No politics, except . . . when it's paid for?

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Okay, this is not about whether I agree with, or not, a recent ad, but I was pondering the forum policy against politics when there is a political ad on ENWorld.

Maybe it's targeted by location and certain geographies are not seeing it, but I am. I know nothing about the propriety or even possibility of not accepting certain ad content, like political issue ads. But is there some way ENWorld can block political ads paid for by a candidate's campaign?

I really do come to ENWorld to get away from political talk, even if I might find myself in agreement on some issue. So, I'm trying to be polite and circumspect, but what's the deal with political ads on ENWorld when politics is a forbidden subject?

 

[Holy Bovine]

Okay, this is not about whether I agree with, or not, a recent ad, but I was pondering the forum policy against politics when there is a political ad on ENWorld.

Maybe it's targeted by location and certain geographies are not seeing it, but I am. I know nothing about the propriety or even possibility of not accepting certain ad content, like political issue ads. But is there some way ENWorld can block political ads paid for by a candidate's campaign?

I really do come to ENWorld to get away from political talk, even if I might find myself in agreement on some issue. So, I'm trying to be polite and circumspect, but what's the deal with political ads on ENWorld when politics is a forbidden subject?

Sounds like Google ads strikes again. ENW doesn't get to choose what ads google shows on the site although they usually favour game-related ones.

 

[the Jester]

Sounds like Google ads strikes again. ENW doesn't get to choose what ads google shows on the site although they usually favour game-related ones.

That would be my guess as well. There have been past issues with Google ads that were not necessarily appropriate for the site too; I seem to recall some Chinese malware MMORPG with tons of cleavage and stuff.

 

[Merkuri]

Google chooses what ads to display based on a number of factors. The content of the site is one (which is why we get lots of gaming ads on EN World) and your location is another. Some politicians spend a lot of money for Google to bombard local folks with their ads.

There's not much EN World can do about these ads, since they're often restricted to a small area and Morrus himself will probably never see them (being in the UK). Technically he could block one set of ads if he knew enough about them, but they're usually temporary, anyway. And the next set that comes along will have to be reported to Morrus and blocked separately.

 

[IronWolf]

So, I'm trying to be polite and circumspect, but what's the deal with political ads on ENWorld when politics is a forbidden subject?

Yeah, sounds like Google Ad Words. It is harder to control a 3rd party ad service and what content will get delivered. I do seem to recall at some point though they had a means to filter the ads that were not appropriate for the site. Not sure if that is still an option for EN World or not. If it is, they will need to know the URL it points to and such I believe.

 

[Morrus]

If you see an inappropriate ad, let us know what it is and the URL it links to and we can ask to have it removed. But remember that we all see different ads depending where we live, our google history, etc. so I likely won't see it.

 

[jaerdaph]

Elf Booty

Can we get this ad [warning: NSWF] blocked? I see it on the home page a lot lately. Here's where the link goes.

 

[the Jester]

Can we get this ad [warning: NSWF] blocked? I see it on the home page a lot lately. Here's where the link goes.

Er... what I'm seeing, while it shows some elf ass, is no less safe for work than a pic of two girls in bikinis.

From behind, I mean.

That said, I can see why some would object to it.

 

[pawsplay]

Can we get this ad [warning: NSWF] blocked? I see it on the home page a lot lately. Here's where the link goes.

Wowza. Gratuity doesn't begin to describe it, yet I find it difficult to object on aesthetic grounds.

 

[Orius]

It's kind of funny; while Evony, which gained a certain amount of notoriety by using gratuitous partial nudity is now using boring ads, there's at least a half a dozen different games that are advertising with the same school of thought: lots of cleavage and ass. On the upside, most of them are actually using images that have something to do with the game, rather than ripping off images from lingerie ads.