04-10-2016, 12:09 PM
There was a problem on yahoo (I forget how long ago but I think in the past 12 or 18 months) where an ad did carry malware. I forget it i was in the javascript or if you had to click on it; I didn't really pay attention to the details but rather just skimmed it. As a general rule as much as possible i disable javascript and I don't click ads unless I am trying to support a cite and am actually making a purchase.
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I don't want to enter the debate because both sides are 'right'; I.e, it cost money (both people and material) to run a site and ads can be annoying depending on how they are handled (there are a couple of site I dropped because they became overly aggressive with ads to the point that the site was no longer pleasant to use; I'm pretty close to dropping yahoo news which I used to think was fantastic). I do not use ad blockers beyond disabling java-script (btw i was pissed off when the newer browsers disable the ability to disable javascript).
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My personal opinion is if the site is expensive to run and the only way to add new content is via asking for payment (i.e, ads are not sufficient); then you have to ask for payments. The next step would be how to ask for payment; whether it is via donations; to do certain things (like upload images; view reviews; comment in forums) or general access as a whole is your choice. If I find the model acceptable I can meet the terms and if I don't I can walk away. There are a lot of sites and they have made different choices (fredmindra, photo.net, dpreview, (and tons of non photo site)). I can't say which model is correct where correctness mean users will find terms acceptable and you will meet your financial goals; I can say the wrong choice might have a negative impact but you won't know till after the fact and if the impact is mild you can always adjust. These are tough decisions and I'm glad I don't have to make them. I do like your forums because they are low traffic and mostly sane and I do like your reviews though sometime I would like a bit more data (lens by self as well as lens+specific body and different distances) but there are other sites that provide other pieces of data (slrgear, dpreview, lenstip, ...) so most of the data it out there in some form or other.
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I don't want to enter the debate because both sides are 'right'; I.e, it cost money (both people and material) to run a site and ads can be annoying depending on how they are handled (there are a couple of site I dropped because they became overly aggressive with ads to the point that the site was no longer pleasant to use; I'm pretty close to dropping yahoo news which I used to think was fantastic). I do not use ad blockers beyond disabling java-script (btw i was pissed off when the newer browsers disable the ability to disable javascript).
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My personal opinion is if the site is expensive to run and the only way to add new content is via asking for payment (i.e, ads are not sufficient); then you have to ask for payments. The next step would be how to ask for payment; whether it is via donations; to do certain things (like upload images; view reviews; comment in forums) or general access as a whole is your choice. If I find the model acceptable I can meet the terms and if I don't I can walk away. There are a lot of sites and they have made different choices (fredmindra, photo.net, dpreview, (and tons of non photo site)). I can't say which model is correct where correctness mean users will find terms acceptable and you will meet your financial goals; I can say the wrong choice might have a negative impact but you won't know till after the fact and if the impact is mild you can always adjust. These are tough decisions and I'm glad I don't have to make them. I do like your forums because they are low traffic and mostly sane and I do like your reviews though sometime I would like a bit more data (lens by self as well as lens+specific body and different distances) but there are other sites that provide other pieces of data (slrgear, dpreview, lenstip, ...) so most of the data it out there in some form or other.