Amy does look kind of cute though ?

AD Dynamo.

they really are annoying. I'm all for ads, but not ads that lie to get you to click them

Squonk wrote: Amy does look kind of cute though ?

You don't want my sloppy seconds, bro.

Tonedef wrote:

Squonk wrote: Amy does look kind of cute though ?

You don't want my sloppy seconds, bro.

stop talking about my Amy like that dammit !!!!

They are pretty obnoxious but i reckon that's the price of a free forum. Sometimes I comment just to make the thread longer so I can scroll down and hide them ?

What I want to know is, WTF is an Alpha Weekend? ???

Is it a shindig where okes get together and pray for their cars to start?

WTF !!!!! thats my sister !!!!!!!! >

StephenG wrote:

WTF !!!!! thats my sister !!!!!!!! >

Can I have her number again, please? There's, ah, unfinished business to take care of. ?

Really crappy one that says:

Attention! You have 1 message.

It looks like a legitimate pop up and takes you some site selling rubbish. On principle, I will NEVER buy from someone that uses croocked means to attract me. I don't care how good their product.

Can't the banners go at the bottom? Being at the top they take prominance over actual content. I understand that advertising is required but it should never be so in-your-face as to be offensive.

DonRoos wrote: I understand that advertising is required but it should never be so in-your-face as to be offensive.

I think that the media placement agency have taken a chance and placed this package of ads on the site on a Friday in the hope that the moderators don't see them before the week-end when nothing can be done to remove them. Cynic that I am.

Tonedef wrote: What I want to know is, WTF is an Alpha Weekend? ???

It's a kind of Anglican revival thing, as I understand it. My parents got more churchy after going to one.

This forum has to cover costs and make it worth the time that Norio and Alan spend on it - at least. The ads are a necessary evil. I agree that they are not that specific to this forum but they are a necessary evil.

I thought an alpha weekend was when you got to hang out with Blair and Clinton and the like. Fix the Middle East, then chase the interns around on a Saturday night, then spend Sunday morning repenting.

Tonedef wrote: What I want to know is, WTF is an Alpha Weekend? ???

Is it a shindig where okes get together and pray for their cars to start?

big difference between an Alpha weekend and an Alfa weekend dude ?

Maybe this is the wrong thing to do ...
... but I've trained my brain to lock out that part of the screen.
In a similar way I've trained it to lock out the sound of my neighbour's barking dog.

Wizard wrote: Maybe this is the wrong thing to do ...
... but I've trained my brain to lock out that part of the screen.
In a similar way I've trained it to lock out the sound of my neighbour's barking dog.

yep, it doesnt bother me too much either, its kind of like those ladies that handout free samples at the supermarkets, they also have a job to do even though thay're annoying at times.

CostaFonix wrote:

Wizard wrote: Maybe this is the wrong thing to do ...
... but I've trained my brain to lock out that part of the screen.
In a similar way I've trained it to lock out the sound of my neighbour's barking dog.

yep, it doesnt bother me too much either, its kind of like those ladies that handout free samples at the supermarkets, they also have a job to do even though thay're annoying at times.

But the ones who sell dead roses and fluffy toys in pubs at night make it hard to remain civilized! >

Seriously, I agree with XRB that the ads are a necessary evil. For exactly the same reason, I think we should avoid commenting on ways to actively block them, mind control them out, etc. That's a major disincentive for advertisors (provided they read the site).

The significant issue is, however, what's going on in the 'premium or not' thread. We should definitely get more targeted ads, and also ones that are not plain crappy - 'you are the 1 000 000th visitor, click here to collect your prize' type which I'm seeing from time to time.

So I don't think the debate should be whether or not to have ads. No-one except the owners have the right to have that discussion. The debate should be IMO 'what kinds of ads, more GFSA target specific, less intrusive placing, etc etc'.

Riaan C wrote: For exactly the same reason, I think we should avoid commenting on ways to actively block them, mind control them out, etc.

+1

I actually agree with you Riaan, which is why my comment started with "maybe it's the wrong thing to do ..."
I regard myself as scolded ... and correctly so.

What I will do in future is:
- remind myself this is a fantastic forum; which I get access to for free
- which is financed by the adverts
- and I will look at them ... and even click on the ones which look interesting (which I have done in the past)
- and have the judgement to not click on those which are unlikely to bring me any benefit

Wizard wrote: Maybe this is the wrong thing to do ...
... but I've trained my brain to lock out that part of the screen.

This is where the problem lies... place irrelevant ads and visitors tend to block them all out... pissing off the ligitimate advertisers who might take their business elsewhere. To me irrelevant advertising is like spamming.

PeteM wrote:

Wizard wrote: Maybe this is the wrong thing to do ...
... but I've trained my brain to lock out that part of the screen.

This is where the problem lies... place irrelevant ads and visitors tend to block them all out... pissing off the ligitimate advertisers who might take their business elsewhere. To me irrelevant advertising is like spamming.

I'm not so sure that they're irrelevant. Maybe the guys who rent the advertising space from GFSA have looked at the demographics here and matched those the adverts.

EG the Alpha course ads. A significant portion of the active membership on GFSA are Christians. Doesn't it seem rather unsurprising that that particular ad has popped up?

A lot of these ads don't float my boat. That doesn't mean that they're not appropriate for the general membership of the forum.