Blackie

Ah never mind I believe I just figured it out you have to keep posting it moves to the last post.

Blackie

So if I just keep posting I move it down like this.

ChuckAuger

My Feedback: (12)

Matt, if you have ever changed the channel during a commercial on TV, you are guilty of doing the same thing. It is second nature for me to try to avoid commercials there, and I do the same thing here. I don't get a guilt trip from CBS telling me I should be thankful that I get to see those commercials.

Using the TV analogy further, I used to enjoy AMC, American Movie Classics. They ran commercial free classic movies. Now they have LOTS of commercials, and the movies are sometimes less than classics (and now they are heavily censored as well). I still watch there occasionally if they are playing something I can suffer through commercials to watch, but I usually just skip on by.

As I stated earlier, I have never clicked on an ad here (maybe by mistake, and I have clicked a couple of Billy Hell's Hobby Lobby ads, but not because I am shopping). You can put an ad in every post and it still won't get me to click it, or buy anything. So the ads are obviously not aimed at the users of this site (unless I'm totally alone in not using them...whadda ya think??), they are placed there so they can get more page hits added to the books.

And that's fine, that's business. Just don't expect me to do a double back flip with joy everytime another new way of generating those hits presents itself.

BasinBum

My Feedback: (2)

It's capitalism at it's best. Marc can add whatever he wants and if I don't like it I can go elsewhere. If enough people want an alternative it will be there. He has to walk that tightrope between the users of the forums and his advertisers. I have clicked on links and encourage Chuck and others to do the same if for no other reason as to pump up the stats for Marc to make some sales and keep the place going. I hope he makes some money from RCU as I enjoy using it. I don't feel compelled to look at ads and most of the time I am oblivious of them (some would say I'm oblivious to more than that). I happen to like the ads in RC magazines and check them out as much as the articles. The channel skipping analogy is a good one.

Cactus.

My Feedback: (1)

I warned you about SPAM, one of us has something.. ( this is the second time i've posted this, didn't show the first time???!!! )

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hookedonrc

I can certainly appreciate the dilemma that Marc finds himself in and do not want to create an atmosphere where he has to start talking about fees again. Will I leave the site because of these minor annoyances....no. Do I have a problem with the number of ads on the site itself....no. In fact, I have clicked on a few...a real few. My annoyance is that we could have at least been advised that it was going to happen. Otherwise, I have more serious things to worry about.

Cactus.

My Feedback: (1)

lol
now we have a new page i see 4 adverts and one post[&:][:'(]

dunno why i got the ***SPAM*** thing in my mail, anyone else getting that attached to the subject on legitimate mails??

Jean13704

. . .

I have no problem seeing the ads at the top and bottom of the page. Heck, I have even made some purchases based on those ads (Donalds Hobby comes to mind). But like I said when the middle of the page ads showed up the first time (a while ago), I will be sure not to by anything from an advertiser that pops up in the middle of the page.

Don't get me wrong, Marc and the RCU team do a great job. I understand the need for advertising to keep the site free, and money flowing to Marc for his work and dedication (I hope is realizing some benefit by now anyway). But, there is a point of advertising overload. The ads in the middle of the page reach that point. I hate pop ups also, but at least I can block those.

If it is being a whiner to express your likes and dislikes rather than sitting there and taking it, I am proud to be called one!
[/quote]


I agree completely. I also will make it a point NOT to buy anything advertised in the middle of the page. If enough people would follow this policy, I think we would soon see an end of these middle-of the-page ads. Are you listening, Marc?

BasinBum

My Feedback: (2)

Hey Jesse Jackson,
Don't you think the ads are random placement within the forums?

Jean13704

Matt:

You asked for suggestions. Here's one. Just pattern RCU after RC Groups. RCG is a much better site in my opinion with respect to how they present ads.

mvigod

the ad is not in the middle of the page. It only shows when you click "new posts" and appears directly above the new post. Having an ad at the top of a page you enter is common business practice for 8 years plus. It is the most common ad delivery spot you will find. What some aren't used to is bypassing that ad everytime they click new post thus NEVER seeing any ad at all. Now you will actually see the ad when clicking new posts as it appears at the top of the browser on the next screen.

If you navigate to a thread normally or click next page it doesn't appear. The only reason for this was to avoid the bypass of the top banner which happened everytime somebody clicks "new post". Simple and harmless. If an ad which is RC related is not to your liking don't click on it. RCU is largely advertiser supported because that is what the members wanted. Unlike some of those "better" sites I am going to make sure that RCU is here for the long haul and can thrive and provide more services and better services than those sites.

The poster above says we should pattern ourselves after another site. I disagree. Doing that makes us another "me too" site and if that was the case why bother. Our site offers services and features that NO other site has whether RC or not. These services and content cost time and money and to continue to give to members all these things they asked for requires different business strategies. If you want to buy $200 of the shelf software and start an rc forum you could do it and compete with RCU within 24 hours. What you would have is another site which is nothing more than a forum and a suggestion forum that fills up with requests for more. We are different from everyone else, we pride ourselves on it and I am charged with doing what is necessary to make the site run and provide the level of services and features that have been asked. The majority have no issue with a single ad that loads.

Blackie

Marc, in response to your post above RCU has already established itself time over there is no need to continue changing what is already working, have you ever heard the expression if it ain't broke don't fix it?

Blackie

P-51B

My Feedback: (5)

Of course the ads are random, that's the beauty of not buying from any that show up in the middle of the page - you no longer support ANY advertiser. If you also let the advertisers know that you won't be doing business with them based on this advertising technique I imagine that the technique will disappear.

Lightfoot

My Feedback: (1)

...and so will RCU. Without revenue, RCU will cease to exist.

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

Well, I'll throw my $.02 in. I thought the ads were a good way to determine what is new and what is old. Kinda like a separator. Yeh, I pay attention to ads. I don't see a problem. If enough people do see a problem it will be changed and then something else will be tried. This way is what I would call "the evil I know" and am I willing to risk "the evil I don't know"!

P-51B

My Feedback: (5)

Oh please, get real. Removing the ads from the middle of the page isn't going to cause RCU to cease existence. There are PLENTY of ads all over the site, like at the top and bottom of the page.

However, overloading the site with too many ads, causing people to stop using it, and therefore not seeing ads at the top and bottom of the page may have the effect you site![X(]

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

I gotta agree. Too much is just too much. Page load times for dial-up is an issue. When the ads make the pages load too slow I will not come back unless I have to. I will actually pay attention to more ads when there are fewer of them. (wouldn't that make space more valuable?) I'd take the middle of the page ad if the lower ones were removed or something similiar to make the pages load faster. Just a thought. Hope somebody's paying attention! What shows up here is probably going through alot of other peoples minds.

BasinBum

My Feedback: (2)

Ptulmer, made the first legitimate complaint of this thread. Page load times would be an issue for you poor dial-up red headed step children.

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

Hey!!! I got broadband at home. Just have to use dial-up at work

mvigod

Yup..heard that. Also heard in business school "if your not moving forward you're moving backwards." Or perhaps the newest being taught in schools today for modern business which goes like this "if it ain't broke then break it!"

The horse and buggy wasn't broke. It worked just fine. Today we have automobiles. If Henry Ford subscribed to "if it ain't broke" we wouldn't have cars or planes to get around.

Enough on business strategies.

What I will be doing is removing the top "unseen" banner so the net number of ads shown is the same and page loads for dial up will also be the same. Since that ad is bypassed there is no need to load it or have dial up users endure the download for it. So in essence there aren't "more" ads just that one has been moved to where it can be seen as opposed to where it formerly was not. I had planned to code in the removal of the top ad but that is involved since the templates are the same for the top and bottom for some pages so I need some quality quiet time to get it done. I'm at the RCX show in california now so I didn't have a chance to mess with it but it is on my to do list.

Blackie

Well there's alot of phrases, schools and teachers out there and none of them are the same. Just be careful you don't break yourself out of membership. Being in a business environment you also have to provide good customer care.

I'm from the old school so breaking purposely, just dosn't fall into my category.