Well, Photobucket took another stab at it this week. This time they didn't remove the pictures on all my old threads, but instead blurred them to uselessness. The good news, instead of $300 per year to get the storage back they wanted last time, they look like they only want $6.99 per month...like $72 per year. Much better value. Even USA Today called the move "holding our pictures hostage!"
SO...I no longer use Photobucket, except for posts that are 3+ years old. But...if there is still interest in my old build threads I'll fork out the dough to keep the old threads alive?!? Any feedback appreciated...