stebbo
20th November 2003, 10:30 PM
Hello Management,
in my humble opinion, this continual barrage of advertising is spoiling what appears to be a good forum. I know you have a business to run, and that these forums cost you money, and that you need to get something back from them. However, I consider that the current methodology is overdone.
When I logged onto the forums tonite, the top SEVEN posts in the "Betting Systems" forum were adverts. For someone with a 800x600 screen resolution (not me, but many out there), this would virtually fill up the entire screen.
Might I respectfully suggest that you consider what you are trying to achieve with these ads. For those of us who regularly visit the forum, we try to just gloss over these ads... We've read them once, why read them again.
The casual passer-by who may drop by these forums, and who may be tempted to join in these discussions may very well be put off by the large amount of advertising. Yet others may consider that products and services that require such a high level of "push" are possibly suspect. The very fact that these ads have been posted by strangely named posters may also tend to make some people wary. (NOTE: In no way do I suggest that there is anything wrong or suspicious or suspect with any of these products or services - just that "hype" can be a bad thing in the advertising game).
Might I suggest that two (or three) topics that are "sticky" at the top of the tree, which are changed regularly while the others are allowed to drop away would be a more subtle approach. Failing that, a redesign of the main page which would see a further advertising banner might also be more appropriate.
I realise these are your forums, and you may do with them as you wish. However, the forums are only as good as the members who contribute, and such members generally only hang around while there is a good reason to do so.
My post is not meant to be a criticism of your actions, more a constructive suggestion.
Regards,
Chris.
in my humble opinion, this continual barrage of advertising is spoiling what appears to be a good forum. I know you have a business to run, and that these forums cost you money, and that you need to get something back from them. However, I consider that the current methodology is overdone.
When I logged onto the forums tonite, the top SEVEN posts in the "Betting Systems" forum were adverts. For someone with a 800x600 screen resolution (not me, but many out there), this would virtually fill up the entire screen.
Might I respectfully suggest that you consider what you are trying to achieve with these ads. For those of us who regularly visit the forum, we try to just gloss over these ads... We've read them once, why read them again.
The casual passer-by who may drop by these forums, and who may be tempted to join in these discussions may very well be put off by the large amount of advertising. Yet others may consider that products and services that require such a high level of "push" are possibly suspect. The very fact that these ads have been posted by strangely named posters may also tend to make some people wary. (NOTE: In no way do I suggest that there is anything wrong or suspicious or suspect with any of these products or services - just that "hype" can be a bad thing in the advertising game).
Might I suggest that two (or three) topics that are "sticky" at the top of the tree, which are changed regularly while the others are allowed to drop away would be a more subtle approach. Failing that, a redesign of the main page which would see a further advertising banner might also be more appropriate.
I realise these are your forums, and you may do with them as you wish. However, the forums are only as good as the members who contribute, and such members generally only hang around while there is a good reason to do so.
My post is not meant to be a criticism of your actions, more a constructive suggestion.
Regards,
Chris.