Do Ads Ruin the Integrity of Online Communities? (1 Viewer)

[frm]

I prefer banner ads over those full page pop ups that seem to be the norm these days.

That #google_vignette will have me off a website in no time.

 

[Cpvr]

Old enough to remember the beginning of the pop-up ads that ruined everything. Thoughtfully placed ads that don't detract from the rest of the forum would be fine and if it's relevant to the overall theme of the forums.

Of course going overboard with ads will definitely have me closing the tabs faster than anything.

Those pop ups were annoying af. I'm glad we rarely see them these days. I also hate the "paywall", you can't see this content anymore website that are now effect. I get the point of it 100%, but it's highly annoying.

It's not directly related to forums, but it's a direct monetization approach, that's actually killing the internet as well. Paywalling content is gatekeeping the open web. If content isn't available, we can't find anything.


If a site is overloading with massive ads, you can bet your bottom dollar, I'll no longer be a member of that site. I don't care what time of forum it is. Don't overburden with ads. Make it a supporters perk if need be or show them to guests, but you shouldn't overload your members with ads. They're the backbone of your community.


I'd rather use a affiliate link here and there to monetize instead of pushing ads, it's more valuable to do so in the long run. Especially if it's recurring income. It's better to have a recurring revenue stream to pay for your forum instead of pennies. You earn more and have more sustainable income for your forum. For example, I've earn $5 from an affiliate system this month, but it's recurring. I'll earn this every month. The same ad, would have made less than $3 from Google Adsense in a month. It's not much, but it adds up. Especially if I'm able to get more sales onto that stream, it becomes an even bigger revenue stream.