent and marvel at the sleight of hand so cunning, so dexterous, that you won't believe what your own eyes tell you. See Madame Bixa perform the legerdemain that has made her famous among the crowned heads of Europe...observe how her hands never leave her arms but stay attached during the whole performance. Will we ever understand how Madame Bixa can shuffle buckets and images, URLs and uploads, copies and edits and make it all sound so easy, as she pulls another rabbit from the grey square.

Take no notice of the blubbering wreck curled in the foetal position in the corner of the tent. It is an ancient antipodean creature which doesn't have any language. It is being trained to perform basic tricks to earn its keep.

Roll up! Roll up !

[bixaorellana]

Sorry, questa ~ anyone who could produce that extremely clever and amusing bit of wit is more than capable of performing a few "basic tricks".

[questa]

Oct 17, 2017 3:30:35 GMT bixaorellana said:

Oct 17, 2017 3:05:06 GMT questa said:

Something I failed to mention which may have a bearing on following my instructions: I ALWAYS set up my posts in BBCode -- NEVER in Preview. Preview is too sneaky and can mess you up when you're making a post. Only use it for previewing.

I just realised that when I type my text goes direct to BBCode as the default. I would only use Preview to actually preview a post.

[bixaorellana]

Oct 17, 2017 3:05:06 GMT questa said:

The instructions written in purple from the "alpha tester" go OK until the actions grid which appears as expected but does not have the "Download album" link, just the rest of the grid. Could pissbucket be sabotaging the process?

Okay ~ the quote from Questa refers to a tip that had to be removed as it no longer worked.
However, there is still a way to download an album, despite evil "pissbucket" doing all it can to sabotage* anything we try.

First, how to download a single image:

1. In your signed-in photobucket account, find the thumbnail for the picture you want.
2. Click on it, and it will then open in a new page. Be aware that instead of your picture, you might see a gray square.
3. Don't worry about that. Click on the cog icon to the right of your photo/gray square.
4. A menu will drop down. Click "Download" (2nd from bottom of menu).

============================================================================================

Downloading an entire album is a little more work, but can be streamlined.

1. Open the album you want.
2. Starting with the first picture and moving across, right-click on each thumbnail & choose "Open image in new tab".
3. Now move from one to another of your opened tabs clicking "Download" as outlined in 3. and 4. of the single image process.

=============================================================================

Your picture or album is now stored on your computer and can be hosted on your hosting site of choice.

Note to people who host on Flickr: the url for each picture will not match the photobucket number.
However, you will be able to see the matching number both on your Flickr thumbnails and in the tab for each picture.

================================================================================

* By now I have lost track of how many of my threads I have brought back from death. This means I know what kinds of dirty tricks photobucket will pull and how to get around them. Please don't let them win by abandoning your beautiful threads. They can be fixed and I'm here to help you fix them!

[mickthecactus]

Just found I have access to my Photobucket pictures again and I can sort of post them......

s633.photobucket.com/user/Stapelia1/media/stapeliads/Image.jpg.html?sort=3&o=4

[bixaorellana]

Jan 23, 2018 14:36:34 GMT mickthecactus said:

Just found I have access to my Photobucket pictures again and I can sort of post them.....

Do not be lulled into a false feeling of security! Do what you can to save your pictures and your threads!

[mickthecactus]

Jan 23, 2018 15:06:50 GMT bixaorellana said:

Jan 23, 2018 14:36:34 GMT mickthecactus said:

Just found I have access to my Photobucket pictures again and I can sort of post them.....

Do not be lulled into a false feeling of security! Do what you can to save your pictures and your threads!

I know, I know....

[mickthecactus]

Jan 23, 2018 14:57:03 GMT onlyMark said:

So can I -

No you can't and nor can I. Good whilst it lasted.......

[onlyMark]

Shitbags.

[mickthecactus]

Strangely enough I did the same a couple of weeks ago on another forum and it's still there.

[onlyMark]

I've got a few posted willy nilly in different places and they are mostly still there. It depends on this "Hotlink" thing and if that was used rather than it mybe being downloaded from Photobucket to the other site.