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Forums - Website Topics - Why Ad Blocking is devastating to the sites you love

cdude1034 on 08 March 2010
ioi said:

Not sure especially why we're even entertaining this line of discussion but go and visit Eurogamer. I count a background ad which swallows up to banner ads top right (3 ads total), a square ad and leaderboard down the page and a further 5-6 mini ads all over the site advertising partnerships like get games, shopto and so on. Go to MCV and I counted a background ad and the top 2 ads again (3 in total) with a further square ad under the article, 12 rectangle ads down the right side of the page and varios logos and banner advertising partnerships on the bottom. I see twelve different ads and promotions on gamesradar. On VGChartz we currently have a skin and header (which are internal promotions i.e we're not making money from them) and 4 banner ads on most pages, 5 on news pages and 6 in total on a long forum thread.

I don't see the quantity, placement or style of ads we use on VGChartz as being atypical.

There is an element of mutual respect but that is why we don't show pornograpic ads, ads that take over the whole screen, ads that are offensive and so on. The actual content and quantity of the ads is down to us at the end of the day and we chose whether to "tone it down a peg" or not. Back to the core issue here - if you don't like it then you have two options - not use the site or to pay for an ad-free version.

Now I'm not here to say anything about the ads; you have every right to make money, but you do have an ad that "takes over the whole screen" (The opening ad when you get to the site - this ad will destruct in 15 secs - that ad. No it doesn't take up the entire screen, but it does hijack your screen until you skip it.)

Also, are you really suggesting people leave if they don't like it? I've been using this site almost since its inception, and I have to say, that attitude is a far cry from the humble beginning it had. Personally, I don't think alienation is the route to take. The more people you drive out, the more the community suffers, and the less people want to participate, leading to even less revenue for you.



 

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jefforange89 on 08 March 2010
cdude1034 said:
ioi said:

Not sure especially why we're even entertaining this line of discussion but go and visit Eurogamer. I count a background ad which swallows up to banner ads top right (3 ads total), a square ad and leaderboard down the page and a further 5-6 mini ads all over the site advertising partnerships like get games, shopto and so on. Go to MCV and I counted a background ad and the top 2 ads again (3 in total) with a further square ad under the article, 12 rectangle ads down the right side of the page and varios logos and banner advertising partnerships on the bottom. I see twelve different ads and promotions on gamesradar. On VGChartz we currently have a skin and header (which are internal promotions i.e we're not making money from them) and 4 banner ads on most pages, 5 on news pages and 6 in total on a long forum thread.

I don't see the quantity, placement or style of ads we use on VGChartz as being atypical.

There is an element of mutual respect but that is why we don't show pornograpic ads, ads that take over the whole screen, ads that are offensive and so on. The actual content and quantity of the ads is down to us at the end of the day and we chose whether to "tone it down a peg" or not. Back to the core issue here - if you don't like it then you have two options - not use the site or to pay for an ad-free version.

Now I'm not here to say anything about the ads; you have every right to make money, but you do have an ad that "takes over the whole screen" (The opening ad when you get to the site - this ad will destruct in 15 secs - that ad. No it doesn't take up the entire screen, but it does hijack your screen until you skip it.)

Also, are you really suggesting people leave if they don't like it? I've been using this site almost since its inception, and I have to say, that attitude is a far cry from the humble beginning it had. Personally, I don't think alienation is the route to take. The more people you drive out, the more the community suffers, and the less people want to participate, leading to even less revenue for you.

And conversely, the less ad revenue, the more the site suffers anyhow.



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llewdebkram on 08 March 2010
cdude1034 said:
ioi said:

Not sure especially why we're even entertaining this line of discussion but go and visit Eurogamer. I count a background ad which swallows up to banner ads top right (3 ads total), a square ad and leaderboard down the page and a further 5-6 mini ads all over the site advertising partnerships like get games, shopto and so on. Go to MCV and I counted a background ad and the top 2 ads again (3 in total) with a further square ad under the article, 12 rectangle ads down the right side of the page and varios logos and banner advertising partnerships on the bottom. I see twelve different ads and promotions on gamesradar. On VGChartz we currently have a skin and header (which are internal promotions i.e we're not making money from them) and 4 banner ads on most pages, 5 on news pages and 6 in total on a long forum thread.

I don't see the quantity, placement or style of ads we use on VGChartz as being atypical.

There is an element of mutual respect but that is why we don't show pornograpic ads, ads that take over the whole screen, ads that are offensive and so on. The actual content and quantity of the ads is down to us at the end of the day and we chose whether to "tone it down a peg" or not. Back to the core issue here - if you don't like it then you have two options - not use the site or to pay for an ad-free version.

Now I'm not here to say anything about the ads; you have every right to make money, but you do have an ad that "takes over the whole screen" (The opening ad when you get to the site - this ad will destruct in 15 secs - that ad. No it doesn't take up the entire screen, but it does hijack your screen until you skip it.)

Also, are you really suggesting people leave if they don't like it? I've been using this site almost since its inception, and I have to say, that attitude is a far cry from the humble beginning it had. Personally, I don't think alienation is the route to take. The more people you drive out, the more the community suffers, and the less people want to participate, leading to even less revenue for you.

Yea but money corrupts and ultimately money is more important than any user or consumer no matter how loyal they have been to the brand.

Just look at Cadbury's in the UK....we want more money so stuff you workers, stuff you consumers, stuff you UK.



CrashMan on 08 March 2010

I personally have never clicked on an internet ad. They are 99% horribly misleading and pervasive to the internet experience.

If I want to buy something, I will find it and buy it. I do not need products shoved down my throat.

It is particularly annoying when sites have the majority of the viewing space filled with ads or other clickable content. Then when I try to give the window focus by clicking on what I thougt was empty space on the page, OOPS you clicked an ad.



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Kemsus on 08 March 2010

been reading through this whole thread and i must say: there is some flawed arguments on both sides in my opinion.

if you want people who block ads to stay away maybe you really should change it so it worked that way or change it to a premium subscription site instead a "free" site as it is now.
You can't expect people to view something when it is not mandatory.

and for those who block the ads, if it is for security reasons i fully agree about your decision if it is just because they annoy it is kinda undermining the economy of the site.

i personally sit in the blocker camp because of security reasons, dont want to risk anything, have tried that before and took me days to get my computer cleaned out.

There are valid arguments on both sides, but if you at VGC really need the money so bad you should probably change it to a site with payment options...

just my 2 cents



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Max20 on 08 March 2010
llewdebkram said:
cdude1034 said:
ioi said:

Not sure especially why we're even entertaining this line of discussion but go and visit Eurogamer. I count a background ad which swallows up to banner ads top right (3 ads total), a square ad and leaderboard down the page and a further 5-6 mini ads all over the site advertising partnerships like get games, shopto and so on. Go to MCV and I counted a background ad and the top 2 ads again (3 in total) with a further square ad under the article, 12 rectangle ads down the right side of the page and varios logos and banner advertising partnerships on the bottom. I see twelve different ads and promotions on gamesradar. On VGChartz we currently have a skin and header (which are internal promotions i.e we're not making money from them) and 4 banner ads on most pages, 5 on news pages and 6 in total on a long forum thread.

I don't see the quantity, placement or style of ads we use on VGChartz as being atypical.

There is an element of mutual respect but that is why we don't show pornograpic ads, ads that take over the whole screen, ads that are offensive and so on. The actual content and quantity of the ads is down to us at the end of the day and we chose whether to "tone it down a peg" or not. Back to the core issue here - if you don't like it then you have two options - not use the site or to pay for an ad-free version.

Now I'm not here to say anything about the ads; you have every right to make money, but you do have an ad that "takes over the whole screen" (The opening ad when you get to the site - this ad will destruct in 15 secs - that ad. No it doesn't take up the entire screen, but it does hijack your screen until you skip it.)

Also, are you really suggesting people leave if they don't like it? I've been using this site almost since its inception, and I have to say, that attitude is a far cry from the humble beginning it had. Personally, I don't think alienation is the route to take. The more people you drive out, the more the community suffers, and the less people want to participate, leading to even less revenue for you.

Yea but money corrupts and ultimately money is more important than any user or consumer no matter how loyal they have been to the brand.

Just look at Cadbury's in the UK....we want more money so stuff you workers, stuff you consumers, stuff you UK.

Kraft bought em so it will prob get worse.



llewdebkram on 08 March 2010
Kemsus said:
been reading through this whole thread and i must say: there is some flawed arguments on both sides in my opinion.

if you want people who block ads to stay away maybe you really should change it so it worked that way or change it to a premium subscription site instead a "free" site as it is now.
You can expect people to view something when it is not mandatory.

and for those who block the ads, if it is for security reasons i fully agree about your decision if it is just because they annoy it is kinda undermining the economy of the site.

i personally sit in the blocker camp because of security reasons, dont want to risk anything, have tried that before and took me days to get my computer cleaned out.

There are valid arguments on both sides, but if you at VGC really need the money so bad you should probably change it to a site with payment options...

just my 2 cents

Ads don't bother me, I don't even notice them unless they are the ones that start playing some movie clip, which are annoying but rare.

Ads can actully brighten up an otherwise dull screen full of grey rectangles due to ad block.

I really really do not trust this site when it comes to malicious code in ads, and looking through the forums for other users threads since the inception of this site, it is worryingly an all too regular occurrence.

 



dib8rman on 08 March 2010

O RLY?

So people who were at internet cafe's, on a network, or simply at work(... etc) were thought to be maliciously attacking VGC's bottom line.

Maybe if the way to revenue is set, then the way revenue is absorbed needs a little shifting.



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Chrizum on 08 March 2010
ioi said:
cdude1034 said:

Also, are you really suggesting people leave if they don't like it? I've been using this site almost since its inception, and I have to say, that attitude is a far cry from the humble beginning it had. Personally, I don't think alienation is the route to take. The more people you drive out, the more the community suffers, and the less people want to participate, leading to even less revenue for you.

Again, you seem to miss the point here. If it was your bank account that the serving fees, hosting fees, staff fees, data collection fees, expenses and so on were coming out of then I'm sure you'd approach this in a pretty serious manner as well! This isn't a charity, everything that is provided costs money and they money needs to be generated just like in any business.

I have no issues driving out people who are costing the site money without giving anything back (and giving back includes more than just allowing ads - all those who volunteer to help run the database and moderate the forums are giving back to the site in their own way and if anything, they are the ones who would immediately benefit from reducing costs or increasing site revenue as we could afford to start paying them for the work they do along with the rest of the staff).

I'd say people creating good topics, posting well-made posts and occasionally helping out with the game database are of value to the site as well, but hey that's just me.



NJ5 on 08 March 2010
Chrizum said:
ioi said:
cdude1034 said:

Also, are you really suggesting people leave if they don't like it? I've been using this site almost since its inception, and I have to say, that attitude is a far cry from the humble beginning it had. Personally, I don't think alienation is the route to take. The more people you drive out, the more the community suffers, and the less people want to participate, leading to even less revenue for you.

Again, you seem to miss the point here. If it was your bank account that the serving fees, hosting fees, staff fees, data collection fees, expenses and so on were coming out of then I'm sure you'd approach this in a pretty serious manner as well! This isn't a charity, everything that is provided costs money and they money needs to be generated just like in any business.

I have no issues driving out people who are costing the site money without giving anything back (and giving back includes more than just allowing ads - all those who volunteer to help run the database and moderate the forums are giving back to the site in their own way and if anything, they are the ones who would immediately benefit from reducing costs or increasing site revenue as we could afford to start paying them for the work they do along with the rest of the staff).

I'd say people creating good topics, posting well-made posts and occasionally helping out with the game database are of value to the site as well, but hey that's just me.

I was going to say something similar... one can't outright dismiss or easily calculate a person's contribution whether or not the person is seeing the ads.

There are many complicated factors involved. If VGC truly has many users who block ads, banning them from the site could easily decrease ad revenue gained from other people if it made the site less interesting.

 



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