Ads vs Subscription

[stony]

I know the forum relies on ads for the server costs and I also know that in the past Ric has been determined to keep this place free of subscription and isn't keen on having a donate button. I seem to recall the reason for this was that he didn't want to promote a two tier system, with people who donate thinking they have more rights than people who don't, and it's a reasonable assumption to make.
Lately however, the ads have become more and more intrusive and I've reluctantly turned adblocker back on and it's staying on. I know Ric does his best to resolve all the issues with ads, but as soon as one is resolved another one pops up. I'm even looking for a reliable adblocker to use on my phone. I don't browse on my phone much, just when I'm waiting to pick my son up from work or when I'm on the school run a few days a week with my grandson. Since the forum changed it's ad supplier and we're getting HD animated ads that seem to autorun I'm using my entire mobile bandwidth allowance in two weeks. Previously I had never reached the limit. As far as I'm concerned the ads seriously impair my enjoyment of the forum and when I'm on my phone they have stopped me from viewing the place altogether unless I'm using a wi-fi connection.

I would happily pay a subscription rather than have the ads. I enjoy this place and have no problem paying towards it's upkeep. I even feel guilty for blocking the ads because I know it's the forums only source of revenue.

Is there forum software available that would keep subscribers ad-free and only show ads to people who don't want to pay? My kindle has this on it. The homepage has ads, and for an extra tenner or so when you buy one you can get it ad free.

I really feel the ads have become a big issue and I know it isn't only me who is resorting to adblocker.

 

[kaz7]

I would be in favour of a subscription,i spend a lot of time here so it would be worth it,The ads are a big problem on match days when i want to move fast around the site for the match thread in particular

 

[squirtyflower]

The ads do my head in sometimes. So much so that the site is so slow I just log off.

 

[MCFC1993]

I use Adblock on most sites but obviously turn it off on here. Sometimes it runs slow but can't say they really bother me that much.

I think the option to subscribe to turn the ads off would be okay, as long you don't have to subscribe just to come on the site.

 

[Ric]

The problem with a subscription system is that you end up with a hierarchy of users - i.e. those who have paid, and those who haven't. It makes it difficult to issue warnings/bans to subscribed users, because they will argue that they're contributing to the upkeep of the site, and will most likely cancel their subscription if they're aggrieved by a decision. I think it compromises things a bit, and subscribed users could end up getting preferential treatment, subconsciously or not.

The hosting costs are such that you're also relying on a lot of people having the same benevolent attitude as yourself, whereas the reality is that most people expect (or even demand) that online content is free to access.

I appreciate there are occasional problems with the ads, which I'm working to resolve. It's not an ideal system, but it's the only really workable solution at the moment.

I'll have a think when I get some spare if there's a better way to do things, but if you could persevere with the existing model at the moment it'd be greatly appreciated. Adblock is a major problem for sites such as this. Every single page you visit has to be paid for, so by using Adblock we're effectively paying for you to use the site, which isn't really a tenable situation.

 

[stony]

Cheers for the reply Ric and I understand your reasons for not wanting a subscription. I also understand that by using adblock I am effectively stealing from the forum, and it's not something that sits well with me hence the question about subscriptions or donations. By the same token the amount of bandwidth the ads are taking up is actually costing me money to browse when I'm on my mobile, or rather it would be if my phone didn't automatically turn off my mobile internet when I've reached my limit. It's still incredibly annoying because it means that either I don't browse the forum when I'm on my phone or for two weeks out of 4 I can't use mobile internet on my phone at all.
What about an anonymous donate button for those of us who don't want to see the ads? If it's anonymous then any whinging about moderating decisions by people who claim to donate to the site wouldn't be able to be taken seriously.
I've used this place for over ten years, even had a short time behind the scenes so I know how incredibly hard you work to keep this place running as smoothly as it does. I'd happily donate right now if it meant I could help with the forum costs without viewing ads.

 

[Ric]

Cheers for the reply Ric and I understand your reasons for not wanting a subscription. I also understand that by using adblock I am effectively stealing from the forum, and it's not something that sits well with me hence the question about subscriptions or donations. By the same token the amount of bandwidth the ads are taking up is actually costing me money to browse when I'm on my mobile, or rather it would be if my phone didn't automatically turn off my mobile internet when I've reached my limit. It's still incredibly annoying because it means that either I don't browse the forum when I'm on my phone or for two weeks out of 4 I can't use mobile internet on my phone at all.
What about an anonymous donate button for those of us who don't want to see the ads? If it's anonymous then any whinging about moderating decisions by people who claim to donate to the site wouldn't be able to be taken seriously.
I've used this place for over ten years, even had a short time behind the scenes so I know how incredibly hard you work to keep this place running as smoothly as it does. I'd happily donate right now if it meant I could help with the forum costs without viewing ads.

Thanks mate, appreciate the reply. Yeah, an anonymous donation button could be a possible workaround. Leave it with me and I'll get back to you pal.

 

[stony]

Thanks mate, appreciate the reply. Yeah, an anonymous donation button could be a possible workaround. Leave it with me and I'll get back to you pal.

Cheers Ric.

 

[TCIB]

Anonymous or even identified donations are fine, you simply have to stipulate something like this...

"Thank you for your donation to keep the site running. Please understand this donation does not give immunity from forum rules or gain favour with moderators.
Additionally to keep the site neutral we please ask you to not mention in the forum your donation barring any staff approved threads. This could lead to the ugly situation of posters attempting to wield leverage over others based on the fact the have donated. As you can imagine this would create a toxic environment so anyone doing so will be banned."


You can have the banner where you hover over it and it gives you the total needed etc which would help users self moderate donations to meet the site costs.
I know this method works as i have used it on torrent trackers before/or seen the same method employed on other successful trackers. I found nobody wanted to breach this agreement due to coming across as the "do you know who i am" type, well it happens but not due to rank but knowledge. The once or twice somebody did they were banned for 2 weeks and came back good as gold. Even on some where you could have an icon noting your donation the users never seemed to use this and forum activity was healthy. The same applied to irc, if a user was a user, opped, half opped etc.

However i do see it is a delicate situation for Ric who has a heart full of neutrality, the neutral loving swine, what is it that makes a man turn neutral, sickens me.

 

[JASR]

I remember a forum where they provided a link to amazon and anything bought via Amazon from clicking the link sent a few pennies back... Maybe that sort of thing died a death awhile back.