Advertisments in Thread? - Page 4

My only problem with this is when I click on a DVD-A link I get an advert for Michael Moore's DVD. It seems to me it would be better to be more neutral politically. Or better yet have the link go to DVDAs or DVD-music videos.

I certainly support new revenue sources for the forum as I have enjoyed it for free for some time and I realize a need to cover costs.

This sort of in-your-face advertising turns me off completely to any retailer who utilizes it. Sure, it could be argued that these links are not as intrusive as, say, pop-ups, but such an argument is moot (to me, it's like saying it is worse to get kicked in the groin than poked in the eye; maybe so, but that doesn't mean I want to get poked in the eye).

Maybe I don't understand marketing (or the general public), but being force-fed an advertisement has, to me, the opposite of the intended effect. And labeling it "intellitext", as if I'm supposed to embrace this new technology? Give me a break. The last bit of underlined text I hovered over - the word 'windows' - prompted an ad from Sears suggesting that I might want to buy new windows for my home.

I understand the need to generate revenue for the site, I really do. I am all for a subscription-based option that would free me from being subjected to any ads at all (much like the DVD Profiler subscription option, which I love).

I have more to say, of course, but I gotta run now. I have to give Sears a call and see when I can get an estimate on those new windows.

Jon

Thank God that I have Firefox and Adblock so I do not have to see the "intellitext" ads. I hate ads on the Internet, and I make serious efforts to block them whether they are banners, pop-ups, text, and "intellitext." It has been nearly an ad-free Internet experience since I started using Adblock. Ron and Parker, please consider as others had said before me.

By the way, Ron and Parker, do you approve the messages on the ads (even one advertising a controversial film by Michael Moore) like candidates for public office must do on their television and radio ads?

Since I strongly believe in paying for quality, I suggest moving the HTF to either a donation or subscription system. I like the subscription system because I am wary of a donation system because of my bad personal experiences with money and influence. The HTF will lose much of its independence or be bewitched if it depends on the donations of a small group of influencial donors (especially corporate or industry). I would like the HTF to have no direct or indirect ifluences from corporations or powerful individuals.

Ron, does clicking on every ad on the opening forums page help at all?
I have been doing this every time I have visited HTF in the last four days, takes no time at all.

Does it help?

Kevin - the answer is, we could do that, but the advertisers need to see a return on investment. So, if you need cables, click on a cable site link and buy. If there is a comment area, tell them you found them from Home Theater Forum - that would help a LOT.

Also, I don't know how things are setup, but a lot of people buy speakers from SVS, Swan, AV123, etc. - I bet a lot of people are just typing the URL - coming to this site and using the link would help (if the ad is linked from thsi site to theirs)

Thank's, but I'd rather hear it from Ron.

However, if that's the case then I'm sorry but there isn't much I need from the links, now if they somehow could get DeepDiscountDVD or DVD Empire to be a sponsor then I would be glad to boost HTF. But the various links provided offer nothing I don't already have or can't get at a better price elsewhere locally (I have friends).

Ron

I respectfully disagree. It would separate the wheat from the chaff so to speak.

Are you operating a business or a public service? Your decision of course. But if it's really going to be a business, then fee based membership is IMO a good idea

People are willing to pay a mandatory fee for a quality product. Checkout That Home Site! Forums It's one of the best forums on the web. If one want's to post on the majority of it's forums, one must donate.

Regards
ThomasW

Or, how bout dis:

You could still use this place for free, but might be limited on how many posts one could start (like 1 a week) and how many you could reply to. Also, there would be more ads.

If you donated a small amount (seriously, like $5-10/year), there would be no ads, ability to post HT-related pictures on this forum, etc.

No idea, just throwing some out.

I am on a bunch of other forums that are free and they are able to do fine with JUST banner ads.

Wow. 20 cents per person would've met the goal. I chipped in $10 for the last drive, and I thought I was being cheap, considering all the advice and information I've gotten from this place.

I wonder if there was a significant number of people who thought chipping in a buck or two would be insulting, when in fact it would've been more than sufficient.

As for the Intellitext, I would have to agree with most of you. The links are only a mild nuissance to me, but I think they are of little value to us (and even the advertisers), as generic and irrelevant they are to the linked text.

The links don't bother me. I've clicked a few just out of curiousity (particularly the unrelated-to-HT ones)... and if it's something that'll help keep the HTF alive, I'm all for it. They're better than the animated float-over ads you find on news sites and the like.

Like someone mentioned before though, I value member opinions more than adverts when it comes to product recommendations.

Now, if we could just get Intellitxt to highlight spelling mistakes and grammatical errors... that would be fun.

I don't know if intellitext is to blame, but my browsing of the HTF is slower than it was and I'm using a cable modem. So if this new scheme is to blame then I'm definitely against it, because it's damned annoying.

Dana in MD

If you do decide to get rid of intellitext I have seen an alternative that is made especially for forums. I have tried looking but I can't find who does it, but I have seen on some forums where the last post on each thread is sponsored links. I think it works a lot like google adsense but instead of having the google box it puts the ads in the last post of the thread. It maybe a good alternative?

For the record - I don't really mind the links.

It also appears that the sites TweakXP and Tom's Hardware Guide is using this as well.

In my opinion (and I hope this doesn't get me into trouble)...

At the time of the last donation drive I suggested to Ron that the ability to donate be available year-round. That way people can donate when they want/can and not be limited to just a specific period of time. Unfortunately due to my memory slipping I cannot quote the exact reply from Ron but he did not want to have it up all the time.

I would again suggest that ability to donate be available all the time. That way the people here who say they would be happy to donate could and others who can't at this time but can at a later date have the ability to do so.

Pretty crappy. I sent $50, not a lot, but what I felt it was worth. If everyone would have just chipped in $1. [img]images/smilies/frown.gif[/img]



Sometimes, people don't realize the costs. Ron, I respect you're trying to make sure you break even.. people sometimes expect business to run at a loss, it just doesn't work that way. If Intellitext works out and you have a good revenue stream, keep it.



It seems most of the suggestions are more to do with the quality of links Intellitext is providing then an outright opposition to it.

Check out the Premium Membership setup at Reef Central http://www.reefcentral.com/premium_membership.php for $24 a year folks can have some added things such as...



"A spell checker integrated into your posts, replies and private messages

Increased picture storage space from 2 MB to 5 MB

Increased picture size limits from 50 KB to 100 KB

The ability to backup your private messages and have them emailed to you

Higher server load availability (less server busy messages)

Higher search engine availability (less search disabled messages)

The ability to post events on the RC Calendar

The I support RC logo as part of your profile"



From what I understand they do quite well with it even though a majority of the 73,000+ members don't participate. It's a nice solution because it doesn't limit membership, but at the same time gives some small things to those who choose to help support a resource they find valuble. You could even make the Intelitext stuff disabled for Premium Members maybe.



Just a thought.

Most of the websites I visit have recently instituted those wretched "trailer" ads or big blocky things with loud audio attached. Good lord are they awful.



So when I read that HTF is adding these minor little URL ads, I find very little to complain about. Whatever helps to keep the site running is just fine by me.

Are they still on? I'm not seeing them at all using Firefox, yet I see them on toms hardware, so I know it isn't my browser settings.

My $0.02...it's annoying as hell, but it would be much more annoying to have HTF offline alltogether. So, I say if it helps keep HTF online (i.e. makes a substantial, whatever that means to Parker and Ron), contribution) let's keep it.

Update: Things don't seem as slow now. Perhaps the problem was occurring because the hard drive was about to die.



Dana in MD

Ron and Parker: I think this is not a public service, it's a business. I don't mind that. I don't want you to break even. I WANT you to make a profit. Profit motive results in quality product. This forum is a quality product. That said, I am annoyed by the links and want to see them go. A couple of years ago, when there were a few banner ads, I clicked on them regularly, because for the most part they were ads from companies who posted and educated us regularly, as well as represented good value. The banner ads proliferated, the opening page has become a complex, fulsome thing that I liken to a newspaper page that is 95% advertising. Proliferation begets disinterest in all those ads. I agree 100% with Jan Strnad's post (#39) and Linda Thompson's post (#49).

Also, let me add my vote to what you consider an insignificant minority: I agree with ThomasW in that I would support a paid subscription. BTW, I do not agree that we are an insignificant minority. Wheat, not chaff.

I donated $50 because I post quite a bit, I learn quite a bit, and I help educate newbies a tiny bit, and there was no personal request tied to my donation other than my note encouraging you guys to keep the pressure on studios to release high-quality OAR DVD movies.

It's been said, but I will repeat that the advertising proliferation, be it minimally unobtrusive, has further numbed me. I watch almost no television, mainly because of mindless, materialistic, disrespectful content, but the straw that broke this camel's back, is the logos and banners on TV in my home.



Please reconsider subscriptions. How about this: subscribers get to post; non-subscribers get to read only. Newbies are allowed to post only X number of times, then are required to subscribe. Instead of a handful of us donating $50, if 75% of the regular members paid $25 a year, would you be profitable? I bet that 50% or less would make it a profitable business.

Thanks for reading my opinions, and I hope you find a resolution.

I like the subscription idea too, but I fear that some of us are not $$ endowed. We could lose valuable members that way.

I know that everyone that is signed up here isn't posting regularly, and if it would be possible, it would be nice to know how many of us are left! [img]images/smilies/smile.gif[/img] If a member didn't post for a year, could they be dropped? (sort of like a magazine subscription).

That way, we would have a more accurate idea of the number of posters. I would like to see after that, a - cost per member - and go from there. If it ended up being $25 a year it would be easy for most of us. (slightly higher than a DVD). Some of us could easily support 2 or 3 others.

Glenn

The chance of 75% paying is exceptionally low.

I also noted that I think 50% or less subscription rate would still be a profitable situation. And, it could be less than $25. That's for the owners to figure out. My point is that there are not just a handfull that would subscribe. It would be about the same as a magazine subscription, but MUCH more informative, include real-time interaction, contain some very objective product reviews/comments, etc, etc. Much more value for the money than any magazine.

I see the unIntellitext ads increasing page load times, and not providing relevant ads. The key to click-throughs is providing relevant information. While reading through threads, I find strange words highlighted, and sometimes words highlighted that make sense, when I hover over curiously, provide a hint of an advert that is very inappropriate to "Home Theater"



I'm working from memory now because they don't seem to be loading at all for me at the moment.

At first I was wondering what everyone was talking about, I didn't see these "intellitext" links. I then enabled javascript in Firefox and voila, there they were so I quickly disabled javascript and away they went.

Personally, I don't like them and thankfully, I don't have to see them.

Ideally, this could be something we could set up in our member options to allow in our posts (leave the default to yes). However, I'm sure you would see most people turning off the feature pretty darn quick.

For those of you who don't like it, get Firefox today [img]images/smilies/smile.gif[/img]

JB

You don't need to disable Javascript in Firefox to disable Intellitext, you can also disable the script itself using the extention in Firefox called Adblock. Therefore, you can still browse many websites that use javascript and still not get intellitext.

Like many others, it affected my browsing in a major fashion so I disabled it with Firefox and Adblock.

Jay

quote:

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People are willing to pay a mandatory fee for a quality product. Checkout That Home Site! Forums It's one of the best forums on the web. If one want's to post on the majority of it's forums, one must donate.

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The only reason sites like that appear to work is because of the type of people that frequent the site aren't very savy in knowing that they can find the exact same information elsewhere for free. Just look at AOL. People initially signed up like crazy, they had a ton of members all paying for the AOL specific content. But then people started realizing you can get the same stuff elsewhere and so much more for just (at the time) 19.95 for dial up access. People have been fleeing AOL ever since. Paying for opinions on the internet (which is basically what HTF is, a site containing many many personal opinions and experiences), will never work as long as there are free sites out there and newsgroups. Everything would have to go to pay per use in order for it to work, and thats never going to happen. Sites come and go, good ones disappear only to be replaced by new ones that are just as good.



I don't like the Intellitxt at all. It DOES slow down the rendering of pages, even on firefox with a fast connection.

AdBlock can block far more than just the Intellitext. I've never had pages load so fast before. That's a great plug-in! Thanks for the suggestion!