Video Ads

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:The ad between the first few headers in recent and same position in threads would be ok if it remained static. Scrolling up moves the ad out of view. Once out of view it pops down to bottom right. Can everyone confirm this is what they see?

This is the expected behavior.

[Anonymous]

I understand that ad revenue is what keeps the site running, but I really dislike the video ads that have to be closed every page. I also do not like the large ads that appear under the first post of every page. I think the video ads that have to be closed are disruptive, and the big one under the first page is distracting. Both of these things make it a lot less appealing to visit this site.

[Anonymous]

Plus the ongoing video drains batteries faster. They are annoying when they pop up and occupy 1/3 of the screen after scrolling. It is also difficult to read the site with the video playing. And closing the ad window is temporary. The video pops up once you scroll again.

It’s Jeff’s sandbox and he can do what he likes. I’m grateful he tends to take feedback though.

[Anonymous]

Long time user, mostly on mobile. I think these are much better than the pop up from the bottom ad that was running a few weeks ago. Completely fine with this solution.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:
My next project will be to block users who use ad blockers. I am not operating a charity. We hope that DCUM provides benefits to our users and, in return, the users have t help us support the site.

Would it be possible to charge a monthly fee for those who want to use the site without ads? I'm guessing many would pay if it's reasonable, and the rest who don't mind the ads would remain free.

I guess that would require a login/name tied to each post though...

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The ad between the first few headers in recent and same position in threads would be ok if it remained static. Scrolling up moves the ad out of view. Once out of view it pops down to bottom right. Can everyone confirm this is what they see?

This is the expected behavior.

These were the other two options I posted.
There’s still a lot of white space on left/right sides. Can you fill in that vertical top to bottom? Amazon dictates a maximum # of ads on the vertical sides?

Lastly, have you thought about offering premium pay to opt out of ads? Can we register or subscribe for payment but remain anonymous posters? Can we throw money at the problem to go add free?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:
My next project will be to block users who use ad blockers. I am not operating a charity. We hope that DCUM provides benefits to our users and, in return, the users have t help us support the site.

Would it be possible to charge a monthly fee for those who want to use the site without ads? I'm guessing many would pay if it's reasonable, and the rest who don't mind the ads would remain free.

I guess that would require a login/name tied to each post though...

If there were a way to remain anonymous in posting (no user names) I would gladly pay a few bucks a month to avoid the ads

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:
My next project will be to block users who use ad blockers. I am not operating a charity. We hope that DCUM provides benefits to our users and, in return, the users have t help us support the site.

Would it be possible to charge a monthly fee for those who want to use the site without ads? I'm guessing many would pay if it's reasonable, and the rest who don't mind the ads would remain free.

I guess that would require a login/name tied to each post though...

If there were a way to remain anonymous in posting (no user names) I would gladly pay a few bucks a month to avoid the ads

Same.

At this point, I might even pay just to see an ad other than the single one that is playing over and over and over.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The ad between the first few headers in recent and same position in threads would be ok if it remained static. Scrolling up moves the ad out of view. Once out of view it pops down to bottom right. Can everyone confirm this is what they see?

This is the expected behavior.

These were the other two options I posted.
There’s still a lot of white space on left/right sides. Can you fill in that vertical top to bottom? Amazon dictates a maximum # of ads on the vertical sides?

Lastly, have you thought about offering premium pay to opt out of ads? Can we register or subscribe for payment but remain anonymous posters? Can we throw money at the problem to go add free?

When I was testing these ads in our development environment I originally put them on the side as you suggest. However, I learned that Google prohibits this. Google has a lot of surprising rules. Strictly speaking, these ads don't come from Google so I could ignore them. But, so many of the companies that provide the ads use Google and follow their rules. So, we would lose many of the ads we would get otherwise.

Regarding premium services in which users play for ad free environments, it is complicated by the desire for users to remain anonymous. This would require that users register and, currently, our registration system doesn't work all that well. I could have a setting that keeps "anonymous" as the username for logged in users that desire it, but that requires adding a field to the user table in the database to track whether "anonymous" or the regular username is used. Anything that involves changing the database is difficult because it can't be tested in a live environment and involves a certain amount of risk of breaking things. We would also have to have a payment system and a method of tracking who paid and when the period the payment covers expires. All of that is an administrative headache.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The ad between the first few headers in recent and same position in threads would be ok if it remained static. Scrolling up moves the ad out of view. Once out of view it pops down to bottom right. Can everyone confirm this is what they see?

This is the expected behavior.

yes, this is what I see.

[Anonymous]

I'd also go for option #6 and pay so I don't have to see ads.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for willing to pay a fee to avoid ads. I found this site in 2009 when I was pregnant the first time and have used it regularly since.

Jeff, do you have any idea what kind of subscription model would be sustainable?

[Anonymous]

Discussion sites and message board are never free. You either pay for the service outright or pay with patience and forbearance. Annoying, yes, but not the end of the virtual world. You have to make a living and posters will get used to the ads and learn to look beyond them.

Besides, matches and salt are expensive these days.

[Anonymous]

Ad hater here.

The vast majority of internet forums are free. I can’t imagine there are enough people willing to pay to make it worth getting rid of these ads.

There would have to be a major change to the site.

IMO, of course.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, this is a no for me. At least I will get some hours of my life back now!