Say NO to farming

Hello there,

I thank you for your feedback, but while I must note that we do not have IGE ads anymore, there is still a very good reason we will not be joining any battles against that type of business. I posted the following in another thread on the topic of another ad, of a similar nature, we are running.

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Legally, all those things are allowed in games and are a big part of them - whether we like them or not. If the services they offered were not legal, they'd have long since been sued into oblivion.

So, once that hurdle is cleared, it begins a very slippery slope when journalistic sources start moralizing on advertisement. If we decide we do not like this particular aspect of the genre, then what stops us from forbidding advertising from games we did not review strongly? Arguments could then be made we could wipe out entire games simply on whether individuals here like them.

That is not fair to the advertisers, nor the readers. Like it or not, websites - like all other journalistic mediums - rely on advertising to survive. Traditionally, most sources have refused to moralize when it comes to advertising (save in the most blatant of circumstances). What would you do if the New York Times refused to run ads for one of the two major political parties? An argument could be made.

To date, I believe Craig and the team have done a good job of limiting advertising to things that may interest our readers (note the lack of car and dating service ads). This includes - whether or not you personally agree - services of the above nature. Does that mean we endorse them? No. It simply means that they have the right to pitch their product if they pay for the space. Then, it is up to you - the readers - to decide whether or not you want to click. Clearly, given these companies choose to advertise with us, there are a large number of people who do use their services and make the advertisements worth while.

I understand this is a hot topic for some, but this is our stance, and it is a stance that has an enormous precedent in newspapers, television, radio and all other mediums of journalism.