Should SpursTalk have advertising?

[rAm]

We all know that Kori and LJ love giving us an Ad-free environment, and I am sure the majority of us appreciate it. The real question is, do we appreciate it enough for them not to make a little income off the wonderful and free thinking site they have provided?

I myself would not mind an unobtrusive ad here or there, and in the long-run could end up making the site better as there could be money laying around maybe for contests or who knows what.

In the case that people absolutely DON'T want to look at ads (whatever size they may be) there is always the nifty Firefox ad-on that completely eliminates them for Ad-Free browsing.

I am just curious what everyone thinks about Kori and LJ making a little bit of cash off all the time and energy they have put into this site (including the ever-awesome game thoughts that I feel bring in a steady amount of traffic).

[mavs>spurs2]

Ads wouldn't bother me one bit as long as they aren't pop ups..

[duncan228]

I think it's their choice.
I appreciate everything they've done here, whatever they wanted to do would be okay with me.

I love the fact that they have complete control. I know that some ad companies don't allow swearing. Having anyone but Kori and LJ call the shots would change the feeling of ST. And the family feel is why I'm here.

I like the idea of being able to donate to ST. That way anyone who wanted to could chip in when they could to help off-set some of the costs.

My bottom line: ST is wonderful. It's my home. Kori and LJ make it what it is. I'd be fine with any choice they make because I know it would be in the best interest of ST.

[ancestron]

How about a SpursTalk magazine, with columns written by original members, the best of the message board section, etc.
Endless possibilities
Put ads in there.

[Sec24Row7]

As long as sponsors don't dick with the site and insist people can't say anything they fucking want.

I actually think Certain posters should have sponsors.

Mouse - Sponsored by - The High Times

Ghost Writer - Sponsored by - Prozac

[hater]

fuck no!

[hater]

Tpark sponsored by Tourette's Syndrome Society

[rAm]

I was thinking something like Google's Adsense (text ads) along the bottom.

Or maybe a rectangle leaderboard on the right side of the logo. Something that doesn't change the format and wouldn't be obtrusive.

I am sure there are plenty of Local San Antonio advertisers that would love the large amount of localized traffic, along with the (relatively) cheap prices that Kori and LJ would charge them. It might make up for some of the "nonsense" thats posted on the boards.

[Hemotivo]

google adsense

text only ads

[duncan228]

There are a few links at the bottom of the page, under the copyright info.
They blend in nicely with the color scheme, they're not easy to see.
I think I remember Kori saying that she was trying something with them.

[Kori Ellis]

Just FYI, we can't use Google Adsense here because of the cursing.

[Budkin]

As long as it doesn't change the community go for it.

[Hemotivo]

Just FYI, we can't use Google Adsense here because of the cursing.
:dizzy

ok
:reading

[Taco]

Should SpursTalk have advertising?

DO YOU MEAN LIKE SPURSREPORT HAS?

I SAY NO!

[2centsworth]

I suggessted they have a seperate forum where advertisers and sponsors could post specials, discounts, etc.. for spurtalk members.

[Brutalis]

Don't care as long as it isn't pop-ups

[whottt]

Just FYI, we can't use Google Adsense here because of the cursing.


Fuck Google.

I bet I can use their search engine to find worse stuff than anyone says on here.

[Allanon]

I think Ads would be great. Just don't do pop-ups. I did the ads for another site and can make it pretty unobtrusive:

http://www.dallascowboyscentral.com/forum

I'd be happy to help you guys implement them as a giving back to the community thing and few bucks of vBookie cash :spin

[rAm]

I think Ads would be great. Just don't do pop-ups. I did the ads for another site and can make it pretty unobtrusive:

http://www.dallascowboyscentral.com/forum

I'd be happy to help you guys implement them as a giving back to the community thing.


not bad at all, I think it could be formatted a little better to fit into spurstalk tho.

sucks about the adsense thing, because thats kind of an easy automatic revenue kind of thing.

[Kori Ellis]

I think Ads would be great. Just don't do pop-ups. I did the ads for another site and can make it pretty unobtrusive:

http://www.dallascowboyscentral.com/forum

I'd be happy to help you guys implement them as a giving back to the community thing and few bucks of vBookie cash :spin

Those ads are Google Adsense.

And thanks for the offer, but timvp's work revolves around internet advertising. So we know plenty about how to implement them. :)

[wildchild]

Ghost Writer - Sponsored by - Prozac

I don't want to know who is the sponsor of Sequ :rolleyes

[rAm]

Those ads are Google Adsense.

And thanks for the offer, but timvp's work revolves around internet advertising. So we know plenty about how to implement them. :)


Kori, what is your take on this? I am sure you both have considered it in the past, but what is the main factor that has stopped you from putting advertising up?

Since TimVP works in the field (so do I) I am sure he has a bunch of ideas on non-obtrusive marketing. I think you guys deserve it, but its just my opinion.

[rasho8]

Why don't they do like Red vs Blue used to do?

10 bucks every 6 months, optional buy in, and those people that pay have access to things like a separate insiders forum where SpursChick and everyone who gives away tickets and other info when they have them posts there first.

That would give people an incentive to pay in, you get a little "Insiders" logo under yor name and your name turns blue or something, and since we all love Kori and LJ, 10 bucks isn't that big a deal.

That and we could have TROLL FREE DISCUSSIONS!! Because whiny S0ns bitch wouldn't want to pay 10 bucks to anything Spurs related.

[Kori Ellis]

Kori, what is your take on this? I am sure you both have considered it in the past, but what is the main factor that has stopped you from putting advertising up?

Since TimVP works in the field (so do I) I am sure he has a bunch of ideas on non-obtrusive marketing. I think you guys deserve it, but its just my opinion.

I hate ads. I don't want ads in the Spurs forum.

I am considering setting up an arcade and other sections of the site and only putting ads in those sections.

[Mister Sinister]

I think it's their choice.
I appreciate everything they've done here, whatever they wanted to do would be okay with me.

I love the fact that they have complete control. I know that some ad companies don't allow swearing. Having anyone but Kori and LJ call the shots would change the feeling of ST. And the family feel is why I'm here.

I like the idea of being able to donate to ST. That way anyone who wanted to could chip in when they could to help off-set some of the costs.

My bottom line: ST is wonderful. It's my home. Kori and LJ make it what it is. I'd be fine with any choice they make because I know it would be in the best interest of ST.
+9001

[Kori Ellis]

Why don't they do like Red vs Blue used to do?

10 bucks every 6 months, optional buy in, and those people that pay have access to things like a separate insiders forum where SpursChick and everyone who gives away tickets and other info when they have them posts there first.

That would give people an incentive to pay in, you get a little "Insiders" logo under yor name and your name turns blue or something, and since we all love Kori and LJ, 10 bucks isn't that big a deal.

That and we could have TROLL FREE DISCUSSIONS!! Because whiny S0ns bitch wouldn't want to pay 10 bucks to anything Spurs related.

I would never do any "members only" type of areas with a dollar amount connected to them. I wouldn't ever want to exclude people from any insider stuff.

[2centsworth]

:toast
Why don't they do like Red vs Blue used to do?

10 bucks every 6 months, optional buy in, and those people that pay have access to things like a separate insiders forum where SpursChick and everyone who gives away tickets and other info when they have them posts there first.

That would give people an incentive to pay in, you get a little "Insiders" logo under yor name and your name turns blue or something, and since we all love Kori and LJ, 10 bucks isn't that big a deal.

That and we could have TROLL FREE DISCUSSIONS!! Because whiny S0ns bitch wouldn't want to pay 10 bucks to anything Spurs related.

[dallaskd]

I just say we make an MMA forum and you can put ads in there.

[spursrocksocks]

I dont care, this place rocks. I just really hate those word hyperlink adds that attach themselves to a word in the paragraph and make pop ups and shit when you move the mouse over them

[rAm]

+9001


It's over 9000???

[rAm]

I hate ads. I don't want ads in the Spurs forum.

I am considering setting up an arcade and other sections of the site and only putting ads in those sections.


Makes perfect sense, I never meant to question your judgment or anything. I have just heard bickering about it in the past and wanted to see a poll of what everyone thought.

Maybe throw some ads in the other non-basketball related forums or something?

[mavsfan1000]

I hate ads but if Kori really needs them than I guess I can handle it.

[wildbill2u]

Just FYI, we can't use Google Adsense here because of the cursing.
I laughed out loud when I saw this thread. Then I thought:

Who could you get to advertise with all the foul-mouthed members on here?

North American Man/Boy Love Association (Nambla)?

Goth's R-Us?

Personals: Rhonda Roundheels (For a good time, call Rhonda at 555----)?

Call Dr. Edgar, the Drive By Psychiatrist for all your personalities.?

[Dave McNulla]

i figure that there are bills to pay. it's a reliable high-volume site, that's got to cost something.

[Capt Bringdown]

I'm in favor of folks getting paid for their hard work, if they so desire. Lawd knows it's a job well done!
All the best.

[CubanMustGo]

I think there should be voluntary donations where you get a cool icon (or another spur) for giving a set amount. :)

[Tike Mailer]

It's all about the money. Who cares about anything else? Cash in, Kori and LJ. Do it.

[HighLowLobForBig-50]

kori = great mod
timvp > buck harvey
that is all

[Strike]

Why not. They provide a valuable service, free of charge, to Spurs fans around the world.

Nothing wrong with making a little scratch on the side, too.

[phxspurfan]

Do Kori and LJ deserve to make some cash from SpursTalk?


What a loaded question! I voted no to annoying pop-up ads, not no to them making profit.

[Kori Ellis]

Even if we ever put ads up, I doubt it would be enough to actually make profit.. maybe just get somewhat closer to breaking even. But I hate ads, so it's not been something we ever consider much. But since we have to upgrade the server (again!) soon, I might have to re-think. I would never put them in the Spurs forum though.

[Strike]

Even if we ever put ads up, I doubt it would be enough to actually make profit.. maybe just get somewhat closer to breaking even. But I hate ads, so it's not been something we ever consider much. But since we have to upgrade the server (again!) soon, I might have to re-think. I would never put them in the Spurs forum though.

If you had to, put them in the Kings forum. All of them. :lol

[koriwhat]

Even if we ever put ads up, I doubt it would be enough to actually make profit.. maybe just get somewhat closer to breaking even. But I hate ads, so it's not been something we ever consider much. But since we have to upgrade the server (again!) soon, I might have to re-think. I would never put them in the Spurs forum though.

you should think about setting up some sort of cms like joomla(this is the sort of work i do freelance). this way you could finally have a real front page with polls, ads, and whatnot and then have the bboard integrated into the whole cms. it would be cool not to mention pretty easy too. :tu

[jmard5]

I hate ads. I don't want ads in the Spurs forum.

I am considering setting up an arcade and other sections of the site and only putting ads in those sections.

Arcade with vBookie prizes!

[Kori Ellis]

you should think about setting up some sort of cms like joomla(this is the sort of work i do freelance). this way you could finally have a real front page with polls, ads, and whatnot and then have the bboard integrated into the whole cms. it would be cool not to mention pretty easy too. :tu

We have a CMS software and used to have a front page (when it was FullSportPress and the ezboard forum - before SpursTalk and vBulletin). But most people direct linked to the forum anyway, so the front page was pretty useless.

[Shaolin-Style]

I would not mind at all if there were no pop ups or ads with sound "Congratulations!". Evil fucking things. If the inventor of pop ups isn't already dead then he must be at least in a coma state or something from the beating hes earned.

[koriwhat]

We have a CMS software and used to have a front page (when it was FullSportPress and the ezboard forum - before SpursTalk and vBulletin). But most people direct linked to the forum anyway, so the front page was pretty useless.

yeah i can see that happening... i'd probably directly link to the forum too. well it'd be a cool idea if the front page turned into some sort of real sports column newspaper/magazine type site where headlines were at sort of like spursreport does but not like spursreport because sr sucks!

[polandprzem]

How about a SpursTalk magazine, with columns written by original members, the best of the message board section, etc.
Endless possibilities
Put ads in there.

:lol

My column: The Polish Voice

[Kori Ellis]

yeah i can see that happening... i'd probably directly link to the forum too.

Yeah I'd direct link to the forum too :)

Oh, well, we will probably make some changes in the next couple months. So we'll figure it out.

[rAm]

Do Kori and LJ deserve to make some cash from SpursTalk?


What a loaded question! I voted no to annoying pop-up ads, not no to them making profit.

haha yea the question is a little loaded, but if you read my description I never advocated pop-up-ads. Who in their right mind would want that?

[vander]

I'd sleep better at night knowing kori and co. were getting their fair share of ad revenues out there. Kori, if you don't want to profit off the site, then just use the money ON the site, upgrade it, give out prizes for vbookie, have ticket raffles etc.

DO IT!!!!

[samikeyp]

Kori and LJ will do what is best for the site and I for one, would support whatever they decide. I am sure many others would too.

[polandprzem]

In the playoffs it will be nasty!

Some noobs do not even realize how much traffic is here during and after games especially.
You can refresh the page every 5 seconds and you will find 200 new posts.

Being liberal is not always a good thing :)

[Kori Ellis]

I'd sleep better at night knowing kori and co. were getting their fair share of ad revenues out there. Kori, if you don't want to profit off the site, then just use the money ON the site, upgrade it, give out prizes for vbookie, have ticket raffles etc.

DO IT!!!!

:) Ad revenue probably wouldn't even cover the server costs.

[vander]

:) Ad revenue probably wouldn't even cover the server costs.


what are you using legitimate servers from here in america or something?

anyways, all the more reason

[rAm]

:) Ad revenue probably wouldn't even cover the server costs.


If you have solid traffic numbers and a relative target audience I feel like you can make a good chunk of cash with ads. But then again I don't know how much you are paying for hosting.

[remingtonbo2001]

Speaking of advertising, I clicked on the shoes fashion link in your sig, as my Doc Martin's have seen better days. Anyways, I found some shoes. Thanks! :)

[ClingingMars]

DO YOU MEAN LIKE SPURSREPORT HAS?

I SAY NO!

[ClingingMars]

Why don't they do like Red vs Blue used to do?

10 bucks every 6 months, optional buy in, and those people that pay have access to things like a separate insiders forum where SpursChick and everyone who gives away tickets and other info when they have them posts there first.

That would give people an incentive to pay in, you get a little "Insiders" logo under yor name and your name turns blue or something, and since we all love Kori and LJ, 10 bucks isn't that big a deal.

That and we could have TROLL FREE DISCUSSIONS!! Because whiny S0ns bitch wouldn't want to pay 10 bucks to anything Spurs related.

RIP RVB

-Mars

[Kori Ellis]

If you have solid traffic numbers and a relative target audience I feel like you can make a good chunk of cash with ads. But then again I don't know how much you are paying for hosting.


We get over 3 million page views a month. But like I said, I wouldn't put ads in the Spurs forum - where the bulk of the traffic is.

[duncan228]

We get over 3 million page views a month.

My God, no wonder I never feel alone when I'm here.

[ClingingMars]

i say put 'em in the pistons and the kings forum.

-Mars

[ShoogarBear]

I hate ads but if Kori really needs them than I guess I can handle it.How about ads just for Mav Fans?












Like for douche products.

[vander]

I use this thing "ie7pro" because it spell checks fields for you (I know, like firefox does automatically :p: )

but apparently all this time it has been blocking ads for me too, I didn't even realize it until this thread made me ponder the inconvenience of adds, and I couldn't even find any :lol

so there's just another reason to add ads, we don't even have to see 'em.

:clap :elephant

[50 cent]

Fuck Yes....just leave the damn search option on. (or charge me more of an admin fee on Fantasy football).

[Kori Ellis]

Fuck Yes....just leave the damn search option on. (or charge me more of an admin fee on Fantasy football).

LOL The search option is only off during Spurs games in the peak part of the season. Get over it.

[Brutalis]

Just get some ads, it'll pay for a better server, then you can pay me for being so damn smooth.

[vander]

Fuck Yes....just leave the damn search option on. (or charge me more of an admin fee on Fantasy football).

if you need it that bad just archive the site everyday and index it and search it with google desktop or something, then you'll be a past-bringing-up, precedence-citing MACHINE :spin


about how big is this site kori?

[duncan228]

Fuck Yes....just leave the damn search option on. (or charge me more of an admin fee on Fantasy football).

Search is back on, you can relax now. :lol

[Kori Ellis]

Many of you miss the point on the subject of ads.

We can't use Google adsense (and most ad networks) unless I stop you guys from cursing altogether.

If everyone blocks the ads with their ad filters, that defeats the purpose of having them.

We already pay a lot to maintain the forum. If we upgraded the server to a dual server system that would probably double what we pay now. Even placing ads on the forum at that point, they wouldn't cover costs. So it's not like we'd be close to profiting.

We upgrade the server every year or so, and we are about to do that again before the playoffs. If we go to a dual server system, it will cost more than double what we are paying now but it will be faster and handle peak traffic times better.

I would never put pop-ups on the forum, or banner ads that download that spyware crap. If we upgrade the forum and add an arcade, I'll put ads in there and probably no where else on the site.

I know a lot of you are trying to give advice and we appreciate it, but we do know what we are doing. LJ's business is in advertising and we run tons of websites. We have just chosen not to profit off of SpursTalk intentionally. If we wanted to profit, I would have just sold out two years ago for 6 figures when we had the chance.

[duncan228]

I know a lot of you are trying to give advice and we appreciate it, but we do know what we are doing. LJ's business is in advertising and we run tons of websites. We have just chosen not to profit off of SpursTalk intentionally. If we wanted to profit, I would have just sold out two years ago for 6 figures when we had the chance.

I think it is all done with care at the heart of it Kori.
I know the regulars here love ST and love the way you and LJ run it.
There's a little bit of guilt that we all benefit so much from something that costs you so much time, effort, and money.

Knowing it's by your choice helps a lot.
I remember the feeling of relief I had when you made the decision not to sell out.

Should you ever change your mind and want to accept donations you know that there are plenty of us that would love to contribute so that SpursTalk remains the wonderful home you've made for us.

[Brutalis]

Many of you miss the point on the subject of ads.

We can't use Google adsense (and most ad networks) unless I stop you guys from cursing altogether.

If everyone blocks the ads with their ad filters, that defeats the purpose of having them.

We already pay a lot to maintain the forum. If we upgraded the server to a dual server system that would probably double what we pay now. Even placing ads on the forum at that point, they wouldn't cover costs. So it's not like we'd be close to profiting.

We upgrade the server every year or so, and we are about to do that again before the playoffs. If we go to a dual server system, it will cost more than double what we are paying now but it will be faster and handle peak traffic times better.

I would never put pop-ups on the forum, or banner ads that download that spyware crap. If we upgrade the forum and add an arcade, I'll put ads in there and probably no where else on the site.

I know a lot of you are trying to give advice and we appreciate it, but we do know what we are doing. LJ's business is in advertising and we run tons of websites. We have just chosen not to profit off of SpursTalk intentionally. If we wanted to profit, I would have just sold out two years ago for 6 figures when we had the chance.

6 figures?

Kori are you fucking dumb lady??

What kind of action figures???

[USA Employee]

If Kori doesn't want to make money she should at least let those with over 1,000 posts put their links on here many posters @ ST have there own business.

my 2 cents.

[phxspurfan]

Should you ever change your mind and want to accept donations you know that there are plenty of us that would love to contribute so that SpursTalk remains the wonderful home you've made for us.


agreed

[Supreme_Being]

Whatever you do, Kori &timvp, I'm (kinda) with you. Just don't make me pay for timvp's game thoughts! :D