Admin:Can we have the Ads removed please?

**ozmeath** · 24th April 06, 06:45 AM

Why are there ads in the middle of the posts? Fine if it was kilt related, I'd be OK with that but what's the reason? One would assume financial but are there alternatives? I love this site and want to see it improve not lessen in quality.
Not happy...
Erin.

**ronstew** · 24th April 06, 06:51 AM

But Erin, you only noticed the ads today. They were there when I joined in February. I never look at them (except the official site sponsors), but they don't bother me.

**auld argonian** · 24th April 06, 07:07 AM

They seem to be a necessary evil...I have no trouble tuning them out, though.

Like the old joke:

"Looks like th volcano is going to erupt...is there any way that we can stop it?"

"Yes...we can sacrifice a virgin."

"Oh well....guess we better get used to the noise."

Best

AA

**Pour1Malt** · 24th April 06, 07:12 AM

aye yur richt Erin... theys annoyin'...

the ainly other option wuid ai cuid suggest...

is tae hae a' us xmarker pay a monthly fee...

tae replace the lost revenue o' deleting the adverts....

ai'd be willin tae pay...

but ai'd bet many others wuid nae....

**longshadows** · 24th April 06, 07:26 AM

No, really, I have noticed them for a few weeks, but I don't find them all that distracting. In a perfect world, it would be nice not to have them tarnishing the pristine nature of our forum. I can only assume that Google pays something for this "access" and that helps pay for whatever expenses are necessary to keep this forum running.

I don't have a clue, because no one (that I'm aware of) has ever shared this bit of info with us--at least since I've been a member. Like most of us, I'm a guest here--a free one, at that. In the same way that I don't inquire how much my host at a party spends for the evening's refreshments, I don't need to know the financial arrangments behind XMarks. It might be interesting as an active participant here, but I don't NEED to know, If the advertising get out of control or outside what I consider the bounds of good taste, than I can choose not to visit here anymore. I guess it's sort of like most things today from TV to school book covers. Advertising allows us something for "nothing."

Well, that's my two bits, for what it's worth.

**davedove** · 24th April 06, 07:36 AM

The ads really don't bother me. Would I rather they not be there? Sure, but at least they are fairly non-intrusive. At least they aren't popping up in windows or with graphics moving across the page; those are the ones that annoy me.

**auld argonian** · 24th April 06, 07:41 AM

Well, the ads at the top of the page link you to kilt suppliers that, I assume, provide some kind of consideration for the exposure...but that's handy...

...I guess that the adverts that folks don't need are the usual spam-stuff: mortgage rates, viagra (like Xmarksers need that! Ha!), dumb stuff like that.

I can't imagine how difficult it would be to set up a system whereby the participants paid a subscription fee or even made donations...it just seems like keeping things straight would be even more time consuming for the Mods.

Best

AA

**Caradoc** · 24th April 06, 07:42 AM

Originally Posted by davedove

At least they aren't popping up in windows or with graphics moving across the page; those are the ones that annoy me.

Or playing music or other sounds. There's a banner ad floating around for "American Haunting" or some such that literally screams any time you mouse over it.

That's a bit much, I think.

I do professional web hosting administration for a living - I don't begrudge any site's operators the opportunity to pay the bills via banner ads. If they were totally unable to recoup any expenditures, the good sites (the ones that end up with high traffic!) would dry up and blow away rather fast.

**Iolaus** · 24th April 06, 07:46 AM

Originally Posted by davedove

The ads really don't bother me. Would I rather they not be there? Sure, but at least they are fairly non-intrusive. At least they aren't popping up in windows or with graphics moving across the page; those are the ones that annoy me.

That's just what I was about to say - no pop-ups. I think the ads are almost invisible; most of the time I wouldn't be able to tell you for sure if there had been one in a thread I just finished.

**Kilted Taper** · 24th April 06, 08:01 AM

This was actually discussed several months ago when they first popped up, I'm just having a hard time finding the thread....But it's to pay the bills for the site if I recall correctly. Like others, I just block them out.