Running these forums is proving to not be very easy. They are using up a lot of resources. At this time we are trying different forms of advertising here. We have put together a poll to see what the majority feels about our choices. Please respond how you truly feel regarding ads in the forums only-

Also note that if we do find members want to do away with them, the requirement would be that those people pay $5.00 per month at least 6 months in advance. before we could actually get rid of them altogether, if that is what you wish.

I voted that I don't mind them and I find them interesting and sometimes i click on them too. If the ads are supporting TCS then I say keep them :)

We're pretty new here, but keep the ads.
If in the future there is a fee to be paid to support the site, then so be it. This is one of the best forums we've ever seen, and worth it.

Our $0.02 worth.

Susan and Whathisname

I agree with the posts before me - I say keep them

I didn't have a chance to vote, but I say keep them as opposed to paying a member's fee. Once in a while I click on the ads since they do benefit cat related products-and I sure do love coming to this site for my benefit and my 4 cat's benefit for free (courtesy of the ads :bigthumb: )

Don't mind them at all, but don't click on them either

I don't mind them either.

I certainly don't mind their being there. They're not a problem, and if it's an effective means of generating revenue, I'm all for it. I have ads in both my browser and my email client, because they both offer "sponsored" versions with virtually all of the "pro" features at no cost. I try to click through on a few ads a week, in each case, though I confess that it doesn't often result in a sale for the advertiser.

That said, if it came to it, I would pay a monthly fee for TCS, without batting an eye, rather than lose the site.

I like them and click on them occasionally when they look interesting and possibly relevant to someone who doesn't live in the US.
Also see it as a way of keeping the board going.
My older cat has done very well on Royal Canin Sensitive stomach (after trying a few other brands) It was thanks to ads on this site that I found out about this brand- which wasn't very well known in Australia.
catherine

Good to hear, they were our first sponsors and should be rejoining us in about 6 months time.

What?! Royal Canin is very well known in Australia.. Anyway.

I voted.:)

Sam
2 years ago it wasn't- and still now many pet stores don't stock it- as you would know if you lived here.

I belong to a discussion group on ezboard. It is free to join, but there is a fee charged by the web site that hosts the board, and people can "opt in" to pay that fee. The cost of the board is based on the number of hits. Many of us have chosen to pay, to keep the board active, and then, once we have paid, we can choose to retain our paid status by accepting ads.

So, not to say that this would work here, but just interesting to know that on other boards, people will choose ads to offset costs, knowing that there are costs with bulletin boards. Of course, I would prefer that everything be free, but the cost of bandwidth has to come from somewhere.

Of course, the other option would be limiting posting: cutting down on the ability to start threads, for example.

The ads don't bother me at all. I completly ignore ads, even if I buy the product and could get a discount. I just completly ignore ads. I refuse to even read them. Ads don't work on me. However I like this site and would not mind paying for the upkeep.

Goblin

i'm relatively new here and the ads don't bother me. i've clicked on the ones i found interesting.

Ads? I cannot find any. Have they been implemented? I do not seem to have seen any ads in the forum so far. Is this just me?

A suggestion other than membership if you need money, could simply be donations of any amount. Set up a paypal account or any other form of collection method for those who are willing to donate smaller amounts. I think you will be very surprised at how much money can be collected. I know of a site which got about $10,000 of donation in about 6-7 months despite fact that people who donate get exactly the same service/benefits as those who do not.

I ignore ads as I don't buy online. Would I pay for Forums of ANY type? No.

I don't mind the ads either. I click on the ones that interest me and the others I just ignore. I'd be fine with paying for TCS also if it came down to that. I enjoy this site emmensely and would miss it if anything ever happened to it. :paranoid:

I don't mind the ads in the least, and sometimes click on them if I recognize the product as something being available over here. I think if I were in North America I'd click more.

I also ignore ads.

Katie

I don't mind the ads at all. I just ignore them. I would rather have ads than have to pay, since money is rather tight around here right now. I just see ads as the price you pay for having wonderful free forums like this one!

I don't mind them and occassionally visit one (when they work) that catches my eye. I'd rather they were static and not animated though.

I have never noticed any ads so they don't bother me a bit! :lol3:

Those of you not seeing the ads are probably running the latest version of Norton. There's a feature there that blocks out ads. It also blocks out other content that isn't necessarily ads. That means you are missing on some content when you're browsing. It also means you are denying webmasters of their income... In the long run if everyone were to block out banners (I'm not talking about the annoying pop-ups - I block those myself and would never have them here), then there will be no free websites on the internet.

Just to clarify - the dilemma is whether to add an option of paid subscriptions so that those who choose to do so can pay a monthly fee (probably $5) and get an ad-free version. Everyone else would still be able to access the site only they would get ads. Paying members may be eligible to other benefits such as a larger PM box etc. Non-paying members would still get everything they get today.

The reason I'd like to know is that I don't want to go through the hassle of arranging the subscription option if most people won't be interested. If I know that there are at least a dozen or so of members who are willing to pay - then I will look into implementing this option. Seeing as these are the results, I will thank you for your comments and participation and we'll keep things just as they are for now :)

I'm moving this to the feedback forum now. If anyone is still interested in a paid subscription for an ad-free forum, please pm hissy about it. She will take down the names and if the list is large enough, we'll do it.

Thank you again everyone for your pariticipation in the poll and thread! It's been very helpful.

I click on them every now and then...

The reason I'd like to know is that I don't want to go through the hassle of arranging the subscription option if most people won't be interested. If I know that there are at least a dozen or so of members who are willing to pay - then I will look into implementing this option. Seeing as these are the results, I will thank you for your comments and participation and we'll keep things just as they are for now.

Suits me, and makes sense. Keep us posted, if you need to re-think that. While I don't mind the ads, I'd certainly pay for the site if they weren't doing the job. Thanks for talking to us about it.

I voted don't mind them, but don't click on them either. The ads don't bother me at all, but if necessary I would pay to subscribe to this website. It sounds cheap enough, and I really enjoy it here. Let us know :)

I have no problem paying for this, it's well worth it to me. Just let me get my credit card paid off first to make room! :rolleyes:

They can be a bit annoying at times,but they don't bother be to much... :rolleyes:

I know this thread is over a month old and the poll is closed but I still wanted to comment.

Right now I'm staring at an ad for coffee, a minute ago it was business cards. Maybe ads that are more related to the site would help. Have you considered google adsense? They will put ads on the page that RELATE to your content. I think they pay for clicks, too. I haven't used them yet personally but I've been talking to some other webmasters that are very pleased with them. You might want to at least check them out

https://www.google.com/adsense/faq#start1

I realize sites with busy forums can be pricey, so good luck!

Thanks for your input, Maylin. Up until we updated our forums we were using google adsense. I do not believe that they actually pay per click, however.

They do pay per click and we are using them on other sections of this site, as well as on Meowhoo. On the forums however, CTR was so low they simply weren't worth displaying anymore.
Most ads we have here are CPM based, some are affiliations and we rotate them from time to time. We try to get cat related advertisers directly (like the catnipetc ads you see here as well). If you know of a cat related advertiser who might be interested, please do drop them a line and tell them about TCS :)