The problem the OP has might be with using
photobucket to get the correct URL (mentioned by K9AIM at step 2) - it's not always obvious.
a) The URL (again this is photobucket-centric) should look like
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/... .jpg
b)
If it has .html at the end, it's no good.When that correct URL is embedded between Bulletin Board Code for images [ i m g ][ / i m g ] it should appear as a picture in your post
To get the correct URL there are several options. Three of them follow:
1) Open the picture fully for viewing on photobucket and follow K9AIM's instructions (right click the photo...)
2) Open the picture fully for viewing on photobucket and use the "
Links to share this photo" on the right and choose the "Direct" link
3) If you are looking at the
album (where there might be several pics, and are smaller), move your mouse over the pic you want, then click the settings (the "gear") that appears at the top right and choose "Get Links"
Now, to add to the confusion, you can either place the link manually inside the Bulletin Board Code [ i m g ][ / i m g ] or grab the link photobucket calls "IMG codes" and paste that directly into your post. There are some other options for some of this but this should get you started.
The text in your post should look something like this ... with NO spaces!)
[ I M G ] h t t p : / / i 2 4 1 . p h o t o b u c k e t . c o m / a l b u m s / c o d e / a l b u m n a m e / t o w e r _ 6 4 0 _ 4 8 0 . j p g [ / i m g ]
Click "Preview" to make the picture appearTo prove it works:
edit: photo reduced from 1024X768 to 640X480