Cycle Chat Account Upgrade (Advertisement Removal)

[Shaun]

I just saw them myself. A question for @Shaun or anyone else that knows. Do the ads give revenue only when clicked, or do you get revenue just for displaying them? The answer will determine if I block them or not.

It's a combination of the two, depending on which ad wins the auction for the slot. They shouldn't be too obtrusive though, I've put them out of the way of the main page content and there aren't any auto-playing video ads, dating ads, or those giant-sized browser-crashers.

For anyone who would like to remove the banner ads from view whilst at the same time supporting the running costs of CC, I've added an account upgrade that is hopefully affordable to most members: https://www.cyclechat.net/account/upgrades - if it's not affordable but you'd still like to support CC's running costs and go banner-free, get in touch and we'll come to some arrangement.

As to ad-blockers, I can't stop anyone using them (and I understand why they have increased in popularity over the years), but if you do choose to block ads please consider creating an extra thread every three or four visits to help entertain and interest your fellow community members, and to grow our Google footprint and attract potential new members.

Of course it goes without saying, but doesn't hurt to say anyway, that your continued support is very much appreciated.

Thanks a lot,
Shaun

 

[ColinJ]

For anyone who would like to remove the banner ads from view whilst at the same time supporting the running costs of CC, I've added an account upgrade that is hopefully affordable to most members: https://www.cyclechat.net/account/upgrades - if it's not affordable but you'd still like to support CC's running costs and go banner-free, get in touch and we'll come to some arrangement.

Excellent - that is what a lot of us had been asking for even before the ads started appearing. I will sign up next time I log in from my laptop.

 

[ianrauk]

9 Squids a year..... a bargain

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

Is it pro-rata?

 

[Drago]

So if I click on an ad and follow a link the site earns a fee? I'm happy to click on random ads several times a day if that's the case.

 

[midlife]

Paid . Can still see ads but I guess it takes a bit of time to work its way through lol

 

[ColinJ]

So if I click on an ad and follow a link the site earns a fee? I'm happy to click on random ads several times a day if that's the case.

The ad networks are not stupid! They have systems in place to pick up such abuses and would react accordingly.

 

[Drago]

They ad networks are not stupid! They have systems in place to pick up such abuses and would react accordingly.

Ah, ok. I'm not a genius with these computer things. I guess you're right, if it were that easy the bots would be clicking continuously and earning their owners a mint.

 

[midlife]

Gone

 

[ColinJ]

Paid . Can still see ads but I guess it takes a bit of time to work its way through lol

It tells you that after you pay!

When the payment has been approved, your account will be upgraded.

 

[Pale Rider]

9 Squids a year..... a bargain

Some will think that way, but you are up against an ingrained culture that content on the internet should be free.

Bona fide news publishers struggle to get users to pay a subscription.

Were CycleChat to be put fully behind a pay wall the site would be dead within hours.

Facebook isn't daft, they are committed to the 'free at point of use' model.

 

[ColinJ]

Some will think that way, but you are up against an ingrained culture that content on the internet should be free.

Bona fide news publishers struggle to get users to pay a subscription.

Were CycleChat to be put fully behind a pay wall the site would be dead within hours.

Facebook isn't daft, they are committed to the 'free at point of use' model.

Unfortunately, you are right about all of that!

Anyway, the ads disappeared for me almost immediately after paying. The results are good on my laptop but even better on my phone - I was having a few page resizing problems on that and they have obviously gone away now. (Things like clicking on a photo - the site would resize the image properly, but when returning, ads were full browser width but the thread content itself was shrunk to about half width.)

 

[Pale Rider]

One might say the alternative to paying nine quid is an adblocker for free.

But experience tells me they can slow loading times, and some features on sites don't work when a blocker is installed.

Paying £9 gives you a superior technical solution.

Slightly mischievously, I wonder what happens if a nine quid member gets banned - is there a pro rata refund?

I think I'm still banned from a couple of threads in news, can I sign up for £8.90 in recognition of the fact that I don't have full access?

 

[cosmicbike]

One might say the alternative to paying nine quid is an adblocker for free.

But experience tells me they can slow loading times, and some features on sites don't work when a blocker is installed.

Paying £9 gives you a superior technical solution.

Slightly mischievously, I wonder what happens if a nine quid member gets banned - is there a pro rata refund?

I think I'm still banned from a couple of threads in news, can I sign up for £8.90 in recognition of the fact that I don't have full access?

As a slightly mischievous response, the money from banned members goes into a pot which is shared amongst the Mods, consider it a Christmas present for all their hard work

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

Hmmm - £9 to Shaun's coke and hookers fund or 9 FB pies? Tricky one.