# Let's pit the google ads... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 23, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137 "2005-09-23T22:19:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/161 "2005-09-24T06:09:56Z")
Bullshit. I noticed them the very first fucking thread I hit today. Maybe I’m just more observant. How the fuck did nobody notice this shit before entering a thread pointing it out? I guess, unlike some, I actually pay attention to everything I see in a thread? If you get to the last post of a thread you visit, you should notice it. Says something about the attention some people pay to a thread they want to get involved in. Or even read through. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/162 "2005-09-24T06:19:19Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > Bullshit. I noticed them the very first fucking thread I hit today. Maybe I’m just more observant. How the fuck did nobody notice this shit before entering a thread pointing it out? I guess, unlike some, I actually pay attention to everything I see in a thread? If you get to the last post of a thread you visit, you should notice it. Says something about the attention some people pay to a thread they want to get involved in. Or even read through. I read the threads. Unlike comments in the posts, I ignore the ads. Just tune them out, like you do TV ads you’re not interested in. Or get all pissed off about something insignificant, if that’s your thing. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/163 "2005-09-24T06:21:44Z")
> [@VCO3](#): > > I just read the post in which one of the major mods made the “Any less obtrusive and they’d be subliminal” comment about the ads. > > What a pompous, ridiculous statement to make. Someone should punch that smug asshole in his fucking jaw. I’d just like to point out that [this is how the ads render](http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/1774/blockedads9ww.gif) if you add one lousy line (“127.0.0.1 [pagead2.googlesyndication.com](http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com)”) to your hosts file to make them less obtrusive. Hardly something to come to blows over, innit? ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/164 "2005-09-24T06:48:32Z")
**Elmwood** Interesting you brought up the fact that other Dopers have Message Boards with NO advertising. As just about everyone knows, I have my own website (I won’t plug it here) and the traffic is about 4 to 6 gigabytes per month. I run the whole darned thing, and unlike the SDMB I have NO ads, and I charge NO fees. I pay for the whole thing myself. At first, this site was free. Then all of a sudden, they made it a pay site. Okay that’s kind of reasonable. _Now_ we get ads - unobtrusive of course. :rolleyes: What’s going to happen next? Will we see a “shoot the duck and win $20” animated graphic? Will we start getting spam E-Mail to buy 1920’s style death rays? ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/165 "2005-09-24T07:05:22Z")
If I see an ad for Levitra or Celebrex during a show on HBO, you bet your ass I’ll bitch about it. And you should know that I’d have plenty of support around these parts. Now, if those ads are shown while watching a channel that I get for free anyway? I’ll ignore it with no complaint. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/166 "2005-09-24T07:07:34Z")
> [@Pedro](#): > > I can’t imagine a scenario where a perceived difference of one dollar would compensate the insult and inconvenience created by that practice. Uh, what was the inconvenience? Did they bill your credit card $15.00 and send you a nickel change or what? ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/167 "2005-09-24T07:08:09Z")
Most magazines and newspapers have ads. I pay for such periodicals without complaint. A reasonable case has been made that our dues don’t cover the costs of the board. I don’t see what the big deal is. Firefox blocks popup ads, so I don’t have to worry about those. I don’t bother with Ad Blocker, as I find google ads to be unobtrusive. Frankly, I think it’s about time. Kuddos to management. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/168 "2005-09-24T07:19:06Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > With the unfathomable base of knowledge among Dopers, surely there are a few that can come up with some way to charge the current rate without the ads? Ideally, the Board would switch to a Salon-type system. Paying customers avoid ads and get extra bells and whistles, among them the warm fuzzy feeling of supporting the War on Ignorance. ## Guests get banner ads and the like. IMHO, things have deteriorated here since we switched to the subscription system. A constant flow on new posters keeps things interesting and -more important- tends to improve the behavior of the regulars. After all, you never know when an undecided eyeball might drop by. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/169 "2005-09-24T07:27:29Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > If I see an ad for Levitra or Celebrex during a show on HBO, you bet your ass I’ll bitch about it. And you should know that I’d have plenty of support around these parts. Now, if those ads are shown while watching a channel that I get for free anyway? I’ll ignore it with no complaint. Ok, but I’m guessing that you don’t complain about ads on the Discovery Channel or MTV. There are lots of nonbasic cable channels that have ads. Admittedly, the ads on my local public radio station are beginning to irritate me… ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/170 "2005-09-24T07:36:03Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Let’s look at the other Doper-operated message boards. > > [Fabulous Forums of Fathom](http://fff.fathom.org/) - Google text ads. > [UnaBoard](http://unaboard.coalgoddess.net/index.php) - no ads. > [G’Dope](http://p090.ezboard.com/bgdope) - no ads. > [Cyburbia](http://www.cyburbia.org/forums/) - no ads. > [Bad Astronomy / Universe Today](http://www.bautforum.com/) - no ads. > [NADS](http://s11.invisionfree.com/NADS) - no ads. > [Skips’ Magic Board](http://www.skipmagic.net/magicboard/) - no ads. > > Granted, they have less traffic, and a $20-$40 web hosting package is enough for 'em, but still … I’m seeing google ads at the top of the Bad Astronomy page. Nads has a banner ad for [digitalinet.com](http://digitalinet.com). Just to clarify… ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/171 "2005-09-24T07:52:52Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > Enjoy your spam. You seem just the type to click on random ads selling spam lists. Fuck you for even attempting to win an argument in telling me what I have to put up with when I have a way to avoid it. Fucking douche. Oh, so that’s a valid reason now? You have a way to avoid it, so you’re entitled to avoid it? That doesn’t make avoiding it ethical, it just makes it possible. You can cheat on your taxes, too, but most people will make the argument that you have to put up with those. I hate advertising too. But that doesn’t mean I can delude myself into thinking that stealing from content providers and/or advertisers is ethical. > [@ExarKun](#): > > From another point of view, It’s unethical for advertisers to intrude into people’s screen when people don’t want it and didn’t ask for it. Granted, some sites are doing it better, for example, Gamespot. There are ways of serving ads which are annoying. We’re not talking about adware viruses here. People essentially ask for advertising to be displayed when they visit sites that contain it. If they don’t like the way the ads are displayed, they can stop visiting the site and enjoying the free content. On most sites, ads are the price you pay for free content. Here at the SDMB, it seems that the ads are some combination a) The price we pay to keep the boards open, or b) The price we pay to keep the subscription fee down. You people can bitch and bitch all you want, but it would sure be easy for the Chicago Reader to say “You don’t like the ads? Okay. We’ll take down the site, then the ads won’t bother you anymore.” > [@vl\_mungo](#): > > I guess when they start putting advertising on billboards in space or projecting it on the moon, you’ll be okay with that too. Oh, please. I’m saying that it is unethical to actively block advertisements when the product or service you’re using is supported by advertising. I’m not saying it’s okay to plaster advertisements everywhere. Failed reading comprehension, didja? > [@KJ](#): > > Unethical? Are you kidding me? It’s my newspaper. I paid for it. I can do whatever the hell I want with it. I could even record cable TV shows onto my hard drive and edit out the commercials before watching them (which I often do.) As a paying recipient of the content, it’s my Og-given right to alter it in any way once it comes into my possession, as long as it doesn’t involve redistribution. Of course, the cable company (and/or the Reader) might just put more advertisements in to make up for it. It’s a free country and they have the right to do that as well, just as I can choose not to pay for the service. It is most definitely a free country. You definitely have the right to do whatever the hell you want to your newspaper, web browser, or TV, or whatever, to block ads. But having the right to do something doesn’t make doing it ethical. Some of you people are amazingly self-centered. You want to enjoy advertising-supported content without having to put up with the ads, and you froth at the mouth when I suggest that that’s immoral. It’s absurd. In the particular case of advertising here on the SDMB, I don’t remember ever being guaranteed that the subscription fee would eliminate the possibility of advertising, or even keep the board alive. It was just “We’re switching to pay-to-post. If you want to stay, pay up. Maybe in the future there will be some perks.” If indeed it was guaranteed at some point that there would never be advertising on the board because of the switch to subscriptions, then that’s a valid complaint. But whining about the advertising alone is just stupid. Like I said, you should be glad that the Reader didn’t decide to close the board entirely once it became apparent that the subscriptions alone weren’t working out. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/172 "2005-09-24T08:44:06Z")
> [@furt](#): > > … or else people who have some sort of irrational or ideological aversion to advertising, as if honest commerce were somehow dirty and unclean. Honest commerce is certainly not dirty and unclean; advertising often is. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/173 "2005-09-24T09:35:42Z")
[QUOTE=Absolute] Oh, so that’s a valid reason now? You have a way to avoid it, so you’re entitled to avoid it? That doesn’t make avoiding it ethical, it just makes it possible. You can cheat on your taxes, too, but most people will make the argument that you have to put up with those. > [@Absolute](#): > > I hate advertising too. But that doesn’t mean I can delude myself into thinking that stealing from content providers and/or advertisers is ethical. > > We’re not talking about adware viruses here. People essentially ask for advertising to be displayed when they visit sites that contain it. If they don’t like the way the ads are displayed, they can stop visiting the site and enjoying the free content. Boy, you do set high standards. If a content provider really wants to charge people for his content, he will set a price for it - pay up to see. The reason is for most of the stuff online, it is _not_ worth paying for them, and the content provider knows that. People primarily put up free content not because they want to make big bucks (there are exception), but they want to share. The ads are there to support the site. Since the stuff is free in the first place (and the content provider didn’t say, “Those are commerical content. Please pay”), how can anything be stolen? True, those sites do need support when the traffic gets high. But your wide brush strokes about ad-blockers make for interesting discussion. We weren’t talking about viruses, no doubt, but the stance “advertisers can do anything to screw us” is bothering me. There aren’t any innocent party in this whole fray. And just wondering, the web started out “free” - and from a desire to share. I am not sure when “Advertisers are responsible for your free-surfing experience on the Net” becomes a slogan. How did make the transition from “free academic purpose” to “for profit”? > [@Absolute](#): > > But having the right to do something doesn’t make doing it ethical. If advertisers weren’t so annoying, were there be ad-blockers? What about ads which uses unethical practices? > [@Absolute](#): > > Some of you people are amazingly self-centered. You want to enjoy advertising-supported content without having to put up with the ads, and you froth at the mouth when I suggest that that’s immoral. It’s absurd. I thought it was a given that _advertising doesn’t really do much help revenue_ (unless you are CNN or something), especially if it is the pay per click system. Pay per views pays woefully little, AFAIK. It seems that lots of web-savvy surfers ignore banner ads all together. Most ‘free content’ sites might be pay-per-clicks. People rarely do click them, if the ads there suckeths. So is there any difference in not seeing them in the first place? The issue is people here have the assumption (right or wrong) that by footing subscription fees per year, they are going to be spared ads. There was some pleading as to “why not advertisements” or “[Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com)”, but the Guys Up There said “subscription”. Now, suddenly, ads start to be tagged at the bottom of each page. “Nice,” people start musing, “Why ads after subscriptions, not ads before subscription?” and all sort of wonderings why the SDMB needs to be invaded by advertisements. And the official explanation isn’t too…er, comprehensive? Of course, the Big Guys could just say, “More people from the Dope or we’ll shut it down!” and that’s pretty much the end of story. > [@Absolute](#): > > If indeed it was guaranteed at some point that there would never be advertising on the board because of the switch to subscriptions, then that’s a valid complaint. But whining about the advertising alone is just stupid. Like I said, you should be glad that the Reader didn’t decide to close the board entirely once it became apparent that the subscriptions alone weren’t working out. I guess everyone has a right to their reactions too. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/174 "2005-09-24T09:46:08Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I no more read the ads than I read the honking trademark crap at the bottom of each page. No prob…it just filters out. But then this wouldn’t be the Dope if everybody didn’t fly off the handle bitching and moaning about some insignificant thing that got their knickers in a twist. > > “But it’s the principle of the thing!” > > Bullshit. You just like whining. Bullshit yourself, **silenus**. There are plenty of us who acknowledged that the ads are unobtrusive and who didn’t gone in for all the histrionics and the huge fonts and duplicate threads and “fuck you, mods!” but who still think that the whole thing sucks. You bet your ass it’s the principle of the thing. That’s _all_ it is with me. The subscription fee was nothing – I pay more than that for a couple packs of cigarettes. And I already said the ads are as unobtrusive as possible. But excuse the fuck out of me if I’ve got a problem with paying for a subscription service and then seeing a bunch of ads for spam lists at the bottom of every page. So since it’s impossible to state a reasonable objection without getting called a “whiner,” and since this has been moved to The Pit, after all, why the hell don’t I start _really_ whining? [ul] [li]Fuck the decision[/li][li]Fuck the arrogant fucking mods’ reaction[/li][li]Fuck Ed Zotti for saying they’d be putting in the ads “soon” on the same day they put them in[/li][li]Fuck the arrogant OP about the subject and then closing the thread and sending everyone running along to the Pit when things started getting testy, when it should’ve been fucking obvious that some people were going to over-react and the ATMB forum is the _only_ place you’re going to get reasonable responses[/li][li]Fuck them for not trying the ads _before_ they started the subscription service and lost so many good members because of that and their inept and arrogant handling of it[/li][li]Fuck all the other boneheaded decisions, obnoxious posters, and inept handling of the boards that have been on the camel’s back for so long that it took something as inconsequential as Google ads to break it[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/175 "2005-09-24T09:49:39Z")
Count me in as opposing the ads. I normally don’t block Google ads, because they’re unobtrusive, mostly relevant, and once in a blue moon I actually click one… but I’ve made an exception for this site. > [@black455](#): > > I’m just pissed that I got rejected by google when I attempted to get ads on _my_ forum because there was too much profanity. > > How the fuck did the Pit pass the test? I got warned by Google because my forum allegedly had hacking related content - threads where someone had vaguely asked for “hacking tools” and I’d locked them before anyone could reply. I had to change my policy from locking threads to deleting them in order to keep my AdSense banners up. The SDMB already has some pretty strict policies… I hope they don’t have to crack down any harder because of these ads, but I’m not holding out much hope. > [@Absolute](#): > > I hate advertising too. But that doesn’t mean I can delude myself into thinking that stealing from content providers and/or advertisers is ethical. Stealing, huh? Is there a big stack of dollar bills in the Chicago Reader’s attic that gets shorter every time you block an ad? Sorry, but when my web browser goes to a server and requests a page, I’m morally and ethically justified in making any changes to it that I care to before it appears on my screen. I can change red text to green, I can turn off images, I can turn off JavaScript, I can remove ads, or I can translate the whole thing into Klingon. My computer is a tool for me to use, not for some third party to push advertising through. I have no obligation to read or even render every part of a web page, just as I have no obligation to watch every part of a TV show or read every page of a magazine. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/176 "2005-09-24T09:53:03Z")
> [@Mr2001](#): > > I had to change my policy from locking threads to deleting them in order to keep my AdSense banners up. The SDMB already has some pretty strict policies… I hope they don’t have to crack down any harder because of these ads, but I’m not holding out much hope. This is bad. If threads about sex with sheep are out, thanks to Google, I think SDMB will lost much of its charm. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/177 "2005-09-24T10:54:04Z")
I gotta say that I didn’t even notice the ads until they were pointed out to me. I also gotta say that if this is the worst thing that is happening in your life, well, your life is pretty damn good. Really, just skip over them. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/178 "2005-09-24T11:15:11Z")
I see the ads now. Yes, they are unobtrusive. But I dislike them in principle. --I swear the inside of my coffin is gonna have ads. I loather advertising as an industry–and I do NOT see how it is unethical for me to avoid them at all costs. I can tell you right now, I will not click on any of the ads ever, and I will not reccomend the SDMB to friends anymore. Seems counterproductive to me to offend a base that is loyal (hell, almost rabid in some cases). Like it or not, this place is a community. Yes, I know it’s run by a business, but I think that sites like this should have more than just bottom line as their focus. This decision by whomever has created a whole lot of ill will-something that those who are enamoured of profit for profit’s sake seem to forget. Good will brings in customers and keeps them loyal. Bullshit turns people away. IMO, there are too many ads in the world as it is. And to claim (as some have done here) that advertising is some type of ETHICAL industry is laughable. Glass house, much? I’ll get over this and continue to be here as long as the community part of the bb suits me. I completely understand why others are up in arms and choose to leave. What I don’t understand are those who patronize the protestors (and there are several of you out there “dissing”). Who would have thunk that advertising had such advocates? Madison Ave should be proud. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/179 "2005-09-24T12:06:22Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > :rolleyes: > > A) You own the copyright to everything you create the second you set it to paper. > > B) For fucks sake, this place sucks. They’ve got ads now, they have a contingency that is clearly fighting FOR ignorance, and even the mildest, most obvious, explicated joke seems to whoosh people. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137/180 "2005-09-24T12:23:54Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > It is most definitely a free country. You definitely have the right to do whatever the hell you want to your newspaper, web browser, or TV, or whatever, to block ads. > > But having the right to do something doesn’t make doing it ethical. So am I allowed to take a piss during the commercials when I’m watching TV, or am I damning myself to secular hell? I need clarify some shit. How about if I mute the TV and miss the sports-announcer’s promos for shows later in the day? What if I change the radio station during the ad break? What if I skip public radio’s annual fund drive? What if I watch the road instead of the billboards? Do I need to go through my magazines and read ALL the ads, or just the ones on the pages I’m reading? If a newspaper says “cont. on pg. 44,” should I go page by page to catch all the ads in the middle? When Orbitz ads pop up on my computer, do I need to play the game, or can I just recite the copy to myself and then close the window? I need to know exactly how much indoctrination I have to undergo to pass the ethics test. Seriously, though, you’re doing a great job winding people up. Good work. > [@](#): > > If indeed it was guaranteed at some point that there would never be advertising on the board because of the switch to subscriptions, then that’s a valid complaint. But whining about the advertising alone is just stupid. Like I said, you should be glad that the Reader didn’t decide to close the board entirely once it became apparent that the subscriptions alone weren’t working out. My theory is that the Reader wants to be rid of us and the registration fees, outrageous rules, and all-of-a-sudden google ads are all meant to piss people have drive them away. Eventually – soon, I think – someone will announce that the thing just isn’t working; that even with registration fees and ads and a volunteer labor force, two revenue streams and incredibly low overhead, they just can’t make a go of it – that their business strategy of being smug and contemptuous of their customers and unresponsive to their complaints somehow isn’t working. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-pit-the-google-ads/323137.md?page=10)