Advertising Experiment

[wimg]

Could you have another look? I made some changes, but can't check them yet - waiting for an iPad to try things out.

 

Thank you in advance!

 

Warm regards, Wim

[wimg]

Just got an iPad for testing, and things appear to work without the banner doubling up now.

 

Warm regards, Wim

[Maurizio]

Yes the problem has disappeared.

 

Thanks for addressing it so promptly.

[wimg]

Thank you, I was already on it since last night, my time .

 

Some of the upgrades we have been doing seem to have an interesting effect here and there, more specifically, with iOS. However, I now have, at least temporarily, an iPad available for testing as well .

 

Warm regards, Wim

[Maurizio]

Wow - do you sleep?

[wimg]

Yes, I did, because I did not have an iPad for testing when I finally figured out what was going on. Slept for about 5 hours or so .

 

And I actually need a lot more sleep since being struck down with a really bad flu 3 weeks ago. Trying to juggle my time even more than I do normally .

 

Warm regards, Wim

[Maurizio]

Thanks for your diligence. I want to send you something. Is there any paper or ink you'd like that you can't get locally? Maybe a Noodler's Ink Fountain Pen Hospital exclusive ink?

 

Let me know. I feel it's the least I can do. And please don't tell me some rule prohibits you from accepting a gift from a fellow member.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Yes, I did, because I did not have an iPad for testing when I finally figured out what was going on. Slept for about 5 hours or so .

 

And I actually need a lot more sleep since being struck down with a really bad flu 3 weeks ago. Trying to juggle my time even more than I do normally .

 

Warm regards, Wim

Feel better! And thanks.

 

Yay for ipads...you'd think that, with so many people using these devices and phones, that CERTAIN web sites (yes, Facebook, this means YOU!) would be a little 'friendlier' for us tableteers.

[wimg]

Feel better! And thanks.

 

Yay for ipads...you'd think that, with so many people using these devices and phones, that CERTAIN web sites (yes, Facebook, this means YOU!) would be a little 'friendlier' for us tableteers.

 

Thank you!

 

What I find quite amazing Is that what is being done amongst others, for mobile devices, is an incredible increase in empty space, IOW, a lot more scrolling. This seems to be caused by the typesetting police, who insist on paragraphs having standard spacing surrounding it, and lines having to have additional space surrounding them as well. We will be spending a lot of time to try and fix this for the upcoming version of the board software, which unfortunately seems to want to stick to these new "rules" as well.

 

And then there is the general minimalist approach too - all well and great to create a clean interface, but if that means hovering over functionality before you can even see it, or scroll through lots of pages, that isn't very friendly either. Another point of attention for us . You only have to compare the default skin/theme to the LIbrary skin/theme to see what I mean, and that was only just the beginning of this trend. It appears to be getting worse with more recent software....

 

Warm regards, Wim

[Sailor Kenshin]

The default skin has worked fine for me in Safari. I think Library is prettier, though.

[Betweenthelines]

 

Could you have another look? I made some changes, but can't check them yet - waiting for an iPad to try things out.

 

Thank you in advance!

 

Warm regards, Wim

 

Wim - all fixed on my mobile. Thank you for the prompt response and for being such an active, responsive, and community centered admin. Having been part of many online forum communities (and having run a few myself), I have seen just how crucial that is for a community to thrive. When an admin is absent and/or not invested in the community as part of the community, the forum dies on the vine, every time.

 

So a huge thank you for doing things right and so consistently for so many years. Know that your efforts are noticed and greatly appreciated.

Edited May 9, 2015 by Betweenthelines

[da vinci]

Wim,

 

As reported above ipad is great. Unfortunately still cannot log in via an iphone.

 

Appreciate you are doing all you can, just wanted to update you.

 

Regards

Da vinci

[wimg]

Thank you, Da Vinci.

 

Unfortunately this looks like a totally unrelated thing, to the advertising that is.

 

We're still investigating.

 

Warm regards, Wim

[Sailor Kenshin]

Why am I now seeing insurance ads? I thought the ads were to be invisible to logged in members?

[wimg]

There appears to be a bug with the 3rd party add-on for adverts we use, specifically for mobile devices. We have contacted the developer, and in the mean time are looking for a fix ourselves.

This add-on allows for exclusion of member groups, but it seems there is something slightly wrong for mobile devices.

 

I hope to hear more soon.

 

HTH, warm regards, Wim

[Sailor Kenshin]

There appears to be a bug with the 3rd party add-on for adverts we use, specifically for mobile devices. We have contacted the developer, and in the mean time are looking for a fix ourselves.

This add-on allows for exclusion of member groups, but it seems there is something slightly wrong for mobile devices.

 

I hope to hear more soon.

 

HTH, warm regards, Wim

Thanks. You do have a lot on your plate, and I appreciate your efforts. I'm sure the outcome will be a good one.

[coffeetoofull]

Sometimes I prefer to browse the FPN site without signing-in. I am in a hurry and do not have the time to sign-in. Without signing-in the FPN site, now, appears to be a disaster. The additional new advertisements, also, include pop-ups, which makes any visit annoying. The site was working fine, before those who operate it decided to make money out of it. If you are going to collect funds from advertisers, then you should disclose a financial statement to the members of the site, especially to those who donate money to FPN. If you wish to change the site, why not use the format created by FP Geeks? I don't see them screaming for revenues, and pleading with their members for donations. - coffeetoofull

Edited May 19, 2015 by coffeetoofull

[wimg]

As mentioned before, we are experimenting, and how difficult is it to log in?

 

Regarding "making money of FPN": again as mentioned before, with donations, ink sales, premium accounts, and the old style advertising, we make just enough to pay for out-of-pocket costs to run this site, and we finally have a buffer again to keep running for a year. Everything else here is accomplished by volunteer work, and no volunteer gets paid anything for the effort they put into FPN, not a single penny or cent.

 

However, with the size of FPN, and the work required, this is no longer maintainable, we need professional help, which means additional funding. This is why we started this experiment, and in principle only for guests/visitors, not for logged-in members.

 

When we were a lot smaller, it was a lot easier too, that is true for any site. Just look at the number of registered members and the number of posts here, to see the difference. If we were 10X smaller, we could probably get away with what we receive in funding as it is.

 

Also note that we have done away with the double row at the right on the main page, so there is never more than a single sidebar on the right.

 

BTW, so far this advertising stuff is not a success yet. We'll see where it goes.

 

Warm regards, Wim

 

P.S.: FYI, I have adverts switched on for my own account here, so I can see how it looks and what we get. IOW, guests do not stand alone in what they see.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Thanks, Wim. This site has got to be a lot of work, big as it is.

 

I'm logged in and can still see non-pen related ads at the top. Is that supposed to happen now?

[wimg]

Thanks, Wim. This site has got to be a lot of work, big as it is.

 

I'm logged in and can still see non-pen related ads at the top. Is that supposed to happen now?

 

No, it isn't. Are you on a mobile device, Apple, PC, Windows, Android?

 

Thank you in advance!

Warm regards, Wim