Would you love Neowin AdBot?

[Steven P. Administrators]

The above is not our final theme, it's just an example!

Our new forum design doesn't allow for any ads at all! So we have added an AdBot to place a lucritive square ad (that earns us the most money) to compensate. It would only display after the first post of a topic you create, and there would be no ads anywhere else on the forums.

This is a big change so i want to get some feedback first.

As you may or may not know, Ads pay for staff, servers, bandwidth and expansion which we have achieved at a relatively good pace since 2005 (we went from one server to the current 5 and now pay our news staff for their submisions). we also want to raise money for a server that is dying (the first server we were hosted on with Stardock in 2005 is dying).

So, would this be acceptable or do we have to look at other ways to display the 2 ads we currently serve here on the forums?

[Sophism]

Wouldnt the subscribers that pay to remove ads see these posts?

Not that it really bothers me, i subscribed to support the site, but was just curious.

Overall, no it wouldnt really bother me that much, except possibly when im browsing from my iphone.

Good point from the poster below, would it be possible to double the length and half the height?

[That Guy Veteran]

I'm happy with the advert being at the top of the page, and at the bottom. However, if we were to switch to what you proposed, I'd prefer it if it was a bit more slimmed down.

Actually, come to think of it, if I pay for a 2nd tier Subscription package, ads won't make any difference to me anyway, so maybe I'll just do that.

[Steven P. Administrators]

Wouldnt the subscribers that pay to remove ads see these posts?

Not that it really bothers me, i subscribed to support the site, but was just curious.

Overall, no it wouldnt really bother me that much, except possibly when im browsing from my iphone.

NoAd subscribers wouldn't see any ads, and they wouldn't display on the iPhone version anyway :)

[Vice]

I don't like the ad in a post like that. But I understand you guys have to make money and its not like I would stop viewing the site just because an ad was placed in the first post of a topic. It would however detract from the quality of the forums compared to the other sites I visit and I think it would go against Neowins goal of using unobtrusive advertisement as not to detract from the content.

Banner at the top and bottom of the page would be better for the experience but wouldn't make you as much money.

[Sophism]

NoAd subscribers wouldn't see any ads, and they wouldn't display on the iPhone version anyway :)

hmm, so does the post just not show up? Or do the contents of the post just not show up?

[Calum Veteran]

I have no problems with this :) Well... apart from the fact that this 'AdBot' guy has been given an Admin position straight away without working his way up the ranks :shifty: :D heh j/k.

[Steven P. Administrators]

hmm, so does the post just not show up? Or do the contents of the post just not show up?

The whole post won't be shown.

[Lee G. Veteran]

In all honesty, I prefer ads at top and bottom of the page, rather than having an adbot, as I think the ads are less intrusive. However, if the forum design won't allow for ads at the top and bottom of the page, then I'm all for it. My subscription ends in November, and I'm planning to upgrade my subscription, anyway.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Neobond: If you wanted to create an incentive for more people to buy tier 2 subscriptions, this form of ad placement will do it... :p

I'd prefer the current ad placement on the forum. If that's not feasible with the new theme I could learn to live with the AdBot.

[Minifig]

Adbot would be good for people who haven't joined the site.

If you join the site, you get the regular old ad-scheme.

If you're a subscriber, you get no ads.

Make sense?

[+Majesticmerc MVC]

It looks alright, however I think that a thin rectangular ad would be better than the thick square one in the screenshot. It makes the post look awful, whereas a rectangular one that is wide and short would look much better, and potentially give you even more ad space because you could have 2 side-by-side without interfering with the flow of the thread.

[Chasethebase Veteran]

Gah I couldn't stand this. It's the one I hate the most, in thread ads.

Sorry Neowin. But this will make more people use Adblock. :(

I suppose it wouldn't be as bad if they were thinner, signature style. Or maybe if they made posts that look like real posts?

[Steven P. Administrators]

It looks alright, however I think that a thin rectangular ad would be better than the thick square one in the screenshot. It makes the post look awful, whereas a rectangular one that is wide and short would look much better, and potentially give you even more ad space because you could have 2 side-by-side without interfering with the flow of the thread.

Like this:

[Sethos]

Well, as a Subscriber? I don't care either way but ads with such placement look amateurish - I like them tugged away far from view of the actual threads, you're crossing a fine line between obtrusive and unobtrusive by placing them like that.

[Sophism]

Like this:

Thanks for the quick replies, I think this would be a lot less intrusive compared to the screenshot in the original post.

Edit: The size that is

[Steven P. Administrators]

Thanks for the quick replies, I think this would be a lot less intrusive compared to the screenshot in the original post.

We currently do this for guests.. Maybe we'll have to stick to that then

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

Like this:

Does this mean every view will be default to Linear+ and unchangeable? by users?

Linear+ just makes the topic static to every page

Also, can we not stick ads in the bottom again?

[Rudy]

The current ad format is better than the "adbot"

I usually tend to stay away from sites that uses adbots....while this wouldn't drive me away from Neowin, it might affect the amount of people signing up...

[Jase]

Good Idea!

[The Teej]

I personally feel this should be for guests only - I'm not a particular fan of having ads in posts like that for registered members. Surely there's a better way of having an extra ad on the forums without resorting to putting them within threads?

[+Majesticmerc MVC]

Like this:

Yeah exactly like that! Shows how long since I wasn't logged in, I had totally forgotten about the guest ads! :laugh:

[Steven P. Administrators]

We came up with a fantastic idea so I'm closing this thread. When its done I'll post an example.