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What's with the AdBlock Notice?

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  • observerobserver Member RarePosts: 3,685
    http://massivelyop.net/ is pretty good too.

    I can't stand their layout on desktop.  It requires endless scrolling through pages just to get through a day's worth of news.  It's obviously designed for mobile, and their tags gets annoyingly excessive in each post.  They also use Livefyre for their comments, which is just terrible.  It's probably the best alternative out there though.  If anything, i'd rather just use reddit.
  • GeezerGamerGeezerGamer Member EpicPosts: 8,857
    Torval said:
    TemperHS said:
    Attempting to annoy users to the point that they disable the ad-blocker is kind of a shitty thing to do, no?

    With the level of traffic on this site there is plenty of ad revenue to be made, and I'm sure that the site is doing quite well in that regard. Trying to get those of us using an ad-blocker to remove it by adding a mild annoyance that serves no purpose other than to annoy, seems ridiculous.
    No, it's not a shitty thing. Completely blocking the entire site might be a shitty thing to do, but asking people to join in the revenue is not shitty.

    It's really no more ridiculous than you insisting on using an adblocker. I don't think that's ridiculous. I use one, but I don't think it's ridiculous for sites to complain or block me for it.

    I used to go to Forbes a lot. Now they completely block their site because I blocked their obnoxious ads. Now I just don't go to Forbes at all. I don't think it's shitty of them though. It's their site to offer how they see fit.
    You may be right, but what of all the ads/advertisers? Can this site guarantee they will never intentionally or even unintentionally host malware?
  • AlexanderVendiAlexanderVendi Member UncommonPosts: 378
    Site was already in exception tab ... still get popup / adguard addblock
  • AdminAdmin Administrator RarePosts: 5,623
    Hello all,

    I am sorry if the new ad-block notice is angering/annoying some of you but this is something we really need to try out.  Our ad block rate has gone from 25% just 2 years ago to now over 50%.  We simply cannot keep the lights on if this trend continues and I know many other websites are feeling this same pain.

    Our only income source is ad revenue so this is a big impact to us.  To the user saying 2,000 members paying $3 would pay for the entire site that would barely cover our hosting fees let alone pay for our staff.

    Some notes on this:
    1. It should only appear once per session.  If it appears more than once it likely means you don't have 3rd party cookies enabled.
    2. The notice window can be closed with an X in the upper right corner in 10 seconds and you should not see it again after that unless you shut down your browser and start a new session.  I have requested the company providing this show the countdown in seconds to make it more clear.
    3. The company providing this service DOES have an option for a "paywall" where you pay like $2.99 per month and you get access to any site using their service in their network.  I told them I initially did not want this as I feared it would cause more outrage but if the consensus is that this is a better 3rd option then we can add that in.  The only catch is that it would not be integrated with our site - you would just be able to run ABP without the notice and you would still see our background skin ad for example.
    Note that this is a test.  If we see a huge drop in traffic without our block rate going down significantly than we will likely take it down.  If we see a 5% drop in traffic but a 15% reduction in ABP users then it would be a big improvement for us.

    - MMORPG.COM Staff -

    The dead know only one thing: it is better to be alive.

  • AdminAdmin Administrator RarePosts: 5,623
    Site was already in exception tab ... still get popup / adguard addblock
    Hmm, what ad blocker are you using?

    - MMORPG.COM Staff -

    The dead know only one thing: it is better to be alive.

  • AdminAdmin Administrator RarePosts: 5,623
    edited August 2016
    MikeB said:
    Is that supposed to come up EVERY TIME I visit this site? Cuz thats what its doing.

    edit -- Its weird. Sometimes it shows up and sometimes not.
    Once per login session is the intended behavior. If this isn't happening, please let us know.
    Ok I go mmorpg.com, see the notice. Thats fine. Then I shut down firefox. Then goto this site again and the notice comes up again, every time. How do you define a login session? I havent logged out yet. And I logged in like... weeks ago.
    It is a 3rd party service so it is not tied/integrated into our site and login.  It is just based on a cookie and when you close the browser the session cookies are killed.  

    I might ask the company providing this if we can set a perma cookie instead and only show the notice once per day, etc

    - MMORPG.COM Staff -

    The dead know only one thing: it is better to be alive.

  • sumdumguy1sumdumguy1 Member RarePosts: 1,373
    This is the last straw.  This has gone to far and someone needs to stand up to this tyrannical display of power from the administrators of this site.   Will this comment suffice to put me in with the cool rebellious crowd?   B)
  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,499
    I have no problem keeping the ad-blocker off for mmorpg.com but you guys used to put up a lot of flash ads that repeatedly crashed browser, no matter which browser i used, not to mention these flash ads made the main site load slower. And on top of that many times it happened that i was trying to open article link but the ads got clicked instead for some odd reason. So i hope you guys worked out these problems.
    The solution to that is to uninstall Flash.  Apple had it right in declaring war on Flash.
  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,499
    So it seems that sites posting messages complaining about ad-blockers is the trendy thing to do these days.  And understandably so, as they have to get revenue somehow.

    It annoys me when sites where I block the ads because they're malicious give messages complaining about ad blocking.  I want to tell such sites that if they weren't completely careless about what ads they'd allow, I wouldn't block them.

    Ads shouldn't overwhelm the content.  Having ads that forward automatically forward you away from the site you were on is not OK.  Having ads that constantly pop up and obstruct content is not okay.  Having auto-play videos with audio on pages whose content is text is not OK.  Delivering malware via your ads is especially not OK.  If it weren't for so many sites doing that, ad blockers wouldn't have become so prevalent.

    Fortunately, a lot of sites do try to be careful about what ads they'll allow, including this one.  So I whitelist a lot of the sites that I visit commonly, including this one.  Whitelisting sites that are responsible with their ads encourages them to be careful about which ads they'll allow.  If web sites could expect more revenue from having moderate amounts of ads than by not trying to filter out even the worst sorts of ads, that would be a good thing.

    I usually try to whitelist a site I visit much and see if the ads overwhelm the content or otherwise cause trouble (e.g., making the anti-virus flare up).  When sites do have such malicious ads, my choices are basically to block the ads or not visit the site, and the site has nothing to gain from the latter.

    If you have an ad blocker on and visit Bloomberg, you get a message saying that the site might not display properly with an ad blocker on.  If you click past it, it shows you a horribly broken version of the web page.  Then if you reload it, even with the ad blocker still on, the page works fine.  I think they're trying to trick people into disabling the ad blocker, reloading, and thinking that fixed the problem.
  • NildenNilden Member EpicPosts: 3,916
    Maybe you should include a membership with perks from 1 to 5 bucks a month or ad a donate button. I'm all for supporting the site but not at my protection. After seeing you run league of angels that used the final fantasy trailer with warcraft music in the most blatant copyright theft I had ever seen or scarlet blade ads you can foget it. Not to mention that the two monetizaton methods above are not even on this site but you want to annoy people with pop ups, yeah, strict advertising policy heh.

    "You CAN'T buy ships for RL money." - MaxBacon

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  • RIG4REDRIG4RED Member UncommonPosts: 58
    This is an excellent way to divert traffic to other sites, if this is your intention.
  • AreWeLiveAreWeLive Member UncommonPosts: 202
    well really i use add blockers for pop up's, i do not want or need them, if you built the adds into your site like you do for your sponsored games then there is no issue...
    I hate to say it cause I do support you guys but i do not support any type of pop ups.
  • DullahanDullahan Member EpicPosts: 4,536
    edited August 2016
    All I ask is that you keep load times speedy with ads enabled.

    I always try to disable adblock on sites I frequent, but the last time I turned them off here I noticed slower load times on page refresh and hitching when I tried to scroll.


  • MikeBMikeB Community ManagerAdministrator RarePosts: 6,555
    We've opened up a new thread featuring a poll on us offering an ad-free monthly subscription @ $2.99. Please head on over there and vote/share your thoughts with us. :)
  • AdminAdmin Administrator RarePosts: 5,623
    AreWeLive said:
    well really i use add blockers for pop up's, i do not want or need them, if you built the adds into your site like you do for your sponsored games then there is no issue...
    I hate to say it cause I do support you guys but i do not support any type of pop ups.
    We never have allowed pop ups. The only pop up we have ever used is this Ad Block notice.  We also dont allow interstitial ads, ads that expand or ads with audio.

    - MMORPG.COM Staff -

    The dead know only one thing: it is better to be alive.

  • GestankfaustGestankfaust Member UncommonPosts: 1,989
    I use Adblock and don't see the notice. But I see plenty of ads still...so

    /confused

    "This may hurt a little, but it's something you'll get used to. Relax....."

  • SpottyGekkoSpottyGekko Member EpicPosts: 6,916
    I don't run an adblocker for this site.

    I don't have a problem if MMORPG starts blocking those people that do though.

    You can't have your cake and eat it. Either you get free website access with ads, or you pay a fee to replace the revenue lost due to you blocking ads. Business is business.

    The more widespread adblockers become, the more websites will be applying this rule.
  • AlumicardAlumicard Member UncommonPosts: 388
    edited August 2016
    Admin said:
    Hello all,

    I am sorry if the new ad-block notice is angering/annoying some of you but this is something we really need to try out.  Our ad block rate has gone from 25% just 2 years ago to now over 50%.  We simply cannot keep the lights on if this trend continues and I know many other websites are feeling this same pain.

    Our only income source is ad revenue so this is a big impact to us.  To the user saying 2,000 members paying $3 would pay for the entire site that would barely cover our hosting fees let alone pay for our staff.

    Some notes on this:
    1. It should only appear once per session.  If it appears more than once it likely means you don't have 3rd party cookies enabled.
    2. The notice window can be closed with an X in the upper right corner in 10 seconds and you should not see it again after that unless you shut down your browser and start a new session.  I have requested the company providing this show the countdown in seconds to make it more clear.
    3. The company providing this service DOES have an option for a "paywall" where you pay like $2.99 per month and you get access to any site using their service in their network.  I told them I initially did not want this as I feared it would cause more outrage but if the consensus is that this is a better 3rd option then we can add that in.  The only catch is that it would not be integrated with our site - you would just be able to run ABP without the notice and you would still see our background skin ad for example.
    Note that this is a test.  If we see a huge drop in traffic without our block rate going down significantly than we will likely take it down.  If we see a 5% drop in traffic but a 15% reduction in ABP users then it would be a big improvement for us.
    RE
    1. so you want us to safe information from someone we do not want to interact with? I visit this site and I dont want some code that uses a potential zero day. Hell, I disable any block if you are responsible for any damage done by your site. A malware that encrypts all my drives which means I loose income for the next 2-3 months, you pay for it. If you accept this then sure I will disable my script blocker.

    2. You hire a company to do that? Are you sure none of the adds delivered by 3rd parties overlap this X?  And if it is ok until I restart the browser then why is there a need for a timer? So you say that you go with a timer and not until a browser restart? But how do you know the time if I delete cookies ? Do you save my browsing history? Do you log my system mac? How do you get my system mac? How do you make sure someone doesnt fake my net adapter mac? One or the other way you lie and or talk bs in my opinion.

    3. Oh so you work with a company with which you can't even determine the price for your theoretical paywall? Do they work for you or do you work for them? I mean after the numerous failed attempts to update the side this in my opinion points to a complete and utter lack of common knowledge of business practice on the admin and management level. With something like "we work with a company that doesnt allow us to determine our sub fees" how could we trust you on a technical level and at the same time I assume, which is a personal opinion, how can we trust anything you write as "news" when you arent able charge $5 instead of your hired boss' $2.99?


    And just to point out. This post is the first time I hear about anything ad block related because while I block flash and adds I haven't seen this kind of pop up.


    Oh and 4.

    You want us to disable our protection? Maybe start not using half a dozen trackers on your page. I don't want facebook, double click or Sizmek to get my whatever you send them information.

    As a solution. Host any ad on your site only, no 3rd party links. Dont use flash, videos or bling bling adds. Remove each and every tracker. Then you get 90% people without any kind of ad blocks.
    You want a 100% rate of no ad blocks? post a screen shot each week/day taken with a no add-on browser.
  • filmoretfilmoret Member EpicPosts: 4,906
    waynejr2 said:
    filmoret said:
    TemperHS said:
    Attempting to annoy users to the point that they disable the ad-blocker is kind of a shitty thing to do, no?

    With the level of traffic on this site there is plenty of ad revenue to be made, and I'm sure that the site is doing quite well in that regard. Trying to get those of us using an ad-blocker to remove it by adding a mild annoyance that serves no purpose other than to annoy, seems ridiculous.
    Expecting to get everything for free is kinda shitty.  Expect them to do all the work so we can enjoy their website then we want to shit all over the people paying for it.  GG

    Look what happened at forbes.com.  It is famous now in case you hadn't heard of it.  They employed something to block people with adblocker asking people to not block so they could serve  ads.   Right away people started getting affected with malware.  Don't care if you don't believe it just understand it.
    I been using the internet since 90's and have never used ad blocker and never used antivirus.  Never got any virus and never had any malware.  Scare tactics really get people going ya know.
    Are you onto something or just on something?
  • RIG4REDRIG4RED Member UncommonPosts: 58

    I don't have a problem if MMORPG starts blocking those people that do though.

  • WizardryWizardry Member LegendaryPosts: 19,332
    edited August 2016
    Exploiting users because there is not yet a secure law everywhere,is not being too fair with users.
    So what happens,WE the users still whitelist this site,we show TRUST,yet this site does not treat users equally back.THIS site does NOT just exploit users during their stay but before and after and everyone should realize that is NOT right.

    Problem is the term "ADBLOCKER" makes it sound like users are blocking ads,that is 100% FALSE,it is merely blocking "cookies/trackers/beacons" which are deceptive forms of spying.
    Users will still see the ads,they will still click the click baits and take part in the content which is like 90% advertising content anyhow.

    Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.

  • filmoretfilmoret Member EpicPosts: 4,906
    LOL at the stubborn responses.  OMG they are spying on us.  They are trying to get us.  They are after me...  My computer is compromised.  OH noes....
    Are you onto something or just on something?
  • RIG4REDRIG4RED Member UncommonPosts: 58
    edited August 2016
    Alumicard said:

    Oh and 4.

    You want us to disable our protection? Maybe start not using half a dozen trackers on your page. I don't want facebook, double click or Sizmek to get my whatever you send them information.


    Cross Pixel Media
    Beacons, Segment Data, Analytics
    Detected tracker source URLs:

    These aren't terribly invasive.

    +Edit, expanding list.
  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,499
    Wizardry said:
    Exploiting users because there is not yet a secure law everywhere,is not being too fair with users.
    So what happens,WE the users still whitelist this site,we show TRUST,yet this site does not treat users equally back.THIS site does NOT just exploit users during their stay but before and after and everyone should realize that is NOT right.

    Problem is the term "ADBLOCKER" makes it sound like users are blocking ads,that is 100% FALSE,it is merely blocking "cookies/trackers/beacons" which are deceptive forms of advertising/spying.
    Actually, that creates an interesting question.  What about partial ad blocking?  For example, I've long implicitly "blocked" Flash ads just by not having it installed.  I used to use an ad blocker to block the double underline pop-up text ads while letting other ads through.

    And how long until ad blockers figure out how to selectively not block whatever it is that sites use to detect whether you've got an ad blocker on?
  • MareliusMarelius Member UncommonPosts: 130
    waynejr2 said:
    filmoret said:
    TemperHS said:
    Attempting to annoy users to the point that they disable the ad-blocker is kind of a shitty thing to do, no?

    With the level of traffic on this site there is plenty of ad revenue to be made, and I'm sure that the site is doing quite well in that regard. Trying to get those of us using an ad-blocker to remove it by adding a mild annoyance that serves no purpose other than to annoy, seems ridiculous.
    Expecting to get everything for free is kinda shitty.  Expect them to do all the work so we can enjoy their website then we want to shit all over the people paying for it.  GG

    Look what happened at forbes.com.  It is famous now in case you hadn't heard of it.  They employed something to block people with adblocker asking people to not block so they could serve  ads.   Right away people started getting affected with malware.  Don't care if you don't believe it just understand it.
    I agree with this and exactly why I run adblockers. Maybe if there was a way to know the good ads from the bad one it could help sites, sad part there is no way to do that. 

    I wonder if there is a way to charge developers to pay in having their games added in the forums. There is a couple of forums on here that advertise almost daily in the forums which does seem to be free for them. 

    Then asking us to whitelist this site in the possibility of getting infected from the ads is asking way too much! 

    But I will try to whitelist the site for a time and see what happens. 
    Sometimes it's not always about what you can see or hear but what's under the hood of a game that's most impressive. Between those thousands and thousands of lines of code, magic happens. Sometimes the most amazing feats of gaming wizardry happen without you even noticing.

    Rob Manuel

This discussion has been closed.