New ad network - centralize discussions here

[Costello]

We have switched to a new ad network just recently. We're still working out the kinks, please bear with us until we're done

Known issues, which will be addressed by our supplier as soon as possible:
- bottom adverts on mobile are too big
- <please post in this thread if you are getting other issues>

On most ads you will also see a "report ad" button, please click it to report it, obviously. There's no need to report it again on the forums since we'll only tell you to use that report button.

Also, please keep in mind that these ads arent there just for the fun of it. We need revenue to keep servers going, to allow some staff to get (small) payments to keep the site alive, and ... competitions. A big one's coming up real soon, if you've been following the Switch forums you know what I'm talking about.

• Please contact our advertising representatives at Playwire for ad rates, packages and general advertising information.
• All display advertising on our site is managed by Playwire. If you would like to advertise please visit www.playwire.com or email [email protected].

 

[KingVamp]

Video ads were actually invented by Satan so it's reasonable enough to demonize them.

lol

Being able to turn them off is a terrible argument; the only 6 people who know that you can turn them off are those reading this thread

They literally just started testing this. This is exactly what this thread is for, to inform people.

That said, maybe make it opt-in and give out extra XP for that.

 

[Pleng]

If they made it opt-in nobody would and the ads wouldn't generate any revenue.

As for "only just started testing"... Perhaps they should do what any other big site does; do testing on a locally hosted copy of the site rather than hacking at the main one and making all their mistakes in public.

 

[Costello]

If they made it opt-in nobody would and the ads wouldn't generate any revenue.

As for "only just started testing"... Perhaps they should do what any other big site does; do testing on a locally hosted copy of the site rather than hacking at the main one and making all their mistakes in public.

Duh, testing also means checking how much revenue these units generate. If you test locally you are going to get 1 ad impression, that's not testing.

You are being quite rude and offensive right now, so please calm down before saying things you might regret.

 

[Pleng]

Duh, testing also means checking how much revenue these units generate. If you test locally you are going to get 1 ad impression, that's not testing.

That's a fair point, but things such as the adverts being too large should have been figured out before mass deployment...

You are being quite rude and offensive right now, so please calm down before saying things you might regret.

What exactly have I said that you consider "rude"?

 

[Deleted User]

What exactly have I said that you consider "rude"?

I've seen a child go about this with more tact than you have. They're obviously just testing this and you've seemly spat the dummy multiple times because you don't like it, despite the fact that they understand and will probably remove it after a week. Be a little more mature next time or nobody will take you seriously.

 

[Song of storms]

Duh, testing also means checking how much revenue these units generate. If you test locally you are going to get 1 ad impression, that's not testing.

If ad revenue is the only thing worth testing you might as well lock all the downloads until the user buys something from a list of sponsors. A lot of sites do that.

Another option could be sponsoring products sold on Amazon with Amazon reflinks. Are you doing an official review on something sold on that website? Add the link there. Let sellers contact you to buy banners for their Amazon shop and have a cut with the reflinks plus a base amount.

Or, and this is my favorite one, let people that pledged with Patreon a "priority" support. Choose a bunch of people to moderate that premium section to assist users asking questions. I'm sure that a lot of people will pay to get a slightly better support than the majority of the answers given in the forum now. That's where rude is. Certainly not here.

And then there are the obvious choices like official merchandise, apparel, a printed version of the web comic... the possibilities are endless.

The current option has a video ad played automatically that's 16.1 megabytes large. The whole homepage is less than 5 megabytes. Limited mobile data plans aren't uncommon.

 

[Pleng]

They're obviously just testing this and you've seemly spat the dummy multiple times because you don't like it, despite the fact that they understand and will probably remove it after a week

I'm not spitting any dummies; I have ads blocked so it doesn't affect me. All I've done is to give my opinion of video ads, and what I think they do to a website's reputation. Other people also seem to have concerns; especially those with limited mobile data.

 

[KiiWii]

Genuinely shocked how long ass this bitch was, haven’t seen ads this big in... forever:

Spoiler: had to zoom out to fit lol:

 

[Deleted User]

I have ads blocked so it doesn't affect me. All I've done is to give my opinion of video ads

You've already gotten your point across, so why are you repeating yourself and making such a big deal of it? It just comes across as obnoxious and immature.

 

[shaunj66]

Genuinely shocked how long ass this bitch was, haven’t seen ads this big in... forever:

Spoiler: had to zoom out to fit lol:

View attachment 142489

Looks like you were served a desktop sidebar ad by mistake. That doesn't look right at all.

 

[Costello]

yeah, I've added this to the list of points in the first post

 

[KingVamp]

Maybe have a thumbnail of the games that link to the video ads?

Videos or not, I actually like that the ads are base on the site itself.

 

[Costello]

We have made a first decision concerning video ads. They are profitable, but there are also two unsolvable issues:
1) mobile data consumption: there is no way around it no matter how you put it. We could disable autoplay but then nobody would press play and then it wouldn't generate any revenue. We could enable it on desktop only but most people use adblockers nowadays so it would be pointless.
2) the video player frame that sticks to the bottom: we asked the supplier to disable it, but they said they wouldn't/couldnt.
Therefore we're removing them all, effective now.

We're still working on the other issues at the moment, thanks for your patience.

 

[Song of storms]

We have made a first decision concerning video ads. They are profitable, but there are also two unsolvable issues:
1) mobile data consumption: there is no way around it no matter how you put it. We could disable autoplay but then nobody would press play and then it wouldn't generate any revenue. We could enable it on desktop only but most people use adblockers nowadays so it would be pointless.
2) the video player frame that sticks to the bottom: we asked the supplier to disable it, but they said they wouldn't/couldnt.
Therefore we're removing them all, effective now.

We're still working on the other issues at the moment, thanks for your patience.

I'm glad you're listening to feedback. Feel free to consider any of the suggestions I mentioned earlier to make more profit

 

[Costello]

got an email from the supplier today:
- they have removed the ads in reviews for now because they are unable to control the size, they'll be restored when size can be limited
- they have limited the size of ads on mobile

I'll try browsing on mobile over the next few days to see if it's any better. I dont always get ads when browsing so it's not easy to tell immediately.

 

[smileyhead]

Isn't this one a tad too big?

 

[Jayro]

I mean it's fine you use ad block and all but you just come across as an ass using video ads as an excuse when the post above you literally details a new option to disable them.

I'd rather just keep paying my $10 monthly Patreon donations and not worry about ads while simultaneously giving the site I use every day some back pocket revenue.

 

[The Catboy]

So this happened

Which was actually a result of a pop up blocking the post when I tried editing it

 

[Costello]

So this happened
View attachment 143642
Which was actually a result of a pop up blocking the post when I tried editing it
View attachment 143643

did you have the opportunity to report the bad ad ?
I'm not seeing the "report" option on the screenshot, sometimes it doesn't show up for some reason

 

[The Catboy]

did you have the opportunity to report the bad ad ?
I'm not seeing the "report" option on the screenshot, sometimes it doesn't show up for some reason

It does not show an opinion for me to report them. Not even on the one that just showed up for me as I was writing this post

Edit: but the one that doesn't show up is the one I can report