Yeah, $400 is just nuts. between that and the whole hostage situation... *shrug* it's a free country, they're free to run potential paying customers off if they want...
From what I've seen while looking for another host, @ 40 to 50 bucks a year is average for bottom tier third party hosting. For that much I think you could rent your own server and domain and host them yourself... have your own cloud backup. It's been a while since I played webmaster, but a simple server without SSL and cart and all that crap was dirt cheap years ago.
I went with Flickr. Free. Still adjusting to them... I'll stick with them until Verizon gets tired of footing the bill and then I'll move on to the next free one.
If you click on my pics it opens my flickr photostream in a new window and you can look through my sock drawer.
I'm only active and posting pics in 2 forums, here and planetisuzoo.
The Zoo can do their own picture hosting but some of the members still used PB and other hosts that have gone belly up over the years, so a lot of threads are neutered over there too.
I'd thought about encouraging local hosting.. but, more work, more expense. I doubt there's enough traffic here to make ad revenue an option. There were a LOT more Isuzus made than M715s, so there's a LOT more traffic over there... Isuzu used the 4L30E transmission in a lot of their stuff, so the Drivetrain Problems forum is ALWAYS buzzing...
BUT I do see the same level of Love per Vehicle that I see over there.. Zu Love is more Stalkerish though. almost rabid..
.. and ads are annoying..
Anyway, Even with local hosting there are still a boatload of threads with dead pics there. Even before the PB fiasco.
The only forum I've seen that didn't have any dead pics was The Fairlane Club of America. I believe it was a paid membership site from the beginning and all pics were hosted by them, no 3rd party stuff. $35 a year and they published a quarterly magazine. I let my subscription lapse because I got distracted by my truck and didn't work on the Fairlane for a couple of years. Recently got it mobile again so may re-up.
Pics. Because I can again.
When I first got my truck.
IMG_20140925_185050_822_zps3529df42 by kerry walker, on Flickr
Latest pic of it and the rest of the herd... except my wife's car.
IMG_20170711_142134665_HDR by kerry walker, on Flickr
bumper
IMG_20160930_125658936 by kerry walker, on Flickr