I know the need for ad revenue on a fan site like this, and I'd just accepted the frustration of having ads appear in the middle of a post (instead of, say, between then). And sometimes clicking on a thread will take you to an ad page first, and that was kind of annoying, but whatever.
But now there's pop-up video ads on every single page I go to in these forums and it's getting to be too much.
I'm not asking for no ads, but is there a way to dial them back a bit?
I know the need for ad revenue on a fan site like this, and I'd just accepted the frustration of having ads appear in the middle of a post (instead of, say, between then). And sometimes clicking on a thread will take you to an ad page first, and that was kind of annoying, but whatever.
But now there's pop-up video ads on every single page I go to in these forums and it's getting to be too much.
I'm not asking for no ads, but is there a way to dial them back a bit?
AdBlock Plus and Pop up Blocker for your browsers.
I have both and only see the small affiliate links square on the right of the forum with the last Fwoosh Weekly YT video under it. Other than that, NO ADS what so ever.
@salemcrow, I'm usually here on my phone rather than a PC. Is there an Android ad blocker?
@fletch I use Firefox on Android and on desktop and Ad Blocker Plus on it on both.
Ads? I've never seen one. Maybe try downloading an ad blocker.
I downloaded an ad blocker app on my phone. Otherwise the new site was unusable for me, which is a pity.
Even with an ad blocker running, the new forums are much slower than they were before last summer. It takes a long time for threads to load, it takes several clicks to get anything to respond, and I got automatically logged out all the time, especially if I open a new tab in my browser. It’s frustrating, and makes me not want to be here as much.
I miss Tapatalk compatibility. I was happy to pay for premium Tapatalk solely to use on Fwoosh. It was such a smooth user interface.
I know the need for ad revenue on a fan site like this, and I'd just accepted the frustration of having ads appear in the middle of a post (instead of, say, between then). And sometimes clicking on a thread will take you to an ad page first, and that was kind of annoying, but whatever.
But now there's pop-up video ads on every single page I go to in these forums and it's getting to be too much.
I'm not asking for no ads, but is there a way to dial them back a bit?
Sadly, no. The option is ads or close the site. Google Adsense revenue dropped to a point that it wasn't paying for the frontage and forum. I changed providers, which has many benefits, but yes, we have to deal with annoying ads. After 20 years of avoiding annoying ads, I've given in.
As others have mentioned, ad blockers are your friend.
Until I come up with another solution.
@pablolobo, that's fair. I get the need for ads and don't mind them, but something happened recently where they just seem more intrusive and poppy-uppy.
I'm noticing more ads too. To the left, right, bottom, and in the middle of my screen. I've been given a new laptop recently, so maybe that's why I'm just now noticing them?
I know the need for ad revenue on a fan site like this, and I'd just accepted the frustration of having ads appear in the middle of a post (instead of, say, between then). And sometimes clicking on a thread will take you to an ad page first, and that was kind of annoying, but whatever.
But now there's pop-up video ads on every single page I go to in these forums and it's getting to be too much.
I'm not asking for no ads, but is there a way to dial them back a bit?
Sadly, no. The option is ads or close the site. Google Adsense revenue dropped to a point that it wasn't paying for the frontage and forum. I changed providers, which has many benefits, but yes, we have to deal with annoying ads. After 20 years of avoiding annoying ads, I've given in.
As others have mentioned, ad blockers are your friend.
Until I come up with another solution.
Totally get the need to find a way to pay for the site, Pabs. Lots of changes in the last year that I'm sure have been difficult to deal with at times!
Since you've been running Fwoosh so long I'm sure you've considered a million different options for funding, hosting, etc so I'm not trying to tell you your business. Just wondering if there is any consideration of moving to a different forum architecture like ProBoards, which was mentioned a while back? The mobile support alone seems like it would really help keep engagement up.
As far as funding, are any of the existing Fwoosh Patreon pages active and going towards forum upkeep? I'd be more than happy to pony up a monthly contribution, and I'd bet there are some other long-time users who would as well - especially if it helps the forum thrive. (hell, I pay for a Flickr Pro subscription solely to post pictures here!). Not suggesting you charge for membership, but let people who are willing to contribute do so.
I have no idea what it costs (in dollars and labor hours) to host a forum like this, but I've been coming to the Fwoosh for 20 years and consider it more or less my "home" online and I'd be more than happy to contribute more than just the occasional post!
Back when the forums first came back, in the other thread, Robo had mentioned (in effect) the decision was made to have everything Fwoosh located in one spot, so no outside software/hosting server would be needed, which was not made lightly. You can go through that thread in this subforum to see all that back and forth.
Back when the forums first came back, in the other thread, Robo had mentioned (in effect) the decision was made to have everything Fwoosh located in one spot, so no outside software/hosting server would be needed, which was not made lightly. You can go through that thread in this subforum to see all that back and forth.
Yeah, that's the conversation I'm thinking of when mentioning ProBoards. I just wonder if the events of the last ~8 months has led to any consideration of other options, especially in light of all the difficulties so many people are facing engaging with the forums in a basic way.
@h-bird Absolutely agree with all of this! The new forum remains a very frustrating experience on mobile. I would love to see other options explored like Pro Boards, especially if Tapatalk compatibility could return. I’d be happy to contribute via Patreon.
Personally, it seems to me that we are hemorrhaging long-time members. The frustrating forum interface is the likely culprit.
OR it could be that forums in general are dying, and people just didn't bother returning from reddit or discords they joined when the forum went down.
IF the only people actively involved with any of the Fwoosh related stuff is now Pabs and Benty, I seriously doubt they're going to spend time trying to set up yet ANOTHER outside forum when the (in general) stated focus of the Fwoosh (from Pabs himself in that other thread) was Fwoosh Toys right now, not the forum Patreon, YouTube, or the Fwoosh front page.
You can either install adblockers on your browser of choice to continue coming here, suffer with the lack of mobile support for the Wordpress software, or stick with social media. It seems that's the way it's going to be, and shouting into the void isn't going to get any different results.
the (in general) stated focus of the Fwoosh (from Pabs himself in that other thread) was Fwoosh Toys
Really? All-in on Ninja Scrolls, I guess.
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