Overbearing Ads

For non-Premium readers the ads on your site have become really annoying, especially the ads positioned in the center of the screen.

Conversation 23 comments

  • rameshthanikodi

    13 September, 2017 - 6:00 am

    <p>well we are <em>non-premium</em> users afterall.</p>

  • anchovylover

    13 September, 2017 - 6:12 am

    <p>There is no excuse for any reputable site to be running 3/4 page pop up ads. All Thurrott.com is achieving with such behavior is encouraging visitors to this site to use ad blocking. They are cutting their nose off despite their face. I expect this kind of behavior out of porn sites and not here.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      13 September, 2017 - 10:02 am

      <blockquote><a href="#176214"><em>In reply to anchovylover:</em></a></blockquote><p>And I expect high quality comments on my site, too. I guess we're both disappointed. </p>

      • rameshthanikodi

        13 September, 2017 - 12:44 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#176289"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a></blockquote><p>BOOM</p>

      • anchovylover

        13 September, 2017 - 4:15 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#176289"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a></blockquote><p>Yeah, that's cute Paul. Feel free to point out any errors in my post. </p><p><br></p><p>Windows Central, Neowin, On MSFT, WMPoweruser, BetaNews and The Register all manage to survive without massive pop up ads. Of those sites only Neowin has a paid subscription option and even then it is a fraction of your sites cost.</p><p><br></p><p>Instead of responding with what I'm sure you believe to be a witty reply you need to ask yourself why that is Paul. I'm not the enemy, I have financially supported you and your site because I appreciate the work and respect both Brad and yourself. </p><p><br></p><p>I repeat, you are doing harm to your site as any new visitor once confronted with the massive pop up will simply leave. First impressions are vital in an area where there is ample free content available. I hope you and Brad read my post in the spirit in which it was written.</p>

        • lvthunder

          Premium Member
          13 September, 2017 - 6:31 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#176447"><em>In reply to anchovylover:</em></a></blockquote><p>Betanews has a big pop up ad too.</p>

          • anchovylover

            13 September, 2017 - 7:14 pm

            <blockquote><a href="#176533"><em>In reply to lvthunder:</em></a></blockquote><p>Not seeing it.Perhaps it's regional.</p>

        • Paul Thurrott

          Premium Member
          13 September, 2017 - 7:50 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#176447"><em>In reply to anchovylover:</em></a></blockquote><p>Not trying to be cute. Or witty. </p><p><br></p><p>Those sites are all facing the same issues we are. All of them. I know at least one of them has had layoffs, but I'm not privy to how each copes with the reality of today's web advertising climate. I'm sure each has its own approach. </p><p><br></p><p>I know my name is on the site. But it's a business, not a personal site. I don't actually decide what ads go where. I have a say, for sure, and an opinion. But as I wrote, this is a business. And business is tough. (That said, I don't actually find the ads to be overbearing, but whatever.)</p><p><br></p><p>More to the point, my reaction is based on a simple truth: I find this kind of criticism to be unfair. We have smart people trying to do the right thing. <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">We're trying to get by. It's cheap to jump into comments and just bitch. Especially when the thing you're attacking is struggling to do the right thing. It's just not fair.</span></p><p><br></p>

          • anchovylover

            13 September, 2017 - 8:43 pm

            <blockquote><a href="#176568"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a></blockquote><p>Just to be clear I'm only referring to the large pop-up and not ads on the site in general. In fact, the site is more than reasonable in that regard. I fear you may have thought I was objecting to ads in general or the business reality of them. I hope that clears it up.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

        • Wolf

          Premium Member
          14 September, 2017 - 1:26 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#176447"><em>In reply to anchovylover:</em></a></blockquote><p>Yeah, right. Windows Central just spams you with deals and "special offers". You think that's better? :/</p>

          • anchovylover

            14 September, 2017 - 6:03 pm

            <blockquote><a href="#176765"><em>In reply to Wolf:</em></a></blockquote><p>Again, perhaps it's regional. I'm in Australia and I just checked WC using Edge with my ad block and Ghostery turned off. There was no 3/4 page size pop-up displayed.</p>

  • StevenLayton

    13 September, 2017 - 7:29 am

    <p>Its really interesting how emotive website Ads are. This is the second thread about them. Its a difficult balancing act between paying the bills, and not driving visitors away. I'm glad its not me making those decisions, which impact peoples livelihoods.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      13 September, 2017 - 7:51 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#176227"><em>In reply to StevenLayton:</em></a></blockquote><p>Thanks for understanding. I find it hard to believe this isn't just obvious.</p>

  • Paul Thurrott

    Premium Member
    13 September, 2017 - 10:02 am

    <p>I'm not sure if you're aware of how web advertising works, but it's terrible. We make less and less money on this stuff over time and the business model is collapsing. </p><p><br></p><p>So… Sorry. But we gotta eat, too. We don't want to annoy people, and I'd love to be independently wealthy enough that we could run this thing like a charity. But this is the reality.</p>

    • AnOldAmigaUser

      Premium Member
      13 September, 2017 - 4:17 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#176288"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a></blockquote><p>How web advertising works might make a really interesting article, though it might be too painful to write. Most of us have no clue regarding the economics of providing online content.</p><p><br></p><p>A few years ago, Long Zheng wrote a really good post on crapware installers after having been contacted to use it for MetroTwit (…and to his unending credit, refusing.)</p>

      • Paul Thurrott

        Premium Member
        13 September, 2017 - 7:52 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#176449"><em>In reply to AnOldAmigaUser:</em></a></blockquote><p>I do everything I can to divorce myself from the business side of this. But this kind of thing is in my face because it really is terrible. And for someone to complain about a pop-up ad on the web. It's like, seriously. I work at this seven days a week. I wish we had the luxury to just coast on ads, I really do.</p>

    • Bats

      13 September, 2017 - 9:44 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#176288"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a></blockquote><p>These pop ads are feeding you? Paul we can all see you what you look like. You don't seem to have a problem finding food.</p><p><br></p><p>Anyway, I don't mind the pop-ups on this site. Nothing in this world is free. Not food, internet, healthcare, citizenship, sneakers, electricity, college education, and ……thurrott.com. This is capitalism. Thurrott.com is free to do whatever it can to make a buck or two.</p>

  • Paul Thurrott

    Premium Member
    13 September, 2017 - 7:53 pm

    <blockquote><a href="#176459"><em>In reply to Waethorn:</em></a></blockquote><p>Recorded when web advertising was about 5x as lucrative as it is now, btw.</p>

  • Bats

    13 September, 2017 - 9:46 pm

    <p>Dude, if you don't like than pay to be premium.</p>

  • gregsedwards

    Premium Member
    14 September, 2017 - 10:56 am

    <p>It's weird. I paid for the premium subscription, and it's like I don't even notice the ads anymore. <img class="emoji" draggable="false" alt="?" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2.3/svg/1f609.svg"></p><p><br></p><p>Seriously, I think the value of the premium content on this site and the ad-free experience makes it well worth the cost of the subscription. I visit this site several times per day, and while a lot of the same headlines show up here as on other similar sites mentioned in this thread, I think there's a unique editorial insight you don't get anywhere else. And that's not just reserved for the premium articles; often, Paul or Brad have a unique take or insight in an article that's significantly valuable to me. You don't find them covering every new app that shows up on the Store or how to change the color theme on your Xbox. And BTW, it's fine that those other sites do that. I come here for the deeper analysis. And I think it's great that there's still plenty of relevant content on the non-premium side, too. Honestly, if you watch Windows Weekly, What the Tech, and the Sams Report, there's not much premium content that's left undiscussed.</p><p><br></p><p>I do prefer this model to the approach where a site bombards you with ads and provides no other reading options or uses a paywall that only teases the first few lines of all their articles. I feel like this site keeps me well-informed about a topic I'm passionate about, and I really appreciate the revenue model that the team are going for here: pay for great content that's important to you, or deal with the ads.</p>

  • jlmerrill

    16 September, 2017 - 8:32 pm

    <p>I wouldn't mind if the webinar popup was a side ad but the popup is annoying to say the least. Shame on you guys. Google Chrome will eventually block that stuff.</p>

  • haki

    18 September, 2017 - 11:42 pm

    <p>interesting thing</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><a href="https://goo.gl/pyRRez&quot; target="_blank">maxbet</a></p>

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