LOve the Forums; but WAY, WAY, WAY TOO MANY ADS and POP-UPS.

[negolien]

You are one of the big reasons I paid when you PMd me about the BellFab pit. But, here, I have to disagree. Who can afford to smoke meat but can't afford $15/MONTH?

My apologies if that is truly the case for some, but I wouldn't think so.

it's 15 dollars a year not a month just sayin

 

[Displaced Texan]

it's 15 dollars a year not a month just sayin

Duh, I should know that, and I do, since that is what I pay.

Yes, even the overwhelming number of people with $800k in medical bills or the like can come up with <checking notes> $1.25 a month.

But what do I know?

All that said, again, for those who choose not to pay, the site should be usable since the ads are creating the revenue in lieu of payment.

 

[Flatrate]

As someone who has poked around here for a minute or two, let me say a couple things. Yes, of all the forums I belong too and let me tell ya I got a lot of hobbies, this forum does have the most ad's of any I belong to. Honestly they really don't bother me, I scroll right past them or if in the way I simply close it. I am on here on my PC 98% of the time.

On more then one occasion the ads let me know about a deal going on where I shop (online) or remind me of something I've been looking at, things I probably would have missed otherwise.

Plus if it helps keep it going, I say cool!

 

[mike243]

Stopped in a few minutes ago and Bam Dam ads lol , expired lmao , I went for the billfold and fixed that quickly lol my emojis are missing for some reason

 

[Jabiru]

I totally get the ads to pay for the hosting and other expenses and the membership is cheap BUT there are heaps and heaps of adverts, the most I have ever seen on a website which I feel would put off new members, its like a spam site when you first visit.
The ads don't relate to smoking meat or anything close which I would think would suit the target audience here better and may increase revenue by improving the CTR. Impressions VS CTR, site owners do a lot better with CTR.

 

[Brokenhandle]

My day started at 6 am, it's now 10 pm and just got in the house and am eating supper. More days than not that's my schedule. So yes I do have a bit of an issue...I've worked my ass off for most of my life. If you can't afford to pay to get rid of the ads maybe you should work more and complain less. If I hurt some feelings than so be it! But Jeff the owner of this site has done an excellent job on this site and all the mods do great also! If you're not happy go talk to Brandon.

Ryan

 

[rem437]

Maybe the same people who like to smoke meat and put gas in their car? We can't assume that just because that seems like a small amount of money for us that there aren't people making hard financial decisions to support their families instead of paying to support a bbq forum. I gladly pay because I can afford it and like you I despise ads. Site should be fixed though so others can enjoy it while not having ads block all the content

Just wanted to say thanks for sharing that opinion in a sea of other takes.

Somehow a luxury like being able to support a recreational website you like is being compared to buying necessities like food, a phone, and internet. As if you can buy one you can afford the other or if you can't it's because you don't work hard enough or because of Biden... There's plenty of people out there working full time who need subsidies for food, phone, and internet to get by. The government doesn't give out subsidies for supporting bbq forums, unfortunately.

I'm glad that I don't have to struggle, but I certainly have in the past. Some of my first smokers were made of free/upcycled stuff I had or found. Smoking can be done incredibly cheaply. Again, supporting this site is a luxury that not everyone can afford.

All of that to say that in addition to the ads, I'd say seeing some of the opinions of the members here in regards to the ads would put plenty of people off of supporting the forums.

 

[jcam222]

Just wanted to say thanks for sharing that opinion in a sea of other takes.

Somehow a luxury like being able to support a recreational website you like is being compared to buying necessities like food, a phone, and internet. As if you can buy one you can afford the other or if you can't it's because you don't work hard enough or because of Biden... There's plenty of people out there working full time who need subsidies for food, phone, and internet to get by. The government doesn't give out subsidies for supporting bbq forums, unfortunately.

I'm glad that I don't have to struggle, but I certainly have in the past. Some of my first smokers were made of free/upcycled stuff I had or found. Smoking can be done incredibly cheaply. Again, supporting this site is a luxury that not everyone can afford.

All of that to say that in addition to the ads, I'd say seeing some of the opinions of the members here in regards to the ads would put plenty of people off of supporting the forums.

Way back in the beginning of the thread I suggested membership as a way to reduce ads. I agree with you TNJAKE and also comments indaswamp have made in these threads. Choosing whether or not to subscribe is optional. Folks can choose whether or not to do so and personal finance can be one of many factors. I’d be the first to say on my younger days I went through plenty of times where it was beyond tight. No one who chooses not to subscribe should be called names or shamed. I’m frankly appalled by some of that. My mom taught us if we didn’t have anything nice to say to say nothing. I still try to do that. I think it’s important to note that the admins and board owner are responding by trying to fix the ad issue NOT by shaming folks. This works just straight sucks right now, we need to lift each other up as brothers and sister here not tear down. I’ll also add there is a TON of excellent content here from folks who aren’t subscribed, there’s value in that for tens of thousands of people.

 

[fxsales1959]

I have never seen a forum with so many pop-ups and ads. It really is distracting when scrolling and trying o read through the posts. I get the entire ad/money thing, but this is really out of hand

Hey Jeff, maybe back off a bit or place some of the ads in a designated section or use simple links.

almost as good as Flacebook huh? I got jailed (several times)) I think they (admins)should raise the price
and maybe add some Ex-blocker firmware. Smoke' em if you got 'em...

 

[YooperSmoker]

delete

 

[Cody_Mack]

Consider it Pay-Per-View. That's where we're at today, right? It's just another form of entertainment or education. You want network and cable TV, with mega Ads, or pay extra for no-Ad streaming and you select the content?

Rick

 

[chilerelleno]

Man, I don't get it.
I used an adblocker on my PC and phone, and had no problems with intrusive ads here or elsewhere.
I only paid for the membership because of how great the site and people are.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Well I'll be a son of a gun...now I have adds...haven't had them in forever!

Ryan

 

[cmayna]

No more ads popping up for me. Thanks Jeff!!