i left this reply on the flickr help forum:
i can't find the forum...i'm sure it was here somewhere. i don't need help i need to complain and i don't feel like sending anyone an email. i'm pretty sure this is something no one is going to do anything about. i'd be surprised if i actually got a reply.
i've been using flickr since it's beta stages back in 2006. i have over 7000 pictures downloaded here. it's my main photography archiving tool, my blog tool, my biggest hobby...my passion.
when flickr pro was introduced i snatched it up and gladly paid the annual fee to maximum usage. i was ready to pay it the rest of my life if i had to. but you see, i have att. att pretty much dominates my entertainment. i have two xbox live subscriptions that i've been paying for since 2003 and most likely the rest of my life. i depend on att to provide my internet.
unfortunately i've fallen on hard times as everyone has during these trying economically burdensome times. i've been struggling with my wonderfully bundled att bills (dish, internet & lan phone) and was temporarily interrupted for about a week.
did you know your flickr pics would be unavailable if att interrupts your service and they cover your PRO account? no, i'm sure a lot of people don't. if you have a merged account you have to unmerge it which is what i did. i figured i'd either pay for my pro service for now or att who would then reinstate my pro service.
i paid them, but att didn't turn my services on as i had them. they never added my special discounts or bundled features. in other words, flickr pro remained unavailable to me.
i realized i would have to add my att email address to flickr in order to be eligible for pro. it took me DAYS to figure that out. i can navigate a computer with ease trust me. if it's difficult for me then it would be impossible to someone even slightly computer (web) illiterate.
meanwhile the message on my flickr, a constant reminder that i no longer had flickr pro and could pay for it at any time. sure...no problems, no worries. if worse came to worse i was prepared to pay. i love this site. love it.
day after day i looked for a way to reinstate my service online because i realized something. adding my att email address to my main flickr account (merging it or whatever it is you do when you make it the main email account) wasn't doing anything. my flickr pro NEVER came back on and i knew i'd have to call att, but i didn't have the time.
i wish i had taken the time. i should have made the time. instead, and to my utmost horror, i jumped on the site a day after my pro membership ran out and saw that only 200 pictures were available. my pictures were gone. i sat frozen at my computer. utterli aghast and my husband saw the look on my face and watched me closely wondering what the problem could be. i read the message over and over again.
something about my membership being cancelled, something indicating that my pictures were deleted, but...not really. it's a badly written sentence by the way. something about paying to renew my subscription and THEN all of my pictures would be available. something stating that i could delete the pictures i CAN see in order to see older ones....or something...something.
wow....thanks. oh, i have every picture on disk and hard drive. i'm no idiot, but i depend on this site. i know, i completely understand my pictures are still here and all i have to do is pay a measly 24 bucks to be allowed to view them again.
i'm pretty sure that anyone could agree with me here. that's not the point. the amount of distress and anger i felt when i couldn't even SEE my pictures was unreal. i guess i figured my account would revert to the old format. 3 folders and limited monthly downloads. no such luck my friends!
it's sad. because, and this is what actually makes me laugh, when flickr hooked up with yahoo i was happy for them. i was SO happy because i knew that att would also pick yahoo up and flickr would be available to MASSES of people. this site has been an unbelievable joy in my life. it may seem silly to some, but it's like my haven. i know most users here would understand what i'm saying.
here's what's going to happen now. either i'm going to make sure att fixes this, pay my subscription myself or dump this account and start over elsewhere. and let me tell you a little secret. it won't be picasa because guess who's next?
thanks att, you broke my flickr'd heart.
it began here, and i warn you, it's not pretty:
misadventures with at&t
ps to flickr: tisk tisk...that's just not a nice way to treat your members.
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