Advertisement Blocking Banner Discussion and Feedback

bartoni33

Originally posted by Alphamojo

Shouldn't even be a discussion, if the site truly feels that advertisement is the way to make revenue, and ad block is preventing that. Then block people that use ad blockers, they will not change their minds about this, because they are paranoid that you will attack their precious PC's. Thats resonable. I would not have a problem with that. As far as paranoia about my PC safety, you are 100% correct. I've invested too much money in it to let just anything get into it!

I use ad block, because ads are annoying for the most part, but I don't find that the case with the ones on this website. However I do find it ridiculous that you are having this discussion with people, they seem to feel entitled to your content without concern of what it costs you. Free site is free. If they want to make money get a real job. If they want to be a free service to gamers then continue on. Charge if ya want to. Just don't be a dick about it.

If they do not want to it's purely up to them, but having a discussion is plain ludicrous.....

Again I've turned my Ad Block off on this site until it gets silly. But I can't condone what Admin said. Too many sites similar to this one that doesn't call us silly names to go to.

And yes I don't give a fuck if they "make money" or not. Not my concern on a FREE SITE.

jayarte

Seems like a lot of posters are asking for flash ads to be removed.  Good to know it's not just me that can't stand something flashing away when I'm trying to read.

Kremlik

I usually stay as FAR away from these discussions as much as possible but I will put my hat in on this one.

I COMPLETELY understand this site needs money from somewhere, ads seem the logical choice, however the big red bar of doom and the way it's displayed is not the best way of communicating the fact, in fact it's insulting to the end user.

The fact that it is red implies we have done something massively wrong in the first place, which we have not. You yourselves have even admitted the reasons why we have ad blockers in the first place is not to deny anyone revenue but to protect us from the malicious scripts in ads, those ads appear on other sites, and yes by admittance once here, not by any fault of your own I understand that.

The way the 'warning' is displayed could have been forgiven as you want it to be noticed, it's been noticed that is for sure, however what cannot be forgiven is the accusation from the CEO of the site of all people in that keeping the ad blockers on results of the users being 'pirates' towards this site's content.

This is totally in bad form and WILL result in more harm then good now as at least those 'pirates' would point out this site's content to other people therefore bringing more traffic and revenue to the site (yes assuming the traffic isn't also using ad blockers), now that one comment will not only turn users away but also encourage them to inform others of such 'comment' suggesting to others not to come to this site due to how the CEO views his user base...

All that said going into this next generation of gaming MMORPG.com could use this time to reinvent itself, work with the user base to find out what the core issues are with the site in general, find out why users wish to block the ads from the site, the flashing ads, flash based and 'intrusive' ads have already been mentioned, perhaps more static banners would be acceptable, yes it could be less revenue per ad however more users will be willing to whitelist the site if they felt comfortable with the ad level and type.

A bit off topic but could help, one thing that has always drawn me away from the site is the forum's 'sea of hate' from rampant fanboisum and trolling, perhaps a heavier stance and clamp down on that may encourage more traffic to return if the 'image' of this site wasn't so muddy.

I know a redesign of the site is on the way, so please put all this into consideration, mainly the rethink of the banner itself to be more 'friendly' to the ad block users requesting our support and not telling us we are in the wrong for doing so.

MMORPG.com has been a major hub for the genre for years, however for many this 'event' has been the straw that broke the camel's back, and it's going to take a LOT of time/reworking to 'fix' that, like I said perhaps now is the best time to change things for the better.

3-4thElf

Originally posted by bartoni33

Originally posted by Psychow

Can we all take a moment and have a silent prayer for the "USER DELETED" people who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of inappropriate Admin hyperbole.

 

May their souls be ever free...

Fixed and I agree 100%. Most here, like me, do not have the fortitude to actually deny ourselves something on the basis of standing up for yourselves. They do. As I posted a few pages ago I can't get mad about the "pirate" bullshit quote because I see nothing wrong with File Sharing. Equating Ad Block with FS is utterly stupid to say the least but when a business loses money they automatically scream "PIRATES AHOY!" as a knee-jerk reaction to it. Because it can't be their fault now can it? It can't be because of an inferior product or one just not useful to the public. Of course not.

Argh! (that's pirate for: good post)

Psychow

I'm surprised someone hasn't "REPORTED" the Admin's pirate post yet. heh

Tester003

The Ads that use mmorpg as  the base url do  get seen by me.  Your auto i use  adblocker scipt is broken.   The third party ads do get blocked  those are the annoying ads and need to be blocked.  Use the mmorpg.com to serve up third party images but not flash your prolems is fixed easy easy heeh

Asbo

If I'm unable to block your adds then I will stop visiting this site because I will not be dictated to watching crap about junk I'm not interested it full stop...

Rednecksith

I may have considered whitelisting your site before your founder / CEO accused myself and many others of being thieves and / or pirates for using an adblocker, even though it's generally considered a part of safe browsing practices to do so. Now? Adblock stays on, and I've blocked your stupid red banner as well.

Here's a tip: If you wish compliance from people, don't insult them. Thank you, and have a good day.

BTW I love how the GIANT BRIGHT RED INCREDIBLY INTRUSIVE BANNER states that MMORPG.com doesn't believe in intrusive ads... hypocrite much?

StSynner

Originally posted by Admin

Originally posted by Worstluck
I realize you guys make money from ads, however, I would not be clicking on said ads regardless so I block them for safety and just to make the page readable.  Now will I permanently have a big red bar accross the top of the page?

It does not matter if you click the ads.  We sell ads based on impressions, not clicks/results.  So even if you don't click the ads you hurt our entire site by running a blocker.  Running adblock on a site that supports itself with advertisements is no different than downloading pirated movies, music or video games.  You are in a sense stealing our content that we work hard to create and pay to an entire team to create.

I don't like seeing advertisements and I don't like seeing the big read bar so it's a lose/lose for me.

And BTW if you really feel that those of us using adblock are stealing content... then you should probably ban us IMHO. Just sayin.

sumo0

AdBlock stays on, and now because of this BIG red banner Java scripts have now been blocked from this site again. I like your site, but i dont come here (or anywhere else) for the ads.

I do this for the same reason that i dont watch TV channels that interrupt tv shows or movies with commercials.
Im fed up with ads and thus do anything in my power to avoid it.

Yizle

I read some of this thread when it started and I understand both sides views. I currently allow ads on this site and as long as I don't have a ton of annoying flashing adds when I am reading the forums I am ok with it.

 

But I just wanted to reply and say the Rift add for the xpac that says PreOrder now and save a panda is great.

 

When I heard of the new WoW xpac I could already hear the Jack Black commercials for it. Sorry Mr. T you have been retired for Kung Fu Panda.

YouNube

Its funny, because when i saw the big OH MY GOD red banner on the top, and saw this topic, i decided to first read what the staff had to say, before i decide to do anything. So as i was reading about how im a pirate, from a guy who doesnt even know me or know my reasons to use adblock, i said to myself - i've been reading this site for a couple of years now, why the hell not just white list it ? 

So i did. 

And God oh God the flashing lightnings from this Smite add, just burned my eyes, i couldnt stay focused to read even one sentence, let alone write a normal resposne. 

So, adblock stays on, and i also blocked that red abomination on top of your "free" site As many have stated, there are much better ways to handle this situation.

And whoever doesnt like the way this "story" is progressing, there is plenty of fish in the sea. This site isnt the only one, nor the best one. Cheers

Sorrow

Bah was hoping to see an apology from the site admin today, guess he is not man enough to do the right thing when he knows he is in the wrong.

GI05

Adblock stays on.  If it become annoying will go to another site.

saurus123

anyone that wish to block the annoying red bar on top in firefox

 

get adblock plus and in filters add

www.mmorpg.com##DIV[class="abiabnotice"]

no more annoying red bar

tyrannis

When you decide that moderation of your fourms should be done with care and consisency and not what your mood is at the time, the position of the moon is in the sky, or whether or not your team wins the super bowl i'll remove my add block.

syntax42

I disabled my ad blocker long enough to see the flashy panda ad which was distracting me from the rest of the page.  I considered it to be intrusive and distracting to my site experience.  

 

I understand that site revenue comes from ads and that by not viewing them, you are not getting as much money.  This does not mean you should try harder to get people to look at ads, though.  People are tired of being bombarded with advertisements, which is why ad blockers were invented in the first place.  It isn't a matter of us "stealing" your content.  It is a matter of you finding a different source of revenue, or backing down on the ads to a level that most people will tolerate.  If that means you have to provide fewer services, then figure out what keeps people coming to this site so you can cut the services you can't afford.

 

There are plenty of competing web sites which offer similar services.  I'm willing to use one of those if you go out of business or can't find a decent balance of ads versus content.  So, don't blame your customers.  Blame your business model.

 

By the way, I have clicked on the background ads on occasion.  Those are not intrusive and not animated, yet I have checked them out because they advertised MMOs I was curious about.  Also, I stopped using IGN because of their ad spam years ago.

Christooo

Nevermind 

tyrannis

Originally posted by Christooo
Nevermind 

The domain would be www.mmorpg.com and http://www.mmorpg.com and you may want to add https://www.mmorpg.com

Hope that helps you.

Seelinnikoi

Is there a way to check if the user can see full adverts and if he is blocking some or all ads?

If there is, then you could create a nominal fee to use the site without ads for those blocking, and you could continue to give access to those who have not used any kind of ad blocking software.

3-4thElf

Originally posted by YouNube

Its funny, because when i saw the big OH MY GOD red banner on the top, and saw this topic, i decided to first read what the staff had to say, before i decide to do anything. So as i was reading about how im a pirate, from a guy who doesnt even know me or know my reasons to use adblock, i said to myself - i've been reading this site for a couple of years now, why the hell not just white list it ? 

Ah yo ho ho,  a pirate's life for we!

MumboJumbo

If you can "choose good" ads, mmorpg.com that will surely help eg the GW2, EvE ads are cool as backgrounds. If you impose some Quality Control on the ads, that is one reason for a browser to not block/not close the site. It's the trashy ads that annoy that make ad blocking such a relief. Besides ads everywhere: TV, Radio, billboards, packaging, online -> all same message: hitting on your ego, it gets "invasive" after a while! Compare Friday's "a call to prayer" to Capitalism's "a call to buy" every second of every waking day...

Slapshot1188

Originally posted by Admin

Originally posted by RocSek

Originally posted by Admin

Originally posted by Worstluck
I realize you guys make money from ads, however, I would not be clicking on said ads regardless so I block them for safety and just to make the page readable.  Now will I permanently have a big red bar accross the top of the page?

It does not matter if you click the ads.  We sell ads based on impressions, not clicks/results.  So even if you don't click the ads you hurt our entire site by running a blocker.  Running adblock on a site that supports itself with advertisements is no different than downloading pirated movies, music or video games.  You are in a sense stealing our content that we work hard to create and pay to an entire team to create.

This is flat out wrong. If you want to "Stop people from stealing your content" then make all the infomation password protected, and charge people to access it. But to say we are stealing your content because we choose to block ads is ridiculous. And who ever typed this behind the anonymous "Admin" account should be fired.

The Admin account is not anonymous.  I am Craig McGregor the President/CEO of the company and the co-owner and founder of the site.  

The trend in AdBlock is concerning for me, not just on our site here, but on the Internet as a whole.  It is a growing problem and I feel it will eventually lead to the end of the "free Internet" that we all know and love.  If sites cannot stay afloat from advertising sales they have few options left: a) start charging for access to content b) start doing really unethical tihngs like Advertorial content c) syndicate into large networks with pay access like Cable TV "packages".  Personally I like the advertising model both as a site operator and as a user of hundreds of free websites.

 I will explain the difference to you Craig.  One is illegal.. as in against the law.   The other is not.  Now, if you changed your TOS to state the folks must accept ads well that is 100% your perogative as the site owner.  Your first post however,  IMHO frankly comes across as ignorant and condecending. 

I understand the concept that such programs are (in your eyes) costing you money, and while no expert I'd probably have to agree with that.   Your delivery however needs a lot of work.  My immediate reaction to Mike B's post was "no big deal".  My immediate reaction to yours was well... let's just say it was very different.

This is coming from someone who never even considered installing any ad-blocking software and was only slightly aware that such programs even existed...   and someone who very much your prefer you stay a free, ad-supported site as I simply would not pay to subscribe.  But if you want to get a positive response in the future I really think you need to work on your messaging.

 

 

lumpking69

First of all piracy is NOT stealing, its copyright infringement. Not viewing your ads is not stealing nor is it copyright infringement. Get your facts straight!

SnarlingWolf

Originally posted by tyrannis
When you decide that moderation of your fourms should be done with care and consisency and not what your mood is at the time, the position of the moon is in the sky, or whether or not your team wins the super bowl i'll remove my add block.

I agree heavily with this.

 

I used to look at the moderation on this site as pathetic but figured hey it must be volunteers so it is what it is. Hearing that you need money because you pay for these moderators is a complete and utter shock. I cannot believe this level of inconsistent and outright terrible moderation is being paid for.

 

For that reason I will be installing an ad blocker immediately. I have never used one ever, I have always let all of the annoying ads from every site on the internet show up. However, I do not appreciate my views funding such terrible moderation so I will truly be installing an ad blocker to block all of the ads from this site. I left MMORPG for a couple years due to the craptastic moderation and will probably do so again soon anyway so I guess my ad blocker doesn't change much, but I will make sure to never look at ads from this site again.

 

And who really comes here for the "content"? Most of the content is news taken from other sites. You know who does that 10x better? Massively.com. The other content is reviews which are, quite frankly, the worst reviews in the whole industry. Most people come here for the forums and the moderation is pathetic. I would suggest simply getting rid of all of the "content" and leaving the forums up. You just shaved off some costs and maybe you can pay for better moderators.

 

1 million+ viewers a month? Yeah ok, save that one for the sales pitch. The majority of the time there is 200 or less signed in users on your site at one time and 2000 guests. So even if through out the day there are 2 full sets of people for a nice round up of 5000, that is still only 150,000 a month and that is without factoring in how many of those are the same people day after day which is probably most of them.