Photobucket was always the worst choice for image hosting, even when it worked "properly".
For example, people who asked in forums were directed there, and those who don't actively post images found later that if you didn't log in to your Photobucket account at least once every six months, they killed the link just as they are now.
In other words, this kind of behaviour from them is nothing new.
You can upload photos directly into AH, and to almost every forum, why use a third party to host them in the first place?