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Power Hungry forum
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JwRosenthal
·Is the swatch water resistant to 50?
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p4ul
·But,
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gbesq
·I paid for a membership for a year, but didn't renew. The advice and information were definitely worth the cost, but I need the mildly annoying ads as a slight deterrent to spending more time scrolling here. It doesn't work all that well, though, so if you wouldn't mind making the ads a little more obtrusive, that would be great. 😀
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rendo
··faux legendI hope he does not leave. This situation could have been avoided if he had used better words to describe his experience with the forum, as it currently sounds more of a complaint.
I also don't think he has been post farming as it may seem to some members.
I also don't think he has been post farming as it may seem to some members.
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dsio
··Ash @ ΩFI hope he does not leave. This situation could have been avoided if he had used better words to describe his experience with the forum, as it currently sounds more of a complaint.
I also don't think he has been post farming as it may seem to some members.
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Olhenry56
·
Serious question from someone who knows nothing about online advertising aside from the consumer side: does my seeing the ads generate income for the site, or would the ad revenue be the same even if I renewed my membership? I've been fine viewing annoying ads for the last few months under the assumption that the advertisers are essentially paying my way, but I'll reconsider if me seeing the ads doesn't contribute much financially to the forum.
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RevZMan123
·Thus is a baseless assertion that is frankly offensive. OF was run ad free and subscription free for a long time before the costs became prohibitive causing the site owners to seek revenue from ads to help. As others have said the cost of an ad free subscription is frankly peanuts compared to the advice and excellent content.
probably best to either cough up and stop whining or move on.
It's amazing that people complain. Either use an ad blocker and be quiet or pay up. If you are staying, you'll pay because, well, why wouldn't you be a stand up guy? I mean, the site owner is literally selling one of his prized possessions to keep this place going. It's a thankless "job" for sure.
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RevZMan123
·My autopay avoided this. Of course, I was still surprised by the charge when it popped up. But no ads!
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JwRosenthal
·That'll do it 😁
Serious question from someone who knows nothing about online advertising aside from the consumer side: does my seeing the ads generate income for the site, or would the ad revenue be the same even if I renewed my membership? I've been fine viewing annoying ads for the last few months under the assumption that the advertisers are essentially paying my way, but I'll reconsider if me seeing the ads doesn't contribute much financially to the forum.
They let us know that ads were a potential if they couldn’t get enough subscriptions/donations to cover the costs etc- it was incredibly open and honest and I think everyone who was invested emotionally in this community appreciated feeling like we were part of the process of the care and feeding (which we are).
I always look at this place like a local pub- we all drop in and sit for a while, some more often than others. We chat with old friends and get into heated debates. We all enjoy the free snacks on the tables, toilet paper in the clean bathrooms, electricity, water and heat….but who foots the bill for that?
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J!m
·69 posts in three weeks since joining this forum. Mostly likes posted in reply to meaningful posts from others. A disgruntled post farmer, it would appear. Oh dear!
Incorrect assumption but thank you.
I believe I had an account here over a decade ago, and was unable to find it. I would have much rather not lost all my old content that I contributed, but that's what happened...
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noelekal
··Home For Wayward WatchesI’ll bet that we can fit you back in Jim.
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p4ul
·Your assumption is correct- you viewing the ads generates income. This site was ads free until about 3 years ago (has it been that long?) and the mods were very inclusive about letting all the members know that there were major server upgrades needed and although they had footed the bill the entire life of the forum to that point, it had grown to the point where is was becoming very expensive.
They let us know that ads were a potential if they couldn’t get enough subscriptions/donations to cover the costs etc- it was incredibly open and honest and I think everyone who was invested emotionally in this community appreciated feeling like we were part of the process of the care and feeding (which we are).
I always look at this place like a local pub- we all drop in and sit for a while, some more often than others. We chat with old friends and get into heated debates. We all enjoy the free snacks on the tables, toilet paper in the clean bathrooms, electricity, water and heat….but who foots the bill for that?
Stop jabbering on and get a round in. 😀😉
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J!m
·So, to be clear, I understand the ads are a necessity to keep the place going. I'm okay with ads- just be less aggressive/invasive with them. My original post was obviously not clear about that, but the (finer) point is the invasiveness of the ads and the constant refreshing- which is okayish- but when the site comes back up it is usually in a different location, which, with the clock ticking until the next refresh, can become very frustrating reading a thread of predominantly text with no photographic "bookmarks" to find your way back to where you were. To those who are members, perhaps try logging in as an "outsider" for a day to get a little taste of that, perhaps on one of Speedy Phil's threads, which I find interesting but wordy (not a slight to Phil, just a lot of text).
Another example, I'm typing this reply, and directly over the "reply" button, an ad suddenly pops up. I see another ad above where I'm typing right now and a banner at the bottom of the screen as well, so there is plenty of ad exposure. The pop up over the button pops up "there" so that I am likely to catch the ad, when I'm intending to hit the "reply" button. And I have several times while trying to post, so it works!
So, those are the main points from a "new" user perspective. Maybe the refreshing can be somehow controlled, and the pop-up ads can be less invasive?
Perhaps I come off as crass but it's my point of view.
Another perspective: a new member comes along via google or however, and experiences what I'm experiencing. He won't be clicking through any ads here, and likely will not stay and upgrade his membership. The goal, of revenue generation is lost there.
I expect to stay, and will likely upgrade, but that does not fix the problem. This forum section is for pointing out the forum technical problems and I think this is one. Ads can stay, and are necessary, but the pop-up location(s) and refreshing (with losing place) are technical issues that I feel should be addressed. If I was managing this site, I would want to know about issues that are going to drive potential membership away.
Carry on. And I will limit my "post farming".
Another example, I'm typing this reply, and directly over the "reply" button, an ad suddenly pops up. I see another ad above where I'm typing right now and a banner at the bottom of the screen as well, so there is plenty of ad exposure. The pop up over the button pops up "there" so that I am likely to catch the ad, when I'm intending to hit the "reply" button. And I have several times while trying to post, so it works!
So, those are the main points from a "new" user perspective. Maybe the refreshing can be somehow controlled, and the pop-up ads can be less invasive?
Perhaps I come off as crass but it's my point of view.
Another perspective: a new member comes along via google or however, and experiences what I'm experiencing. He won't be clicking through any ads here, and likely will not stay and upgrade his membership. The goal, of revenue generation is lost there.
I expect to stay, and will likely upgrade, but that does not fix the problem. This forum section is for pointing out the forum technical problems and I think this is one. Ads can stay, and are necessary, but the pop-up location(s) and refreshing (with losing place) are technical issues that I feel should be addressed. If I was managing this site, I would want to know about issues that are going to drive potential membership away.
Carry on. And I will limit my "post farming".
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gbesq
·I think that the OP makes a good point. I found the “ad” version of OF exasperating to navigate and I probably wouldn’t have continued to view the site if I hadn’t known that upgrading my membership was an option.
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Davidt
·My membership isn’t on auto renew so I had a couple of days as a ‘new user’ this week.
I don’t understand the “clock ticking until the next refresh” issue. Perhaps it’s because I almost exclusively view the forum on my iPhone (although I do occasionally check in on a laptop) but when I had the ads before subscribing again, I only recall having to wait a split second for all the ads to load before the page settled down and I could read without issue.
It it hadnt been for wanting to contribute to the forum, I could have happily participated with the ads.
Is it much worse on certain browsers?
Regarding pop ups being in the way of things like the reply button, I actually did have that a couple of times and could see that being irritating but it’s a single click to close individual ads down.
I don’t understand the “clock ticking until the next refresh” issue. Perhaps it’s because I almost exclusively view the forum on my iPhone (although I do occasionally check in on a laptop) but when I had the ads before subscribing again, I only recall having to wait a split second for all the ads to load before the page settled down and I could read without issue.
It it hadnt been for wanting to contribute to the forum, I could have happily participated with the ads.
Is it much worse on certain browsers?
Regarding pop ups being in the way of things like the reply button, I actually did have that a couple of times and could see that being irritating but it’s a single click to close individual ads down.
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Dsloan
·Another perspective: a new member comes along via google or however, and experiences what I'm experiencing. He won't be clicking through any ads here, and likely will not stay and upgrade his membership. The goal, of revenue generation is lost there.
This is a great point. I think we mostly all responded with how we, more seasoned members operate. I didn't stop to consider how a newbie might experience the forum.