Export thread

Ads are now on the first post on every tread. They are extremely annoying and some even over lap on the text of the post. I know there is a need for advertising, but get them out of the threads. Any company thet is advertised in the threads, I will NOT do business with them.

I also understand the need for ads on a free forum, but it would be nice if they were at the top or somewhere other than in the thread.

Myself...
I am just glad to see the adds showing up...
It tells me that others, (advertisers), are recognizing the value of this Forum...
and with advertising we will be here for a while longer... :smile:KennyV

We've removed the ads next to the post for all registered users...

We're still in the testing stage with the ads.

Muhammad said:

We've removed the ads next to the post for all registered users...

We're still in the testing stage with the ads.

Click to expand...

I have found them a tad annoying, but the site here is free, and I understand the need to have SOMEBODY paying for what we users are getting from LMF. Even PAID sites, like the AOL I use, have been irritating the viewers with ads for a long time now. I am not complaining, but it always baffles me why advertising has become so commonplace in modern life. When is the last time you saw an ad or commercial that made you tell yourself "WOW, I just gotta run down to Burger King (or whatever) and try that new value meal THIS VERY MINUTE...advertising to me, is pretty much wasted, most of the time it irritates me so much I usually am determined NOT to have anything to do with the advertiser...go figure....:confused2:

KennyV said:

Myself...
I am just glad to see the adds showing up...
It tells me that others, (advertisers), are recognizing the value of this Forum...
and with advertising we will be here for a while longer... :smile:KennyV

Click to expand...

So, Kenny....what have the advertisments here convinced you to spend your hard earned money on so far....:smile:

4 words.....Mozilla with Ad Blocker

I have bought my share of advertising over the past several decades.
Most ads are not intended to get you to 'drop what your doing and go out to buy something'...

The ads on this site will be worth running if the people here 'click' on their link... if for nothing else but to find more information about their product.. :smile:KennyV

indypower said:

Ads are now on the first post on every tread. They are extremely annoying and some even over lap on the text of the post. I know there is a need for advertising, but get them out of the threads. Any company thet is advertised in the threads, I will NOT do business with them.

Click to expand...

I agree that we need ads to pay for the site but something's wrong if they overlap the text.

What browser are you using, indypower?

I use Firefox and haven't noticed any display problems at all.

I don't mind the ads for equipment and lawn care, etc. but running ads for foods, etc. on this site seem very out of place.

I also haven't noticed a problem with the ads and I'm usually running this in Google Chrome. I don't mind ads as long as they don't interfere with the text, obviously. There may even be something that I'm interested in buying!

I don't mind the ads either, but some were actually covering text or pictures in the thread posts.
I don't usually like animated ads or ones that flash etc. :thumbdown:

BKBrown said:

I don't mind the ads either, but some were actually covering text or pictures in the thread posts.
I don't usually like animated ads or ones that flash etc. :thumbdown:

Click to expand...

About 3 years ago AOL had ads on their homepage for "Lowermybills.com" with animated blue figures dancing around the whole time you were on the page. Whoever came up with that concept should have been tarred and feathered, then strung up by their thumbs and made to watch the ad for 48 hours straight. When I complained they sent me a stock reply: "We are sorry you do not like the ads, we try to choose ads that will appeal to the majority of the members"...

DUH...I bet they had no members THAT ONE appealed to...I truthfully hate most all online advertising, it is very distracting and I can say I have NEVER, EVER considered ANY purchase from an online advertiser. If anything, such ads REPEL ME and make me determined NEVER to do business with the advertiser. Why do the companies that squander millions of dollars on advertising think they are getting more business by doing that? Most people I know feel the same way--ads tick them off.

Does anybody remember when Tiger Woods was the spokesman for GM's Buick brand of cars? I drive a Buick, but did Wood's endorsement mean anything? No, it repelled me, because I can't play golf. :biggrin:

ADVERTISING IS STUPID....:thumbdown::thumbdown:

I haven't even though much of the ads. On Chrome, IE9, and Firefox, there have been no display issues here. Honestly if those are the only ads that we will see on this site that is awesome. This site is clean and easy on the eyes. A small add on the top of each thread isn't a problem to me (obviously if they are causing display issues than the bugs need to be worked out.) Most sites have blinking ads on the left right, bottom, top and after every post! If it is that big of a problem, go to
Mozilla | Firefox web browser & Thunderbird email client and download the new version of Firefox.
Then go to https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/ and search for "adblock plus"
Download it, restart Firefox, and voila :thumbsup:

For Firefox users: there's an add-on called "Flashblock" that will prevent Flash content from being loaded unless you click on the object. Flashblock allows the user to specify websites on which Flash content is always loaded and played by default. This is good from a security perspective and also can save you some bandwidth -- so your pages will load faster.

I always try to support advertisers on my favorite sites...
I generally have to buy somethings anyway.... so if I can, I will support those that support my hobbies/pastimes....
I also look for new products and ideas that are brought to my attention, through advertising... :smile:KennyV

JDgreen said:

........, most of the time it irritates me so much I usually am determined NOT to have anything to do with the advertiser...go figure....:confused2:

Click to expand...

I do the same thing. When I get annoyed at a radio ad for a car dealership......when I go looking for a car, I make it a point to go EVERYWHERE else other than the dealer that annoyed me. :biggrin:

KennyV said:

I also look for new products and ideas that are brought to my attention, through advertising... :smile:KennyV

Click to expand...

This is a very valid point. There are loads of things that I wouldn't even be aware of if it wasn't for the adverts. I admit that a few annoy me but, in the main, I'm all for them.

Although I see Kenny's point - you wouldn't know what's out there if not for advertising - I gotta side with JD on this rant.

Whether it's online, on broadcast TV, on cable, or on broadcast/satellite radio, I detest ads. Not because I don't like being informed about new products or services, but because they go by the "if it's annoying, it'll be name recognition" philosophy. "Here's that number for the EIGHTH time....." with the greasy-salesman smile in the voice.......

First off, for a service you are paying for (like cable or satellite, or in JD's case, AOL), to annoy the heck out of you is just plain rude. You are paying for said service - I'd gladly pay more just to have no advertising. But, to have these services annually raise your membership dues AND still annoy you with advertising is really BS. (Satellite only has ad-free MUSIC. I personally like talk radio. The talk stations are jammed every 15 minutes with ads as if it were broadcast radio - that's why I allowed my subscription to expire last year) I turn down/off the ads. How effective are they now? :wink:

I, like I said above (and akin to JD's thoughts), will NOT buy a slice of ham from someone who thinks it's a good idea to annoy me with their ads. So, they have done precisely the OPPOSITE of what the ad is intended to do.

We have a gargantuan car dealership (and several affiliates) that live and die by this policy. They spam your ears every commercial break, their ads are always shouting, their 'deals' are always a crock, and they spam my real-life mailbox with huge ads with fake keys taped to them. They bring their overpriced junk to the mall and their slick willies crawl all over you like mosquitos if you're unlucky enough to be going to the mall when they're there. They have a campaign on now, that has an addicting online game you can play. You must have to give them access to FB, because every poor schlep that plays this online game ends up advertising for them in their status. Utter stupidity. I will tow a vehicle out of the JUNKYARD and fix it up, rather than give these idiots one thin DIME of my money.

My :2cents:

twall,....NOBODY COULD HAVE SAID IT BETTER.....:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Smartaleck said:

This is a very valid point. There are loads of things that I wouldn't even be aware of if it wasn't for the adverts. I admit that a few annoy me but, in the main, I'm all for them.

Click to expand...

"A few annoy you"....boy, you have a LOT more tolerance than this old fart does...are you telling me the commercial breaks on television don't tick you off? Those ugly billboards alongside the roads don't bother you? The radio jingles and loud irritating blurbs telling you to "BUY, BUY, BUY" this product or that product are just background music...?

I have seen a few really good, well written TV commercials, such as the kid in the back of the car who urges his dad to splurge for the deluxe drive thru car wash because the kid hopes to inherit the car some day...but 99% of commercials, to me, are just a source of irritation. As twall says, probably a lot of the people enduring them will go out of their way NOT to do business with the advertiser.

While I am ranting here, has anybody noticed that on local tv commercials, where you have merchants hawking car repairs, basement waterproofing, plumbing repairs, etc. 99% of the time as the commercial winds down, the mechanic, basement fixer, plumber,etc is seen shaking hands with the fish, oops, prospective customer. It's such a farce it almost makes me laugh..."TRUST US, OUR HANDSHAKE HERE MEANS WE ARE HONEST"....YEAH RIGHT....:laughing::laughing:

....or at the end of an ad not worth airing compressing all 3 minutes of spoken 'fine print' into 5 seconds?

All you get is "hibbity hibbity hibbity........" and what they're telling you is that this ad doesn't really mean a thing? :laughing:

As far as good radio ads, they come along once in awhile.....you notice they hardly EVER play them? I can't get enough of Budweiser's "Real American Heros".....and you rarely ever hear them.

That time is reserved for "Is your credit card crediting your credit with BAD credit? Well call us (times 1&2 for phone#) to credit your credit with GOOD credit card crediting......Because we at (times 3&4 for phone#) are Credit card creditors! Don't listen to the other ads saying they can credit your credit card with good credit! Just call us now at (times 5&6) thats (times 7&8)" AAAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!!!! :mur:

Here's another way to look look at it: How advertising works interests me in a similar way to how an engine works.

I listen to a fair amount of radio while I'm working around the house or walking my dog. Instead of allowing myself to get annoyed by an ad, I try to figure out how that ad is intended to operate: Who is targeted? What are they selling -- or are they just developing brand recognition? Why will this ad work -- or will it fail (cost more than it produces in revenue)?

Internet ads are more complex since they can be precisely targeted and the science behind them is still in an early stage.

The only ads that really annoy me are the ones that are clearly intended to mislead the consumer. A good example: radio ads hawking gold as an investment.

We need ads on websites like this one -- I can't see how it would work any other way.

Two-Stroke said:

.....The only ads that really annoy me are the ones that are clearly intended to mislead the consumer. A good example: radio ads hawking gold as an investment.

Click to expand...

.....Or advertising 'get out of debt' "services". Many of them are just an arm of the credit card companies, anyhow.......just another way to harass you to pay (whether you can or not) the bill.

....We need ads on websites like this one -- I can't see how it would work any other way.

Click to expand...

I personally like the [small link style] Google ads....but not the popup flash kind like this thread was started about. If you'll notice, once a thread is started, there are ads at the top of the page (text links) that focus in on keywords in that thread....and I've clicked on several. Not at all obtrusive, and many times handy (or at least interesting). The flash ads, on the other hand, I found obnoxious and wouldn't click on them in a zillion years - just the annoyed reflex kicking in. :smile:

ATTN: Muhammad

Yes, i click on the Google ads [links] at the top of the threads! (quite often, actually)

twall said:

.....Or advertising 'get out of debt' "services". Many of them are just an arm of the credit card companies, anyhow.......just another way to harass you to pay (whether you can or not) the bill.



I personally like the [small link style] ads....but not the popup flash kind like this thread was started about. If you'll notice, once a thread is started, there are ads at the top of the page (text links) that focus in on keywords in that thread....and I've clicked on several. Not at all obtrusive, and many times handy (or at least interesting). The flash ads, on the other hand, I found obnoxious and wouldn't click on them in a zillion years - just the annoyed reflex kicking in. :smile:

ATTN: Muhammad

Yes, i click on the ads [links] at the top of the threads! (quite often, actually)

Click to expand...

I agree about the credit repair ads -- they're almost always misleading.

I find flash content -- almost all of it and not just ads -- annoying and wasteful in more ways than one. I mentioned Flashblock for Firefox earlier in this thread -- it's a free add-on -- try it.

Two-Stroke said:

I agree about the credit repair ads -- they're almost always misleading.

I find flash content -- almost all of it and not just ads -- annoying and wasteful in more ways than one. I mentioned Flashblock for Firefox earlier in this thread -- it's a free add-on -- try it.

Click to expand...

Opera has it, too.......I pesonally liked Opera. But, I can get neither Mozilla nor Opera for 64-bit Win 7....:frown:

I've looked all over. Nothing but patches to make the browser act in a 32-bit environment. Fooey!

Advertising is:

Intended to make you want and buy stuff you don't need, with money you don't have, in the vain attempt to impress people who don't care...

My primary vehicle is an 11 year old truck, that I maintain and repair myself. My home is a remodeled and enlarged 60 year old kit house, that I maintain and repair myself. My clothing is pretty much a mix of items from Goodwill, VOA, and the Salvation Army. Rather than waste money dining out or visiting fast food places, I do most of the meal preparation here. When we do buy something, it is carefully researched and purchased where we get the best price/service combination.

We are not, and never will be, impulse buyers, slaves to fashion, or careless with money. To me, most advertising flies in the face of our principles, and that's why I hate it so much. When I read about all the foreclosures, etc. that happen across the nation, it always makes me wonder how much advertising, which makes many consumers want things they didn't need, or have the money to pay for, contributed to the foreclosures and bankruptcies that are so commonplace today.


End of subject, for me anyhow. Thanks for letting me have my say.

.....and i actually agreed with him this time......:wink:

twall said:

Opera has it, too.......I pesonally liked Opera. But, I can get neither Mozilla nor Opera for 64-bit Win 7....:frown:

Click to expand...

I am running Mozilla Fire Fox 3.6.15 on my HP 64 bit Windows7... It works great and allows me to use the sync addon that the new Fire Fox 4 did not allow... :smile:KennyV

Haha, what a thread! It's great to hear what you guys think about ads and the site in general. We love considering how to make LMF the most enjoyable experience possible. @Twall, your description of credit card radio ads is hilarious :laughing: and @Two-Stroke I enjoy your objective look at advertising in general.

Like Muhammad said, we are still in the early stages of displaying advertising on this website, so your understanding is appreciated, but Indypower, I sure hope you might be able to find an internet browser that does not cause the ads to overlap the post text! I'm sorry you have had that issue. :thumbdown:

Anyways, thanks again for your feedback and remember that as KennyV said, the ads allow us to continue to provide this (hopefully, friendly and enjoyable :smile community for you all.

Briana said:

Haha, what a thread! It's great to hear what you guys think about ads and the site in general. We love considering how to make LMF the most enjoyable experience possible. @Twall, your description of credit card radio ads is hilarious :laughing: and @Two-Stroke I enjoy your objective look at advertising in general.

Like Muhammad said, we are still in the early stages of displaying advertising on this website, so your understanding is appreciated, but Indypower, I sure hope you might be able to find an internet browser that does not cause the ads to overlap the post text! I'm sorry you have had that issue. :thumbdown:

Anyways, thanks again for your feedback and remember that as KennyV said, the ads allow us to continue to provide this (hopefully, friendly and enjoyable :smile community for you all.

Click to expand...

In case anybody has noticed my continued departure from LMF, I must admit the ADS HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH THAT.....:thumbdown:

The ads were not, repeat, WERE NOT required to continue this (hopefully, friendly and enjoyable :smile community for us all, for the better part of a year. Which is why I FORMERLY enjoyed LMF so much...not so now.

JDgreen said:

In case anybody has noticed my continued departure from LMF, I must admit the ADS HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH THAT.....:thumbdown:

The ads were not, repeat, WERE NOT required to continue this (hopefully, friendly and enjoyable :smile community for us all, for the better part of a year. Which is why I FORMERLY enjoyed LMF so much...not so now.

Click to expand...

Maybe because it's because I am used to seeing ads everywhere, but quite honestly the ads on here are VERY minimal and a lot less intrusive than other sites, I actually can't believe how minimal they have kept it. Overall this site is very clean and easy on the eyes IMO. If they continue to bother you, I would suggest downloading Firefox 4 and install AdBlock, then we can remain an enjoyable community where people don't leave because of a few ads that allow LMF to host a wonderful free website for the community. :thumbsup: I/we don't want to see you go JD :frown:

Mute, Mute. Delete, Delete. Ignore, Ignore.


Complaining about advertisements is like complaining about your kids. Sure they're a pain in the ar$e. Sure they're loud and intrusive and constantly want your attention. Sure they interrupt you all the time, and drone on and on with stories that make your eyes glaze over. And sure they're eventually going to cost you a lot of money. But sometimes they're useful and even downright funny.

Trust me, neither one of them is going anywhere. So you may as well get used to it.

JDgreen said:

In case anybody has noticed my continued departure from LMF, I must admit the ADS HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH THAT.....:thumbdown:

The ads were not, repeat, WERE NOT required to continue this (hopefully, friendly and enjoyable :smile community for us all, for the better part of a year. Which is why I FORMERLY enjoyed LMF so much...not so now.

Click to expand...

I honestly thought you were busy outside....the weather has gotten nicer......and you said when it did so, you wouldn't be on here near as much....and you HAVE had an issue with your eyes....you made that plain.

I personally miss you, and if you're making a statement....well, around here, you gotta actually MAKE the satement.......I hate ads as well, but I like being here...and if the flash crud continued, I would've left, too....but I woulda made a huge stink before I left.

Muhammad (and Briana) have said they are trying out ads......be patient. They hear us when we don't like (or won't tolerate) what they try. We gotta be here to let them know if it's acceptable or not. Just leaving isn't the answer, JD........

mystreba said:

Mute, Mute. Delete, Delete. Ignore, Ignore.


Complaining about advertisements is like complaining about your kids. Sure they're a pain in the ar$e. Sure they're loud and intrusive and constantly want your attention. Sure they interrupt you all the time, and drone on and on with stories that make your eyes glaze over. And sure they're eventually going to cost you a lot of money. But sometimes they're useful and even downright funny.

Trust me, neither one of them is going anywhere. So you may as well get used to it.

Click to expand...

That ain't the answer, either....that's like saying "just take what the politicians give you, cause it'll never change." that's just BS! If we don't complain when we don't like a change, it'll be assumed that the change is just fine with us.

Big thumbsdown, mystreba.........:thumbdown:

Slater says MINIMAL AD CONTENT on LMF? He is joking. Ads here are very irritating and much too visible...and has there ever been a study about what percentage of viewers that see online ads actually follow up on them? HAHAHA. What such ads do is actually REPEL ME, making me even less likely to have any interest in what the online ad featured. I was actually thinking about buying a new yard tractor, but the ads here featuring Cub Cadet actually make me DETEST the brand in general. I truthfully wonder why ANYBODY is gullible enough to be sucked in by advertising....:thumbdown::thumbdown:

JDgreen said:

Slater says MINIMAL AD CONTENT on LMF? He is joking. Ads here are very irritating and much too visible...and has there ever been a study about what percentage of viewers that see online ads actually follow up on them? HAHAHA. What such ads do is actually REPEL ME, making me even less likely to have any interest in what the online ad featured. I was actually thinking about buying a new yard tractor, but the ads here featuring Cub Cadet actually make me DETEST the brand in general. I truthfully wonder why ANYBODY is gullible enough to be sucked in by advertising....:thumbdown::thumbdown:

Click to expand...

JD, those ads were the flash version of the text ads. They displayed thread-specific ads (most of the time). What I hated is they slowed down my speed on the site, and they seemed to mess with the LMF app. Now they're gone......(and they ARE gone, JD).....things are back to normal. Because IIIIIII said something, and didn't just try a 'peaceful protest'. I started a thread about those miserable ads. Didn't you see it? Within an HOUR, the ads were gone, and back to text ads.

I can't back you up here, man. You gotta b!tch, too. I can't be the only a$$hole here......:laughing:

Right now we are back to the same ad spots we have had since August. That is, for registered users. We run one ad that only displays for unregistered users.

The reality is that we do have to generate revenue from the forum to pay for the expenses of running it. I think the amount of ads we have on the forum is reasonable. In fact, we're about as close to "ad-free" as a website can get without actually being ad free. We've changed ad formats and removed ads based on the feedback we received and will continue to take member feedback into account with regards to the ads on the site.

Muhammad said:

Right now we are back to the same ad spots we have had since August. That is, for registered users. We run one ad that only displays for unregistered users.

The reality is that we do have to generate revenue from the forum to pay for the expenses of running it. I think the amount of ads we have on the forum is reasonable. In fact, we're about as close to "ad-free" as a website can get without actually being ad free. We've changed ad formats and removed ads based on the feedback we received and will continue to take member feedback into account with regards to the ads on the site.

Click to expand...

I thank you for being responsive. Like I said, I'd had it with the 'graphic' google ads. I was ready to leave, because the site was so slow. I was gonna go where the site was as slow, but more members, and thusly, more discussion. But, you listened. Kudos!!! :thumbsup: LMF app is back to the great speed I posted on the review........as of last week, I was sorry for recommending it....:frown: It was TERRIBLE as far as speed - sometimes, it'd downright lock up. I thought it was just me, so I said nothing. My mistake. The ads changed your server somehow, and the LMF app was really suffering as a result. Now, since you went back to text ads, it's like it was. The same day. I uninstalled and re-installed the LMF app, tried everything, and it would still freeze up. Not a freeze since you removed the flash ads......or did you do something else?

twall said:

That ain't the answer, either....that's like saying "just take what the politicians give you, cause it'll never change." that's just BS! If we don't complain when we don't like a change, it'll be assumed that the change is just fine with us.

Big thumbsdown, mystreba.........:thumbdown:

Click to expand...

But you weren't complaining about ads. You were complaining about speed. That's a legitimate complaint.

The thread degenerated into a complaint about ads in general - as if we could expect a FREE web forum with no ads whatsoever. That's not complaining. That's whining :wink:

mystreba said:

But you weren't complaining about ads. You were complaining about speed. That's a legitimate complaint.

The thread degenerated into a complaint about ads in general - as if we could expect a FREE web forum with no ads whatsoever. That's not complaining. That's whining :wink:

Click to expand...

I've said all along I understand the NEED for advertising, but, I also backed up JD on the ANNOYING kind of advertising, and that is exactly what killed my speed. There is a link between the two, man.

You can't have 'free' and 'anything goes because we have to pay for it'....and have a cool, quick site....that is also my point. I was also whining, because I hate advertisers that haven't a brain betwixt their ear lobes. And they LOVE a website that is looking for advertisers....

The app should have been unaffected entirely by the ads since the app is ad-free. I'm not sure what was going on with that.

As always, please post your feedback and let us know if you have any problems accessing the site before taking drastic measures like abandoning us. :ashamed:

The purpose of this forum is to exchange knowledge and information about lawn mowing and lawn equipment, NOT to shove ads down people's throats or make money off the membership. Yes, we do need to pay the bills with a LIMITED number of ads, but we will always put user experience first and try to keep the ads at a minimum.

Muhammad said:

The app should have been unaffected entirely by the ads since the app is ad-free. I'm not sure what was going on with that.

As always, please post your feedback and let us know if you have any problems accessing the site before taking drastic measures like abandoning us. :ashamed:

The purpose of this forum is to exchange knowledge and information about lawn mowing and lawn equipment, NOT to shove ads down people's throats or make money off the membership. Yes, we do need to pay the bills with a LIMITED number of ads, but we will always put user experience first and try to keep the ads at a minimum.

Click to expand...

Thanks man, you're doing a great job. I also sporadically noticed the speed issue on the computer (IE8), so I don't think it was limited to the app. I assumed it was a traffic/server issue - which I took as a sign that I needed to get up off my computer and GET SOME WORK DONE!

Thanks to Muhammad & crew for being responsive to our gripes - moreso than we may know.

I've been surfing the net (like a dummy) since I got this computer as ADMINISTRATOR (as dumb as surfing the 'net as 'root' in Lynux/Un!x systems)! I finally got my user account set up, but that means I also had to re-configure everything about IE8. When I got to LMF, I noticed you can now close that very annoying box on the homepage that covered up the 'login' box.

Very nice indeed!