# Banner Ads: An SDMB Posting Boycott

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [November 29, 2007, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218 "2007-11-29T20:24:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/41 "2007-11-29T23:51:23Z")

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What’s worse: the banner ads, or the wars they seem to have started. 🙂

Can we just blame Bush for them, and then move on?

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**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/42 "2007-11-29T23:58:05Z")

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[QUOTE=Una Persson]  
Dopers in general are not very well known for follow-through on their indignation, I’m guessing that less than 1% of the paying members will actually not renew based on banner ads.  
[/QUOTE]  
What?!

How dare you, sir. This insult will not stand! I’m going to go right out and open a Pit Thread on you for insulting us all so very harshly

…just as soon as I finish checking out that “porn star body” thread in MPSIMS.

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**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/43 "2007-11-30T00:01:25Z")

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[QUOTE=John Mace]  
Can we just blame Bush for them, and then move on?  
[/QUOTE]  
Bush could be doing something stupid _right now_, and he won’t get pitted for it because everybody is bitching and arguing about banner ads.

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**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/44 "2007-11-30T00:02:22Z")

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[QUOTE=Jodi]  
…at this point I wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire…  
[/quote]  
Sure you would, and you’d love every minute of it.  
[QUOTE=Jodi]  
…much less add one iota to your enjoyment.  
[/QUOTE]  
Just seeing that little green light next to your username adds to my enjoyment.

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**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/45 "2007-11-30T00:02:56Z")

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I’d rather stick around and bust their ass about it every chance I get.

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**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/46 "2007-11-30T00:08:36Z")

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[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig]  
Bush could be doing something stupid _right now_, and he won’t get pitted for it because everybody is bitching and arguing about banner ads.  
[/QUOTE]

Seriously, if he’s going to attack Iran, nows the time!

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**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/47 "2007-11-30T00:19:10Z")

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[QUOTE=Orbifold]  
So, the “spare us the frickin’ drama” thing’s right out then?  
[/QUOTE]  
But there are banner ads. Ads…in the banner. There weren’t ads in the banner, and now there are. You just don’t understand and clearly never will.

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**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/48 "2007-11-30T00:32:42Z")

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Boycotting the boards won’t work. If I don’t post here for a week, I seriously doubt my absence will be noticed. And my subscription is paid up for awhile. The Chicago Reader has my money. Not posting isn’t going to have any monetary effect on them.

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**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/49 "2007-11-30T00:34:28Z")

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[QUOTE=John Mace]  
What’s worse: the banner ads, or the wars they seem to have started. 🙂

Can we just blame Bush for them, and then move on?  
[/QUOTE]

I’ll check GD to see if \*\*BG \*\* started the thread yet. 😉

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**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/50 "2007-11-30T00:50:11Z")

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[QUOTE=What Exit?]  
These ads are damn good, I bought my Ford Focus several years ago in advance of these ads. 😉

**Scissorjack** : I don’t see what boycotting for a week will do. It doesn’t cost the Corporate Owners anything if you don’t post, only if you don’t renew.

Good luck with this, but I will pass.

Jim  
[/QUOTE]

**Exit** shows good sense, and I agree.

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**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/51 "2007-11-30T00:58:22Z")

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[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor]  
**Exit** shows good sense, and I agree.  
[/QUOTE]

Exit? What exit?

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**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/52 "2007-11-30T01:06:32Z")

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[QUOTE=gazpacho]  
You do understand that the boards are not a money making operation for the reader? The new owners probably don’t really give a rats ass about the boards and would probably welcome an excuse to dump the whole thing and focus on the core business of the paper. But I am sure your protest will bring them to their knees any day now.  
[/QUOTE]  
Yeah, seems like only a few weeks ago (oh wait, it was) that everybody was quaking in their boots, worrying whether the board’s new overlords were gonna shut the place down. Now, just because of these ads, which like you say are probably more an effort to at least break even than to make scads of money, everybody is all up in arms and wanting to boycott the place or bail altogether.

I am having a really difficult time trying to figure out what all the outrage is about. Did the board ever promise no ads in return for subscription fees? If it did, I don’t remember it. And to me that would be about the only thing that would justify all this outrage. For cryin’ out loud, magazines and newspapers I pay for have adds all over the place, DVDs I watch have trailers, cable television has ads ad infinitum, etc., etc.

Sheesh! :rolleyes:

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**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/53 "2007-11-30T01:48:04Z")

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[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac]  
Exit? What exit?  
[/QUOTE]

\<SLAPS **Sal Ammoniac** with a Wet Trout\>

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**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/54 "2007-11-30T02:00:06Z")

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> [@Starving Artist](#):
>
> I am having a really difficult time trying to figure out what all the outrage is about.

What is so difficult? Some people post from work and can’t have noisy banners. Some people it’s the principle of the thing; on virtually every other website, buying membership _includes getting rid of_ banner ads. Some places that’s almost all membership is, in fact. Still others aren’t “outraged”. They just think this a stupid shithead play.

I’m not particularly outraged. I post from home usually and I hardly even notice the banners if I’m too lazy to simply right click it and select “block”. Still not very difficult to fucking figure out.

And seriously, how much do you think it costs to run this site? You really think it costs more than the membership fees? I don’t.

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**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/55 "2007-11-30T02:01:26Z")

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Sorry, gotta agree with many previous posts. If the new Board owners don’t care enough to pre-announce banner ads, I doubt they’ll care enough to notice a strike or boycott, even on the infinitesimal chance they see it at all.

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**Author:** ![miamouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@miamouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miamouse)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/56 "2007-11-30T02:34:51Z")

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[QUOTE=Starving Artist]  
For cryin’ out loud, magazines and newspapers I pay for have adds all over the place, DVDs I watch have trailers, cable television has ads ad infinitum, etc., etc.

Sheesh! :rolleyes:  
[/QUOTE]  
Do you write the content for the magazines you read?

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**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/57 "2007-11-30T03:04:48Z")

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[QUOTE=miamouse]  
Do you write the content for the magazines you read?  
[/QUOTE]  
Do the people who write the content have to pay the magazine that they are providing content for?

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**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/58 "2007-11-30T03:58:05Z")

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[QUOTE=miamouse]  
Do you write the content for the magazines you read?  
[/QUOTE]  
No, and frankly the ability to write isn’t why I subscribe here. (In fact, sometimes I wonder if I wouldn’t be better off if I couldn’t.) 😛

To the extent the ability to write here has value to me it’s because I can often get immediate factual answers to things I want to find out about, and I’m sure that fact is of much more value to me than it is to the the Chicago Reader or TPTB in Atlanta.

Frankly, I would pay just for access to this board even if I couldn’t post. The humor one often finds here, the insights to be gained, and the information to be found on such a wide range of subjects by people who aren’t afraid/embarrassed to talk about here and the things they do are worth more than the cost of the subscription to me.

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**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/59 "2007-11-30T05:41:08Z")

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[QUOTE=Harborwolf]  
Do the people who write the content have to pay the magazine that they are providing content for?  
[/QUOTE]  
The fucking phone company makes me pay for the calls and the about 1/2 the content is made by me. God Damned mother fuckers.

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**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\
**Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banner-ads-an-sdmb-posting-boycott/428218/60 "2007-11-30T06:20:12Z")

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I think we should boycott Ford. Oh, wait - Ford sucks; I wouldn’t buy a fucking Ford on a bet anyway.

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