Question re: Ads

[simonlaing]

Hey Roddy,

Occasionally when I hit the homepage the first post in the right hand side is a graphic AD.

I don't mind ads but for a while there I thought it was part of the post (which is wasn't). So the Trick would be some way that the Ads are compartmentalized.

The way to have it now as a listing is not bad. I have even clicked on a few of them that looked interesting, VPN and others.

If it does have the Ad could you put it at the bottom of the summary or on the right side just so I realize it is an Ad and not part of the actual post.

Some 2 cents on it.

have fun,

SImon:)

P.S. are you back in the P.R. of C again?

[crazy-meiguoren]

I'm OK with the ad placement as is - a banner ad at the top with sponsored links at the bottom. This is the least annoying option. Like the others, I think that the flash ads are very annoying, and the ads that float across the screen are even worse. No pop ups or pop unders either.

I also do not like the ads that are targeted locally, based upon IP address or the servers used in the local region. Makes me feel like I'm being followed.

I wish my ISP had your attitude about ads, Roddy. I pay 50 bucks a month for service and still get bombarded - usually by doing nothing more than letting my mouse roll over the ad to get to where I want to go.

[trevelyan]

I think it's a great balance as is. I don't mind seeing some advertising when signed it, but don't like the sorts of pervasive advertising on many other sites.

[roddy]

Simon - if it says 'ad' or 'sponsor' or similar on it, it's an ad. I suspect the one you're talking about is only visible to guests, so the problem should disappear when you log in. Or learn that there's an ad there.

The ads served by Google can be IP targeted - it just depends if anyone is interested in your particular location. I've seen ads specific to Beijing, and I just saw one for a nearby pizza restaurant. Some of them can also be animated, but they don't tend to be too flashy - I think Google limits what they can do.

[simonlaing]

Yes I think you're right about the just being a guest part.

I log on to Chinese-forums from a couple of different machines so that could be the problem. I notice the ad supported line now. (What can I say I like to read the forums a lot)

It is not so bad and doesn't pop out at you. I like Youku.com but every so often they have a pop out video ad, same with random US newspapers like wall street journals.

Things seem fairly good now on the forums. I was wondering we have links to TV shows are there any plans to link to Music?

have fun,

Simon:)