Thu Nov 25, 2004 1:44 am
amarise wrote: I do so hope Adam will get a new avatar for himself that only he can use.
He has one, that Tuskaninny av! Nobody else ever uses it LOL!
Hmm yeah, it would look a whole lot better if it was framed by at least one pixel because it is just hanging in space right now.
I am getting a new 'play' computer in the next couple of months with a huge monitor, so I won't be turning off the banners then. With a larger monitor the banner size shouldn't be bothersome. But I really feel awful for anyone on dialup or who has a small monitor or is running Win98 :-/ I live in the Silicon Valley, right near the world HQ of some major companies and wasn't able to get anything more than dialup until less than two years ago. How crazy is that? It felt like I lived out in the boonies!
Most people in the US are on dialup and don't have the latest computers, so it's a little disheartening when sites overload their average user. But it has to be done, and more people are getting faster connections and better computers so I guess eventually it will be fine for most people.
At least they are keeping it clean. My favorite cooking site recently installed advertising and it is so messy looking! They're along the top, side, and occasionally one of those floating flash ads takes over the entire screen. So kudos to Neo for making it as pleasant as they possibly could.
Thu Nov 25, 2004 2:05 am
welp, i'm not happy, and i was going to flip out, but i do have fire fox and now that the ads are blocked, its all ok. i can survive. much appriciated that TNT actually told, explained and sympathized with us about what was going on!
Thu Nov 25, 2004 2:08 am
It's not like anybody ever clicks ads anyway. I don't see the point of them.
Thu Nov 25, 2004 2:14 am
o_0 wrote:borovan90834 wrote:They usually have to be at the top, or near the top of the page. We designed it so that if it was blocked the neopets site would move up to be flush with the top of the screen
Er...
o-o I hope that is just an error in the coding.
PLEASE make it so when you block the ads the contents move UP!! That way at least people with Firefox will be happy...
IMO, I'd still play neopets even if I have to pay. And if paying will get rid of those ridiculous ads I'd be happy to do so :/
Thu Nov 25, 2004 2:25 am
Well, for us still on dial up or who have slower, older computers the new layout is already causing the site to move slower. I don't know what's going to happen with this new even bigger ad.
Pay to play ... I would consider getting part of the Premium. Why isn't there a link on the site so people can read about it, and have it like a "menu" so people could choose what they wanted ... like the portal only, portal with email, portal with toolbar, toolbar alone, email alone, ISP alone, total package, etc. with full pricing and WHERE it's available. Maybe that would have brought more paying customers. Also explain what happens if you have multiple accounts with Premium. Do you have to pay, say 3 times if you have 3 accounts on your email?
I do know people who left after the first banner ads arrived. Either they weren't willing or couldn't (due to their computers) get firefox, have physical disabilities and the constant blinking, flashing ads were just too much. I know I have problems with many of them.
Oh, one thing? This:
Mostly ad-free? there are times when I get outside ads 4 or 5 pages in a row. There's also one, servedby.advertising.com. I have FOUR spyware detector/removers, spywareblaster and a/v. That particular cookie says in the view source unescape which is unacceptable. That cookie gets through everything I have on my computer. I do NOT want to be tracked by any outside third-party site, period. Sorry to rant, but that one really bugs me.
I think we all understand the site needs to make money to pay staff, deal with servers/database, etc. It's the size and in some cases the content of these ads that is questionable. Callwave is known to be full of spyware and that ad comes up all the time. And why does a kid friendly site need to have ads that can be clicked and take you to an outside (who knows if it's safe) site?
Oh, before I completely forget! With all these changes, shop tables are kind of messy, they're not "closing" at the bottom, and lookups - well, lookups we're just starting to get a clue on the coding again.
So, Suggestion! Could we have a page (kept updated) that gives us all the codes, in the proper places for our lookups - banners, sidebars, etc., and shop 'stuff' - font color changing for dark backgrounds, shop tables, etc. and an html/css practice page? And I would LOVE to see the "About Me" box moved back to the main page of the boards - Lookup Editing. Much easier, especially since we seem to be having to change our lookup coding every time we turn around. Changing your password every time is a true pain - and confusing after awhile
Pay to play ... I would consider getting part of the Premium. Why isn't there a link on the site so people can read about it, and have it like a "menu" so people could choose what they wanted ... like the portal only, portal with email, portal with toolbar, toolbar alone, email alone, ISP alone, total package, etc. with full pricing and WHERE it's available. Maybe that would have brought more paying customers. Also explain what happens if you have multiple accounts with Premium. Do you have to pay, say 3 times if you have 3 accounts on your email?
I do know people who left after the first banner ads arrived. Either they weren't willing or couldn't (due to their computers) get firefox, have physical disabilities and the constant blinking, flashing ads were just too much. I know I have problems with many of them.
Oh, one thing? This:
Just to re-inforce what we have said before, there will never be any pop-ups, pop-unders, spyware, interstitials or anything like that on the site. We hate those as much as you do! Although the top 90 pixels will probably be some sort of ad, the rest will remain mostly ad-free. Also, the site will always remain free to play.
Mostly ad-free? there are times when I get outside ads 4 or 5 pages in a row. There's also one, servedby.advertising.com. I have FOUR spyware detector/removers, spywareblaster and a/v. That particular cookie says in the view source unescape which is unacceptable. That cookie gets through everything I have on my computer. I do NOT want to be tracked by any outside third-party site, period. Sorry to rant, but that one really bugs me.
I think we all understand the site needs to make money to pay staff, deal with servers/database, etc. It's the size and in some cases the content of these ads that is questionable. Callwave is known to be full of spyware and that ad comes up all the time. And why does a kid friendly site need to have ads that can be clicked and take you to an outside (who knows if it's safe) site?
Oh, before I completely forget! With all these changes, shop tables are kind of messy, they're not "closing" at the bottom, and lookups - well, lookups we're just starting to get a clue on the coding again.
So, Suggestion! Could we have a page (kept updated) that gives us all the codes, in the proper places for our lookups - banners, sidebars, etc., and shop 'stuff' - font color changing for dark backgrounds, shop tables, etc. and an html/css practice page? And I would LOVE to see the "About Me" box moved back to the main page of the boards - Lookup Editing. Much easier, especially since we seem to be having to change our lookup coding every time we turn around. Changing your password every time is a true pain - and confusing after awhile
Thu Nov 25, 2004 2:40 am
everconfused wrote:Mostly ad-free? there are times when I get outside ads 4 or 5 pages in a row. There's also one, servedby.advertising.com. I have FOUR spyware detector/removers, spywareblaster and a/v. That particular cookie says in the view source unescape which is unacceptable. That cookie gets through everything I have on my computer. I do NOT want to be tracked by any outside third-party site, period. Sorry to rant, but that one really bugs me.
I think we all understand the site needs to make money to pay staff, deal with servers/database, etc. It's the size and in some cases the content of these ads that is questionable. Callwave is known to be full of spyware and that ad comes up all the time. And why does a kid friendly site need to have ads that can be clicked and take you to an outside (who knows if it's safe) site?
Well, Adam said that if you find any spyware to tell him and he will fix it, which he has already done when spyware was first discovered.
And I can still say that I have never EVER seen a non-Neopets ad still. Maybe it's because I just ignore them and the ones I do see are Neopets based but I have still never seen any non-Neopets adds. Seriously people, they aren't really that hard to ignore.
Thu Nov 25, 2004 2:57 am
Am I surprised by the larger banner ads? No.... Am I disappointed? Extremely... Seriously, these ads are causing problems with neurologically impaired players. Several guild members have already experienced nausea, vertigo and migraines from the flash banners at the top of the screen. We've even lost one of our long-time members (4 years!) whose Multiple Sclerosis symptoms are worsened when she plays on the site.
Of course, it's TNT's perogative to increase their revenues. Any corporate entity in America would be foolish if their business objectives didn't revolve around increased revenues and profits. But I do question whether this is being done in an effort to "keep the site free". I know that TNT pulled in over $15 million in 2001, before their merchandising even really began. I would imagine that the figure in 2004 is quite a bit more than that, especially as they like to point out that they're one of the "stickiest" sites on the Internet.
My own personal objection to the huge banner is the slow-down of Flash games on my 5 year-old computer. It's bad enough now -- I live in fear of TNT's autobots deciding that I'm "cheating" at Flash games because I have an AMD-K6 processor. People with older, slower computers always live with the risk of being frozen. I always make sure I have no other background tasks running when I play games, that I only have 1 browser window open, etc. But the larger banner is going to take up more resources now.
It's funny that the new huge banner is considered the industry standard. I go to many reputable, large websites and rarely encounter ads that huge.
Of course, it's TNT's perogative to increase their revenues. Any corporate entity in America would be foolish if their business objectives didn't revolve around increased revenues and profits. But I do question whether this is being done in an effort to "keep the site free". I know that TNT pulled in over $15 million in 2001, before their merchandising even really began. I would imagine that the figure in 2004 is quite a bit more than that, especially as they like to point out that they're one of the "stickiest" sites on the Internet.
My own personal objection to the huge banner is the slow-down of Flash games on my 5 year-old computer. It's bad enough now -- I live in fear of TNT's autobots deciding that I'm "cheating" at Flash games because I have an AMD-K6 processor. People with older, slower computers always live with the risk of being frozen. I always make sure I have no other background tasks running when I play games, that I only have 1 browser window open, etc. But the larger banner is going to take up more resources now.
It's funny that the new huge banner is considered the industry standard. I go to many reputable, large websites and rarely encounter ads that huge.
Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:00 am
Go pay advert attack and you will see what it is like. If something doesn't work, just make it bigger, flashier and harder to get off the screen. Make it sing a song if you have to. Anything to get clicks. Apparently sloth is really working for these companys. And the sad thing is, this can't be the end of it. Where will they draw the line and say "We have just gone too far?"
Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:00 am
I never liked using adblock. Sometimes I would be cruising neopets, being bored and I would see an ad for a game and think... that sounds fun. These larger ads hurt my head though. I guess I'll just have to block them.
I don't like the new layout at all, but I'm not going to whine and moan when you've already kindly explained that you didn't have a choice. As coming2atvnearu pointed out, it was so nice for you to actually be upfront with us on this. I actually feel like you guys took the time and effort to think about us and that really is a great thing... now you just have to keep doing it in the future.
And just went I was talking about how comfortable I was with this current layout now too,
Edit: One thing I did notice is that with the name at the top my name will no longer be cut of by'...' so that's always good. If it actually will work in firefox so the ad will collapse like it's supposed to it'll be so much nicer.
I don't like the new layout at all, but I'm not going to whine and moan when you've already kindly explained that you didn't have a choice. As coming2atvnearu pointed out, it was so nice for you to actually be upfront with us on this. I actually feel like you guys took the time and effort to think about us and that really is a great thing... now you just have to keep doing it in the future.
And just went I was talking about how comfortable I was with this current layout now too,
Edit: One thing I did notice is that with the name at the top my name will no longer be cut of by'...' so that's always good. If it actually will work in firefox so the ad will collapse like it's supposed to it'll be so much nicer.
Last edited by rageaholic on Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:02 am
Moogum wrote:everconfused wrote:Mostly ad-free? there are times when I get outside ads 4 or 5 pages in a row. There's also one, servedby.advertising.com. I have FOUR spyware detector/removers, spywareblaster and a/v. That particular cookie says in the view source unescape which is unacceptable. That cookie gets through everything I have on my computer. I do NOT want to be tracked by any outside third-party site, period. Sorry to rant, but that one really bugs me.
I think we all understand the site needs to make money to pay staff, deal with servers/database, etc. It's the size and in some cases the content of these ads that is questionable. Callwave is known to be full of spyware and that ad comes up all the time. And why does a kid friendly site need to have ads that can be clicked and take you to an outside (who knows if it's safe) site?
Well, Adam said that if you find any spyware to tell him and he will fix it, which he has already done when spyware was first discovered.
And I can still say that I have never EVER seen a non-Neopets ad still. Maybe it's because I just ignore them and the ones I do see are Neopets based but I have still never seen any non-Neopets adds. Seriously people, they aren't really that hard to ignore.
The servedby.advertising.com cookie has been a problem for me too. It seems like every time a page loads with a non-neopets ad (and I have gotten at least three in a row before), it installs yet another cookie on my computer. My browser has been close to crashing several times because of the amount of cookies installed. I'm fairly sure it was the cookies, too, because as soon as I deleted them, everything returned to normal speed. I have even checked the option on Firefox to not allow cookies from sites from which I have already removed cookies, and it still doesn't help. As soon as I get back to school, you can be sure I will be installing the Firefox extension that will let me block the ads!
On a slightly more on-topic note, it is a shame that it's reached the point that Neopets has been forced to use such huge ads to remain free to play, but at least we have fair warning.
Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:06 am
I'd like to reiterate that I'd gladly pay for use of the site if it kept that giant banner off my pages. I can't say it bugs me when I'm just surfing, but it really slows down my flash games, to the point that I usually close the browser window whenever I play anything.
If, as a previous poster mentioned, we could have a page that specifically outlines all the payment options and exactly what you get with each one, I'd seriously sign up the same day. I have no problem supporting my favorite site.
If, as a previous poster mentioned, we could have a page that specifically outlines all the payment options and exactly what you get with each one, I'd seriously sign up the same day. I have no problem supporting my favorite site.
Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:07 am
SierraRaven wrote:It's funny that the new huge banner is considered the industry standard. I go to many reputable, large websites and rarely encounter ads that huge.
Same here, hotmail for instance only has the smaller size banner... I don't think I've ever seen one that big.
All the same, I agree that it's great that TNT are really talking to us, and I hope this solves all the problems they must have been having in order to take such a step.
Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:15 am
Moogum, are you a Premium user? That would explain why you're not seeing outside ads. So far, Premium users aren't seeing outside ads. It's just difficult to get to the Premium - every time I try I end up at the testing page saying there aren't any new people being accepted. No further information there.
Here's a few for you ...
That cursorzone ad makes MY cursor go goofy, it starts kind of "blinking". Very weird!
I have a view source of the advertising.com cookie too.
Here's a few for you ...
That cursorzone ad makes MY cursor go goofy, it starts kind of "blinking". Very weird!
I have a view source of the advertising.com cookie too.
Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:20 am
http://www.neopets.com/bleh.phtml?new_template=yes
Honestly I don't think that looks too bad.
Honestly I don't think that looks too bad.
Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:20 am
I understand the need. Photobucket ads are that size. ug. If you must put in the larger banner, you don't need to put the login information up at the top as well. It only emphasises the size of the banner. Maybe it would be more prudent to leave it where it was.
The layer of:
1 Ads
2 Info / Neopets
3 Page Banners
Is a three punch pain in the wrist.
BIG SUGGESTION: Window pop-up that says "This link will take you off the neopets site." with a click 'yes' or 'no' if you want to go.
Oh, on an artistic note, the black line should go all the way around the ads.
The layer of:
1 Ads
2 Info / Neopets
3 Page Banners
Is a three punch pain in the wrist.
BIG SUGGESTION: Window pop-up that says "This link will take you off the neopets site." with a click 'yes' or 'no' if you want to go.
Oh, on an artistic note, the black line should go all the way around the ads.
Last edited by stampsyne on Thu Nov 25, 2004 4:00 am, edited 3 times in total.