Did the Ads Recently Change on this Site (New Pop Ups)

[jgsugden]

I think we'd all like to understand what you're expecting us to see on cell, laptop, etc... with regards to these ads, Morrus. Can you clarify what the intent is? I try not to use ad blockers as they defeat the purpose of ad revenue support, but these things flash and are highly obnoxious.

 

[Muad'dib Pendragon]

Pop-ups continue to be an issue on my Samsung tablet. Distracting and frustrating.

 

[crazy_cat]

Is the banner across the bottom of the screen on every page (that blocks basic usability) an intended ad, or are you working to get rid of it?

 

[jgsugden]

I hate to speak for him, but I tried to sort through the statements in this thread to figure out what the intent here is:

I think (and please correct me if I am wrong):

* The banner at the bottom is intended to be there, and Morrus doesn't agree that it is a significant issue.
(https://www.enworld.org/threads/did...-on-this-site-new-pop-ups.702242/post-9251438). [Note: I highly disagree with this assessment. It gives the site a very 'clickbait' feel and does block functionality unless you click the X - and asking the crowd here to do that every time is taking us for granted. It will drive people away, and tend to push new visitors away from returning.]

* The video add in the lower right should not be there, but they have not figured out how to get rid of it, I think. I could be wrong.

* If you are a community supporter all ads should be gone ($5 per month, $60 per year - look for available upgrades in your profile.)

If that is correct, I'd support rethinking the approach. I know they need ad revenue, but a short term bump isn't worth driving people away in the long run.

 

[Thomas Shey]

* The banner at the bottom is intended to be there, and Morrus doesn't agree that it is a significant issue.
(https://www.enworld.org/threads/did...-on-this-site-new-pop-ups.702242/post-9251438). [Note: I highly disagree with this assessment. It gives the site a very 'clickbait' feel and does block functionality unless you click the X - and asking the crowd here to do that every time is taking us for granted. It will drive people away, and tend to push new visitors away from returning.]

Out of curiosity, is the function impairment you're talking about on mobile or web? Because I've had some big problems with the left hand popup in the latter, but not the bottom banner.

 

[jgsugden]

Out of curiosity, is the function impairment you're talking about on mobile or web? Because I've had some big problems with the left hand popup in the latter, but not the bottom banner.

It blocks whatever is at the bottom of the screen. You can scroll an additional time to get past it (usually), but that can result in you losing part of what you're trying to see on the page. It decreases the functionality of the site, looks really cheap, is very annoying, etc...

It may drive an increase in supporters just to avoid it, but I feel like it is going to decrease traffic and new users - as well as drive some people away. We'll have to see whether that turns out to happen.

This is kind of an important year with the new edition release. I don't think this is a great time to be making changes that make the site look cheap and annoying. I'd think we'd want to be encouraging of new visitors and try to make them want to come here for the inevitable rule, balance and optimization discussions.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Okay, I'll be honest and say that seems a bit of an overreaction now that I understand it more clearly, but you're not me and are not required to see it as I do.

 

[jgsugden]

Okay, I'll be honest and say that seems a bit of an overreaction now that I understand it more clearly, but you're not me and are not required to see it as I do.

Think about it in the context of a site you're visiting for the first time. The second you see those types of ads, if you're like most people, it gives you an impression of the site. There are a bunch of old clichés about first impressions - and they exist for a reason. Ad fatigue, intrusive marketing, etc... are real concerns and you can find a lot of discussion about how counterproductive they are. Given the language Morrus used earlier, and our experiences with Morrus as a pretty smart person, I think he is aware of the issue, did his research and made a decision.

I think that given the nature of this site, it wasn't the call I'd have made, and is one that will do long term damage to the site. I'm betting that he disagrees, or thinks the benefits outweigh the detriments ... but when an enterprise benefits by making their existing customer base less happy with their experience, it is rarely a good outcome. When customers feel taken for granted - like the enterprise feels entitled to their support and they can lessen the user experience without repercussions - it hampers brand loyalty. Here, brand loyalty equates to people habitually returning for their RPG discussion ... but there are many different places that can be accessed for these types of things. There are a lot of people that used to go to Enworld for all their RPG talk that now use Youtube, Reddit, and other sites primarily. Whey encourage more of this drift?

Think of all the places where "cost savings" have resulted in a reduced user experience. It killed many sites, it destroyed video games (think about how monetizing and saving money on development has destroyed Blizzard), and crushed movie franchises (less quality control in Marvel movies), etc... Heck, the OGL fiasco was another example of taking loyalty for granted.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Think about it in the context of a site you're visiting for the first time. The second you see those types of ads, if you're like most people, it gives you an impression of the site. There are a bunch of old clichés about first impressions - and they exist for a reason. Ad fatigue, intrusive marketing, etc... are real concerns and you can find a lot of discussion about how counterproductive they are. Given the language Morrus used earlier, and our experiences with Morrus as a pretty smart person, I think he is aware of the issue, did his research and made a decision.

The problem with this is that a bottom banner is present on most of the fora I see these days, and not uncommon of sites in general. This doesn't really seem the standout you seem to be suggesting. At that point, I'm not seeing most people doing more than shrug. As noted, I've been here for a while, and it didn't seem more than trivial, unlike the side popup.

 

[jgsugden]

The problem with this is that a bottom banner is present on most of the fora I see these days, and not uncommon of sites in general. This doesn't really seem the standout you seem to be suggesting. At that point, I'm not seeing most people doing more than shrug. As noted, I've been here for a while, and it didn't seem more than trivial, unlike the side popup.

Opinions can differ. However, it was notable enough for many people to come here and generate the longest thread we've seen in a long time on the Met Forum - and in record time. This is clearly significant to many people, whether you think it is a "shrug" or not.