ad's in the comments now???!??!

[TheInfidel]

The vocal minority have gone P-R-O at ad blocking.

 

I respect trying to take the site forward, and that's not always an easy thing to do. The fact remains that the member forums are a huge compoent of the site. The expert advice, user commentary, reviews, feedback and discussion are all user driven content, the site is the container for that content. Only those who want the site and the forums to do well and to continue are on here testing and providing feedback. Feedback is a gift, and how the site owners take it is up to them I guess.

[Philomathesq]

> @Gxgolfer said:

> > @TheInfidel said:

> > > @Gxgolfer said:

> > > Bottom line yes, we lost significant revenue last seven months due to lack of delivering impressions.

> >

> > Revenue was likely down due to reduced site visits and traffic over last 7 months. That was as a result of launching a new platform before basic UAT was done. Pretty simple.

> >

> > If admin are going to shamelessly push for ad revenue then don't get childish when challenged about site changes which dimish the user experience and frustrate loyal members. 90% of your content is user driven.

>

> Here is an example of what I am referring too and I have stated a few times in this thread.

>

> While traffic dipped initially, it is currently at similar levels as previous years. Of course accusations of lying will continue and greed and lack of understanding will continue to be posted because well, this is the Internet. Is there truth to it, yes but again the removal of the ads units, which were previously embedded, dropped ad impression deliveries by over 30%. If traffic dropped that much, then we would be acting in an entirely different manner.

>

> There is always chaos in these changes. While yes, communication helps, this outrage will still be posted. We will adapt through feedback.

>

> This switch is a long marathon and we have been here for over 10 years, yet we still are compared to sites with questionable practices. We are bringing this site to modern day laws and practices and we get virtually spit on and attack. That’s the the world we live in today and comes with the territory. Happens in no brick and mortar businesses I know of. Respectful feedback welcome. Assumptions are that.

>

> It currently takes 2 to 3 weeks to make any significant changes. This is the price for security and stability and we don’t always get what we want.

 

At the risk of being banned (P.S. please don't ban me), your response here is part of the problem. The poster you are responding to did not, objectively, say anything that should be construed as an attack or spitting on you. His comments were not made in a disrespectful manner; the fact that you don't like his comments is fine, but you seem to be internalizing posts on this thread and taking them way too personally. As a result, your response comes off as petulant and whiny.

 

You have mentioned several times that you are hesitant to provide more communication than you do because "this outrage will still be posted." I don't understand where you are seeing the "outrage." Sure, some people have made pointed comments, but nobody here is threatening to defame the website or attack anyone. We, as the users, have a vested interest in the success of the site, and failing to communicate with us because of some perceived outrage and backlash seems counterintuitive: first, because I don't really see anything I would classify as "outrage," and second, because, ultimately, less users means less revenue. If we, the users, are willing to provide feedback to improve the site, it would seem that engaging in a productive dialogue with us would not only help quell any "outrage," but also help the finances of the site.

 

My overall point here is this: try not to look at these posts with an eye to finding a slight in every post. Instead, see the posts for what they truly are: invaluable feedback from people with a vested interest in helping you succeed. If you view these comments through the latter lens, I think you may end up less stressed and more likely to engage in a more productive dialogue, which would be better for us all. Also, to the extent that there may be a few bad apples out there, don't let them dictate how you communicate with the rest of us; just ignore them and use the rest of us as a resource to help improve the site.

 

I'm not an expert on these issues, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

[Gxgolfer]

I would respectfully disagree with you and read posts from the last 7 months. Patience and understanding is not the issue or feedback. It is when that feedback is colored with uninformed assumptions like a few posts above that become gospel. And yes threats, like please don’t ban me, are not considered relevant feedback. Even tongue in cheek takes any response to the extreme.

 

I do take it very personally and people should understand what they post as well.

 

Obviously this is the internet and so there are no etiquette rules. People question integrity and motive is not feedback.

[easyyy]

Guys and gals,

 

Gx has NEVER been someone that adds enough sugar in his responses. And to his defense he has been getting killed for months by members calling him out. Probably at the breaking point.

 

Does that give him a pass? No, of course not. But reading through the comments they are tough to read. Some of comments are borderline personal in nature and can really rip at you after reading too many. Ryan (Gx) and I have worked for years. Back in early 2005 we fought to build this place and he works daily to do the same all these years later.

 

This place was and is built for one reason. FOR THE MEMBERS. We needed a place that "we" that is "YOU" can join, invest your time into and be proud of your affiliation. WE WILL NEVER let you down long term. Now have we? We did this summer. But now what.

 

I will tell you.... we will fight like no other time to win your allegiance and hearts back. We are trying so hard every day the week and have been ever since we messed up last spring and went to this raw software. But we had no choice due to the size of the site and the instability we were experiencing.

 

That is why it is so hard to hear when you are angry or dissatisfied. It hits us hard. Why? Because it matters that much. It matters because we care. It is what we have help build.

 

Let me tell you this. We will be better than before. We will be better than we are today. Some of the tricks or bells and whistles won't come back but the performance, ability to share social posts, add images in order, BST feedback will be back, new users registration is better and best of all we will be launching tools for you to filter through the noise to see what is trending in each of thee different forums. So many more enhancements that will make WRX better in a year from now.

 

Ads suck. Ads as separate posts are the only way we could do it short term. We are analyzing what it would take to put them in user post as before but with any change now it take FOREVER!!!!! So we had to start the rev as you see it.

 

ADs are needed to pay for the servers and the wages of the few that work here. We have to do it. Developers to make widgets and enhancements are paid for by these annoying ads. We are also considering a premium membership for 75 or 100 a year possibly to avoid ads in level 3 forums. Not sure how you feel about that.

 

We are committed. While we have not performed well this year we are more committed to the user than ever before. We have 2 in-house developers and a team supporting us from a 3rd party ripping through a list or fixes and enhancements.

 

I was here on day 1 and here today as an advocate for the members. We have and will fight for them. They are us. That is our model. You might not believe that looking at these recent decisions but it is the truth and we will work harder to communicate these issues better and balance the tight rope of member satisfaction and making this place healthy enough to stay alive.

 

I am sorry if we don't come off as humble as we should a times. I also sorry we don't communicate better. Crazy thing is GX and I have day jobs as well. We have families and jobs and this to balance.

 

Know this.... we are going to knock your socks off. It will take us a long time to get it all done but every week we will be launching something new. Some will want to puke but most will see the changes as a plus once they become the new normal.

 

I am nervous for the new editor that you will use to write that is coming in a week. I am VERY VERY VERY nervous now that I see the ad reaction. :#

 

Sorry for all of this everyone.

 

Richard :)

easyyy

[Philomathesq]

> @Gxgolfer said:

> I would respectfully disagree with you and read posts from the last 7 months. Patience and understanding is not the issue or feedback. It is when that feedback is colored with uninformed assumptions like a few posts above that become gospel. And yes **threats, like please don’t ban me**, are not considered relevant feedback. Even tongue in cheek takes any response to the extreme.

>

> I do take it very personally and people should understand what they post as well.

>

> Obviously this is the internet and so there are no etiquette rules. People question integrity and motive is not feedback.

 

Well, you need to lighten up and grow a much thicker skin if you are going to attempt to discuss updates with the users of the forum. The fact that you take a request not to be banned as a threat is unfathomable; to whom was my threat directed, and what, exactly, was the threat?

 

You seem to ask for feedback, but when people give it to you, you claim your integrity and motives are being attacked. The problem is that you can't have it both ways. If you are truly interested in feedback, you need to stop taking feedback so personally and accept it for what it is; this would include reigning in your immediate proclivity to jump to the conclusion that the provided feedback is a personal attack.

 

At the end of the day, I do not mean to make an enemy. As a person that frequents this site several times per day, I want to see the site succeed. I don't know this for sure, but I presume that most people on this forum are golf freaks (I mean this in the most flattering way) and are likely successful -- it would be hard to be a golf freak and not have disposable time and income. As such, your membership is probably filled with lots of small business owners, consultants, tech guru's, etc., that likely have very good insights into what might help the site, and you get to call on that collective wisdom for free. You can benefit from this collective wisdom if you take a step back and see the comments in that light, rather than assuming people are attacking you.

 

I'll end by saying nothing I've said above is meant to be a threat, personal attack, or offensive in any way. If it comes off that way, please let me know, because I'm not perfect and maybe I need someone to call me out. Otherwise, please let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

[easyyy]

and why the Fxxx are the emoji's centered?????? :s

 


 

[Yanki01]

hey Richard, thanks for chiming in. sometimes the internet lets us flex our keyboard muscles. I admit I was taken back with the ad placement and didn't like it (still don't) but i understand. hopefully in the future something can be worked out to help with user experience. feedback should have been priority #1 out the gate. users "likes" gives me a gauge to use during the BST to see if someone is a contributor to the site or someone just browsing. we're all here to discuss our love for golf first and foremost. let's not forget that. I've been a long time member and look forward to the features in the future.

 

 

[Dpavs]

 

> @easyyy said:

> Guys and gals,

>

> Gx has NEVER been someone that adds enough sugar in his responses. And to his defense he has been getting killed for months by members calling him out. Probably at the breaking point.

>

> Does that give him a pass? No, of course not. But reading through the comments they are tough to read. Some of comments are borderline personal in nature and can really rip at you after reading too many. Ryan (Gx) and I have worked for years. Back in early 2005 we fought to build this place and he works daily to do the same all these years later.

>

> This place was and is built for one reason. FOR THE MEMBERS. We needed a place that "we" that is "YOU" can join, invest your time into and be proud of your affiliation. WE WILL NEVER let you down long term. Now have we? We did this summer. But now what.

>

> I will tell you.... we will fight like no other time to win your allegiance and hearts back. We are trying so hard every day the week and have been ever since we messed up last spring and went to this raw software. But we had no choice due to the size of the site and the instability we were experiencing.

>

> That is why it is so hard to hear when you are angry or dissatisfied. It hits us hard. Why? Because it matters that much. It matters because we care. It is what we have help build.

>

> Let me tell you this. We will be better than before. We will be better than we are today. Some of the tricks or bells and whistles won't come back but the performance, ability to share social posts, add images in order, BST feedback will be back, new users registration is better and best of all we will be launching tools for you to filter through the noise to see what is trending in each of thee different forums. So many more enhancements that will make WRX better in a year from now.

>

> Ads suck. Ads as separate posts are the only way we could do it short term. We are analyzing what it would take to put them in user post as before but with any change now it take FOREVER!!!!! So we had to start the rev as you see it.

>

> ADs are needed to pay for the servers and the wages of the few that work here. We have to do it. Developers to make widgets and enhancements are paid for by these annoying ads. We are also considering a premium membership for 75 or 100 a year possibly to avoid ads in level 3 forums. Not sure how you feel about that.

>

> We are committed. While we have not performed well this year we are more committed to the user than ever before. We have 2 in-house developers and a team supporting us from a 3rd party ripping through a list or fixes and enhancements.

>

> I was here on day 1 and here today as an advocate for the members. We have and will fight for them. They are us. That is our model. You might not believe that looking at these recent decisions but it is the truth and we will work harder to communicate these issues better and balance the tight rope of member satisfaction and making this place healthy enough to stay alive.

>

> I am sorry if we don't come off as humble as we should a times. I also sorry we don't communicate better. Crazy thing is GX and I have day jobs as well. We have families and jobs and this to balance.

>

> Know this.... we are going to knock your socks off. It will take us a long time to get it all done but every week we will be launching something new. Some will want to puke but most will see the changes as a plus once they become the new normal.

>

> I am nervous for the new editor that you will use to write that is coming in a week. I am VERY VERY VERY nervous now that I see the ad reaction. :#

>

> Sorry for all of this everyone.

>

> Richard :)

> easyyy

 

Hi Richard,

 

Honest question here... if we use ad blockers, do you still receive the revenue you should?

 

Again, honestly, if you do, then for those that are not happy with the ads... is it really that big of a deal to use something to block them. There are probably exceptions out there for certain OS/iOS's where it cannot be done, but everything in tech gets built to the vast majority... that's just the way it is so I would hope everyone understands that.

[Philomathesq]

> @easyyy said:

> Guys and gals,

>

> Gx has NEVER been someone that adds enough sugar in his responses. And to his defense he has been getting killed for months by members calling him out. Probably at the breaking point.

>

> Does that give him a pass? No, of course not. But reading through the comments they are tough to read. Some of comments are borderline personal in nature and can really rip at you after reading too many. Ryan (Gx) and I have worked for years. Back in early 2005 we fought to build this place and he works daily to do the same all these years later.

>

> This place was and is built for one reason. FOR THE MEMBERS. We needed a place that "we" that is "YOU" can join, invest your time into and be proud of your affiliation. WE WILL NEVER let you down long term. Now have we? We did this summer. But now what.

>

> I will tell you.... we will fight like no other time to win your allegiance and hearts back. We are trying so hard every day the week and have been ever since we messed up last spring and went to this raw software. But we had no choice due to the size of the site and the instability we were experiencing.

>

> That is why it is so hard to hear when you are angry or dissatisfied. It hits us hard. Why? Because it matters that much. It matters because we care. It is what we have help build.

>

> Let me tell you this. We will be better than before. We will be better than we are today. Some of the tricks or bells and whistles won't come back but the performance, ability to share social posts, add images in order, BST feedback will be back, new users registration is better and best of all we will be launching tools for you to filter through the noise to see what is trending in each of thee different forums. So many more enhancements that will make WRX better in a year from now.

>

> Ads suck. Ads as separate posts are the only way we could do it short term. We are analyzing what it would take to put them in user post as before but with any change now it take FOREVER!!!!! So we had to start the rev as you see it.

>

> ADs are needed to pay for the servers and the wages of the few that work here. We have to do it. Developers to make widgets and enhancements are paid for by these annoying ads. We are also considering a premium membership for 75 or 100 a year possibly to avoid ads in level 3 forums. Not sure how you feel about that.

>

> We are committed. While we have not performed well this year we are more committed to the user than ever before. We have 2 in-house developers and a team supporting us from a 3rd party ripping through a list or fixes and enhancements.

>

> I was here on day 1 and here today as an advocate for the members. We have and will fight for them. They are us. That is our model. You might not believe that looking at these recent decisions but it is the truth and we will work harder to communicate these issues better and balance the tight rope of member satisfaction and making this place healthy enough to stay alive.

>

> I am sorry if we don't come off as humble as we should a times. I also sorry we don't communicate better. Crazy thing is GX and I have day jobs as well. We have families and jobs and this to balance.

>

> Know this.... we are going to knock your socks off. It will take us a long time to get it all done but every week we will be launching something new. Some will want to puke but most will see the changes as a plus once they become the new normal.

>

> I am nervous for the new editor that you will use to write that is coming in a week. I am VERY VERY VERY nervous now that I see the ad reaction. :#

>

> Sorry for all of this everyone.

>

> Richard :)

> easyyy

 

This is, quite possibly, the best post in this entire thread. Thank you for taking the time to post a well-reasoned, meaningful post. This is the type of post that does wonders for those of us that frequent this thread. Nobody wants to be combative, but one and two sentence posts that are dismissive do little to help what is obviously a difficult transition for all involved.

 

As for the ad issue, sign me up. I'd gladly pay $100 to avoid the ads. If you PM me an invoice, I'll gladly be a guinea pig for whatever solution you come up with, be it today or several months down the road.

[easyyy]

thank you and I will make more of an effort to better communicate in these types of threads. So busy working on the changes and managing the normal job... not to mention play an abnormal amount of golf. Ohh.... and the family?!? Yeah... them to. ;)

 

But seriously... thank you for the passion and support. Everyone in this thread are here because they care as well. I cant see any other reason why they would spend the time to post.

 

Two announcements will be coming this week.

 

-One will be writing an update to what's happening and where are we going in general. Explaining why we had to do all of these software changes and explain a lot more of the specifics with the next weekly enhancements. Timelines for feedback and ClubWRX. General update on where wee are going.

 

-Secondly we will be announcing and introducing a new rich editor (the box I am writing in now) with a simplified window. This new rich editor is much more than a change in looks and less buttons. It allows you to add images in batches and they remain in order. You will be able to drag and drop most things in and see how they will look before posting. The down side is it will look different and many will be unhappy. The development team says members will love it on mobile and desktop. I didn't like it last spring and very worried the visual change would make members to upset. We believe this editor is better for members and once you get to know it and the capabilities it has you will like it MUCH more.

 

Before we launch it we will post a editor FAQ's thread in this forum and also have tutorials on how to tap into its capabilities.

 

 

More to come next week.

 

Richard

[TheInfidel]

> @easyyy said:

> and why the Fxxx are the emoji's centered?????? :s

>

> 

>

 

I hear ya!

 

It's been flagged as an issue here - https://forums.golfwrx.com/discussion/comment/19167031#Comment_19167031

 

 

[kcsf]

I think we all understand you need ad revenue to continue supplying the product of GolfWRX for free to the masses. I also think the amount of ad's within threads is extreme. 1/5 posts are an ad is grossly overdoing it.

 

Easyy, thanks for your thoughtful and thorough explanation.

[bigmoneyp]

> @Z1ggy16 said:

> A random ad every 5 posts is pretty brutal. I know when I'm on Reddit, I believe it's every 15 threads on the main page, but not while I'm actually inside of the specific thread looking through responses.

 

I also browse reddit and I agree with this. The ads should be between X number of forum topics but not in the actual threads themselves.

 

 

[easyyy]

> @bigmoneyp said:

> > @Z1ggy16 said:

> > A random ad every 5 posts is pretty brutal. I know when I'm on Reddit, I believe it's every 15 threads on the main page, but not while I'm actually inside of the specific thread looking through responses.

>

> I also browse reddit and I agree with this. The ads should be between X number of forum topics but not in the actual threads themselves.

>

>

 

We agree they should be in the actual threads and we won't stop looking to do that as we did before. We had a choice to do it as you see it or postpone and do the original way later. The problem is that we didn't/don't know what it will take thus how long it could be until we dig in. So we went with this as a stop gap. We had to start the revenue again.

 

With other tasks that are such high priority (Feedback System for BST) we opted to leave it as is and circle back later. We don't like it but we have to start the revenue back to help pay the bills. Server costs and development $$$ are heavy right now. We have been without a major % of revenue without ads for most of the year because the switch to this platform had to be done ASAP because of the instability issues.

 

We will have to circle back to make it better. We talked about it at length yesterday. We both agree and hope you understand that why I made the decision as we did.

 

Richard

[Yanki01]

I guess i'm lucky - I don't see the ads on reddit. I used to but not anymore.

 

> @bigmoneyp said:

> > @Z1ggy16 said:

> > A random ad every 5 posts is pretty brutal. I know when I'm on Reddit, I believe it's every 15 threads on the main page, but not while I'm actually inside of the specific thread looking through responses.

>

> I also browse reddit and I agree with this. The ads should be between X number of forum topics but not in the actual threads themselves.

>

>

 

 

[ballpilot]

Seeing ads on phone, but same thread and post number location in forum, using desktop, is a blank ad space. ?

[JBent9610]

> @Newby said:

> By clicking the 3 dots top right, Adblock can be made to blank the ad itself but it does not remove the post. I bit of a waste of time by WRX as I have no idea what is being advertised but an still irritated by these redundant empty posts. Even if I saw the ad I wouldn't now buy on principle.

 

On a desktop, I use Ublock origin, but you can hide the ad comment post with Adblock as well. You'll just need to add Element Helping Hider for it.

 

With uBlock, click on the icon in the browser toolbar. You'll see an eyedropper icon towards the top. Hovering over it says 'Enter element picker mode'. Click on it. The screen will turn grey.

Highlight the comment block with the ad. You'll need to move to the far right of the comment block. If the whole screen turns pink, you've gone too far and need to move your cursor back to the left.

After the comment block is highlighted in pink, move your cursor to the bottom right hand corner of the browser. A window will appear with various options and the filter it is going to add. You want filters that say ###Comment_ad1, ###Comment_ad2, etc.

Click Preview to make sure this is what you want. If only the comment block with the ad disappears, click Create. Otherwise, click Quit and try again. You'll have to do this several times as some threads have 7 of them. You'll need filters for ###Comment_ad1, ###Comment_ad2, ###Comment_ad3, etc. until you get to ###Comment_ad7.

 

It will go from this:

 


 

To this:

 


 

 

 

 

[mshills]

nm

[Hawkeye77]

I visit a couple of high quality sites that allow a level of membership or contribution that elimates annoying ads and it’s worth it to me. This situation is a little different because of the changes and has been explained so there it is. Whether it is ever possible to have that option here, who knows, and I’m sure there are trade offs to accomplish that.

[GeorgeHWB]

I use AdBlock Plus so the new format doesn't bother me. I don't see the ads at all.

[bigmoneyp]

> @Badds said:

> I use AdBlock Plus so the new format doesn't bother me. I don't see the ads at all.

 

What about on mobile?

[PZero]

Had to block a 7th ad post earlier. 7 freaking ad posts on one page? That's BS.

[Bobb3rdown]

Now there are full screen video ads as well. It's getting worse

[Shanky_McShankface]

> bigmoneyp said:

> What about on mobile?

 

You can user Brave browser on mobile. You will still see empty posts, but not the ads.

 

For uBlock Origin, you can add this to your filters:

 

forums.golfwrx.com###Comment_ad1

forums.golfwrx.com###Comment_ad2

forums.golfwrx.com###Comment_ad3

forums.golfwrx.com###Comment_ad4

forums.golfwrx.com###Comment_ad5

forums.golfwrx.com###Comment_ad6

forums.golfwrx.com###Comment_ad7

 

Everyone should use ad blockers. Any web site that cannot survive without this kind of intrusive annoyance should be left to die.

 

 

[GeorgeHWB]

> @bigmoneyp said:

> > @Badds said:

> > I use AdBlock Plus so the new format doesn't bother me. I don't see the ads at all.

>

> What about on mobile?

 

Since the changeover earlier this year I've basically stopped using the mobile version because the experience is so bad. With AdBlock the website experience on my laptop is bearable. But my usage of the site has dropped significantly since the switch. And if there wasn't a product like AdBlock I'd stop visiting the site altogether.

[DatSliceDoe]

I work in advertising and believe me, this isn't a conversation you want to have with your users.

[BiggErn]

With AdGuard this is as bad as it gets on iPhone.

 

 

 

[bigmoneyp]

In thread ads are so big you literally have to scroll thru to get to the next post.

[b.helts]

I have not seen full screen ads.

[swizbeatz]

Mine on mobile take up the same amount of space as a 10-15 line post, basically bigger than the majority of posts in a thread.