how do you turn off that stupid white bar 4e advertisement to the right?

[RangerWickett]

Well, it's Russ's site. If he wants to set certain rules for his property, we can't say he's "right" or "wrong." All it comes down to is what best serves his interests, which is a mix of 'paying the bills' and 'keeping people on the site so that companies want to advertise here.'

Me personally, I'd just suggest he ask WotC to make a less annoying ad. Static ads do get ignored, so sure, some movement is good, but compare it to that classic old Malhavoc Press ad from, like, 6 years ago. It turned heads, and was pretty, and I don't think many folks complained about it (except perhaps that it required Java, and not everybody's computers could display it back then).

Oh, and prosfilaes?

Adding the ad to the copyrighted material of the posters violates the integrity of the post and violates the moral rights of the author of the post, protected by the Berne Convention and written law in several states.

I think you have a slight misunderstanding of copyright. Sure, you own the copyright to the text. Nobody on EN World is claiming that they created what you wrote. They're not selling your text for their own profit. Berne defends your ownership of a written idea, keeps other people from exploiting your work, sure. But it doesn't change other property laws. Like the fact that you don't own this website.

If you were to go to a real life, physical message board, write something on a piece of paper, and post it with a thumb tack, you also own what you wrote there. You own the text, but not the medium in which it exists. If the person who owns that board decides he wants to put an ad on there, or even, you know, take down your message, he can. It's his board. He's extending you a favor by letting you use it.

Now, to take a step back from overly-hifalutin' talk of "ownership rights" on something so mundane as an internet messageboard, yes, it's still an annoying ad. We would still like it if we didn't have to see it.

But we also like hanging out with people on these boards, sharing ideas, and being part of the EN World community.

If we don't like it, we can make polite complaints, try to get compromises or alterations in how things are done. We could even say, "I'm leaving." But it's silly to say that your intellectual property rights are being infringed.

Again, my suggestion is just to tell WotC, "Your ad is pissing people off. It might be time to consider making a new one."

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

I'm considering a bookmark relocation...just sayin'

Seriously, though, it's annoying as all get out.


EDIT: I just wanted to add, that I am annoyed with WotC's annoying ad, not with the presence of the sidebar ad spot.

 

[TerraDave]

On seeing this thread, I was able to cover it up by moving that side of the window in, in like a second.

Lots of sites have adds. And if anything, I think that congragulations is order on the site finally getting some 4E$$.

But I do hope they rotate in some other adds.

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

On seeing this thread, I was able to cover it up by moving that side of the window in, in like a second.

Lots of sites have adds. And if anything, I think that congragulations is order on the site finally getting some 4E$$.

But I do hope they rotate in some other adds.

Yeah, I just have my screen adjusted to not see the ads. It's no big deal. I'm just hoping that future ads aren't such an eyesore.

 

[stonegod]

By your rationale, TiVo would also be stealing, no?

Not exactly. Its broadcast over the air (or via cable/whatever); the cost doesn't rise based upon how many folks are viewing the channel. And, the courts (at least in USALand) have regularly defended folks time-shifting rights w/ regards to TV. In any case, broadcaster's adapt and put the ads in the shows themselves to offset any decrease is ad revenue directly.

Whereas, on the Internet, the cost increases with each visit due to bandwidth charges---you visiting the site costs money directly. For business sites (WoTC, Paizo), this money comes from their internal budget. For community sites, the money has to come from either community supporters or ads. If you are not the former and hide the latter, you are costing ENWorld actual money by not viewing the ads---you are not paying for the bandwidth you use to access the site.

That being said, better ad blocking software would still load the add, but not display it---get an impression but not show it. Its "cheating" in some sense, but its closer to the TiVo model than not.

 

[evileeyore]

Yeah, I just have my screen adjusted to not see the ads. It's no big deal. I'm just hoping that future ads aren't such an eyesore.

So... top banner ads and sidebar ads?

Really?

Damn, that is pretty annoying.



Will buying a "No Ad" User Status remove only the crappy ones? "Cause some of the ads that run here are funny and useful. This glaring white ad is obnoxious (but funny in a campy way).


Actually mostly I just dislike the fact the sidebar shoves everything left. I've never been bothered by top banners.

 

[joethelawyer]

Fair warning. I will be placing code in EN2 that will inspect the page and refuse to display it if ad blockers are in use - the page will also fail to display if Javascript is disabled.

Viewing the page without the ads is, in my view, stealing.

that's ok. most ads i dont care about. obnoxious ones like that wizards one which ruin the reading experience i do care about. so either i will deal with the non-obnoxious ads, find some workaround to your protections for the obnoxious ones, or just not come to this site anymore.


joe

 

[Enkhidu]

Fair warning. I will be placing code in EN2 that will inspect the page and refuse to display it if ad blockers are in use - the page will also fail to display if Javascript is disabled.

Viewing the page without the ads is, in my view, stealing.

So, you don't like search engines?

 

[Michael Morris]

So, you don't like search engines?

Search engines ignore CSS. The hiding of the page would be accomplished with inline css. Got any other ways to imply I'm a fool?

 

[Enkhidu]

Search engines ignore CSS. The hiding of the page would be accomplished with inline css. Got any other ways to imply I'm a fool?

That's a neat trick, and one I didn't think of.

Now, would you like the "Michael Morris is a fool" list in alphabetical order, or more freeform?