New Ad Format Coming to Mac-Forums

Eric559 · May 28, 2008

It's 7 pages of DISCUSSION about the new adverts. The same discussion that you are asking for with this unnecessary thread. Just saying you are morel likely to get discussions in a thread that is already going.

seroph · May 28, 2008

No need to get touchy, it's an announcement, if it's turned into a discussion then it's gone off topic, Eric.

baggss · May 28, 2008

seroph said:
No need to get touchy, it's an announcement, if it's turned into a discussion then it's gone off topic, Eric.

No, it's not off topic. If it was, the staff would have either not allowed comment, closed the thread or moved it. Since they did none of those things then it is a perfectly acceptable place to do it.

Mac O Licious said:
I've learned to ignore it & just find another forum with more support & less ads.

Good for you!

baggss · May 28, 2008

coach_z said:
websites thrive on ads, it is how they remain free of charge in the internet world...you shouldnt block them entirely....but they also should not be intrusive. i have never been a fan of the 'ad after the first post ad' and have stayed away from forums that use it. it stinks that as finally have time to devote some parts of my life back to M-F they put these ads up....oh well, ill still browse every so often
-chris

The top and side ads were acceptable, but the new ones, well, not so much.

iLindzo · May 28, 2008

I knew I loved this place! AdBlock is awesome!!

Don't leave!! Just get AdBlock!

schweb · May 28, 2008

seroph said:
Eric, becuase that post you linked to is a forum announcement, it seems unbecoming to post this sort of topic there.

Merged with the original thread, no need to start a completely new thread on the same topic.

As for the ad, it's about helping people, I'm sorry if it's offensive to you.

schweb · May 28, 2008

fearlessfreap24 said:
kind of. i will poke my nose in here every now and then. i can not stand seeing the ads after the first post on threads. it totally turns me off. this was a nice forum, and then all the ads started coming in. it has now gone over board.

Dylan

Merged with the Ads thread to keep things together.

bryphotoguy · May 28, 2008

I forgot I installed AdBlock or whatever it is called. I don't find them to be too intrusive. I don't see all of the drama.
It's a way to generate some money to pay costs to keep this very helpful site up and running. It's not like there is an ad under the first reply of every page or under every fifth reply.
I do run into the occasional accidental finger tap on the iPhone and it opens an ad but it keeps the server on for a few extra days, I won't cry.
As schweb mentioned, this is only a trial. If only other admins of other forums were so responsive to feedback....

baggss · May 28, 2008

bryphotoguy said:
I forgot I installed AdBlock or whatever it is called. I don't find them to be too intrusive. I don't see all of the drama.
It's a way to generate some money to pay costs to keep this very helpful site up and running. It's not like there is an ad under the first reply of every page or under every fifth reply.
I do run into the occasional accidental finger tap on the iPhone and it opens an ad but it keeps the server on for a few extra days, I won't cry.
As schweb mentioned, this is only a trial. If only other admins of other forums were so responsive to feedback....

While it is done to generate revenue, if people leave because of them or install ad-block to avoid them it seems to be someone pointless. IIRC schweb made a plea for us all to give them a click to help the forums but it seems that most of us are not seeing them anyhow. Is the additional revenue worth the drama?

bryphotoguy · May 28, 2008

baggss said:
While it is done to generate revenue, if people leave because of them or install ad-block to avoid them it seems to be someone pointless.

That's a good point. A handful of people did leave. I would suspect more people have joined than left M-F since the ad campaign started. It's also good that this is only a trial for the reason you state. If the ads don't generate revenue or actually lose revenue because of the fuss and apps like adblock, the additional ads would seem pointless.

baggss said:
Is the additional revenue worth the drama?

What is M-F without a little drama Baggss?

schweb · May 28, 2008

baggss said:
While it is done to generate revenue, if people leave because of them or install ad-block to avoid them it seems to be someone pointless. IIRC schweb made a plea for us all to give them a click to help the forums but it seems that most of us are not seeing them anyhow. Is the additional revenue worth the drama?

We have 30,000 active members and we're still growing at the same pace of new members as before the ads. Only a small minority have complained and only a handful of people have left or gone on hiatus.

To be honest, the reaction to this is less than we had when we first added the banner ads on the side and top. And since that point we've grown over 300%.

We need to give the ads time to determine if they're effective. In my opinion, I have seen nothing yet to demonstrate to me that their presence is having a material negative effect here. Some people may be upset and leave over it, but no matter what we do here there is always someone upset by it.

Heck I could give away free money and someone will complain.

schweb · May 28, 2008

bryphotoguy said:
If the ads don't generate revenue or actually lose revenue because of the fuss and apps like adblock, the additional ads would seem pointless.

The ads won't lose revenue from people installing ad block. I can basically guarantee you that those people installing ad block are probably the least likely to click on the ads in the first place.

We also know from stats that the huge majority of ad clicks comes from people who are not logged in.

bryphotoguy · May 28, 2008

schweb said:
We also know from stats that the huge majority of ad clicks comes from people who are not logged in.

Cool to know, thanks for sharing.

WakeCarver · May 28, 2008

schweb said:
Heck I could give away free money and someone will complain.

I wouldn't complain! Please give me some free money!;D

bryphotoguy · May 28, 2008

babarnette said:
I wouldn't complain! Please give me some free money!;D

He didn't say what kind of free money. What if it is free money to his favorite store, Build-a-Bear?

Kash · May 28, 2008

Same here. Though if you like complaints, then I will kindly oblige to get the cash ;D

Noels · May 30, 2008

Hey all, where does the line start? In U.S. dollars please (or gas coupons)

eric · Jun 1, 2008

people will always find a reason to leave.

more people will likely have enough reasons to stay.

schweb · Jun 1, 2008

eric said:
people will always find a reason to leave.

more people will likely have enough reasons to stay.

That's true. While a handful have left, we've actually grown by almost 1000 new members since the ads were put in place.

PinkLemonade · Jun 3, 2008

schweb, I understand that ads are needed to keep this site free for everyone, but couldn't you switch to a different ad system? Nearly everyone has expressed their distaste for the current system. Why not place that ad between the last post and the "quick reply" box? It would almost certainly be more acceptable then the ad right below the first post.