I'm curious to learn if others find the ad in the first post of a topic annoying, distracting, and otherwise like an infomercial?
I may be having a senior moment, but I don't recall those blaring square ads in the first post as always being a part of this forum, is this correct Jamie?
What are the odds that the advertising can be kept to the bottom of each page and the home page? Or is the money too good to remove it from the first post of every topic? (
Cheers!
farmerdude
I don't recall exactly when I first placed the ads in this position but I'd estimate it was somewhere between 1 and 2 years ago. Is there a specific ad running at the moment which is particularly annoying?
Jamie
Hey Jamie,
For myself it is the animated ads … black to white, flashing, neon, etc.
I've noticed in other posts the static ads, no animation, no huge contrast in colors and logos, and that seems more "acceptable" in that it's not distracting. It's just there and easily ignored. The animated ads, the contrast in colors, it's screaming at you "Look at the idiot box, here I am, look look look"! ) It's difficult to ignore it.
And apparently, as you've implemented this 1-2 years back, it would seem that there's never been an annoying / distracting ad until recently! LOL
It's nothing of huge concern, only do you really need the revenue? Maybe instead of the big square box ad on the first post for every topic if the community donated funds would that be acceptable? First page, bottom or top of pages, that is one thing. But in the actual post - I do think that's too much and distracting. If you need funds for hosting/time maybe you could open a drive for this and we could donate so we don't see advertising on every space of every page?
Cheers!
farmerdude
For myself it is the animated ads … black to white, flashing, neon, etc. …The animated ads, the contrast in colors, it's screaming at you "Look at the idiot box, here I am, look look look"! ) It's difficult to ignore it.
Oh, I fully agree. Can you/anyone make a note of the ad/advertiser and PM me the details (please don't click the ad itself) - I'll then try and block it.
Re. other funding, appreciate the suggestion but I tend to prefer an acceptable level of advertising (i.e. without anything too annoying/distracting) rather than asking for community support if at all possible. Thanks for the feedback though, it's useful.
Jamie
I tend to prefer an acceptable level of advertising (i.e. without anything too annoying/distracting) rather than asking for community support if at all possible.
I understand your view Jamie but please understand this has a life of it's own also. It is your passion, but it's also ours. Just a thought.
Greetings,
The only ones I've noticed have been for e-fense, and that's just because of Helix and the sheer volume of ads they run.
And there are a lot of tools available to block ads, and a lot of sites with much more in-your-face advertising.
To each their own, but it isn't an issue for me.
-David
Its difficult to maintain a website when you're using your own wallet to take the hit, especially on sites that are aiding the community. Jamie is well within his rights to put up advertising as he pays for it. The advertising comes as part of the site. The site exists because Jamie has these adverts and we should be grateful he takes time to keep the site going.
Before anyone puckers too tightly understand that I wasn't advocating not accepting revenue for this site in the form of advertising.
I simply was asking if anyone else found the advertisement in the first post of every topic to be a bit much. That is all.
Advertisement at the top, bottom, and maybe even sides of a page is one thing. But to have an ad within the post frame itself is too much, I think. Especially given the animated nature of certain ads. I was hoping to see if there was enough interest to _remove_ the ad within the first post of every topic.
Cheers!
farmerdude
All comments appreciated, guys, thanks.
There's definitely a balance to be struck with advertising and in an ideal world ads would be as relevant and interesting to viewers as they are valuable to advertisers. I think I'm comfortable with the ad in the first post as long as it's both relevant and not too distracting - where that's not the case, as may be the case here, please don't hesitate to contact me directly so that I can look into it. I take the point that it's somewhat intrusive as far as the first post is concerned and I wouldn't look to go beyond this "level".
I do try to block annoying or irrelevant ads when I see them but given the way the system operates I'm afraid I can't catch them all - I genuinely welcome feedback on anything which seems unacceptable though, just drop me an email or PM.
Cheers,
Jamie
Perfectly happy with how the adds are.
If the add is annoying you, its actually working. (obviously other than flashing neon stuff lol - which I am yet to see)