Getting Rid of That AD on your MYO...

[Guest Heero yuy]

I don't like that ad link banner on my myO page. I'm sure, you could get rid of it with a javascript code, but I don't know where to find one to get rid of ads...

Does anyone know how to get it off?

And do you think, we should have a say in it, if we want it on your site?...

I say we should have a choice in having it or not.

[Sara]

Well, you are getting the service for free, and our esteemed webmaster does need a way to pay for the site.

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]While I understand how the ad may be annoying, I think it's worth bearing in mind a few things.

Firstly, those ads are what keep the network running. They provide the revenue that goes directly into our expenses, such as hosting and server maintenance. In order to operate a network of this size, we have four dedicated servers and believe me, that doesn't come cheaply.

Secondly, consider just what we are doing with ads on the network. There are zero ads on OtakuBoards and the ads on myOtaku are extremely minimal - we don't use massive banner ads and we don't apply pop-ups to any pages. Most of our ads are text-based. Compared to other commercial sites - and considering that we are offering a free service to you - we really ask for very little. Having a small ad at the top of the page is a minor inconvenience to you, but it's what allows us to keep doing what we do.

If we wanted to really make some money on this network we could throw in pop-ups, bigger ads, or even multiple ads per page. But we don't. We try to keep everything as non-instrusive as possible.

So, while I understand the concern, I do hope that you understand the position we are in. We are always trying to cut down ads and make them smaller, or eliminate them altogether. But we [i]do[/i] require some level of basic advertising in order to keep the network running. Disabling ads is not only undesirable in general, but it's also not a very nice gesture, considering that we're providing something for free (and considering that we are not earning incomes from the network itself).

[b]Edit:[/b] What Sara said.[/font]

[Gavin]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting.

I admit I have at times found the ads on the top of MyOtaku a little annoying, but you eventually just learn to ignore it and then forget it?s even there. As James said already in his post, OtakuBoards is thankfully a haven from graphics adverts and pop-ups and the level of adverts the rest of the network has is minimal at worst, many other sites and forums I?ve visited are not so kind in their ad content. As Lore and James have already pointed out we?re getting the use of some free webspace which costs Adam and him money and all we have to put up with is one visual ad, in all honesty I think we?re getting a very, very good deal.

On a side note, I don't even want to imagine what OB would be like if it was flooded with ads like certain other sites. I think the fact that OtakuBoards has no visual ads it what makes it such a pleasant place to visit as you know the creators put their members interests first.[/SIZE]

[TheShinje]

[font=century gothic] [color=green] I like the idea some other sites, eg, Worth1000 or DeviantArt, have adopted, where you pay for a premium service and get no ads, or use credits to buy blocks of ad-free time.

That would pay for the adspace and provide the user with the option to disable them or not.

I'm personally unfased by them, but it would be cool if the option was there, I know you're looking at adopting a premium service, so is that possible? [/font][/color]

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Yes, when the Premium service goes live, subscribers will not see ads on any area of the network - including theOtaku, myO, OB and any future sites we produce.[/font]

[Guest kuroinuyoukai]

[quote name='James][font=franklin gothic medium']Yes, when the Premium service goes live, subscribers will not see ads on any area of the network - including theOtaku, myO, OB and any future sites we produce.[/font][/quote]

Will this premium service be affordable? I am a student and like any student-I'm broke.

[James]

[quote name='kuroinuyoukai']Will this premium service be affordable? I am a student and like any student-I'm broke.[/quote]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Very affordable. I can't reveal the price we are looking at yet, but I can safely tell you that it will be very close to being free.[/font]

[Gavin]

[quote name='James][font=franklin gothic medium']Yes, when the Premium service goes live, subscribers will not see ads on any area of the network - including theOtaku, myO, OB and any future sites we produce.[/font][/quote]

[SIZE=1]I was wondering James if there'll be any other benefits to the Premium service aside from just the removal of all ads ? At the moment I only use MyOtaku and OtakuBoards so there's very little incentive for me to change over from the free version. Heck until reading the last few posts I'd never even heard anything about the Premium service, so I was wondering if you'd go into it in more detail ? Or is it just simply "pay a smidgen to see no ads" ?[/SIZE]

[Baron Samedi]

[quote name='Gavin][SIZE=1']I was wondering James if there'll be any other benefits to the Premium service aside from just the removal of all ads ? At the moment I only use MyOtaku and OtakuBoards so there's very little incentive for me to change over from the free version. Heck until reading the last few posts I'd never even heard anything about the Premium service, so I was wondering if you'd go into it in more detail ? Or is it just simply "pay a smidgen to see no ads" ?[/SIZE][/quote]
[size=1]You don't pay much attention, do you? :p

mO Premium has been on the books for a while now. A couple of months. And it will most definitely have more than just ad-less sites. Some things we've been told, but we don't know much of anything beyond that.[/size]

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I would love to tell you more about it, but it's very hard to get into specifics when the service isn't due to be released for a little while yet. I would hate to confirm something, only to have it change at the last minute.

I can say, though, that the lack of ads will be a tiny tiny part of it. It'll be a [i]major[/i] new service, going above and beyond anything we've ever done before. So it will be well worth the small expense.[/font]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]I agree with Lore, considering that the service is free, the few ads we do deal with are extremely minor. Just try visiting other free-based websites and you?ll find they have far more ads and tons of annoying pop-ups.

I?d rather see a few more ads added to my page than to end up having to pay for the service if they cost got too high. Or end up losing it altogether if it became too expensive for them to maintain the site.

I?m sure that like James said having four dedicated servers isn?t cheap. I imagine just purchasing them alone is expensive let alone the cost of keeping them running.

And I completely agree that having a small ad at the top of the page is a minor inconvenience, though truth be known I don?t find them all that annoying in the first place.

As for the premium service I know that I for one am looking forward to it. ^_^[/COLOR]

[Gavin]

[quote name='Baron Samedi][size=1']You don't pay much attention, do you? :p[/size][/quote]

[SIZE=1]Not when I can help it Josh, though in alll honesty this is the very first I've heard of the MyOtaku Premium seeing as how I don't visit MyO nearly as much as I used to. The one thing I'd be concerned about is that if it is indeed a major project, those of us with horrendously slow internet connections may be unable to enjoy all the aspects of MyO Premium when it's launched. [/SIZE]

[Guest Heero yuy]

Understandable, that it pays for the service.