NOTICE: New Ads

Hey MoFos,

I'm experimenting with some ads along the blank area on the right-hand side of the page. This is just a test, for now, to see a) how you all like them (or dislike them), and b) how well they do.

I would love any and all feedback on the matter. If you hate them, just say so, and don't panic, they might not be here all that long. If you like them, likewise, please let me know. And if you're neutral, that's worth hearing, too.

A few notes, though, for your consideration:

• If they perform as well as I think they might, they could end up serving as a replacement for the current banner ads, so putting up with the ads on the right would mean less scrolling, and no more graphical banners above. If this ends up happening (swapping one for the other), would that change your opinion, whatever it may be, of the ads as-is?
  
• I can tinker with the colors. So, for example, if you think a muted yellow would be less invasive, let me know.
  
• One MoFo (who I had quasi beta-test this layout) suggest I have the ads down near the level of the posts and threads, while before they were along the very top. Assuming you're okay with the ads to begin with, which would you prefer?

Any and all thoughts are welcome. Thanks for putting up with the fluctuating changes, as well. Hopefully we'll find something that helps the site get by without bothering anyone.

They're pretty distracting, so far... :/
I prefer the banner ads, as long as they're not flashing or popping up or down or something.

...just my 2 cents.

I love it that you ask us this stuff.

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i actually didnt notice them until i saw this post. so therefore, i have no problem with them

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-Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore

I like them at the side

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I didn't notice any until I logged in with IE. Good old Firefox...

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

I don't look at the ads. Mikey no likey... :-/

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i don't really like them, either. i don't know why. i do find them more distracting than the banner ads as well. also, and this is just me im sure, when im at work and i check mofo, i don't have the screen all the way maximized (just a bit of keeping what im doing from the prying eyes of others), and the side ads make it so i have to scroll over more. i know thats a stupid complaint, really.

sorry.

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letterboxd

They really don't bother me that much, perhaps a more muted yellow like you suggested, just to downplay it a bit more. To echo Sammy's sentiments, I don't like the banner ads that move or flash either. I prefer the ads to the side to flashing/moving ones.

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I actually like them. Slick color scheme...

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Thanks for the feedback, guys. Unfortunately, the ads have been performing rather badly. I've moved them up to see if that helps, but I'm guessing it won't. If they'd performed even decently, I'm not sure what I'd have done, ultimately, but if they continue to get the low clickthru rate that they have over the first two days of this little advertising experiment, they really won't be even remotely worth the aesthetic compromise.

So, those of you who dislike them can probably rejoice, as I don't think they'll be around much longer.

Performance as in getting us to click them?

It might be best not to tell us about this and stuff. I mean this sounds like something you'd use for $$$ purposes am I right?

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Yes and no. Technically, yes, when I say "performance" I'm referring to the number of times the ads are clicked on. Overall, however, most of the clicks are generally going to come from unregistered visitors anyway. I don't expect forum regulars to do a lot of the clicking. Even if they did, though, I can't envision a scenario under which you guys knowing how it all works would be a problem.

IMO, the best thing to do would be to just put them within the posts themselves...that's if you're serious about it. Or right next to the Quick Reply box or Post Reply button. Nothing big as we see on the right side of the screen, but small text that could catch somebodys attention.

I don't know much about advertising on websites, but I have the prenotion that it doesn't work as well as many people would believe. Society as a whole is sick and tired of pop ups and spyware and ads on webpages don't make the situation any better.

But to all their own. I think?

Naturally, it's a bit more complicated than all that. People hate spyware (and I've never used it, for that and other reasons), and they're somewhat sick of popups, as well (which I use in moderation). Most people have popup blockers, however, which have rendered them obsolete in some cases.

Targetted, context-sensitive ads, however, can do very well on the right site. The idea is simple: you black a block of code (in this case, from Google's AdSense program) which scans your site for keywords, and displays ads it thinks are related to those. It's far from perfect, of course, but it's text-based, unintrusive, never annoying, and usually fairly appropriate for the page its on.

This works splendily for the right topic (I used to run a database of famous quotations that made great use of AdSense). Unfortunately, movie sites -- or, perhaps, movie forums -- don't seem to generate many clicks with these sorts of ads. Go figure.

Regarding ads in posts; I've thought of it, and there are other programs available that turn certain words in a give block of text into links (for example, the word "DVD" might be turned into a link that takes you to a place where you can buy DVDs), but I worry that they may be too intrusive.

Naturally, I'll continue to experiment. Thanks for your suggestions.

I didn't notice them until this thread. However, if you kept them I wouldn't mind so much. But, I like this site because of its low ad count. Although I do get an annoying pop up EVERYTIME i come here.

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Please. No.

I know a few forums which carry that system and it's maddening when you scroll down a thread with your cursor hanging around in the middle of your screen, causing pop-ups from inadvertently picking up highlighted words in posts.

I don't mind adverts (and the reason behind having them) because they're not interfering with why I come here - to read and post - but if something starts happening to the posts themselves I'd.....I'd..........I'd be annoyed.

Okay, a quick update: as most of you surely noticed, I ended up taking the ads down. They performed very poorly, and thus were not worth whatever tradeoff between revenue, scrolling and aesthetics there might have otherwise been.

I have, however, put one ad back up. There are two differences this time, however: first, it's on the left side instead of the right. And second, it only shows up for unregistered visitors (or anyone who isn't logged in).

Early results after a couple of days are very encouraging. I presume no one finds them annoying because, well, anyone who replies to this post won't be seeing them at the moment, but I just wanted to let you all know what's going on.

I might try putting them up even for registered members, but it's unlikely because it serves as an incentive for membership, and probably wouldn't dramatically increase earnings, anyway, as most visitors are unregistered anyway.

Also, please note that I might be toying around with other ad placements in addition to this one. I don't know exactly what I'll end up doing, though I would very much like to find more visually pleasing ad types and placements. Any changes you see will likely be in the name of simplification, however.

Thanks for the update Yods