Neowin No Ad Version

[Geranium_Z__NL]

i didnt even notice the adds.. UNTIL U SAID :o

[GreenMartian]

I am just interested to know what about Neowin's adverts he finds obtrusive? :)

Well, I'm not him, but what I find most obtusive are the IntelliTxt (or whatever the name) ads. Accidentaly hover over one, and it pops up crap covering the article I'm reading.

The rest are totally cool though.

[iamwhoiam]

Thank you for your point, Mephistopheles; whilst I already understand completely what Frazell Thomas' point is, he has also stated that he finds the adverts obtrusive. I am just interested to know what about Neowin's adverts he finds obtrusive? :)

I browse this site occasionally from work (used to be quite a lot until ->) and sometimes some adverts come up that would get me into trouble. A few times in the past there have been some very NSFW adverts. I'd pay for a completely advert free version of this site.

IntelliTxt. The others (other than what was stated above) don't bother me.

Edited March 13, 2009 by iamwhoiam

[Panacik]

That is not my desire, but by and large I have been told that is what I should do. I asked to pay for no ads and got met largely with two replies.

1. The ads are not annoying (so i am now told what annoys me)

2. Use ad blocking software.

Very few have chimed in support or other positive thoughts. The only admin to reply essentially reiterated the first line.

So it seems I am being told the suggestion is pointless. I can spend my money elsewhere.

Lets get this straight though. You DIDNT pay for a "no ads Neowin". That is not what you where paying in to and not what was promised.

Its a bit like going to a car salesman, buying an old car from the 80's and expecting it to have the latest engine and mod cons of today, even though that is not what you paid for and it was never promised to you.

You have had two replies by numerous people saying the same things. Now by my understanding, does that not indicate that YOU are the one in the wrong?

If you really feel that the (unintrusive) AD's are annoying you, then i feel sorry for you in your overall internet browsing, as many web pages have AD's that are far more intrusive than Neowins.

I also go against what some others have said. Dont use an AD blocker, that just makes it unfair for the Admins, who are trying to make a bit of money with the little AD's they have, to keep the site running.

As it has been already stated, there is a possibility that an AD free Neowin will come around in the future for a little more money. So stop your continuous whining about the subject and get on with your life.

Ultimatly, if you really cant wait for the AD free version and they really upset you that much, then feel free to go elsewhere. You are just being un-greatful for the extras that you have been given for the money you spent on becoming a subscriber and its ****ing me off.

[Calum Veteran]

Ultimatly, if you really cant wait for the AD free version and they really upset you that much, then feel free to go elsewhere.

Actually, I think it's better to suggest that they just be a little more patient :) It's been stated by other members that there has been talk of introducing an ad-free package, why not just wait around to see if that happens or not and in the meantime, please just try to ignore the ads best you can? That's what we all do and the adverts don't bother me at all :)

[Panacik]

Actually, I think it's better to suggest that they just be a little more patient :) It's been stated by other members that there has been talk of introducing an ad-free package, why not just wait around to see if that happens or not and in the meantime, please just try to ignore the ads best you can? That's what we all do and the adverts don't bother me at all :)

Because the guy moaning and moaning, i dont think he will wait any length of time from the way he is going on.

The AD's (appart from the one slap bang in the middle of the front page news) dont bother me either.

[Denholm]

The IntelliTXT grabs are annoying. The flash ads with hovering sound triggers too.

+1

For me the most annoying are those amazing frustrating IntelliTXT (N)

[+LogicalApex MVC]

Frazell, nobody has said Neowin will never have an ad-free option. I just thought I'd point that out :)

Your suggestion is very valid. A lot of members seem to desire to pay for the removal of adverts. Like I said - no one has said it will never happen (likewise, no one has said it will happen).

Thank you for not blocking the adverts and for being mature about this issue, discussing it with the community.

What is it about Neowin's adverts that you find obtrusive?

I have been against blocking the ads ever since they were introduced. I love this site and it has been a big thing with me to not rob this, or any site dependent on Ads. Thanks for clarifying the posts in this thread.

I spend 95% of my time in the news section so the major annoyance without question is the intellitext stuff. It just gets in the way of everything. Not to mention, it is now Neowin's practice to put links inline so you're at risk of dealing with those things even more directly. They are worse than popups even...

The Google ads are annoying, but they are lot less annoying than the Intellitext stuff. The two ads on the top of the forum are not intrusive at all.

Lets get this straight though. You DIDNT pay for a "no ads Neowin". That is not what you where paying in to and not what was promised.

Its a bit like going to a car salesman, buying an old car from the 80's and expecting it to have the latest engine and mod cons of today, even though that is not what you paid for and it was never promised to you.

You have had two replies by numerous people saying the same things. Now by my understanding, does that not indicate that YOU are the one in the wrong?

If you really feel that the (unintrusive) AD's are annoying you, then i feel sorry for you in your overall internet browsing, as many web pages have AD's that are far more intrusive than Neowins.

I also go against what some others have said. Dont use an AD blocker, that just makes it unfair for the Admins, who are trying to make a bit of money with the little AD's they have, to keep the site running.

As it has been already stated, there is a possibility that an AD free Neowin will come around in the future for a little more money. So stop your continuous whining about the subject and get on with your life.

Ultimatly, if you really cant wait for the AD free version and they really upset you that much, then feel free to go elsewhere. You are just being un-greatful for the extras that you have been given for the money you spent on becoming a subscriber and its ****ing me off.

It is comments like yours that I truly get confused about. I'm not asking for a refund of my Neowin Subscriber fee. Let me say this one more time, I'm not requesting a refund for my Neowin Subscriber Fee. I'm asking about Neowin adding a NEW subscriber level that removes Ads. I don't see why that angers your really.

I prefer to discuss things instead of doing things swiftly and without careful thought or discussion. Before I decided to install an Ad Blocker or switch to another site to get my news I wanted to be sure this wasn't something Neowin was doing and at the very least inform the admins here as to what my pain points are.

I've never been a major forum poster because the people who respond seem to often get very angry and not really follow the point of posts :(.

[Veedems Veteran]

Even I hate the intellitxt ads, but you have to realize they bring in the most money out of any of the ads we display because they pay for being displayed, not just clicked, IIRC.

[Popcorned1]

Well, it's no surprise all the news posters are against this, they need to get paid :p However little that is.

[Panacik]

It is comments like yours that I truly get confused about. I'm not asking for a refund of my Neowin Subscriber fee. Let me say this one more time, I'm not requesting a refund for my Neowin Subscriber Fee. I'm asking about Neowin adding a NEW subscriber level that removes Ads. I don't see why that angers your really.

I prefer to discuss things instead of doing things swiftly and without careful thought or discussion. Before I decided to install an Ad Blocker or switch to another site to get my news I wanted to be sure this wasn't something Neowin was doing and at the very least inform the admins here as to what my pain points are.

I've never been a major forum poster because the people who respond seem to often get very angry and not really follow the point of posts :(.

What are you confused about? You contradict yourself.

You started this thread saying you where angry about still having AD's after paying a fee. Fine, you have been told a new subscriber feature (at an extra cost) may or will be introduced at some point, that will take away the AD's. Yet you continue to go on about (possibly) AD blocking until that time, which is something that is really disliked by a lot of people on Neowin.

You also state that you prefer to discuss things instead of doing things swiftly and without careful thought or discussion, yet you bought the subscriber package, without, it seems, reading what you get for your money before hand.

I never said your asking for a refund...

[Veedems Veteran]

Well, it's no surprise all the news posters are against this, they need to get paid :p However little that is.

I'm not against it. I'm against removing ads with ad blockers, but I've always been a proponent of an ad free Neowin subscription since there seems to be demand for it. I don't think the current ads are obtrusive, but I can the demand is there.

[Panacik]

Well, it's no surprise all the news posters are against this, they need to get paid :p However little that is.

I hope your joking and understand that post news items free of charge?

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

The ads do not bother me and I would never pay for an ad free subscription. I believe an admin already stated that that would not come close to the ad revenue.

[+jamesyfx Subscriber²]

$10 for a year is quite reasonable.

I'd think for an ad-free subscription you're looking at more like $10 a month. :p Which to me is a bit much for 3 ads removed, but that would give Neowin a decent return.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

What are you confused about? You contradict yourself.

You started this thread saying you where angry about still having AD's after paying a fee. Fine, you have been told a new subscriber feature (at an extra cost) may or will be introduced at some point, that will take away the AD's. Yet you continue to go on about (possibly) AD blocking until that time, which is something that is really disliked by a lot of people on Neowin.

You also state that you prefer to discuss things instead of doing things swiftly and without careful thought or discussion, yet you bought the subscriber package, without, it seems, reading what you get for your money before hand.

I never said your asking for a refund...

Naa I don't contradict myself, but I probably should have written more than 1 line when I started the thread.

I read the page for the subscriber deal and I noticed it mentioned nothing about removing ads. I signed up anyway as I wanted to throw some money at Neowin. As I knew I had no use for the other stuff. I don't post on the forum enough to care about them. I came here mentioning it because I was hoping there was another subscriber page to address my ad issue directly or we could get the discussion going on one. The only reason Ad-Blocking was ever mentioned is because I know that tool is pretty popular among people here. At least that's the gist I've gotten over the years with the gazillion comments in browser news posts or ad-block release posts about it.

I'm not continually going on about AD Blocking really. I posted my thoughts and it seemed I got too many people basically saying "use AD-Blocker" and "This will never happen so use AD-Blocker" and complaints about me not reading the subscriber page or something of that nature. Only a select few seemed to see what I was asking for. After NeoBound posted without anything more than a question of if the ads were intrusive and saying the amount a subscriber pays can't cover the ad revenue on an annual basis I got the impression that Neowin's official stance was similar to what the majority was already posting. An AD free Neowin isn't coming.

As I've said in the thread before, I'm not a big fan of Ad Blocking. It wasn't mentioned as a threat, but more so as me saying I didn't want to resort to a common (or at least their minority is vocal) practice so I came here hoping to let my grievances be heard and see what the admins thought of the idea (community support for the idea wouldn't have been a bad bonus either). Luckily for me a few of the mods have said the idea is on the table so I'll keep that door open.

I notice myself wanting to visit Neowin less and less because of the Ads. They might not be obtrusive to anyone else, that's fine. We each are allowed to have our own opinions. But where I spend 90% of my time, reading the news sections and the front page they get in the way. I've been bothered by Ads for as long as I can remember, but I always saw them as a needed thing to keep sites going. Now that I've started paying for at least one of my top sites, wsj.com (The Wall Street Journal), I feel it just makes sense to support my favorite sites directly. With Ads leaving as a result.

The only real message in my posts is that if I can't remove the Ads on Neowin I'll realistically end up going somewhere else. I'm only one user and Neowin gets bigger everyday so I could just not matter at all, realistically I don't. I would prefer to stay if I could is all ;).

[+shift. MVC]

There has been extensive discussion on the topic of ad blocking already. And as for an ad-free version of Neowin for subcribers...well you knew what you were getting when you subscribed, and an ad-free version of Neowin was not on the list.

No one can make you stay at Neowin, and if you can find somewhere better to go then all the power to you.

[Marshalus Veteran]

I hope your joking and understand that post news items free of charge?

Our news posters are paid.

[Manish]

I don't see why some people are getting so angry at the OP. He's also staying calm despite the silly posts being made in this thread, such as "There are ads on Neowin?" or "I don't find them unobtrusive". The point he's making is that for people who can see and for people who do find them obtrusive, what are the chances of there being an ad-free subscriber version of Neowin. There is evidence that some people, who are annoyed by particular ads and would consider an ad-free option, in this very thread (but you need to be able to see/read these posts). If you don't find them obtrusive or simply can't see/find them, then you can carry on using the normal Neowin.

Even if this debate has occurred time and time again, there hasn't been a definitive answer as of yet. Mr Thomas was just wondering what the likelihood was of there being a Neowin No Ad Version, as well as the timescale and possible pricing. At least that's how I interpreted his posts.

Personally I can't see how it's a bad idea, if the subscriber fee would cover (or came close to covering) the income received from the individual visiting the site with ads. Also, if it stops (some) people using Ad-block, then it's an even better idea. It will therefore not harm the income or other users, and can only work to bring more people to Neowin. Some people here are of the attitude, if you don't like it, then **** off. In my opinion, the OP has asked for a reasonable suggestion in a reasonable manner, which can bring additional members. Then why are some people responding with unfriendly suggestions in a harsh manner, which causes Neowin to lose members?

Edited March 13, 2009 by Manish

[+LogicalApex MVC]

I don't see why some people are getting so angry at the OP. He's also staying calm despite the silly posts being made in this thread, such as "There are ads on Neowin?" or "I don't find them unobtrusive". The point he's making is that for people who can see and for people who do find them obtrusive, what are the chances of there being an ad-free subscriber version of Neowin. There is evidence that some people, who are annoyed by particular ads and would consider an ad-free option, in this very thread (but you need to be able to see/read these posts). If you don't find them obtrusive or simply can't see/find them, then you can carry on using the normal Neowin.

Even if this debate has occurred time and time again, there hasn't been a definitive answer as of yet. Mr Thomas was just wondering what the likelihood was of there being a Neowin No Ad Version, as well as the timescale and possible pricing. At least that's how I interpreted his posts.

Personally I can't see how it's a bad idea, if the subscriber fee would cover (or came close to covering) the income received from the individual visiting the site with ads. Also, if it stops (some) people using Ad-block, then it's an even better idea. It will therefore not harm the income or other users, and can only work to bring more people to Neowin. Some people here are of the attitude, if you don't like it, then **** off. In my opinion, the OP has asked for a reasonable suggestion in a reasonable manner, which can bring additional members. Then why are some people responding with unfriendly suggestions in a harsh manner, which causes Neowin to lose members?

Thank you. I was beginning to think I wasn't making much sense with my posts.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

We have discussed this before and while I haven't seen a breakdown of the numbers, I get the impression that the amount we would need to charge to make this worthwhile would turn off a lot of people. We'd likely need to set an ad-free rate that would somewhat reasonable (and obviously more than $10/year) but we would likely have to settle on a number that would earn us less than if they didn't subscribe at all but kept our ads.

So, for all of those people who think they are morally justified in blocking our ads because they give us $10/year, you should realize that you would do us a better service by keeping our ads. We try to keep to ads that are as unobtrusive as possible. The intellitext ads on the news articles are only a problem for people who like to skim their mouse under the word they are reading (which is probably a bad habit they reduces your reading efficiency even without intellitext). We try to avoid the flash ads they expand to cover the article. If any sneak through we ask for them to be removed from the pool. The forum has only one ad at the top and one ad at the bottom unless you aren't registered in which case you see a third between the first and second posts in a thread.

[Thread Moved from GD to S&FI]

[~ Rogue ~]

I'll chip in.

I've been on Neowin for a little over 100 posts now and it's an awesome forum. Best forum I've ever been registered at, in fact. That being said, I do tend to agree. If you're a +Subscriber, you should see advertisements. If I may offer a random suggestion:

$10/year buys you the current level of service.

$15/3 months buy you the advertisement free service + a few other benefits.

15x4= $60.00/year

Seems fair to me.

I could offer a very detailed idea if requested.

[The_Observer]

Dunno why people care that much. The ads are pretty damn unobtrusive.

-Spenser

FTW +1

[Japlabot]

Well actually the ads on the front page ARE obtrusive depending on the geotargeting. For me, I get Microsoft SQL Server 2008 ad taking up the full page, I had the same thing near the end of 2007 with a Nikon ad (which Neowin presumably reported when I made a thread about it, but never went away until this one).

I would prefer to pay a small fee that would at least cover the lost revenue from the absence of my per-view ads being served, than to have to adblock each computer I access Neowin from.

[Vice]

We have discussed this before and while I haven't seen a breakdown of the numbers, I get the impression that the amount we would need to charge to make this worthwhile would turn off a lot of people. We'd likely need to set an ad-free rate that would somewhat reasonable (and obviously more than $10/year) but we would likely have to settle on a number that would earn us less than if they didn't subscribe at all but kept our ads.

So, for all of those people who think they are morally justified in blocking our ads because they give us $10/year, you should realize that you would do us a better service by keeping our ads. We try to keep to ads that are as unobtrusive as possible. The intellitext ads on the news articles are only a problem for people who like to skim their mouse under the word they are reading (which is probably a bad habit they reduces your reading efficiency even without intellitext). We try to avoid the flash ads they expand to cover the article. If any sneak through we ask for them to be removed from the pool. The forum has only one ad at the top and one ad at the bottom unless you aren't registered in which case you see a third between the first and second posts in a thread.

[Thread Moved from GD to S&FI]

So Neowin makes more then $10 per person a year in Ad revenue? - What if you never click any of the Ads (It's very rare that an Ad is actually advertising something I want). Do you still get Money just by having viewers see them?

I'm just thinking here what would be the problem with coding in a 2nd subscription that removes ads for a reasonable or high price $30 a year or something. I mean if people don't pay for it your still getting the Ad Revenue from them and if they are paying your getting a years worth of Revenue up-front (Which provides interest if its kept in a bank and/or long term financial stability).

I'm just saying work out what is a reasonable average price for a years worth of Ads per user and then do a sub for it. In-fact you could do it for a quarter of a year just 4 months to see if the money from the Subs works out to be more substantial then the Ad revenue for the same period without the extra sub. Anyway just an idea.

I think a few of the Staff that are opposed to the idea have got themselves in to a mindset of 'Either / Or' where you need to have ads or you need paid subscriptions for everyone. But you could do both, ads for all until you pay for the Ad-Free subscriber. That's two revenue sources simultaneously. And obviously there are people who are willing to pay for it. I'd certainly pay up to ?30 GBP a year to use Neowin Ad-Free. On top of the Subscription of ?8 that I already paid for Subscriber Status.

Just my 2 cent:):)