Can hardly see the forum for the ads?

[Hummin]

14 minutes ago, Nickelbeer said:

Asean Now has to monetize this forum in order to continue the service. Who the hell wants to work for free? This forum is free to the public and the owner has a right to earn money from it any way that he can. I can ask visa questions on other fora and either get NO answer or the wrong information. Dealing with pop-up advertisements is a small price to pay to get access to accurate visa and immigration information.

You forget there is many browsers, and some browsers is more affected by the ads than others. 
 

And when you check in here, its quite annoying when you listen music or radio, when the ad video player takes priority. 

[Kinnock]

39 minutes ago, Nickelbeer said:

Asean Now has to monetize this forum in order to continue the service. Who the hell wants to work for free? This forum is free to the public and the owner has a right to earn money from it any way that he can. I can ask visa questions on other fora and either get NO answer or the wrong information. Dealing with pop-up advertisements is a small price to pay to get access to accurate visa and immigration information.

So how come other free sites, including the big ones like Instagran or Google search can make money without making their sites unusable?

 

There needs to be a balance between the customer experience and income.  This site has been steadily losing users, I believe partly due to excess ads.  Then they need to put more ads on to make up for the shortfal in revenue, as revenue is based on member numbers/clicks.

 

It's a poor advertising revenue strategy.

 

[Hummin]

This is looking promissing, only ads on the top part for the moment

 

Seems they are working with it now. 

[DezLez]

20 hours ago, CharlieH said:

MOVED to Forum Support

The bosses of this forum (Business) are in a "Catch-22" situation where we seem to be banned from discussing the elephant in the room!

 

We, the readers of the forum, are mainly uninterested in irrelevant and especially annoying adverts. 

 

When the website started it was viewed primarily on PC’s and then Laptops when the adverts were not that invasive.  I was a member way back then under a name I have forgotten.  (thank god says a few old timers!)

 

Now that tablets and smartphones are the order of the day, the adverts have become a total P-I-T-A and are driving people either away from the site totally or are forcing members like me to resorting to draconian measures which of course we are not allowed to discuss (another “Catch-22”!) but if we do it it leaves us with a nice readable format! 

 

The bosses of this forum (Business) must realize that we all know this forum (Business) must advertise to make money to run the forum (Business) but the bosses must understand that the advertising has to be proportionate. 

 

I suggest fewer and less intrusive adverts with more higher quality adverts placed in a side bar where they do not interfere with the reading/commenting on the main content. 

 

The present side bar with its “what is popular” or” latest post” etc could be replaced with an advert sidebar and keep everyone, well some people happier!

[Nickelbeer]

2 hours ago, DezLez said:

The bosses of this forum (Business) are in a "Catch-22" situation where we seem to be banned from discussing the elephant in the room!

 

We, the readers of the forum, are mainly uninterested in irrelevant and especially annoying adverts. 

 

When the website started it was viewed primarily on PC’s and then Laptops when the adverts were not that invasive.  I was a member way back then under a name I have forgotten.  (thank god says a few old timers!)

 

Now that tablets and smartphones are the order of the day, the adverts have become a total P-I-T-A and are driving people either away from the site totally or are forcing members like me to resorting to draconian measures which of course we are not allowed to discuss (another “Catch-22”!) but if we do it it leaves us with a nice readable format! 

 

The bosses of this forum (Business) must realize that we all know this forum (Business) must advertise to make money to run the forum (Business) but the bosses must understand that the advertising has to be proportionate. 

 

I suggest fewer and less intrusive adverts with more higher quality adverts placed in a side bar where they do not interfere with the reading/commenting on the main content. 

 

The present side bar with its “what is popular” or” latest post” etc could be replaced with an advert sidebar and keep everyone, well some people happier!

I’m amazed that management hasn’t bounced or deleted you yet. They are a lot more tolerant than I would be. Messing with cash flow is a capital offense in Internet Land.

[DezLez]

11 minutes ago, Nickelbeer said:

I’m amazed that management hasn’t bounced or deleted you yet. They are a lot more tolerant than I would be. Messing with cash flow is a capital offense in Internet Land.

But that is my point!

It is the elaphant in the room and if not addressed there will be no forum!

[DezLez]

You are not allowed to make mention to any "Advert not allowed programme" AKA the "elephant in the room"!

 

Have you not read the previous posts?

[Hummin]

1 hour ago, Nickelbeer said:

I’m amazed that management hasn’t bounced or deleted you yet. They are a lot more tolerant than I would be. Messing with cash flow is a capital offense in Internet Land.

Then you might not run a business with visiting readers and contributers to long, before they start leaving your platform. It is a thin line from having a successful internet platform with paying ads and visiting readers and active members. 

[Inn Between]

I'm so old school that I find it hard to believe internet advertising is as effective as the industry would like advertisers to believe. They do not influence my spending whatsoever, and judging by many of the comments here, the VAST majority of us are more interested in getting them off the screen rather than seeing what they're trying to sell us.

 

Who goes online, especially to a forum, looking and hoping to see a bunch of ads? I can understand that site owners need to monetize to some degree what they've built and pay to maintain, but as has been mentioned, there gets to a point where the user experience is so diminished or the site is just so downright annoying that people will stop coming or only come when absolutely necessary. There's also the possible effect of people resenting the ads so much at a site that overdoes it that they can create some extra resentment toward those particular products or advertisers with people mumbling about how sick and tired they are of seeing that same ad again...and again...and again. 

[FriendlyFarang]

4 hours ago, DezLez said:

But that is my point!

It is the elaphant in the room and if not addressed there will be no forum!

The problem is that due to all the annoying ads they put on in the last years most users here are probably blocking all ads together by now. If they would now reduce the number of ads the people wouldn't suddenly unblock ads on this website, so they would earn less money. The few remaining percent who still get to see ads now get bombarded in an attempt to squeeze some money out of it.

[TropicalGuy]

On 6/6/2022 at 7:29 PM, Thailand said:

Well look at that, it isn't just me!

It isn’t . Constantly pressing the “x” to clear ads…..using small IPhone 7. Just get used to it though. ????????????

[Baron Samedi]

Wanna know what the real elephant in the room is ?

The internet is broken and decent monetization has become almost impossible.

Back in the 2000's, you could rely on third parties for advertisement/affiliation money.

But that era is over.

Nowadays you need to have your own products to sell.

Whatever digital platform you're running, its sole purpose is to connect your audience with whatever you're offering.

AseanNow should open a fast food franchise and use the forum to advertise its selection of original burgers. ????

"I'll have two tirak cheese burgers and a love-me-long-time milkshake, please. Don't forget the extra tuktuk sauce, ok?"

[CharlieH]

Some posts removed.

 

25) No public discussion is allowed with regard to other forum members, as well as to advertisements or sponsors, or methods of blocking advertisements.

 

Admin have been made aware of your concern.

[DezLez]

9 hours ago, FriendlyFarang said:

The problem is that due to all the annoying ads they put on in the last years most users here are probably blocking all ads together by now. If they would now reduce the number of ads the people wouldn't suddenly unblock ads on this website, so they would earn less money. The few remaining percent who still get to see ads now get bombarded in an attempt to squeeze some money out of it.

I agree with you but what about newcomers who will take one look at an unfiltered site full of annoying ads that cover the info they probably came on the site to find.

They are just going to type into Google and find a friendlier site unless they feel they have to join to ask a specific question and then never return.

Edited June 8, 2022 by DezLez

[Puccini]

Ads covering text are against Google policy. Therefore, if you see such an ad in the Google Chrome browser, report it to Google and they will take the necessary action. There used to be a page on the google.com site to make this report but I can't find it anymore. Does somebody have the link to it?

[aussiexpat]

I tried to post how this site is now <deleted> because ads everywhere and everytime you mention a d b l o c k e r s they delete your post. Can't use site because so many ads, can't use because a d b l o c k e r is unusable 

[ubonjoe]

12 hours ago, aussiexpat said:

I tried to post how this site is now <deleted> because ads everywhere and everytime you mention a d b l o c k e r s they delete your post. Can't use site because so many ads, can't use because a d b l o c k e r is unusable 

Forum Rule

"22. You will not discuss methods of bypassing or blocking advertisements on ASEAN NOW, other websites or circumventing any censorship of the internet or other communications by lawful authorities."

[aussiexpat]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Forum Rule

"22. You will not discuss methods of bypassing or blocking advertisements on ASEAN NOW, other websites or circumventing any censorship of the internet or other communications by lawful authorities."

I know that, site is not fun anymore as too many ads so be gone soon...I won't mention again the unallowed 

 

I deleted the app when I read the site rules but site still treated me like I had the app, had to switch off phone and turn back on to get back to normal with too many ad pop ups everywhere

 

Edited June 27, 2022 by aussiexpat