Important News!!

If "it has been fairly well explained why Ad revenue is no longer a viable option", then why "That is the main reason why there are more ads placed on the site."?

This don't make sense.

"Ads are no longer viable, so lets make the site unusable with ads." Should not be a business plan. (maybe explain better)

Encourage new users to the site. new reader might read something they want to engage with. this creates a new sign up.

More sign up, = more active users.

more active users should convert into more subs, without killing them before they even sign up with ads.

Either ads work or they don't. The message is very mixed.

If any of that reads as negative, it is not meant to be, i want the site to survive, i'm just concerned the methods being employed might do the opposite of what might be intended.

Thank you! I also noticed some bugs since they introduced some full pages ads.

Im worried about privacy. Gagging for money. I don't feel safe. I'll give money, but not until I feel secure as opposed to being berated.

Attack the post, not the poster. Seems to have gone out the window in this thread.

Im late to this discussion.....

Been here years, love the place, would hate to see it go.

May have been answered already, but what happens my sub if the place goes wallop?

Also agree that adding the ads now at this point is madness...its even driving me, a long time almost daily user away...doesn't inspire confidence that if I do sign up for a sub that the place will survive

Calling me a beggar? I know it was aimed at me.

I would happily pay a subscription if I thought it was worth it.

You also said "offering nothing ".

Support and advice is NOTHING?

Nah. Not standing for that. Allegedly a community.

One simple post can cheer up a posters day. Go listen to love shack and have a toastie.

You are missing the point there. A very small percentage of people will subscribe, the entire media world is having this problem in getting people to pay for content. A discussion forum needs an engaged user base to be any value to anyone. This has been dropping away in recent years and especially since the migration. These new ads are going to drive more people away, and there will be less point in anyone else subscribing to a site with even fewer users than it has now

Do you buy anything ever online?

It's quite disappointing to see the plan is more ads and get subscribers from existing users. If this continues your subscriber count may go up but overall userbase is going to drop off.

What about a plan to gain more users? Or as was highlighted previously, why not look at merch? Or sponsorship deals?

I probably what? Have we met before?

Sounds like it.

You said probably "i buy stuff from temu". Did you not? Are we besties now? You know me so well.

As for gdpr, who's the data controller? You see to know a lot.

Foi is easy. Im getting suspicious.

I said "probably buy stuff from Temu" as in you more than likely have used your card online which has gone through a payment processing site.

What has me asking you a question about using your card online got to do with GDPR or freedom of information?

What are you getting suspicious about?

Im out.

The reality is it's not 2005 anymore.

I'd say most of us arrived here originally looking for an answer to something.

We got that answer and ended up staying and getting other answers and engaging in all sorts of ways.

That doesn't happen anymore.

If someone wants an answer for something they use Google which will provide them with a AI generated overview, or they will go straight to YouTube to see a video of how to do something.

Message boards and discussion forms are the old Internet, you can't in 2025 drive under engagement to the old Internet.

This was always going to happen, all the owners are doing is trying to keep it alive for as long as possible.