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Stretham
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Joined: 15 Sep 2003
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 6:55 am    Post subject: Advertising Reply with quote

Yes. Something I know nothing about. And something we're likely to need if it all takes off and we find ourselves with having to buy things like unlimited bandwidth.

Any pointers at this stage would be very welcome. Also any restrictions on advertising you would like to see (like vertical banners that block your view of puzzles!).

Stretham
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Tah
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Joined: 16 Sep 2003
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2003 11:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lack of pop-ups, please, if you end up having advertising.

That doesn't mean no pop-ups whatsoever (though that'd be nice), but at least a limitation to them.

I've seen sites that will use a one-time pop-up. (Like RP!) I personally have no issues with that. But please, please avoid the repetitive pop-ups that continually spawn.
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xyphic
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Joined: 14 Sep 2003
Posts: 2804
Location: Cambridge, UK

PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2003 8:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If we do end up having adverts, I would think it will be something like a rotating banner. Unfortunately, I've seen banners that still manage to pop up windows, so I don't know how easy it will be to stop....
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Badgero
Thy mother's name is ominous to children


Joined: 15 Sep 2003
Posts: 33
Location: Temporarily relocated from Toronto.

PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2003 2:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Has anyone considered making it a "User Fee" site. I certainly would be willing to pay at least the same amount as I do for a good magazine subscription. I suppose it would depend on how big your population becomes, but I would love a commercial-free site, or perhaps one that combined company logo ads at the bottom, plus a "user fee".

Badgero
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Stretham
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Joined: 15 Sep 2003
Posts: 24792
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2003 3:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Badgero wrote:
Has anyone considered making it a "User Fee" site. I certainly would be willing to pay at least the same amount as I do for a good magazine subscription. I suppose it would depend on how big your population becomes, but I would love a commercial-free site, or perhaps one that combined company logo ads at the bottom, plus a "user fee".

Badgero

This is something Xyphic and I talked very briefly about. However, I don't want to put people off as I think the free nature of NR and RP has a big contribution to their success. It is not something we would do without alot of support as we run the risk of having a great site that no one ever visits. Please everyone say what you think of this, and please speak with complete honesty. I'd rather you said 'don't you scumbags even think of it' than 'yeah sounds OK' and you're never seen again.

Stretham
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xyphic
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2003 4:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

One possibility I suppose is voluntary donations, though even something as popular as timehunt doesn't seem to make much that way. I agree that we don't really want to put people off by charging to play.
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Badgero
Thy mother's name is ominous to children


Joined: 15 Sep 2003
Posts: 33
Location: Temporarily relocated from Toronto.

PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2003 4:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I cannot understand the reluctance to pay for quality entertainment. You subscribe once and forget about it until the annual fee comes due. I wouldn't dream of dropping National Geographic or the Smithsonian even though I only sit down with them for three or four hours each month. During the frenzy of RP, I know I spent many more hours than that every few days. It would probably only amount to a couple of six-packs for college-age riddlers, and they could just mooch during the week the subscription fell due anyway (I cannot believe that mooching has become a lost art at university).

Anyway...I am for the idea.

Badgero
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FalconNL
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Joined: 17 Sep 2003
Posts: 60
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2003 7:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't think charging a fee is a good idea. First of all it would put off a lot of new riddlers (NR and RP would never have gotten as popular as they are had they charged money). Secondly, I think it will be very problematic to actually pay the money since you're dealing with a world-wide audience and not everyone has a credit card. Thirdly, if brandon gets around to paying sin and loopy and RP remains where it is, I don't think even existing riddlers will pay for something they can get free at at least two other locations. My suggestion would be to use banners, and possibly merchandise (of which puzzledonkey would be a good example).
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Titanium22
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Joined: 14 Sep 2003
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2003 8:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would also be against charging a fee to use the site and would suggest that advertising and hosting fees are the way forward.

For advertising, banners are acceptable provided thay are not vertical banners that obscure part of the riddle like the infuriating stuff on RP - while for hosting fees, the level would have to be set at below the going rate to register a domain name and set up a site with associated forum... and will only work if there are sufficient numbers of members registered and generating page impressions.

Pop up ads are a waste of time, though - too many people (myself included) have pop-up stoppers.


T22
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FalconNL
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Joined: 17 Sep 2003
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2003 11:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Agreed. And as an addition to t22's last remark and what she said in the other topic, you're probably better off with banner ads that don't require clicking because most people don't click ads anyway and a lot of us have banner blockers as well as popup stoppers.
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murphyz
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Joined: 16 Sep 2003
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 23, 2003 8:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I hate advertising almost as much as I hate moving emoticons, and I luckily have only small websites that don't need anything but my own cash to run.

Member donations are a nice idea, but not very forthcoming. I had one lady donate $15 for the murphyz forum (although I told her to send it to the British Heart Foundation), it was a sincere and kind hearted offer which was appreciated. I can't see a whole site being funded on it though.

Someone approached me this weekend asking to become an affiliate of their site with my Ancient Egyptian site. This I might consider because I am offering people what they are interested in and getting a cut of anything they buy through my site. Perhaps it would be an idea to contact the folk at PuzzleDonkey and see how profitable the shop is that they had running. The shop itself is free, you provide the pictures and they do the rest, and you get revenue for the sales.
I think it would be best to try and offer them something that they want and try to get revenue from it. How many of us actually take the time to go through the ads on NR? I don't because I'm not concerned with bumping the prize up. I'm even less concerned with how they are going to fund it.

Mxx
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