The adverts on OVF

[werstayinup]

4 hours ago, robf said:

So, having thought about it I'm going to do an experiment...

I'm going to remove that sticky advert for the weekend and see what happens in terms of daily revenue. 

I will see if it means I won't be able to meet my outgoings. 

a) If I can still meet my costs then fine, I'll keep it switched off

b) If I can't then I'll post on this thread and throw it open to you to come up with a way of making that gap up - whether that's through some of you donating, having an paid ad-free subscription option and so on. I would repeat I have tried both of those options before and they didn't work, but it's worth another go. If I can make enough through other means then I'll keep it switched off - but if not, then the sticky ad comes back on. 

I don't think I can be fairer than that.

As you say Rob its a minor issue tbf for us so just do whatever is best for you mate,if it helps to keep the site going then keep it on for me.

I have been on here long enough to know what a great site it is and 100% better than the majority of fans sites,well done for that

[Phil500]

Adverts not a problem to me at all. Carry on as you are Rob. Some people need very little excuse to moan, but would never be heard of again if they had to pay.

[mr.hobblesworth]

Tbf, I don't think I was moaning. It just felt like the ad-free grey strip was a (slightly irritating) glitch.

[mr.hobblesworth]

A forum I go on offers subscriptions. You pay either 2, 4 or 6 quid a month via a running payment from PayPal and you get a little badge next to your name. I guess the battle is getting people to set up their payments as once the money starts going out, you don't really notice it. There aren't any benefits as such to subscribing but lots of people do it as the forum is so important to a lot of people, just as this is.

The other thing they have is a click through to Amazon (forget the official name for it) and the forum owner gets a few pennies back from people's purchases.

[Aguar61]

8 hours ago, robf said:

 

 

I can remove it but if anyone wants to suggest how else I generate revenue to pay the bills I'd appreciate it. I've tried things in the past such as ad-free subscriptions and none of them work. This is a busy site so the costs are sky high especially as the server company have recently increased their costs. 

So, my only choice is to carry adverts. I deliberately don't have any adverts that cover content or pop-up/make noise etc. For instance, I would argue that the ads on here are far less intrusive than say the Sentinel website and many other forums.

That particular advert (which is a sticky) is the most visible. I would argue that it doesn't get in the way and you can still read threads while it sits at the bottom of the page.

I could remove that one and leave the others - but that sticky, by being the most visible, brings in the most revenue and so I'd probably have to make up the shortfall myself if I did. It's already pretty tight in terms of meeting the costs.

So, while I appreciate these comments - with respect it's easy to complain without offering a genuine alternative. Without the income they provide, I would probably have to close the site.

(note - moving this out of Port Vale Present as it's been posted in the wrong section)

 

 

Our current society is a complete sell out to advertising,you have to tip your hat to capitalism in all walks of life.

I'm ashamed of the state of the country, completely ashamed.

 

 

[corbanlovesvale]

Adverts don't bother me if that is the price of keeping the forum going so be it.

[robf]

15 hours ago, Aguar61 said:

Our current society is a complete sell out to advertising,you have to tip your hat to capitalism in all walks of life.

I'm ashamed of the state of the country, completely ashamed.

 

 

Thanks @Aguar61 when you've sorted that out, let me know and I'll tell the people who bill me every month 😉

[robf]

17 hours ago, mr.hobblesworth said:

Tbf, I don't think I was moaning. It just felt like the ad-free grey strip was a (slightly irritating) glitch.

I don't think it was aimed at you but at other posts 😉

I'm always grateful to receive notices of technical issues BTW

[robf]

17 hours ago, mr.hobblesworth said:

A forum I go on offers subscriptions. You pay either 2, 4 or 6 quid a month via a running payment from PayPal and you get a little badge next to your name. I guess the battle is getting people to set up their payments as once the money starts going out, you don't really notice it. There aren't any benefits as such to subscribing but lots of people do it as the forum is so important to a lot of people, just as this is.

The other thing they have is a click through to Amazon (forget the official name for it) and the forum owner gets a few pennies back from people's purchases.

Thanks I have tried both and the take-up on ad-free just wasn't there ( I don't think the membership reached double figures) while the money from any paid-for links wasn't even enough to qualify for an initial payment. 

I appreciate the comments though. and I repeat - if anyone has any other constructive and genuine alternatives to paid adverts which can pay the costs of the site I would be genuinely interested in knowing. 

I would stress that saying "get rid" doesn't count as constructive as I obviously can't do the same when the bills I receive are emailed to me but I am willing to hear anything constructive.  I am grateful to one user who is already assisting via private messages with potentially finding alternative hosting companies which would possibly lower this site's hosting costs. That's a really useful thing to try and do. Any other suggestions along the same lines are welcome.

I would be very happy to run this site ad-free but it's not practical without a steady amount of money from an alternative source especially when (as with a lot of things) the costs of things like hosting, forum software subscriptions and so on have all been significantly increased. 

[Essex Vale]

I think some of the comments here directed at Rob are ridiculously uninformed.  Rob gives up a huge amount of his personal resources to bring us this site and forum.  We pay him nothing for this.  Of course, he will accept advertising, who wouldn't?  Those people who simply complain "sort it out"or "get rid" do not even have the graciousness to thank Rob for all his work to maintain this site for many years.

I am not a fan of pop-up advertising but I either accept it or  I don't use the site. Let us have some polite acknowledgement of Rob's work.  If we disagree with him, then do so in a respectful manner rather than by issuing curt imperative instructions.

[mr.hobblesworth]

Change the forum name to Onevalefan Spitfires?

[wotsyobeef]

@robf I don't know how the ad providers work and if you can set a specific ad type for a single page.
If you could set a page with some of the more lucrative pop up ads that doesn't affect the rest of the site I would happily click on it each time I use the site on the web to generate more income.

[Aguar61]

7 hours ago, robf said:

Thanks @Aguar61 when you've sorted that out, let me know and I'll tell the people who bill me every month 😉

Bit tied up with painting the kitchen and sorting Putin out and the postal strike as well! Be in touch when the Xmas rush is over...😆😉👍

[MelbourneValiant]

On 21/10/2022 at 18:40, robf said:

Hmmm, do you mind messaging me with what browser you use as I can pass that on to the advert provider? It shouldn't look like that so apologies and I will try and get it corrected for you.

Hi Rob, no need to apologise. I appreciate that it is a free service. The blue border used to appear then disappear, it didnt carry an advert so I have no idea if it is/was a glitch or not.

I am using Google Chrome in Android. The blue border happened with Aus, Thailand and Singapore sim cards so it isnt a local issue.......it has now subsided.

 

I am more than happy to have adverts in one place like a banner or something.

I will like to say a big thanks for keep this site going down the years. Us expats appreciate it heaps.

[Packmoor_vale]

One thing for certain is we need keep this site it’s great for everything port vale just stay away from the remainers in the brexit thread 👍