2nd BANNER - POPUP TRADE-OFF

[MarkG]

As of today we are giving you an option regarding the ads that are show in the forums(note: this is only for the forums. the ads on the rest of the site remain as they are)

The definition of "trade-off" requires a positive and a negative part. Which one do you want to hear first? Anyway...

The good thing is that you wont see the second ad that appeares under the UGO ad on the top(again, only in the forums). These banners are handled directly by us and this is why we can take them off. My personal experience during the last few days using the option is that loading times are better.

The bad thing is that when you enter the main forum page for the first time of your visit(and only in the first time) you will be geting one (single) pop-up ad.


How to enable the option:
- Simply go to styles settings in your options page and select one of the "Special" styles. There is a "Special" equivalent for every existing style.

Notes on the pop-up:
- Dont close it! Eitherwise, the next time you visit the front forum page you will get a new one.
- When you revisit the front page after the first visit a window that doesnt pop-up on you may be created. Simply ignore it, it's a temporary window that closes automatically after a couple of seconds. At all times you will only be seeing the forum page, nothing else.

Got a pop-up while you didnt enable any of the special styles?
- There seems to be a small bug with the styles(unrelated with the ads), and sometimes the style setting is reset. To correct this just go the options page and press the submit button(the right style appears as the selected option already).
- You may also be geting the pop-up if you are logged out. Login so that you can use the style you have selected

Why go into the trouble of changing?
- Because you wont be downloading and seeing ads that rarely interest and because you'll be helping Apolyton

[Urban Ranger]

How would this help more than a second banner?

[MarkG]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
How would this help more than a second banner?

cause pop-ups pay better than our normal ads....

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Ming
If they wanted to do that, they would not make it an option.
Instead, they would just sell their souls to the highest bidder, and swamp us with tons of pop up ads.

You mean like they did with e-bay?

[DinoDoc]

Space-time discontinuity

Why does my reply to Ming appear before his post?

[Immortal Wombat]

Because monetary return is in direct proportion to irritatingness.

[Gibsie]

Good thing that I have the OT page bookmarked so I avoid the pop-up

[Gibsie]

Oh hang on, you're saying we can have either two ads or a pop-up? i'll take the two ads... well, I prefer two ads. Plus, either Apolyton is loading slow or loading normally for me- the banners always load regardless. So... happy happy joy joy

[MarkG]

Originally posted by Gibsie
Oh hang on, you're saying we can have either two ads or a pop-up?

either two ads on every page or one ad on every page and a single pop-up for a single time when you enter the forums

[Provost Harrison]

Only one word: Proxomitron. If I find I am going to suffer from loads of pop up ads, it will be reactivated. At the moment there aren't any so I don't care, but if they return en masse like the e-bay one and the whirl girl or whatever she was called...on it goes!

[MarkG]

Originally posted by Gibsie
Good thing that I have the OT page bookmarked so I avoid the pop-up

well, there will be one time you will get out of the OT wont you?


say, we could have the pop-up on the OT as well, but for everyone, not just those with the special styles

[Immortal Wombat]

thankyou for killing this site

[Ming]

Originally posted by Immortal Wombat
thankyou for killing this site

HUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If they wanted to do that, they would not make it an option.
Instead, they would just sell their souls to the highest bidder, and swamp us with tons of pop up ads. And to your point, that would probably chase a bunch of people.

But they didn't do that! They are giving us an option!
They should be commended for allowing us to choose how we receive the advertising. How many sites do you know that do that.

[Immortal Wombat]

oh god...

I really thought I wouldn't have to make this second post, but here I am writing it...

Yes, I understand all the work that goes into the site. I love the site, and love everything about it. I realise the need for ads, and I realise that the choice is much more than any other sites would give, and I am happy to make the decision, it probably won't bother me much.

Perhaps I should have quoted, but my remark was about the compulsory pop-up in the OT section. Now Mark is defiant that the popularity of the OT is not neccessary to the continuation of the site, (nor should it be IMO) but a pop-up there would be a pain.
I also realise that that idea was a joke, so I replied in kind, with a joke. In the "Glonk's trolling" thread, Mark uses those exact words to Glonk/Asher, and I was merely re-using them in such a way to invoke perhaps amusement, with the thought that though owners need the punters, the punters won't come here in the owners are cruel.

It was merely a throwaway remark, and really I commend the whole ads/popups decision, in its entirety.

[connorkimbro]

There IS an option that hasn't been mentioned yet. . seeing no pop-ups or banners of any kind. . but I don't think Mark and Dan would appreciate it, so i won't mention how to do it, even though many people probably know of it already.