You've convinced me EID: TO KEEP ADDS (to install an Advertisement Blocker)

[Dr. Zaus]

Hi,

Because I can't use the web site properly with randomly sized banner ads I am slowly being convinced to install an ad blocker. I am typically very open to seeing, and even clicking on, banner ads: I want to support the pages I visit.

But when it starts interfering with functionality is when I start looking for a solution.

Take care,

EIDT

Hi,

I've noticed that the header has been fixed. Thank you!

 

[Stuka87]

I came here to post something similar. The Ads always load after the main content. So I go to click on a link then the ad loads, causing everything to be shifted down, so the link I just clicked is not the one that I wanted. This happens several times a day. The header up top needs to be set to a fixed size rather than dynamic.

 

[olds]

Welcome to 2005.

 

[Greenman]

This isn't a community board, it's a for profit business venture. Those profits come from having advertising in your face. Once you understand that your one small piece of a demographic that forms a neat little section on a pie chart, life will be far more understandable. At that point, you'll also understand that as the numbers are charted, your desires are somewhere south of the sixth decimal place.
You've been a part of creating this little microcosm of twenty first century life, enjoy it, consume, accept that life is better with the greater purchasing power of belonging to a group that's fundamentally cheap. This, my well analysed friend, is your creation, this is what you're a part of, this is your legacy, this is ANANDTECH!






I should have been in advertising.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

^not when the cost of keeping me looking at ads is just adjusting the header up top to a fixed size.

 

[Ryan Smith]

This isn't a community board, it's a for profit business venture. Those profits come from having advertising in your face. Once you understand that your one small piece of a demographic that forms a neat little section on a pie chart, life will be far more understandable. At that point, you'll also understand that as the numbers are charted, your desires are somewhere south of the sixth decimal place.
You've been a part of creating this little microcosm of twenty first century life, enjoy it, consume, accept that life is better with the greater purchasing power of belonging to a group that's fundamentally cheap. This, my well analysed friend, is your creation, this is what you're a part of, this is your legacy, this is ANANDTECH!

While I won't deny we want to turn a profit on the forums, primarily I just want to keep them in the black so that they're self-supporting. Having a place for you guys to chat is important to me; I know the value of community and the opportunity to learn about technology from others.

Advertising is how we accomplish that, and the trick is keeping a balance between the need for the forums to pay for themselves, and the need to provide you guys with a good community.

^not when the cost of keeping me looking at adds is just adjusting the header up top to a fixed size.

Dixy, I'm glad we were able to solve your issue and allow you to keep the ads turned on.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

While I won't deny we want to turn a profit on the forums, primarily I just want to keep them in the black so that they're self-supporting. Having a place for you guys to chat is important to me; I know the value of community and the opportunity to learn about technology from others.

Advertising is how we accomplish that, and the trick is keeping a balance between the need for the forums to pay for themselves, and the need to provide you guys with a good community.

Dixy, I'm glad we were able to solve your issue and allow you to keep the ads turned on.

I love that ethos Ryan! A+++++ would complain to again

PS

Please Un-Ban The Flying Pig

 

[soccerballtux]

I came here to post something similar. The Ads always load after the main content. So I go to click on a link then the ad loads, causing everything to be shifted down, so the link I just clicked is not the one that I wanted. This happens several times a day. The header up top needs to be set to a fixed size rather than dynamic.

this was the funniest thing to me. it was intentionally made to load last under the assumption the forum servers will be responding instantly and you don't want to keep the browser waiting for ads to render while the rest of the content is ready.

it's a kind assumption because sometimes you'll get ad providers that go down or are slow to load. and other times, for dialup users-- the important stuff can load quickly and let the ad go in the background.

unfortunately the site pop-down of the ad at the top loading 500ms after the page has rendered, caused me to enable a blocker because I set my mousepointer where I expect the content to load before it loads.

 

[soccerballtux]

^not when the cost of keeping me looking at adds is just adjusting the header up top to a fixed size.

+1

 

[soccerballtux]

While I won't deny we want to turn a profit on the forums, primarily I just want to keep them in the black so that they're self-supporting. Having a place for you guys to chat is important to me; I know the value of community and the opportunity to learn about technology from others.

Advertising is how we accomplish that, and the trick is keeping a balance between the need for the forums to pay for themselves, and the need to provide you guys with a good community.

Dixy, I'm glad we were able to solve your issue and allow you to keep the ads turned on.

cool, just unblocked

 

[Crono]

I block ads here using extensions like AdBlock Plus and Ghostery, but only because the forums don't have a good history with them. There are plenty of cases (search past Forum Issues) where they've slowed page loading, had inappropriate content, were annoying in some way, performed tracking, or even possibly introduced some security vulnerability. Removing offending ads after the fact each time on a case-by-case isn't a great solution, in my opinion.

I understand the need to monetize the forums to at least pay for operating costs, but if you aren't going to vet the ads on an individual basis but rely on a network or marketing company to handle it, I'm not going to unblock. I would, however, be glad to (if given the option):

1) contribute a small amount directly via PayPal, credit/debit card portal, and/or BitPay or directly using Bitcoin

2) buy merchandise from an AnandTech store (hey, I'd love to buy an AnandTech mug, flash drives, mousepad, t-shirt, etc and it's additional advertising for you, as well) or even hardware if you guys buy your own and resell or partner with a company to sell items in a category you don't review/cover, e.g. it would be easy to sell case fans for a small profit)...

3) buy other products from third-party sites using affiliate links or codes, provided they are clearly marked in a thread (i.e. "How to Support The Anandtech Forums" as a stickied post), and not shadily added to existing links in forum members' posts, as is the case on some sites/forums. The podcast direct-advertising method is a good example of this (see TWiT, Stuff You Should Know, NPR podcasts, etc).

Maybe option 2 is too much work (and it really isn't if you are using a print-on-demand service), but the other 2 options are easy to implement and I would LOVE to support the forums more, but I'm just not a fan of ads unless they aren't intrusive or annoying, and are preferably relevant. I'm honestly happy to throw more money at you than you would be making off of me from ads (at least), just give me the option to!

 

[Dude111]

Alot of sites dont like members discussing blocking thier ads... We are lucky here the staff doesnt mind......

 

[Dr. Zaus]

Alot of sites dont like members discussing blocking thier ads... We are lucky here the staff doesnt mind......

It's a tech forum. Assuming that we are looking at ads for any reason other than an intention to support the forum would be foolhardy.

 

[Greenman]

While I won't deny we want to turn a profit on the forums, primarily I just want to keep them in the black so that they're self-supporting. Having a place for you guys to chat is important to me; I know the value of community and the opportunity to learn about technology from others.

Advertising is how we accomplish that, and the trick is keeping a balance between the need for the forums to pay for themselves, and the need to provide you guys with a good community.

Dixy, I'm glad we were able to solve your issue and allow you to keep the ads turned on.

That's a tough hair to split, I hope you can make it work.

 

[olds]

Alot of sites dont like members discussing blocking thier ads... We are lucky here the staff doesnt mind......

Anand's Ryan's name isn't Kyle.

 

[soccerballtux]

While I won't deny we want to turn a profit on the forums, primarily I just want to keep them in the black so that they're self-supporting. Having a place for you guys to chat is important to me; I know the value of community and the opportunity to learn about technology from others.

Advertising is how we accomplish that, and the trick is keeping a balance between the need for the forums to pay for themselves, and the need to provide you guys with a good community.

Dixy, I'm glad we were able to solve your issue and allow you to keep the ads turned on.

I have another request: I disabled the ad-blocker here but the rendering of the ad seems to cause the page to pop back up after scrolling down some. you can replicate this by scrolling down halfway. hit refresh. soon as it refreshes, scroll down with mousewheel. it should pop back up.

this is probably exacerbated by my fast rendering due to RAM-drive caching of Chrome's browser cache. other people's PCs might be delaying on the harddrive for the cache accesses. Also, I think this only happens when the ad changes. If it's the same ad, maybe it's loading from cache too hence sometimes unnoticable.

 

[soccerballtux]

While I won't deny we want to turn a profit on the forums, primarily I just want to keep them in the black so that they're self-supporting. Having a place for you guys to chat is important to me; I know the value of community and the opportunity to learn about technology from others.

Advertising is how we accomplish that, and the trick is keeping a balance between the need for the forums to pay for themselves, and the need to provide you guys with a good community.

Dixy, I'm glad we were able to solve your issue and allow you to keep the ads turned on.

also, keep us informed about in-the-black. we can probably rally everyone to disable their adblock for ATF if we're approaching red territory. someone should write a script that generates a progress bar that fills based on ATF monthly profit

 

[olds]

AnandTech will never get a handle on obtrusive ads. The forums are second to the articles and no one monitors ads. So my suggestions is that we just get real.

But as I type that and proof read this post, I know my input is for naught. These forums are dead. They were killed because Anand neglected them for so long. Because he brought in someone who was ill prepared to right them, (not that they needed righting, peers pressure is a bitch). And because interest in PC tech is/was waning.

It was like the perfect storm: there were too many forces against what the forum used to be. We have posters now that would have been nuked with a witty Mod edit that now drive this form into the depths of hell. We had to get touch/feely/pc and we have lost our edge. That sharp edge is what brought this forum to dominance many years ago.

It was Russ, Harvey, Perknose, Red Dawn and a host of others (sorry, no way I can name all) that poured their souls into this form. Collaborating/arguing/battling and finding their way to build what used to be the largest, English speaking tech forum on the Internet. That didn't happen by accident.

At one time I would have suggested that AnandTech sell merchandise to generate revenue. I would have bought t shirts, mugs, etc. (I was a subscriber). That could have generated revenue, but that ship has sailed.

Years ago, Jean wanted to have contests to drive page visits/interest but that went no where. The hierarchy wasn't interested in the forums.

So block the ads if they won't manage them It really won't make a difference. It's just a matter of time before these forums are dead of natural causes.

I will admit, it saddens me. I literally put hundreds if not thousand of hours into this place. It strained my marriage spending so much time answering emails from locked out members, helping people with FS/Trade deals gone bad, celebrating your triumphs, mourning your losses and banning trolls. But that was my choice because I cared and because I thought what I was doing helped grow the community and that it mattered. None of it did. It's just one of thousands (millions?) of Internet forums. It's no wonder I am a dick. And no, I am not going any where, just getting this off my chest and being emo.

AnandTech is dead. Long live AnandTech.

PS: Love you, RossMAN.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

AnandTech will never get a handle on obtrusive ads. The forums are second to the articles and no one monitors ads. So my suggestions is that we just get real.

But as I type that and proof read this post, I know my input is for naught. These forums are dead. They were killed because Anand neglected them for so long. Because he brought in someone who was ill prepared to right them, (not that they needed righting, peers pressure is a bitch). And because interest in PC tech is/was waning.

It was like the perfect storm: there were too many forces against what the forum used to be. We have posters now that would have been nuked with a witty Mod edit that now drive this form into the depths of hell. We had to get touch/feely/pc and we have lost our edge. That sharp edge is what brought this forum to dominance many years ago.

It was Russ, Harvey, Perknose, Red Dawn and a host of others (sorry, no way I can name all) that poured their souls into this form. Collaborating/arguing/battling and finding their way to build what used to be the largest, English speaking tech forum on the Internet. That didn't happen by accident.

At one time I would have suggested that AnandTech sell merchandise to generate revenue. I would have bought t shirts, mugs, etc. (I was a subscriber). That could have generated revenue, but that ship has sailed.

Years ago, Jean wanted to have contests to drive page visits/interest but that went no where. The hierarchy wasn't interested in the forums.

So block the ads if they won't manage them It really won't make a difference. It's just a matter of time before these forums are dead of natural causes.

I will admit, it saddens me. I literally put hundreds if not thousand of hours into this place. It strained my marriage spending so much time answering emails from locked out members, helping people with FS/Trade deals gone bad, celebrating your triumphs, mourning your losses and banning trolls. But that was my choice because I cared and because I thought what I was doing helped grow the community and that it mattered. None of it did. It's just one of thousands (millions?) of Internet forums. It's no wonder I am a dick. And no, I am not going any where, just getting this off my chest and being emo.

AnandTech is dead. Long live AnandTech.

PS: Love you, RossMAN.

I miss red dawn.

 

[Crono]

AnandTech will never get a handle on obtrusive ads. The forums are second to the articles and no one monitors ads. So my suggestions is that we just get real.

But as I type that and proof read this post, I know my input is for naught. These forums are dead. They were killed because Anand neglected them for so long. Because he brought in someone who was ill prepared to right them, (not that they needed righting, peers pressure is a bitch). And because interest in PC tech is/was waning.

It was like the perfect storm: there were too many forces against what the forum used to be. We have posters now that would have been nuked with a witty Mod edit that now drive this form into the depths of hell. We had to get touch/feely/pc and we have lost our edge. That sharp edge is what brought this forum to dominance many years ago.

It was Russ, Harvey, Perknose, Red Dawn and a host of others (sorry, no way I can name all) that poured their souls into this form. Collaborating/arguing/battling and finding their way to build what used to be the largest, English speaking tech forum on the Internet. That didn't happen by accident.

At one time I would have suggested that AnandTech sell merchandise to generate revenue. I would have bought t shirts, mugs, etc. (I was a subscriber). That could have generated revenue, but that ship has sailed.

Years ago, Jean wanted to have contests to drive page visits/interest but that went no where. The hierarchy wasn't interested in the forums.

So block the ads if they won't manage them It really won't make a difference. It's just a matter of time before these forums are dead of natural causes.

I will admit, it saddens me. I literally put hundreds if not thousand of hours into this place. It strained my marriage spending so much time answering emails from locked out members, helping people with FS/Trade deals gone bad, celebrating your triumphs, mourning your losses and banning trolls. But that was my choice because I cared and because I thought what I was doing helped grow the community and that it mattered. None of it did. It's just one of thousands (millions?) of Internet forums. It's no wonder I am a dick. And no, I am not going any where, just getting this off my chest and being emo.

AnandTech is dead. Long live AnandTech.

PS: Love you, RossMAN.

I agree with everything you posted.

 

[cabri]

It was felt that the dinosaur had to evolve to survive. But the evolutionary time line sped up to fast.

Look at the length of time that FuseTalk was used and the continual problems with it. Number of releases behind.

The switch to vB and still problems exist and seem to get ignored

Change of cultures that have happened and the repercussions of such stll prowl the internet.

Mods that left, exiled and/or driven out.

Same with members.

Bad social/forum behaivor is tolerated and encouraged. Entertainment without consequences.

Adapt or die.

The forums have morphed into something different than the original.

While change is good it may also be destructive.

The forums are the red headed step child of the main site still.

Anand created that attitude and some of it stll exists.