New ad bar

[Obryn]

Honestly, if you have the option to do so, do yourself a favor and grab Firefox with the AdblockPlus plugin. It will ask you to "subscribe" to a blacklist; just pick the first one and go. You will see almost zero ads, including those from ENWorld. (You can get NoScript, too, but that requires a much higher level of involvement, as opposed to AdblockPlus, which is basically invisible.)

When I didn't have a Community Supporter account, I added an exclusion to AdblockPlus to allow ads on ENWorld because I wanted to support the site at least a little bit. (I'd click on some ads now and again, too.) Now that I have a CS account, I have no regrets about turning off the ads I could turn off, and adblocking the rest into oblivion.

-O

 

[Cergorach]

I'm trying! Basically, I'm looking at PHP web tutorials and trying to figure it out.

If I can't figure it out in a few days, I'll just switch it off.

Haven't been around for a while, but didn't you have a 'webguy' that did that kind of thing?

If you need PHP help, please list what you need help with specifically and I'm sure folks will help out...

 

[CapnZapp]

Oh, I definitely blame them. Those adds probably caused a spike in ad-blocker use.

On the other hand, all advertisements are irritating, not just some.

The first thing I install when I get to a new computer is Firefox & Adblock Plus. Can't imagine how people can live with all those ads, especially given how easy and carefree it is to remove them for good.

 

[Theroc]

On the other hand, all advertisements are irritating, not just some.

The first thing I install when I get to a new computer is Firefox & Adblock Plus. Can't imagine how people can live with all those ads, especially given how easy and carefree it is to remove them for good.

The ads in the top and bottom of the screen I hardly notice and they don't bother me at all. The Side ad was somewhat annoying, so during my CSA month I've blocked that but kept the banner ads. The one midthread is the most annoying, and the one CSA's can't get rid of at the moment, lol.

But honestly, the ads aren't that much of a bother to me, and if using adblocker would be denying Enworld money it needs to function, I'd put up with some minor annoyance to ensure this site stays afloat. Now, if others find it too annoying, that's their choice. But for me, it's not annoying enough for me to bother with, for the most part.

 

[Obryn]

But honestly, the ads aren't that much of a bother to me, and if using adblocker would be denying Enworld money it needs to function, I'd put up with some minor annoyance to ensure this site stays afloat.

Agreed.

I think banner ads are obnoxious, but it's not like Morrus is raking in the dough. Large sites - as opposed to small, low maintenance sites - need some kind of cash flow to stay up, and ads are a pretty convenient way to do that.

Mind you, I'd rather have zero ads, but I think whitelisting the ads on ENWorld was an acceptable price to pay when I wasn't otherwise supporting the site.

-O

 

[Morrus]

On the other hand, all advertisements are irritating, not just some.

The first thing I install when I get to a new computer is Firefox & Adblock Plus. Can't imagine how people can live with all those ads, especially given how easy and carefree it is to remove them for good.

No offence, man, but that's one of the reasons this site is in danger of closing. You're not a community supporter, and you turn off the ads. So you're a net disadvantage to EN World. I'm paying for the privilege of having you here.

You probably think what you do dopesn't make a difference. But if a whole bunch of people all think it doesn't matter, it then matters, and sites close down. And believe me, EN World is in a make-or-break situation at present. If it doesn't get 1000 subscribers by Christmas, this site is going to close.

 

[Cergorach]

No offence, man, but that's one of the reasons this site is in danger of closing. You're not a community supporter, and you turn off the ads. So you're a net disadvantage to EN World. I'm paying for the privilege of having you here.

You probably think what you do dopesn't make a difference. But if a whole bunch of people all think it doesn't matter, it then matters, and sites close down. And believe me, EN World is in a make-or-break situation at present. If it doesn't get 1000 subscribers by Christmas, this site is going to close.

The amount of folks that actively use ad blockers is only a small percentage of the internet users. While CapnZapp might not directly generate any income, he might very well indirectly generate income by interacting with users that do generate income.

I generally do not turn off ads, but it got so ridiculous on here that I was actually 'forced' to turn them off due to my ENworld experience going down the drain (ads where messing with my ability to scroll down a page on a quad core pc). If you make ENworld an experience (free) users don't enjoy, the site will die anyway, due to lack of participation.

Heck, I'm subscribed to 2013, so I have a vested interest in seeing the site stay alive ;-)

 

[Orius]

I blame Evony. I'm not saying it's their fault, just that I blame them.

Not like that's a bad policy. Evony is kind of like the Internet's cockroach, ubiquitous, adaptable, and universally despised.

I don't really pay much attention to ads one way or the other. I've gotten used to them being part of the internet experience. What I do dislike though are ads with bad scripting that make my browser crash. That can be even more obnoxious than Evony.

 

[pawsplay]

No offence, man, but that's one of the reasons this site is in danger of closing. You're not a community supporter, and you turn off the ads. So you're a net disadvantage to EN World. I'm paying for the privilege of having you here.

You probably think what you do dopesn't make a difference. But if a whole bunch of people all think it doesn't matter, it then matters, and sites close down. And believe me, EN World is in a make-or-break situation at present. If it doesn't get 1000 subscribers by Christmas, this site is going to close.

So I see we have about 84,200 members. Assuming most of those represent active accounts, going by the 1% rule that about 1% of an exposed audience is going to respond to a pitch aimed at them, that will get you 842 subscriptions. I'm going to guess many of those accounts are not active and you may get about half that many subscriptions.

Not that you necessarily know the answer to this question, nor are you necessarily going to be inclined to answer on a forum, but what the hey... if that happens, then what? So long, that's it? I think this is a pretty cool site and there are plenty of cool people here. And again, this may not be something you can answer, but it's what I'm wondering and probably what a lot of people are wondering. What are the most expensive aspects of this site? I have a hard time picturing a server, some bandwidth, data backup, and maybe some development stuff costing more than, oh, $1500 a month or so. And I have the sense it could be done on a good deal less than that. But maybe there are angles I haven't considered.

 

[Morrus]

Not that you necessarily know the answer to this question, nor are you necessarily going to be inclined to answer on a forum, but what the hey... if that happens, then what? So long, that's it?

Well - if the bills aren't being paid, then yes! My soon-to-be-wife doesn't want to have to indirectly subsidize the place any more, and I don't want her to have to.

What are the most expensive aspects of this site?

Staff. It needs paid staff. Including, from Xmas, me, if I'm going to spend another decade of my life on it!