Ads in the middle of threads???

[Spazie]

I'm seeing this in several threads - "SaturnFans sponsored links", with two small advertisments, stuck in the middle of threads, usually right after the first post.

What gives?

[Dimundave911]

Yeah I noticed too, But it wasn't showing up on all threads at first so I was really confused. It doesn't bother me though.

[piney]

Originally Posted by Spazie

I'm seeing this in several threads - "SaturnFans sponsored links", with two small advertisments, stuck in the middle of threads, usually right after the first post.

What gives?

Revenue - pure and simple.

[swoker183]

Originally Posted by Spazie

I'm seeing this in several threads - "SaturnFans sponsored links", with two small advertisments, stuck in the middle of threads, usually right after the first post.

What gives?

id rather see it before the first reply or after the last one that somewhere in the middle

[OhioVueBoy]

Simple. The ads were not being clicked enough/garnering enough attention at the top of the page. I find them annoying as all hell, but I understand the placement and such... it's just one of those things we will have to adapt to, in order to keep this board up and running.
It's just another bump in the roller coaster... hang on for the ride... and keep all hands inside the car please.
~D.J.~

[monkeysl2]

I saw them once and now I have already trained my eyes to ignore them.............

But like has been said, this site takes money, and ads generate the cash.

[fotovue]

I was wondering if Charlie knew about it. The ads i've seen say "ads by Gooooogle" So I thought it might just be some sort of clever browser invasion that imitates the forum, but isn't actually supporting saturnfans... I guess that that is too much of a stretch though.

[silverblueL200]

Ads by Google can are implemeted by somebody, they won't just show up. They can bring in a decent revenue stream, assuming people actually click on them.

[Dr. Bob]

Don't like the ads, but Charlie has to raise revenue to keep the site going.

Has anyone noticed that they seem to be context sensitive? For example, a thread that talked of Mobil 1 in the initial post brought up an ad for Amzoil?

[OhioVueBoy]

Originally Posted by Dr. Bob

Don't like the ads, but Charlie has to raise revenue to keep the site going.

Has anyone noticed that they seem to be context sensitive? For example, a thread that talked of Mobil 1 in the initial post brought up an ad for Amzoil?

Excellent. Next time someone makes a post about trashy people and an ad for Wal*Mart pops up, I am going to pull my Remington 870 Express out on my computer, send the remains in a box to Charlie, and demand replacement

J/K Charlie... keep up the good work

~D.J.~

[silverblueL200]

Originally Posted by Dr. Bob

Don't like the ads, but Charlie has to raise revenue to keep the site going.

Has anyone noticed that they seem to be context sensitive? For example, a thread that talked of Mobil 1 in the initial post brought up an ad for Amzoil?

Thats the way the google ads work and the reason they are one of the best paying ads on net.

[Spazie]

For some reason, I'm not sure this is Charlie's doing. It doesn't seem like something he'd do - after all, most of the banner ads (unobtrusive ads, btw) at the top of the page are for things elsewhere on SaturnFans, and ALL of them have something to do with Saturn. I really don't think he'd just drop random extra non-Saturn-related advertising in the middle of threads without letting us know about it first, or posting something on the boards letting us know that he did it (as he does with ALL changes to the boards).

So I'll wait for Charlie's word on this. I really strongly dislike the ads. My opinion is that if you MUST have Google ads, don't stick them in the middle of threads. They're annoying and ugly and in the way. I'm sorry if a lot of people don't agree with me, but that's my honest opinion. Charlie does a great job on this site, I know how much work he puts into it, and I know how much he cares about our opinions. So I'm not going to fluff it up and pretend I like it, or decide to just deal with it. One of the nicest things about SaturnFans is that it isn't littered with advertising and pop-ups and other things that 90% of websites are covered with now a day.

[TheSaturnKid]

Ya, if he needs funding to support the site, he should hit up members for donations, especially the post wh0res and the longer term memebers.

They did this at turbosaturns.net, and many many people helped fund it.

Including me

[white95SL1]

Just curious, do all ads by Google have it spelled "Goooooogle," with six o's?

Also, if you did put them there, Charlie, is it possible to move them to the bottom of the threads? Like in between the last post and the quick reply box? I don't really mind the ads, but they would be better if they weren't right in the middle of the thread. Just a suggestion.

[cdp326]

I don't mind the ads, they help me identify the first post in a thread.

[Spazie]

Originally Posted by TheSaturnKid

Ya, if he needs funding to support the site, he should hit up members for donations, especially the post wh0res and the longer term memebers.

They did this at turbosaturns.net, and many many people helped fund it.

Including me

I would totally donate money to support the site! It's a worthy cause!

[LTS]

If this is a new mechanism of the site, I will just point out a few items.

First, I click on ads I want to click on regardless of where they are in the site. Most of the time I simply ignore them. IN fact, the more obtrusive ads get, the less inclined I am to click on them as well as even visit the site.

Second, I use Firefox, Adblock is a great extension. So, if the ads get too annoying I will simply have Adblock strip it from the HTML so I don't see them.

Third, I also think asking for donations first is the best policy.

In any event, it's not so bad yet.... but I've seen the progression of advertising on other sites and this would be just the first step. I still think Charlie should be compensated by Saturn for running such a great forum. It's not uncommon for corporations to throw a little cash to their larger supporters especially if it helps drum up business.

[Spazie]

LTS - I just recently started using Firefox and don't know how to do any cool stuff with it yet. Since the ads annoy the crap out of me, could you PM me with how to use Adblock to remove them? I'd appreciate it a lot.

[GreyDuck]

Originally Posted by Spazie

I would totally donate money to support the site! It's a worthy cause!

Same here...

[Charlie]

I wanted to wait to see what some of the comments were before posting any response to the posts in this thread. There have been some very interesting comments about the Google ads. I wanted to try to explain what's going on and why they're here.

The Google ads are part of temporary trial that I'm running to see how different types of ads work in various locations throughout SaturnFans.com. I expect the trial to run for about a month or two, after which I will decide whether or not I will keep running them. Please understand that I have no plans to turn SaturnFans.com into one of those sites where you can't find the content because of all the ads on display, and I will never, never resort to running any type of "pop-up" ad. I will work hard to make sure that ads are placed in carefully selected, strategic locations. My goal is to make your visit to SaturnFans.com as pleasurable as possible, and I know from my own personal experiences on the Web that too many ads -- or poorly placed ads -- can sour your visit. However, in order to ensure that SaturnFans.com has the funding required to grow and support more and more visitors (traffic more than doubled in January), I've decided to start looking for alternate sources of revenue. I don't know how much success I'll have with the Google ads, but like I said earlier, I'm going to try them out in different places for a little while to see how much revenue they generate. They may or may not be in the same place or format that they are today; I plan on tweaking their placement periodically throughout the trial. One of the good things about the Google ads is that they are dynamic and will change according to what Google "perceives" to be the topic being discussed.

I understand that some folks find the ads annoying, and I don't have a problem if anyone wants to run ad blocking software. However please remember that this site is 100% supported by advertisers and the fewer clicks ads receive, less income I have to available to pay my hosting bills and grow the site. I really appreciate all the offers to donate money, but to be honest, I would feel very bad taking *your* money. I've always wanted SaturnFans.com to be a "fee-free" site, and I would prefer not to change that strategy at this time. If at all possible, I would rather continue to have select advertisers help me offset the costs of running the site. Rest assured that if circumstances change in the future, I will certainly let you know if I need your help or donations. In the meantime, I'd rather see you take the money you'd like to donate to SaturnFans.com and instead buy something from one of our advertisers. Please make sure to thank them for supporting SaturnFans.com!

Thank you for your understanding and support. I hope that helps to explain some things. Let me know if you have any other questions or comments. Your feedback is important to me.

Charlie