Advertising or no?

At MYCNCUK we have a number of paying advertisers, some of whom have their own forums and some who don't. Although we have a forum for members to advertise their own items and limited scale services, the policy has always been that we dont allow commercial advertising within the Forum other than paid for banners, though we have generally been lenient when the 'advert' is in a message placed by a member in direct response to another member's request for information.

In general we have also not accepted memberships of organisations but only of named individuals on the understanding that they may offer advice to other members but not blatently advertise.

These rules were adopted to keep the board free of mainly 'Far Eastern' spam and we have been very wary of accepting membership from China, India, etc. without some checks being done. Even then, some slip through the net or just blatently ignore the rules. Fortunately the moderation mechanism catches many of these.

In the spirit of 'Big Society' and out of general interest, I'd though I'd get a sounding from members as to whether we should relax or tighten these rules, or whether they are about right. So I set up the attached poll for your input....

I think the way it is, works well.

However, perhaps a board somewhere, where individuals can advertise their services for free, and others can comment if they've had work done. Obviously some rules like only one thread, and perhaps having to make a certain number of posts elsewhere before they can create their own thread.

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I think the way it is, works well.

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agreed :) .... in the most part it seems like a respecfull clan of dudes on here doing it for the love.
nothing makes my eye glass over quite as quickly as someone trying to sell me something unless its an impromptu "iv got a couple of those, ill let you take one off my hands" type of sale

there are one or two members on here that that offer plenty of good help but there is a conflict of interest and it makes me twitchy about what head they have on, mycncuk clan member or business man ? i may well be being overly cynical but i cant help it... its just easier to avoid and ask someone who is happy to laugh at my stupidity as payment for their help :)

No problem with advertising provided a) its relevant, and b) it doesn't go overboard.

Things like machine / parts / software / tool supplies / repairs, material suppliers and possibly a machining / CNC job opportunities / employment could be useful.

Irving i agree with the others, the paid up advertisers are what i would deem as vetted. It is enough to prompt me to go and look there when I'm in the need for something anyway. Maybe there could be a mechanism for others to submit new products for feedback? anything new is always interesting and if it is then offer them a paid up spot in the limelight so to speak? cheap advertising and a stage for them and no conflict of interest with others paying for their spot. It would also give the others a chance to see what they could stock up with next?

I am in full agreement with blackburn mark. Maybe the cynicism is inherent in us "Dirty Northerners"? A flood of advertising would - I think - nurture my sarcasm: something I leave (out of respect for the site) in the bottom draw.

Mike

I voted keep it as it is, but maybe there could be a section for members to add suppliers and their links subject to mod approval.

Phil

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Originally Posted by M250cnc

I voted keep it as it is, but maybe there could be a section for members to add suppliers and their links subject to mod approval.

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There already is a links directory, but it's not really used that much.

is it me or have the adverts become a little more intrusive lately ?
we now have a row of adds to leapfrog to add a post, gets in the way a bit

i though we had a vote 66%ish in favour of keeping things as is (or should i say was) ?:eek:

maybe it was like that before and im just getting my knickers in a twist ?

Hi Mark,

Yes these ads are new to site members, they have been there for awhile but only guest’s could see them. I have been testing Amazon products for a few months now and recently added some other products to the range due to the success of the products I originally recommend.

There is also some new ads showing at the top of the page and a small ad zone in the first post of every thread, again these have been hidden to members and only shown to guests. With only the private advertisers being visible to the forums registered members.

So why have I now decided to show these ads/products to members?

Good question, the reason I have done this is because of a few things. The first is I’m currently getting ready to launch a new front end to this site, the new front end will be totally new to what the site is at the moment (a forum) and will house things like Articles, Tutorials, Reviews, News and so on with the forum also being integrated into the new design. When this go’s live our ad locations will be condensed down into (for the moment) two locations, so you could say pages will become less cultured with ads.

For the Amazon products, I am testing whether or not I see an increase of interest from the registered members. This isn’t a permanent thing and is only for a short time, once I have collected my data I will be reviewing their placement on the site and coming back with a proposal based on the data I collect.

I am aware that I need to be sensitive to the community and I do try to be, at the same time I appreciate that advertising has never been subtle. So please bear with me for the moment as things will come together quite nicely very soon and in my opinion complement each other very well.

You may have also noticed that things have “disappeared” from the site as well, the most recent being the sidebar from the main forum home page, again this is in preparation for the new design and will continue to go on, however these changes will be at a slow rate and over a period of time, allowing you to adjust to the changes as they happen. These changes won’t be massive feature removals but rather little things that may get in the way of how I would like the new design to look and function.

It’s quite hard to describe every change and the reasons behind them without showing you the new site/design and this is something I don’t really want to do until the launch. However you may have also noticed that I have also removed the MYCNCUK specific forums that used to live at the top of the main forum list where you could submit site suggestions, comments and so on, again this is in preparation for the new design BUT I am happy to share with you the replacement for those forums ahead of time, please see below.

If you would like to share your Comments, Suggestions or give us feedback in general for the site, please go to our new system for doing this by Clicking Here.

Mark, you should also note that the poll posted by Irving is in relation to advertisers joining and posting adverts as forum members in and/or as threads/posts, so this is not in regards to the ad placements around the site.

If you will, please can we get this thread back on track with what it is actually about. Please use the link above to give Comments, Suggestions or Feedback for the site. That system is also capable of discussions and will be the best way for us respond and keep track of everything being submitted.

Thanks,
Lee

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Originally Posted by m_c

There already is a links directory, but it's not really used that much.

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Thanks M_C found it.

Phil

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Originally Posted by Lee Roberts

Hi Mark,

Yes these ads are new to site members, they have been there for awhile but only guest’s could see them. I have been testing Amazon products for a few months now and recently added some other products to the range due to the success of the products I originally recommend.

There is also some new ads showing at the top of the page and a small ad zone in the first post of every thread, again these have been hidden to members and only shown to guests. With only the private advertisers being visible to the forums registered members.

So why have I now decided to show these ads/products to members?

Good question, the reason I have done this is because of a few things. The first is I’m currently getting ready to launch a new front end to this site, the new front end will be totally new to what the site is at the moment (a forum) and will house things like Articles, Tutorials, Reviews, News and so on with the forum also being integrated into the new design. When this go’s live our ad locations will be condensed down into (for the moment) two locations, so you could say pages will become less cultured with ads.

For the Amazon products, I am testing whether or not I see an increase of interest from the registered members. This isn’t a permanent thing and is only for a short time, once I have collected my data I will be reviewing their placement on the site and coming back with a proposal based on the data I collect.

I am aware that I need to be sensitive to the community and I do try to be, at the same time I appreciate that advertising has never been subtle. So please bear with me for the moment as things will come together quite nicely very soon and in my opinion complement each other very well.

You may have also noticed that things have “disappeared” from the site as well, the most recent being the sidebar from the main forum home page, again this is in preparation for the new design and will continue to go on, however these changes will be at a slow rate and over a period of time, allowing you to adjust to the changes as they happen. These changes won’t be massive feature removals but rather little things that may get in the way of how I would like the new design to look and function.

It’s quite hard to describe every change and the reasons behind them without showing you the new site/design and this is something I don’t really want to do until the launch. However you may have also noticed that I have also removed the MYCNCUK specific forums that used to live at the top of the main forum list where you could submit site suggestions, comments and so on, again this is in preparation for the new design BUT I am happy to share with you the replacement for those forums ahead of time, please see below.

If you would like to share your Comments, Suggestions or give us feedback in general for the site, please go to our new system for doing this by Clicking Here.

Mark, you should also note that the poll posted by Irving is in relation to advertisers joining and posting adverts as forum members in and/or as threads/posts, so this is not in regards to the ad placements around the site.

If you will, please can we get this thread back on track with what it is actually about. Please use the link above to give Comments, Suggestions or Feedback for the site. That system is also capable of discussions and will be the best way for us respond and keep track of everything being submitted.

Thanks,
Lee

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Hi lee, thanks for your response
I "think" I hear what you are saying

At the risk of being kicked off the forum my feelings are as follows

Please don’t forget that all the members of this forum do what they do out of good will and the joy of helping a struggling soul over a hurdle or two
Without its members this forum would be nothing more than an advert
I’ll assume that most of the members except that bandwidth and sever space needs to be paid for and the "webmasters/moderators" time compensated
What worries me is that on the back of all that good will and hard work we will end up with an orgy of adverts and profiteering instigated and enjoyed by the few who have the power and paid for by the many that in my opinion have the true moral ownership of what mycncuk uses for fuel

I fully except that I may be way off the mark and mycncuk is costing you money to run however you did not express this in your response which naturally leaves me with the feeling that this is not the case

The things I express above are genuine concerns and I express them on this thread as it seems the most relevant to the points i make, I could have expressed them in feedback as you ask but that seems a little out of the public eye and would sooner discuss in an open forum, others may show an interest (id find it rather sad if they didn’t)

So, my question to you considering what it is that everyone else is doing hear, at what point do you run out of good will and need paying for what it is that you do, how much is it you would like paying and would it not be easier to discuss with the members what it is you think you are worth and the best means to satisfy your requirements

This may sound like a very rude question but considering the points I make above it’s not an unfair one

With respect
Blackburn mark

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Originally Posted by blackburn mark

Hi lee, thanks for your response
I "think" I hear what you are saying

At the risk of being kicked off the forum my feelings are as follows

Please don’t forget that all the members of this forum do what they do out of good will and the joy of helping a struggling soul over a hurdle or two
Without its members this forum would be nothing more than an advert
I’ll assume that most of the members except that bandwidth and sever space needs to be paid for and the "webmasters/moderators" time compensated
What worries me is that on the back of all that good will and hard work we will end up with an orgy of adverts and profiteering instigated and enjoyed by the few who have the power and paid for by the many that in my opinion have the true moral ownership of what mycncuk uses for fuel

I fully except that I may be way off the mark and mycncuk is costing you money to run however you did not express this in your response which naturally leaves me with the feeling that this is not the case

The things I express above are genuine concerns and I express them on this thread as it seems the most relevant to the points i make, I could have expressed them in feedback as you ask but that seems a little out of the public eye and would sooner discuss in an open forum, others may show an interest (id find it rather sad if they didn’t)

So, my question to you considering what it is that everyone else is doing hear, at what point do you run out of good will and need paying for what it is that you do, how much is it you would like paying and would it not be easier to discuss with the members what it is you think you are worth and the best means to satisfy your requirements

This may sound like a very rude question but considering the points I make above it’s not an unfair one

With respect
Blackburn mark

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Well my take was keep it the same, meaning a request for help is not followed by HELLO DEAR WE HAVE NICE MACHINE IN OUR WEBSITE WHICH CAN'T DO WHAT YOU WANT.

But websites/forums are full of ads of other websites advertising stuff, and the internet is full of addons to block those ads should you so choose.

So to me it's not a problem if Lee wants to swamp us with ads "He blogs for food remember"

We can like it or lump it, I guess most will be not bothered me included.

Phil


Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

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But websites/forums are full of ads of other websites advertising stuff

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i guess that makes it ok then phil

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"He blogs for food remember"

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do you think a ham buttie and a couple of pork pies might do the trick

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We can like it or lump it

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Phil.... sometimes you can be quite perceptive..... this isnt one of those times :)

Hi,

We would like to thank everyone for their votes, this poll is now closed.

The majority of you voted for: No, it’s about right as it - 63.64%
Second place went to: Keep it as it, but have an open forum for product announcements - 27.27%

We will keep second place in mind, and possibly look at introducing such a forum in the future.

Anyone looking to discuss any of the points, comments or suggests made or indeed submit their own can do so on our new dedicated Suggestions, Comments and Feedback forum. This is an open forum and will be linked to from our site pages shortly, this new feature is going to be long term and how we will interact with the community over such discussions.

Thanks and have a Great Weekend !

Lee