Have they officially said so? The SDMB has been around a long time without any type of revenue at all that I am aware of; if it’s purpose is to make money that’s a strange way to go about it. If making money is the goal, maybe the board should become all about UFOs and ESP - it would probably be more profitable. But if they care about fighting ignorance (as they say at the top of every page), then they should exercise some editorial control over the type of advertising they carry. If Google won’t let them do that, they should dump Google.
This thread now has an ad for fake ID’s. There’s got to be a rule against that.
How about a disclaimer? Right above “Advertisements” there could be a notice saying sumething along the lines of:
The Straight Dope does not necessarily support the entities producing the following advertisements, nor does it profess the legitimacy of same.
The illegal ads are continuing. Today they seem to be for “Untracable Term Papers.”
I don’t mind the google ads but it is a little offensive to see ads for things that are diametricly opposed to fighting ignorance.
I came here specifically to complain about this ad. Picunurse beat me to it, but I’d like to state my objection to it.
Me too. Here’s the ad copy:
I have also seen ads for fake ID. If I opened a thread that told you how to make a fake ID, how long would it take before it was closed?
We have some control over what you do here.
The moderating staff of the Straight Dope Message Board has no control over what Google sends us.
You can complain to Google, and I heartily recommend that you do so.
Google Adsense Support: How do I report a policy violation?
Don’t worry about not having an Adsense account, just report the damn thing.
See here for what Google considers inappropriate content:
Google editorial guidelines on ad content
TubaDiva
Don’t think Google allows you to do that, either.
However, neither the staff of the Straight Dope Message Board nor the Chicago Reader are responsible for the content of the ads, I can tell you that, and to consider us as such is faulty reasoning.
TubaDiva
I respectfully disagree. The staff of the Straight Dope Message Board and the Chicago Reader made the decision to place the ads on the Straight Dope Message Board and to reap the financial rewards thereof. Therefore, you ARE responsible for them; you receive benefit from them and you have the power to remove them.
Since ultimately the staff of The Straight Dope Message Board and the Chicago Reader have a financial relationship with Google, YOU are in a better position to influence them and their content then we, the members, are.
Disagree all you like, but the reality is what I stated.
There’s not a staffer here that can do anything about Google ads but report inappropriate ads to Google, same as you.
TubaDiva
TubaDiva Thank you for responding. I will report the illegal site. I just didn’t know how we were expected to deal with it.
I hope you don’t feel like we’re killing the messenger. At least that wasn’t my intention. 
We’re learning all new stuff here . . . and responding and handling things as best we can.
TubaDiva
A very interesting occurence. The ads for term papers are GONE. nary a one, and I saw it in three threads just before coming to post here.
The Google Ads have been advertising a website that offers untraceable school essays, for a price. If one of the rules of the board is that you shouldn’t ask for homework help, doesn’t this ad circumvent that? Just asking.
Adam
Sorry, posted without reading the entire thread. I retract.