I have a problem this board now!

[Magnus3x]

It was kewl when you put your Xbiz awards nom button in our post space under the Avitars..!!

but

Now you're putting adverts there...can we change that to what we want?
What's the point of rules on sigs?

It's your board but my space..webmasters sign up, post so you have traffic and advertising clout.

I wanna cut!

[StuartD]

Yeah, I've seen a couple other board do the ad under the name thing and it's NEVER gone over well.

The xbiz nomination thing is definitely cool, but I don't see advertisements there going over well.

[Panky]

I personally don't mind the the button under my avatar, regardless if it's an ad or nomination.

Members of the board can advertise their programs in their sigs. I don't think the little button takes away from views to their sig.

If members want to advertise their program, these buttons allow another way for people to advertise other than buying ad space on the main page, in the newsletter...

I've seen members use their avatars along with their sigs to promote their programs. There's nothing wrong with this technique. Having this new button feature below your avatars will not take away from noticing your avatar.

Having a button in the rotation, allows for members & sponcors to gain more exposure because they appear whenever any member posts. They are not invasive, "in your face", annoying pops. It's simply a button placed with space between your avatar and the ad button.

I'll stand by Chris in his decision to implement this new advertising button. I don't see anything wrong with it. Every single board sells ad space. Boards aren't just places to post, they are a business. Chris owns XNations and all the real estate. He's entitled to implement advertising options where he feels it will benefit XNations and the people who choose to participate in these options.

Maybe Chris can change the size of the button, or make rules that they can not be ads with sounds, or they can only be static images or text???

Maybe this new advertising option will work, maybe it won't. But regardless, I still will stand by Chris in this new advertising option.

[Panky]

The statement was made that the XBiz button is cool and is ok to place it where it is.

The XBiz button is advertising in of itself. It's name recognition. It helps to brand XBiz. People may even click on it to see what the nomination is all about. It's advertising, just like every other sponcor does.

So why would the XBiz button announcing a nomination or prestige of winning an award be any different than a sponcor button? It doesn't matter exactly what the button is promoting. It's still designed for promotion and name recognition.

[Magnus3x]

Boards aren't just places to post, they are a business. Chris owns XNations and all the real estate. He's entitled to implement advertising options where he feels it will benefit XNations and the people who choose to participate in these options.

So much for a sense of community.....ah well.. I could sell my sig elsewhere.

[Evil Chris]

Come on, give it a chance!?

[Panky]

So much for a sense of community.....ah well.. I could sell my sig elsewhere.

You are right. One of the statements that I made might have sounded a bit harsh. Boards are not just places to post. I agree that they are in a sense, a community. But one also needs to take into consideration the different elements involved in running and maintaining a healthy community. Funding being one of them.

Maybe members would rather have paid some sort of membership fee that entitles them to certain benefits and priviledges according to whether they joined for free, or what amount they paid? A portion of the revenue generated would then be alloted for the running of XNations.

I can't speak for others, but I would find the membership fee thing a little more upsetting than having a button under my avatar. Not saying I wouldn't consider paying a membership fee, but for now, I prefer the little button.

[cdsmith]

If I may be allowed to voice my opinion on this....

One of the problems that many webmasters had on GFY with the "ad button below the avatar" is that it seems to suggest that the webmaster making the post is somehow endorsing that company. Xbiz for example.... I don't do business with them, I don't actively recommend them to anyone, so why is it located right below my name suggesting that I DO endorse them and I DO recommend them?

See what I mean?

Quite a few webmasters posted very negative comments on GFY for the week they ran that dialer solutions ad in every 3rd poster's avatar spot. I must say, it didn't sit all that well with me either but I didn't say anything about it because it was only for 1 week. And after all, the board has the top and bottom banner/button spots of every single page of the forum including the archives. People's individual posts including the area below their name should serve to allow the webmaster to say who THEY are and what THEY are affiliated with, not to have some company's link in there that is in no way affiliated with that person.

I guess that about covers it. Others may disagree, but that's how I feel about foreign ads invading my posts.
Thanks,

[Panky]

I missed the whole GFY posting concerning what they did about placing an ad under someones avatar and members' reactions to it.

Quite frankly, when I first saw the ad buttons under members' avatars here on XNations, I didn't view it as that particular person being associated with the ad being displayed. I just simply saw it as an ad. I can see how people could view it as an ad for something that particular member was a associated with, instead of interpreting it as just a random ad.

Ever since SigSwap, Swoit, and various sig programs and deals, I really don't always associate that webmaster carrying the sig as being a representative or affiliate for the ad in the sig. Some of them are obvious cuz I recognize that particular webmaster as the owner or employee of a particular company. Then some aren't so obvious cuz people promote various sponcors or participate in different sig programs. So, I just simply carried that perception when I saw the buttons under members' avatars.


Maybe a solid bar or some type of design feature could be implemented to distinguish the ad from the members' avatar and info?

[cdsmith]

Well, I guess the other point/item on this issue is this...... sorry, there's no other way to say it than to just say it...... a common school of thought also seems to be "is the board so hard-up for money that they have to be jamming ads in and around our posts?"

It is a comment I've read more than once, and quite frankly I'm not sure which way I lean on this one. I mean, on one side it IS the perogative of the board owner to do with it what he/she sees fit, but on the other hand.... when does one say "enough already" where ads are concerned?

[cdsmith]

,


,


.

<-- every single damn post?




I dunno guys.

[AcidMaX]

I for one agree with CDSmith, I think it does appear as if someone endorces that particular company.

Secondly, sometimes less is more. When you inundate your visitors with advertising they will quite often return less and start skimming over the advertising completely. I am simply going by the whole thing with GFY and their ADS promo thing. When they changed their entire look and feel, spammed ADS advertising, really made me not want to go back there at all. Granted , this isn't the same, but I think you get the idea.

There are already 2 banners on the top, 5 buttons on the bottom, 1 in just about every persons post and on the submit pages etc.

[Magnus3x]

it seems to suggest that the webmaster making the post is somehow endorsing that company.

THANK YOU!!!

But one also needs to take into consideration the different elements involved in running and maintaining a healthy community. Funding being one of them.

Please don't preach revenue!! There are ample places for roated banners and buttons on every page like most "healthy communities".

[Tafkap]

I'm ok with the XBiz Nominee button... but i'd be pissed off to have one of my competitors button under my name!!! LOL

Imagine a newbie registering that board. He likes what u say or could be interesting.

He wanna register ur program. He sees that button under ur name so he might logically thinks that u're representing that company uh?

Et voilà, I lost a customer!!

[Joshua]

I only use it and have thought about expanding it for sites that we own and/or operate. Not putting others under there.

I agree with what everyone is saying. The whole "endorsement" thing being an issue. But I totally find the idea of keeping it and allowing you the user to customize it to be totally stupid. Signatures are enough and if you think you need more, then you're nothing then a sig whore. Now maybe allowing it to be customized to the manner that the end user could choose what is listed under there and/or uses their referral code for your sponsor or something, that's a different story because that's still giving everyone what they're wanting.

Just my two cents..

[Wizzo]

I think most people a reasonably smart enough to figure out it's board generated and not a endorsement from the poster...

[Joshua]

Originally posted by Wizzo
I think most people a reasonably smart enough to figure out it's board generated and not a endorsement from the poster...

Or atleast they should be. I know we're all adults, or atleast should be. But some of the maturity levels of the people you come by really make you wonder.

[Evil Chris]

I must admit this is very good feedback.

You folks are the ones who drive the blood through this board, and your comments are being taken to heart. Obviously the goals at xnations are to have a lot of quality webmaster traffic, and in turn provide clicks, impressions, and hopefully many signups for the companies that sponsor the board. I'm going to hold off on this new feature for now, but in the meantime any suggestions any of you have for improvements would be greatly appreciated.

[Mister X]

I don't have a major problem with it but I don't like it either. I don't have a problem with ads but I don't like it to seem that I endorse something because it is in an area that most people see as being related to the poster. If the area was more clearly defined as seperate, no problem. As it stands I don't like it.

[wsjb78]

I just think the add doesn't fit into the board... it's too prominent when blinking and animated.... besides my sense of esthetics I have no problems with it.

I don't believe people will think of it as something the poster has control over when it appears in all posts.

I would have concerns being related to it if there were like 3 or more adds randomly displayed.

[cdsmith]

I guess the biggest question the board owner has to ask him/herself is... does the board really need this extra ad space? Some of the members obviously feel it takes away some 'oomph' from their sig, other members feel that it makes it look as if they are endorsing a company that they don't.... and others simply just don't like it. Plus, this has been tried on GFY for that one week (It was a special ad promotion though, which was only temporary) and over there they got similar feedback, almost all of it negative.

I don't know.... I'm just saying here, if was my board I would seriously consider other ways of increasing revenue. Most members who are webmasters value the fact that they have some space for their signature to allow them a small chance at drumming up some business... and since there are about 50 decent wm boards around the net now, some might choose to only post on boards that aren't running forced ads beside every post they make.

Something to consider anyway. Now I'll go back to what I was doing....

[StuartD]

Originally posted by wsjb78
I just think the add doesn't fit into the board...

unlike your huge ass sig

[leedsfan]

Originally posted by StuartD
unlike your huge ass sig

[wsjb78]

Originally posted by StuartD
unlike your huge ass sig

Well, my sig is never twice the same in case you have not noticed