Sonofagun.
I await clarification about whether this is a temporary thing or an actual decision by TPTB.
Yep, i figured out how to harvest the pertinent web address to add to my blocklist, now I’m actually going Ad-HUNTING trying to find ads/advertisers on purpose, so I can add them to the blocklist…
Google ads have been added to the blocklist
so, I guess the good side of this banner ad debacle is that my ignorance on how to block ads at their source has been fought, it’s an education
Ignorance fought, ads blocked, it’s win-win for me 
The SDMB alone is worth a LOT of money, potentially. There’s an established domain name, a message board with millions of posts that could potentially be opened up to search engines, and monetization potential; either from advertising or membership and enhanced feature fees.
Right now, I’m guessing the SDMB brings in about $100K a year to TPTB; that’s considering membership fees and Google AdSense revenue.
I’m apparently more hare-trigger than fluiddruid, because I went ahead and deleted all the contact information before I saw this post. It struck me as pretty squarely against the intent of our rule of posting phone numbers and email addresses as part of a campaign, namely that we don’t want mass harassment originating from this site. Anyone who feels compelled to contact the Chicago Reader or Creative Loafing is free to look up the information on their own, of course.
You mean you’re hunting wabbits?
Regards,
Shodan
PS - No more ads, apparently.
And there was much rejoicing.
SIG PROTEST!
I paid $15 for special features and all I got were these lousy banner ads.
Seriously, I’ve been considering joining up. The banner ads don’t bother me that much, they’re easily blocked. It’s the reaction to them. Clearly, the majority of paid members feel mistreated by the ownership. That’s disturbing.
This is further proof there is no Cecil. Unless he was a complete asshole, don’t you think he would look after his devoted fans a little better?
I still have the banners. That’s not a complaint, of course.
It would be funny if they never intended the banners for members. Just working out the glitches. Ha ha ha ha. 
It appears that the banner ads have been removed for paying members only. I started seeing banner ads again once I logged out of my account.
I hope TPTB stick with this - it’s more on par with what I would expect.
LilShieste
The banner ad at the very top of the page for guests is totally acceptable. From up there, no one’s going to accidentally scroll over something.
Do guests still hear ads with sound?
Nobody has claimed that Cecil is a sweet guy, least of all the Master himself.
I’ve been stopping by every day of my guestship and I never heard sound, on either my Macs or PCs.
Yes, my speakers are on. And my volume is turned up.
Fantastic!
My, what interesting math you have.
(And active membership is in the 2-5k range. That’s $14-35/annum to subsidize a $70k salary.)
Ah, I said this in a Pit thread, but thanks to whoever made this wise resolution. I’d have stayed until the end of the earth, but I’m glad I won’t have to be grumpy while I do it.
–'99er, enthusiast, supporter, addict.
Agreed, I see the same behavior, if I enter the forums on another machine (as my main machine has the Hosts file modded to block advertising globally) I see the banner ad, but as soon as I log in the ad dissapears
I’m waiting for official confirmation that ads for paying members have been terminated, I’ll believe it when i read it from Ed, Tuba, or any of the “officials”, but I’m not holding my breath, call me cynical if you must
If banner ads have truly been banished for members, I give a hearty thanks to Ed, Tuba and the other officials for going to bat for us, much appreciated
If Ed is making $70k per year you can bet it’s for a heck of a lot more than writing a maximum one page research article per week. Since there are plenty of “staff writers” doing it for free, a breakaway board could always have articles written by the “Straight Shooters Advisory Board” or maybe “Pure Dope Science Cooperative”.
Anyways, now that they seem to have backed away from banners for paying members, I’m sure the exodus/revolt will be called off.
Nothing to see here, folks. Move along. 
I don’t know. My affection for the place is swiftly dying.
Ed Zotti just posted a fairly lengthy explanation in ATMB about the banner ads and some possible future directions for the board. Although no promises have been made, I’m personally quite heartened to see that CL appears to be taking the board seriously.