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Read Me Your opinion about paid advertisement for Code Forum

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Malcolm

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Hello Coders!

I want your opinion about whether or not Code Forum should have paid advertisement and how we should implement this. Here's what I've got so far. We can sell banner placements, that will allow anyone who pays for them to display a certain size image in certain spots around Code Forum and sell links that can be seen in the Forum Activity Feed on the main page (As seen in the picture below). This could help pay for server fees and improvements. However, if the community decides against this. I will not add it. Just curious to see what the community's stance on this topic is! :)

Screenshot_63.png

I have added a poll to this thread.
 
As much as I hate ads(What am I saying, everybody hates ads), this may be the one of the few times I welcome ads onto the site, provided that it's done right.

What I mean by "done right" is:
  • The ads are placed in non-intrusive spots and aren't too big that they take up a chunk of the page.
  • They do not link to sites hosting malicious or illegal content.
  • That there are no trackers embedded inside of them.

If this list gets fulfilled then might have just done online-advertising right.

Regarding monetization in general, you could also look into setting-up a Patreon. There, users can choose to donate whatever amount of money, and alongside that, get exclusive benefits. It's another possible thing you could set-up. Of course, don't go about begging people for money as that will just make people not want to come back to a site that is ran by a beggar.

Side-Note: Could you also add an option for "maybe"? Thanks.
 
I agree with @Mathematical. I think ads are fine, but if they are posted all over the site, they would become annoying.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • The ads are placed in non-intrusive spots and aren't too big that they take up a chunk of the page.
  • They do not link to sites hosting malicious or illegal content.
  • That there are no trackers embedded inside of them.
I couldn't have enumerated it better, above all it would be important for me that it is not personalized advertising and does not include tracking.
Otherwise I don't see any problem with financing the project. Therefore I have voted yes, because I assume that these points will be adopted.
 
I agree with @Mathematical. I think ads are fine, but if they are posted all over the site, they would become annoying and i would probably leave and find another code site.
Knowing @Master Yoda, he definitely wouldn't plaster them all over the site. Plus, not every site will want to partner-up with CF anyway, so you should only expect to see about one or two ads(One potentially at the top and the other potentially at the bottom).

I also believe that quitting just because of poorly placed ads, is a bit of an overstatement. You could easily just join in or a start a protest against the poorly placed ads and @Master Yoda would work to resolve it. He is the kind of guy who does take feedback into consideration so you shouldn't have trouble getting him to move the ads into less obtrusive positions, as he values the user-experience quite greatly in my opinion.
 
Hi guys,

Thank you for the feedback.

What I had in mind is what all of you have pretty much said. I don’t want the ads to be annoying nor lead or have the potential of causing harm. This ads will only be placed in the forum recent posts block on the homepage and perhaps in the footer and sidebar. All ads will be recognizable, most likely have an icon or a special style to distinguish them.

Advertisers would need to follow rules for Code Forum. This rules may include but may change are no flashy graphics, do not link to affiliate links. No inappropriate content, doesn’t lead to malicious content.

@Mathematical how would you suggest we implement Patreon? Maybe an icon? A few messages?
 
What I had in mind is what all of you have pretty much said. I don’t want the ads to be annoying nor lead or have the potential of causing harm. This ads will only be placed in the forum recent posts block on the homepage and perhaps in the footer and sidebar. All ads will be recognizable, most likely have an icon or a special style to distinguish them.
I think perhaps placing ads in both the top of the page and the sidebar would be a lot better. Then you don't have ads cluttering the recent-posts section. That or you just put all ads in the side-bar, underneath the Partners section.

Advertisers would need to follow rules for Code Forum. This rules may include but may change are no flashy graphics, do not link to affiliate links. No inappropriate content, doesn’t lead to malicious content.
Good to hear that you've got some rules in place. While you have stated that no illegal/malicious content will be prohibited and anything too flashy as well, what about the trackers? Will ads strictly be HTML links disguised as clickable buttons or will there be some kind of script powering them? I'd love to know what your statement on this is.

@Mathematical how would you suggest we implement Patreon? Maybe an icon? A few messages?
Well of course, you need to set-up the Patreon first. Register for the account, write the about-page, state where the money goes, all of that stuff.

Patreon allows you to give your "Patrons", special-access to locked blog-posts, and exclusive benefits that only they will receive. Benefits can include things such as:
  • A special badge and a thank-you message.
  • Access to content that regular members won't get access to.
  • Clothes being delivered.

These are just some things that can be put in place for benefits. These can also be extended to Discord servers too.

When you do set this up, you could perhaps display a message on the homepage asking for donations. Something like: "We've got a Patreon you can donate to! Please consider donating to help keep the site running and get access to exclusive benefits! <Patreon link here>"

Something like that could work as your promotion for the Patreon, alongside of course, an announcement thread detailing everything about it.
 
I think perhaps placing ads in both the top of the page and the sidebar would be a lot better. Then you don't have ads cluttering the recent-posts section. That or you just put all ads in the side-bar, underneath the Partners section.
I would only allow 1 ad link to be posted within the recent post section. Then like you said, footer and sidebar.

what about the trackers?
This will be stated as well. missed that.

All ads can only be HTML based.

Okay, I'll set up a Patreon see how I can use it, but I'll have a look at it. No guarantees it will be a thing here at CF though.

Thanks for your post!
 
This is not correct, the ad function on Xenforo can also use js ads, so tracking is no problem.
I’m saying that as in if you want to share an ad on code forum it can only be a picture and link.

example: <a href=“link”><img src=“#”></a>
 
I voted yes. As long as it isn't intrusive (which you've already mentioned that it won't be), then I'm fine with ads for the site especially as it will support the forum :)
 
Yeah I don't see anything wrong with it. I would actually buy some from you possibly at some point, I can't say when. Because you have a dark style it actually wouldn't be too bad. I try to avoid ads on my site though until I get a lot of posts. I would possibly put some for users that weren't logged in. I might would trade you for users logged out at some point. Doesn't have to be any time soon.
 
As of right now, Code Forum will not have any ads for the time being. We are aiming to have an ad-free experience.
 
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