Obnoxious ads

[Elephant]

In the past, I've avoided blocking Eeee Ennnn World's ad banners because I haven't classified the site in the same despicable category as most Internet advertisers.

This ad banner prompted me to change this policy:

http://shop.enworld.org/images/engs/banners//banner1.gif

Morrus, you do yourself a disservice putting up such abhorrent material. Flashing backgrounds only serve to demean your site in the eyes of (some of) its fans.

Please turn off the flashies in your ad banners. If you email me that you've done so, I'll even turn off my ad-blocking for this site again

 

[Cheiromancer]

I ad-blocked that particular ad. I figure I'm already subscribed to Burning Sky, so why make myself regret it?

 

[Umbran]

Flashing backgrounds only serve to demean your site in the eyes of (some of) its fans.

I am not sure I understand this complaint. It seems... a bit thin skinned for an elephant

I can understand you don't like it. Everyone has their own tastes, in regards to graphic presentations. But I think of popups as obnoxious. And those darned not-quite popup animated ads that cover up site content are obnoxious, sure. But this doesn't actually get in the way of the site content. It is, at worst, merely unsightly. And you scroll down so you don't see it in what, two seconds or less?

 

[Morrus]

I'm very sorry you feel that way, Elephant, but we don't remove ads (excepting those that are actually offensive by way of obscenity, pornography or illegality) at the request of members; and we never bow to ultimatums, however mildly phrased. It is, of course, accepted that people would prefer no or fewer ads, and that individual ads may annoy certain people to varying extents.

It's always appreciated that ads suck, and I'd be the first in line wishing they weren't necessary.

Think of it like this: by "seeing" the ad you are paying for your use of EN World. We don't ask you for money to use the site; the only "cost" to you is having ads in your eyeline. I don't feel that that is too much to ask of you, if I'm honest; we can't give it all to you for free. You gotta see some ads, and you might not like some of them.*

The good news? In EN World II, we're considering allowing community supporters to turn off ads.

*Yes, I appreciate you have the technical means to circumvent that "payment"; I submit that it's not fair that you do so, however. I can't stop you, of course.

 

[RangerWickett]

On a related note, I think we've been running that ad for 10 months. It was catchy at first, but I think it is time for a change. I'll come up with something.

 

[RangerWickett]

How about this one?

Or I could go for something less animated.

 

[Nifft]

Looping animation is better than flashing animation, but I'd prefer if it played once and then stopped. (Terminal image should contain product name. Nothing annoys me more than looking at an ad trying to figure out what it's for.)

Cheers, -- N

 

[Lanefan]

The good news? In EN World II, we're considering allowing community supporters to turn off ads.

Yippee!!!

Lanefan

 

[Elephant]

I'm very sorry you feel that way, Elephant, but we don't remove ads (excepting those that are actually offensive by way of obscenity, pornography or illegality) at the request of members; and we never bow to ultimatums, however mildly phrased. It is, of course, accepted that people would prefer no or fewer ads, and that individual ads may annoy certain people to varying extents.

It's always appreciated that ads suck, and I'd be the first in line wishing they weren't necessary.

Think of it like this: by "seeing" the ad you are paying for your use of EN World. We don't ask you for money to use the site; the only "cost" to you is having ads in your eyeline. I don't feel that that is too much to ask of you, if I'm honest; we can't give it all to you for free. You gotta see some ads, and you might not like some of them.*

The good news? In EN World II, we're considering allowing community supporters to turn off ads.

*Yes, I appreciate you have the technical means to circumvent that "payment"; I submit that it's not fair that you do so, however. I can't stop you, of course.

Oh, please don't misquote me. There's no ultimatum involved. If you wish to serve obnoxious ads, that's your choice, just as it is my choice to block offensive content from sites I visit.

Besides, with all the other Burning Sky links floating around, I would have subscribed long ago if it was something I felt I could use. Having a flashing banner ad to annoy me won't make me more likely to pick up something I've already decided against getting.

* As to me "circumventing the 'payment'", I submit that it's unreasonable of you to expect free use of my computing resources as part of your business model. If you were providing the computer I'm using, you might have cause to complain.

 

[Elephant]

How about this one?

(img snipped as it appears further up the thread)

Or I could go for something less animated.

Eh...I'd prefer something without animation. It's definitely an improvement over the eyesore I blocked the other day, though. Nifft's request for something that loops once and then ends on the product name is a good one.

On a related note, I'll change my request since Morrus sounds ill-disposed to it:

Please let me know when you eliminate the flashing annoyance from your banner list.