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Anne

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As of March, we plan on having different format of advertising on the forum pages. Advertising space will be divided into 4 small ads, hopefully rented by providers of cat related products and services. Money raised from these ads will help us deal with the ever growing cost of running this site.

The dilemma now is whether or not to allow for animated ads on forum pages. As a user, I don't like seeing flashing banners next to text I want to read. It's too distracting for me. That is why you'll find that the large vertical banners next to the articles (in the other sections of the site) are static images. However, animaeted banners can deliver more content in a limited space and can sometimes be nice (we all like animated avatars and smilies for that reason). Of course, advertisers will have to pay more for animated ads, so maybe many will choose to go with static ads even if we allow for animated.

As we plan to have the ads at the top of the page and not alongside the page content, do you think animated ads will be too much or would they be ok? Please let me know what you think by voting on this poll and posting here about this.

I've set up demo pages for you to view before you make up your mind -
Animated Ads Demo

Static Ads Demo

Thank you!
 

sammie5

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I frequent another board that uses animated banner ads, and although we would all prefer none at all, these seem to be a nice way to raise revenue and keep the board free for users. It was distracting at first, but now, honestly, after a few months, I don't even notice them.
 

deb25

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I'm with Sammie. I'm not at the top of the page long enough for them to be a big bother. ANYTHING is better than pop-ups.
 

tuxedokitties

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Don't like them but can live with it...

I can certainly understand wanting to take advantage of an opportunity to get better rates for advertising. And animated ads are WAY better than popups! And if they're cat stuff related, it's even better.


But, personally, I'm not exactly thrilled about anything that makes pages slower to load...we have a 56k modem, but for some reason (I think it's the phone line capacity) it usually only receives at 21k or less. We don't want to switch to cable or DSL because of the security risk and the cost. So I just go do other things while the pages are sloooooooooooooooooowly looooaaaaddddinnnnngggggg....


BTW, it's a big indicator for me of what a great site this is when you ask for feedback like this.
You're the best!
 

purrfectcatlove

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Anne , I think what ever is best for the cost to keep it up . So I don't mind eather way . You go and do what you need to do .
 

nora

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I don't care for them, but if it will make TCS more money, then I'm OK with it.
 

ttmom

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The only thing I can see is that people with slow connections could get really frustrated. I hate them and I have highspeed, but I can live with them.
 

hissy

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They seem to be in demand for the advertisers. A way for the advertisers to get their point across creatively I guess. But we wondered how you as members would view them and if you would click on the animated over the static ads? Everytime you need a cat related product, our hope is you surf this website first for your needs before looking elsewhere. It costs a lot to keep this wonderful place going and we would like everyone to support our sponsors of the site if you can. Thank you for your input, it is valued!

*of course if you can't find your product here, we hope the next place you look is meowhoo.com*
 

purrfectcatlove

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M.A. if I need something and can find it here on TCS I click no matter how it looks like and yes I also look at Meowwho site .I think the blinking ones get your attention faster then the ones who don't move . I think it is a normal reflection to look at something what moved . That is just IMO of course .
 

stormy

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i don't mind them when are at the top of the page, but when they are on the side, that gives me vision problems...the image keeps sliding over the words i'm trying to read, that makes it very hard.
 

jcat

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I really don't mind ads for cat-related products. I generally don't read advertisements, but find myself looking at the ads in "Cat Fancy" and "Geliebte Katze" (a German cat magazine) just to see what is available. I have DSL now, so I'm not too concerned about download time, but can definitely relate to the concerns of those with a regular 56k modem. Now that there is an additional forum for cat pictures, and not so many pictures are being attached here in the Cat Lounge, things have really speeded up. I think if the ads were at the top, and no pop-ups were allowed, it wouldn't be a problem. I'd actually prefer the animated ads to static banners, because I imagine there will be some clever images (I have "Felix" wandering around my screen all the time).
 

sammie5

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Oh, should I be writing to Royal Canin to tell them that my cats eat their kibble now? I clicked on their banner so many times entirely by accident, I ended up reading the site, and now I am a customer.

And ditto for no pop ups. Those are a huge annoyance.
 

fluffy'smom

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I don't mind them. Would i click them? No
Popups would make me leave a site.
 

cheeseface

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I don't like ads, but here they will hold some genuine interest for me because they'll be cat related products. I can even imagine clicking on them to at least check them out. I think it's a good idea.
 

mzjazz2u

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I don't know about that. I have animations blocked. From what I understand they are pretty vulnerable as far as security goes. I guess I'd rather have those then pop ups though. (If it came down to something like that I would definately leave because of popups!)
 
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