What happened to Amazon?

Bob · June 13, 2009, 05:24:29 PM

Quote from: smilodon;278988There is just something nice about a 'clean' web site and forum. It's so rare these days and quite refreshing. Oddly I'm more likely to stop and read through a site with zero adverts. If I start seeing a lot of banner ads then I'm inclined to just click on through and move on somewhere else.

Very well put Smilo, totally agree with that :withstupid:

smilodon · June 13, 2009, 06:46:09 PM

another Firefox addon called script sentry looks after scripted stuff i.e. it blocks it until you allow it by domain, web site etc. I allow deadmen (obviously) but deny the other scripts. Works fine for me.

Still doesn't feel right discussing ways to thwart Gandy's website efforts though :sad:

TeaLeaf · June 13, 2009, 07:23:37 PM

Quote from: BlueBall;279024Frankly I see this as the start of a slippery slope and, as has been said, it was so nice to have an advert free site.

...apart from the advert that we already had you mean?

TL.

DuVeL · June 14, 2009, 02:55:51 AM

I saw it straight away when it just got on the forums but I don't mind.
If it helps as a sponsor, why not...

GL with all that and we'll see how it happends. :flirty:

TeaLeaf · June 14, 2009, 08:43:49 AM

I think it's important to remember that this is the first time we have tried LAN sponsorship and it's something we will learn from in terms of how it works for the community. We have previously adopted an Amazon advert for our affiliate shop and this has provided a regular revenue to help fund the community.

What we do not intend to do and what OB alluded to above, is to become an advertising-laden website.

At the moment we have our Amazon affiliate & Crucial adverts only. The Crucial one is a temporary advert only in the run up to the LAN and as this is our first foray into this area we'd ask for some constructive feedback as we learn with you how best (if at all) this type of link works for the community's benefit. We already know that the timing of the advert is too early and if we sought to do it again we would defer any such advert until nearer LAN time. However it is only by contacting these companies and experiencing the process that we get to evaluate their worth to the community (and them to evaluate our worth to them).

For example, is there a preference to put the flashing Amazon advert back at the top where it has been for the past few years, or put the static Crucial advert there for it's pre-LAN period instead? Your feedback is welcome.

At the end of the day the Section Heads and Admins are just trying to make the community the best for members that it can be. We're all volunteers donating our time to make the community work for members and we can't guarantee to get it right first time all the time.

TL.

OldBloke · October 27, 2009, 06:56:30 PM

Quote from: TeaLeaf;279097...The Crucial one is a temporary advert only in the run up to the LAN ...

Now removed. Thanks to Crucial for supplying us with the LAN goodies and to Ghosty for organising it all. The placing of the ad caused some heated debate here and I sincerely hope that, in the end, the ad wasn't too intrusive. We admittedly posted it up far too early and that lesson has been learned.

I'd appreciate any feedback you might have on whether we should consider using this method of LAN sponsorship again in the future.

Blunt · October 27, 2009, 10:25:57 PM

I stand by my previous comment.

suicidal_monkey · October 27, 2009, 10:34:38 PM

I second Blunt's previous comment

DarkAngel · October 28, 2009, 12:35:19 PM

I believe i missed this post the first time, i find it sad that some people cant embrace that we have received items for LAN for free for just having to put up with a advert.

I personally wouldn't mind more of the same to increase our community fund, as i only find it a extremely small inconvenience.

b00n · October 28, 2009, 12:49:18 PM

What advert?

Seriously, I never even noticed it and would have been none the wiser if this thread hadn't been bumped.

If it gets free stuff and/or revenue for the community then it gets a thumbs up from me.

Tutonic · October 28, 2009, 09:41:03 PM

I didn't notice the Crucial ad either

I wouldn't mind more sponsorship, even if it's more noticeable. The Crucial gear spiced up the LAN auction nicely!

sheepy · October 28, 2009, 11:40:47 PM

there was an add banner on the forums?....... damn i must be going blind

Bob · October 29, 2009, 12:10:39 PM

Quote from: Bob;278954Animated GIFs, Flash or anything else that moves or blinks or whatever I find very annoying. Such items will be blocked for sure (which is bad I guess, cause then they don't generate any income for dMw). I also find it intrusive when such items (or any kind of ad-banner with poor-looking graphics) are place in main focus areas of a web page - especially the header/top section.

I do definitely see the value some kind of advertisement can bring to dMw in form of some extra cash, but if something like that should be done, why not go for a much nicer and more discrete alternative, such as Google's AdSense?

Quote from: smilodon;278988There is just something nice about a 'clean' web site and forum. It's so rare these days and quite refreshing. Oddly I'm more likely to stop and read through a site with zero adverts. If I start seeing a lot of banner ads then I'm inclined to just click on through and move on somewhere else.

I still stand by what both Smilo and I said in earlier posts :2cents:

Jamoe · November 03, 2009, 12:38:51 PM

Quote from: sheepy;294444there was an add banner on the forums?....... damn i must be going blind

Same here, I hadn't even noticed the banner.

This is something to consider with the website update. It's a tricky balancing act, not destroying the flow of your website and appeasing the advertiser with a decent spot.

My PC is enjoying the crucial ram though :norty: