[dwessell]

Hey all..

We've finally settled on an advertisement setup for SRP.. While we'll be continually working to improve the system, I think we're now in a format that we'll be sticking with.

I'd like to congratulate Lee's Razors, as being the first supporter of the site. I hope that not only will the ads bring traffic to the advertisers site.. But will also let the SRP members know of vendors they haven't heard of before, and bring attention to good deals they may not know about.. In general, I hope that this benefits everyone.

So click on the ads, and let us (And the advertisers) know you love us (and them).

Thanks
David

P.S. If you see any Google Ads that aren't fit for the site. Please email me the website that they link to (dave @ wessell dot net), and I'll remove them.

[ToxIk]

I take it you're talking about these new vertical bar ads on the left side. I don't suppose you guys would be willing to instead move it to the right side and perhaps change to some non-animated ads? It just seems really in the way on the left side and animated ads are awefully distracting.

[azjoe]

Originally Posted by dwessell

P.S. If you see any Google Ads that aren't fit for the site. Please email me the website that they link to (dave @ wessell dot net), and I'll remove them.

I think what David means is report companies that show up that are completely unrelated to shaving/grooming/restoration tools, etc. I guess if someone were to advertise Paki razors, for example, that too. But I don't think he's going to block sites that advertise DE's or mach 3's for example. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and so one man's trash is another's treasure... even in the ads. And we're not going to discuss and argue about them all. If you're worried about "protecting" newbies, c'mon... they're not that stupid.

Google ads DO NOT represent a recommendation by our site... they represent google and the advertisers. If you want to, put big bold warnings in the newbie forum that google ads don't represent a recommendation by the site, etc. If you want to post that some companies product is worthless be careful what you say to avoid a liability situation... our forum rules (the things you agreed to when you signed up) say that the poster is responsible for what he says (ie, is liable), not SRP... etc.

As to the flashing and location... well, the flashing is what the advertiser wanted. If you find it annoying, I think you know who to talk to.

And left vs right... well, we used the software that was available... it puts it on the left.

[Wildtim]

Like the new format I didn't think the ad's spaced in the threads were bad or that distracting....until tonight when they are gone, wow, much easier to read the thread. Also the adds catch me eye better but are easier to ignore once I've read them, if that makes any sense good job guys!!!!

[xman]

Is there some reason the Google ads are on the left side of the page? It seems like the right side is more common. Just looks a little weird to me I guess.

X

[FiReSTaRT]

If I remember it correctly, it is more common for the ads to be on the right side. In any case thank's Lee

[Flanny]

Well the fact that everyone's noticing the ads are on the left instead of on the right as they're used to lets everyone know that it's definitely working the way it's supposed to

[ToxIk]

Since you can't move them to the right, could they be placed as a horizontal bar somewhere near the top instead? Having them on the side just takes up so much real estate. I mean, you scroll down, and there's nothing underneath them at all.

[rtaylor61]

Originally Posted by ToxIk

Since you can't move them to the right, could they be placed as a horizontal bar somewhere near the top instead? Having them on the side just takes up so much real estate. I mean, you scroll down, and there's nothing underneath them at all.

I believe that means we need to sell more advertising!

RT

[Kees]

I HATE THE ANIMATED ADVERT BY LEE'S SAFETY RAZORS!! They are very distracting. I must admit it is an effective way to advertise as I looked at Lee's site. I prefer the Google ads!

@ azjoe: I do not know who to talk to.

Can't we have a "suppress adverts" feature?

[Capt. Pat]

Don't like it--is there a suppress adds feature?

[520dvx]

Somebody has been paying for this great resource for over a year now, hosting a website isn't free. This site was developed to perpetuate a dying art, for me, anything I can do to help, I will. My choice is to support them by clicking on the ads, they get paid back this way.

Nobody is going to like the advertising except the people paying the bills, complaining about this isn't doing anything to contribute to keeping the site a viable resource. The admins have made this decision not to torture us but to ensure the site lives on for all to benefit from.

Miles

[FiReSTaRT]

We've already discussed this topic to death and the bottom line is that the ads are the most viable option to keep the site going. I'd personally prefer the on the right side, but if it's too much trouble for already way overworked Joe/Dave, then forget about it.

[Tony Miller]

Guys, SRP is simply looking for a way to help pay the bills. Everyone complained about the Google ads and suggested ads from our members. Well, one of our members, Lee's safety Razors has stepped up, spent money on a banner and advertising and now that is an issue for some. The site needs to have the bills paid and guys are spending money to do this. I'm paying out hard earned money right now having a banner done so I can advertise and halp support the site too.

I guess we all need to decide what is going to happen and what is not.....our own vendors adverts, google adverts from outside our community, member only support, etc....

I'm for whatever keeps the site going. I hate the Google ads and jumped on the band wagon too for member vendor advertisements instead of each of you having to pay. I'm sure the other vendors currently working on banners are not going to be pleased spending money to help the group only to be told the banners are now out!

So, lets think about what is needed here to keep us a healthy, thriving board. It is really a decision to be made by the owner and we should suppport whatever that is.

Sorry for the rant <g>

Tony

[Capt. Pat]

Well okay.... if that's what it takes to keep the forum up and running.

However at the risk of tracking it around now that I've stepped in it let me make the following observations--

1. The continuously changing advert., in the upper left of the screen, is VERY distracting and annoying. Besides as has been observed earlier it wastes a lot of screen real estate below the advert itself.

2. Other forums I belong to haven't resorted to this kind of advertiser support, which contributed to my earlier response. These other fora include: SMF, B & B, BMW Sport touring, ADVRIDER, MAC Rumors, Fountain Pen Network and others. Admittedly some of these sites do have advertising, but not on the forum pages.

I appreciate the support vendors like Lee and Tony provide to forums like this and to the larger shaving community as well as to the moderators and Lynn. If this is the only way to keep this forum viable then I guess we have to live with it. I do recommend finding a different implementation for the paid advertisements than has been selected.

[nerobot]

Just to let you know that when I actually click on the adverts, I get a new screen that is just blank. Nothing else comes up.

Steven

[azjoe]

It's human nature that change draws comments... some good and some bad. You can't please everyone... some will like the changes, some won't. Most won't care.

It's necessary that things change periodically. All of the reasons, constraints, and options are seldom known to more than a few... hence, it's often unclear why a particular change was made. Indeed, many changes are at best a compromise solution to opposing needs, likes, and dislikes. Fact is, sometimes we don't enjoy what we have to do either... but the situation dictates that we have to do it. We have no illusion that we are always right... sometimes the information we have will be wrong, sometimes a change will create another problem that's not anticipated... often the software doesn't work as advertised or has bugs, sometimes we just plain screw up. That's they way things are. All we ask is that you respect that we do the best we can with the resources we have at the time.

We appreciate your comments and we do take them seriously (so long as they are constructive). But none of us have the time or energy to debate every change, every option, every constraint, why we chose what we chose, etc., etc. ad nauseam. Nor do we have the time to negotiate for consensus. It's hard enough to get consensus amongst 4 or 5 people... our membership exceeds 1000!

To get back on topic, this thread is about the ads...

Having ads on the site is not open for discussion. We've been telling you for many months that ads were likely going to happen... and late last year they did. If our site was run/funded by a rich benefactor there would be no need for ads... it isn't. Hundreds of thousands of sites on the internet are funded by advertising. Costs go up every day. Better software often costs big bucks... bucks we don't have right now.

If SRP had lots of $$$ we'd have lined up a lot of advertisers and rolled out a site in one felled swoop... we don't. We're hobbyists using all volunteer labor and free/low cost software... hence we take one step at a time and evolve as we can afford... and that's what we said we'd do.

We now have the ability to deliver ads in the header area, inter-spaced with the forum posts, and in the sidebar. We're now able to accommodate both vendor placed ads and Goggle ads (which run as space fillers when there are no vendor ads to display in a particular time slot). We're using one of the most popular ad delivery software packages on the internet... it's feature robust and fairly complicated (the manuals on how to install and configure it are almost 200 pages, if that's any indicator). Once you have the ability to serve the ads, count the clicks, produce reports to the advertisers, etc., etc. you then have to integrate the ads with all of the different software packages running on the site... in this case the forum and the main site, etc. They're each different and each presents unique challenges and restrictions. David and I have spent countless days researching the alternatives, evaluating various solutions, and eventually integrating with our site.

So...

• If you want to make a big issue out of this, please don't. Lynn doesn't have to run this site and the constant arguing, complaining, and nit picking is not a good way to encourage him to keep doing so.
• Support the vendors that pay for the ads that are displayed here... without them there will be no site.
• If you don't like ads in general, don't look at them... use your popup and ad blockers as you will... just keep in mind that the ads (and whatever inconvenience you experience with them) is what will generate the revenue that will keep this site possible. The facts are: no clicks = no revenue = no site.
• If you don't like a particular ad, complain to the advertiser.
• If you think ads should be placed differently, here's the industries current thinking on ad placement effectiveness (red = most, orange 2nd, yellow 3rd, white least):

• Thankfully, we decided not to use the red zone

____
Now, that's all I'm going to say on this topic. Remember...

[sensei_kyle]

Originally Posted by nerobot

Just to let you know that when I actually click on the adverts, I get a new screen that is just blank. Nothing else comes up.

Steven

I'm using Firefox. Clicking on Lee's Razors opened a new window & their site.

[FiReSTaRT]

It worked in Opera as well.

[Flanny]

some browser settings may prevent content from streaming into the newly opened window. Additionally some commercial pop-up blockers cause the same thing. They don't quite catch the pop up but they block the content.

Just something to think about if you're getting a blank window opened. FF 2.0 and later has the option to set new windows into new tabs as well so that your browsing experience is more organized and less cluttered. (shameless plug for linux based software that's ported to windoze)

Glen F