Remember how I always encouraged uploads to Imageshack for hotlinking to images, instead of Photobucket or other image-hosting sites? Well, I'm beginning to think we need to find alternatives. It seems Imageshack can no longer be trusted, due to it's change in terms of service.
Anonymous uploads are no longer accepted, meaning you must now have an account to upload at all. Also, users have complained that they can only upload 500 pictures, and when they hit that limit, for some reason Imageshack gradually deletes older pictures to the 250 mark.
I also hear about spyware and adware, but I've never encountered this before, so that's probably old news.
So my advice is to find an alternative image-hosting site that can allow anonymous uploads, preferably unlimited and ad-free. Ones that allow anonymous animated gifs would be nice, as well.