Nuisance Adverts

[The60ftOctopus]

Does being a gold member increase chances of Radiohead playing? If so, I'll sign up on payday!

[eFestivals]

some people - people outside the UK - might have had problems signing up for 'gold' membership, but I've just sorted out that problem so that it works properly now.

Apologies to anyone that was affecting.

[jparx]

15 minutes ago, Charm said:

Thanks Neil, I was thinking that if the gold option was more prominent it may encourage people to join, when I first started using the site I just thought the gold status was linked to the amount of posts a user had made. 
Charm x

I definitely agree with this. I had the exact same thought. I first started 'lurking' here in '07, signed up last year, and it was only around Christmas that I realised Gold Membership was a thing when I noticed someone with under 1000 posts had it.

[SpiralGirl]

Time to emerge from the shadows....  Have just paid my Gold Membership - well done Neil and everyone else, you do a great job.  Hope you can afford to continue for many years to come....

[stuartbert two hats]

Just now, SpiralGirl said:

Time to emerge from the shadows....  Have just paid my Gold Membership - well done Neil and everyone else, you do a great job.  Hope you can afford to continue for many years to come....

Wow, your first post ever was as a GOLD member.  That has to be a first. 

Welcome to eFestivals!

[SpiralGirl]

1 minute ago, stuartbert two hats said:

Wow, your first post ever was as a GOLD member.  That has to be a first. 

Welcome to eFestivals!

Ha ha, thanks Stuart.  It's taken me a lot of years to be brave enough to post .... think this was a good reason :-)

[stuartbert two hats]

1 minute ago, SpiralGirl said:

Ha ha, thanks Stuart.  It's taken me a lot of years to be brave enough to post .... think this was a good reason :-)

Don't worry, we don't bite, not until you hit 1000 posts of course, then you're fair game! 

[jparx]

A Gold Member on first post, and a higher rep than post count. Breaking all the records!

[eFestivals]

35 minutes ago, Charm said:

Thanks Neil, I was thinking that if the gold option was more prominent it may encourage people to join, when I first started using the site I just thought the gold status was linked to the amount of posts a user had made. 
Charm x

I'll see what I might do to try and make people better-aware that it's an available option.

What I don't want to do is make people think they have to pay if they want to sign up. In theory (till I start worrying about finances) I'm quite happy for people to use the site as normal members rather than paying for the ad-free subscription.

[Tranquility of Solitude]

22 minutes ago, SpiralGirl said:

Time to emerge from the shadows....  Have just paid my Gold Membership - well done Neil and everyone else, you do a great job.  Hope you can afford to continue for many years to come....

Welcome SpiralG. I'm relatively new here too, and they haven't bitten me. Yet. 

[eFestivals]

11 minutes ago, Scruffylovemonster said:

Russy reckons it's 100. And sometimes he's in well before that!

talking of Russy....

One thing I get to see via gold subscriptions is people's real names, and it nearly always has me thinking "he never struck me as a Simon" (or whatever). Sometimes I've even surprised to discover someone is of different gender to what I thought.

Russy's name isn't Simon, but his name has been the one exception to the "I didn't think they'd have that name" rule (and no, it's not Russell either).

I won't be giving away his name, just before anyone asks.

Tho I have tried the stalking thing of googling his name to try and find a photo and failed, just because he's so tight with his anonymity... I wanted to know what he looks like and then freak him out ion a festival crowd if I spotted him

[Michaels denim shorts]

Let's play guess russys name..

 

[stuartbert two hats]

2 minutes ago, Michaels denim shorts said:

Let's play guess russys name..

 

Mr Russy Carps.

[eFestivals]

33 minutes ago, Scruffylovemonster said:

So you knew Bamber was male while everyone else thought his liking of Jessie j was cos he was a teenage girl. :-)

I'm not even sure Bamber is a gold member, is (s)he?

But anyway, these things might go past my eyes, but I don't necessarily retain a memory of them ... russy is a bit of an exception to that, as a result of his big mouth but serial shyness in the flesh.

 

[DeanoL]

2 hours ago, eFestivals said:

It's unlikely efests will shut down entirely (tho that's not impossible), but it's hard to see how it will be possible for efests to continue as it is and has been for the last 15 years.

Have you looked into Patreon or a similar model (I guess gold sort of is, but then you're losing money on the ads)? I'm always wary of Kickstarter or other such fundraising campaigns for things like this as a cash injection doesn't exactly help create a stable business.

But a few hundred people chipping in a few quid a month would make a decent dent in things. I know you don't want to 'beg' - but it's not that. It's more akin to busking. It's just saying "if you value this, and want it to keep going, then consider paying for it". But unless you ask people won't. There was a bit on this on the Comedian's Comedian podcast the other week - and why it feels weird but absolutely makes sense. WIll try and dig it out when back home.

[stardustjunkie]

I'm quite happy to have adblock off for eFestival's as I've read in previous threads that it is part of your income. I don't click on ads but I am quite happy to randomly click on them if it boosts income, especially if they look legitimate.

Unfortunately membership is well beyond my means at the moment as I'm unable to work.

Would you ever make the website a 'pay to use' kind of website? So if you wanted to be on here you'd have to have some kind of membership, which could have varying levels - Bronze could just be forum access but with ads etc, and so on.

As you said in the first page that it's good when people tell you what's wrong with the ads, I thought I'd share the attached screenshot as I do tend to have issues with ads overlapping in places they presumably shouldn't. I do also find if I leave eFestivals open in a tab for too long, my whole browser slows down considerably and I have to completely close it down and open it up again to get it to function properly. It doesn't appear to be any other website and this is the only website I have enabled adblocker for, so I'm not sure if this is something caused by ads or something I can prevent my end. I've never thought to say anything because I just thought it was my old Mac! 

[stuartbert two hats]

6 hours ago, stardustjunkie said:

I'm quite happy to have adblock off for eFestival's as I've read in previous threads that it is part of your income. I don't click on ads but I am quite happy to randomly click on them if it boosts income, especially if they look legitimate.

Unfortunately membership is well beyond my means at the moment as I'm unable to work.

Would you ever make the website a 'pay to use' kind of website? So if you wanted to be on here you'd have to have some kind of membership, which could have varying levels - Bronze could just be forum access but with ads etc, and so on.

As you said in the first page that it's good when people tell you what's wrong with the ads, I thought I'd share the attached screenshot as I do tend to have issues with ads overlapping in places they presumably shouldn't. I do also find if I leave eFestivals open in a tab for too long, my whole browser slows down considerably and I have to completely close it down and open it up again to get it to function properly. It doesn't appear to be any other website and this is the only website I have enabled adblocker for, so I'm not sure if this is something caused by ads or something I can prevent my end. I've never thought to say anything because I just thought it was my old Mac! 

Interesting about the slowdown. As a Gold member, I have no such issues.

[fatyeti24]

25 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

Interesting about the slowdown. As a Gold member, I have no such issues.

 

[eFestivals]

6 hours ago, stardustjunkie said:

I'm quite happy to have adblock off for eFestival's as I've read in previous threads that it is part of your income. I don't click on ads but I am quite happy to randomly click on them if it boosts income, especially if they look legitimate.

Unfortunately membership is well beyond my means at the moment as I'm unable to work.

Would you ever make the website a 'pay to use' kind of website? So if you wanted to be on here you'd have to have some kind of membership, which could have varying levels - Bronze could just be forum access but with ads etc, and so on.

As you said in the first page that it's good when people tell you what's wrong with the ads, I thought I'd share the attached screenshot as I do tend to have issues with ads overlapping in places they presumably shouldn't. I do also find if I leave eFestivals open in a tab for too long, my whole browser slows down considerably and I have to completely close it down and open it up again to get it to function properly. It doesn't appear to be any other website and this is the only website I have enabled adblocker for, so I'm not sure if this is something caused by ads or something I can prevent my end. I've never thought to say anything because I just thought it was my old Mac! 

The two ads together there might be a one-off caused by something about that particular advert ... or alternatively, if it happens all the time, it can only be a bug within Safari of some kind. The 2nd advert 'div' is fixed at the foot of the page.

The slowing down (something I've noticed too) might be the ads, or it might alternatively be due to a bit of javascript that's on the page ... and to be honest, I think it's probably the latter (and so my fault).

Because of the reason why that javascript exists (to reduce server loads) it's something that's going to remain how it is for about another 6 weeks (the period when the site is likely to have occasional huge traffic peaks), but then I'll put things back to how they were before I put that javascript in place to see what effect (if any) it has, and then consider things again.

[stardustjunkie]

8 hours ago, eFestivals said:

The two ads together there might be a one-off caused by something about that particular advert ... or alternatively, if it happens all the time, it can only be a bug within Safari of some kind. The 2nd advert 'div' is fixed at the foot of the page.

The slowing down (something I've noticed too) might be the ads, or it might alternatively be due to a bit of javascript that's on the page ... and to be honest, I think it's probably the latter (and so my fault).

Because of the reason why that javascript exists (to reduce server loads) it's something that's going to remain how it is for about another 6 weeks (the period when the site is likely to have occasional huge traffic peaks), but then I'll put things back to how they were before I put that javascript in place to see what effect (if any) it has, and then consider things again.

Thank you

The ads overlapping things doesn't happen all the time, just randomly. I can live with it.

[eFestivals]

we're currently trialling a new ads setup (tho it's just been switched off for the weekend, just in case) which we hope will help reduce the number of hi-jacking ads ... it might even eliminate the problem entirely, tho dodgy geezers always tend to find a way in the end.

Anyway, fingers crossed that we're on the way to getting it nailed.

[home to you]

Went Gold this week

[Dillyblue]

Me too.......wish everyone would! (or donate).

 Neil doesn't know me from Adam but a large overdraft now, a large loan to be paid off in the summer by him and Neil also not being able to take a decent salary can't be right. I worry for him....

Edited March 19, 2016 by Dillyblue

[GlastoEls]

9 hours ago, Dillyblue said:

Me too.......wish everyone would! (or donate).

 Neil doesn't know me from Adam but a large overdraft now, a large loan to be paid off in the summer by him and Neil also not being able to take a decent salary can't be right. I worry for him....

Spot on Dillyblue.

[danmarks]

Hi. Sorry to hijack thread. How can I donate without making a PayPal account. Happy with ads and try to buy via the website so its a way of giving a very little bit more. Any chance of getting Bristol ticket shop via efestivals too? (If it would make a couple of quid for you) 

Cheers

Dan