google ads

[TRF]

This site gets so much traffic, i bet ads generated by google would pay for the site. Put the ads top right, they'd be unobtrusive. I'd be willing to bet you would see money for impressions and clicks. This would end the need for donations. And the nature of google ads wouldn't detract from Redszone at all.

Just my opinion.

[smith288]

This isnt a for revenue site. I think Boss wants to ensure no ads are ever used here.

[camisadelgolf]

I agree on Google ads being unobtrusive. The money that came from them could be used to improving the site in other ways (but don't ask me how).

[*BaseClogger*]

I agree; it is just open white space and Boss could charge only enough to cover expenses...

[GoReds33]

I wouldn't be against it if it meant a better site. I don't particularly like ads on the pages I visit, but it wouldn't bother me in this case.

[dougdirt]

I agree; it is just open white space and Boss could charge only enough to cover expenses...

It doesn't really work that way. I will say this though, with the traffic this site gets, the google ads would supply plenty enough revenue to keep the site top notch. That said, the site seems to be doing fine without them.... although there is the donations and no one really knows what those bring in.

[TRF]

I'd like to see the ads so we don't have a repeat of posters thinking they are "owed" something because they donated. I think the ads are content based and would be appropriate for all ages. And yes, they could generate plenty of money. Now, will that in itself cause issues? maybe. And maybe the excess money could go for neat things like donations to youth baseball, or other various causes related to baseball.

To me this could be a very good step forward.

[RBA]

I'm for the google ads. I go to other sites with the ads and they don't bother my me one bit. P.S. I don't own Google stock.

[*BaseClogger*]

I'd like to see the ads so we don't have a repeat of posters thinking they are "owed" something because they donated. I think the ads are content based and would be appropriate for all ages. And yes, they could generate plenty of money. Now, will that in itself cause issues? maybe. And maybe the excess money could go for neat things like donations to youth baseball, or other various causes related to baseball.

To me this could be a very good step forward.

Sponsor a RedsZone youth league team!

[gonelong]

I'd agree with the others and find a way to monetize the traffic, if for no other reason than to donate anything above the costs of the site to charity. I understand why the caretakers here have resisted putting adds on the site though.

The adds would not bother me a bit.

GL

[TRF]

At the very least, why not try it for a month? see what the revenue looks like. It's not like redszone would be locked into anything.

[Boss-Hog]

My biggest concern is that I believe we would have to remove all copyrighted content (i.e. avatars) before doing anything that would bring in revenue, such as ads.

[TRF]

My biggest concern is that I believe we would have to remove all copyrighted content (i.e. avatars) before doing anything that would bring in revenue, such as ads.

I don't think that is the case at all. I'm not a lawyer, but there are a number of lawyers on this site. One might be able to answer that. However, I don't see a lot of copyrighted content. Even the avatars are vague.

A lot of messageboards use google ads, but very few of them (at least sports related boards) have the traffic and loyalty this one has. The revenue you generate could go towards server upgrades and hosting fees.

[Boss-Hog]

I don't think that is the case at all. I'm not a lawyer, but there are a number of lawyers on this site. One might be able to answer that. However, I don't see a lot of copyrighted content. Even the avatars are vague.

A lot of messageboards use google ads, but very few of them (at least sports related boards) have the traffic and loyalty this one has. The revenue you generate could go towards server upgrades and hosting fees.
I don't see a lot of potential copyrighted content, but I would definitely want to have it all removed if we were to consider implementing something like this.

[TRF]

I agree, but at the same time why not give it a go for a month? as a test, just suspend avatars, roll out the ads and project the revenue over 12 months.

The potential benefit outweighs 1 month of avatarless posting.

[UKFlounder]

I like the site without ads, FWIW. I think it's fine as is, but that's just one opinion.

[RedlegJake]

I agree with the idea in principle. The white space is just wasted and I think most members are used to ads just about everywhere they go on the net. I know they wouldn't bother me at all. Why not a trial as suggested? I'd give it 90 days though to get a better idea and so different methods could be tried. There are several ways to implement google ads and each works better on different types of sites depending on traffic levels and types of visitors. It could certainly earn enough, I'd think, to pay for the bandwidth, upgrades to the platform, server fees. Avatars are cool but revenue trumps that I think.

[RBA]

Copyrighted material should probably be removed anyhow.

[smith288]

My biggest concern is that I believe we would have to remove all copyrighted content (i.e. avatars) before doing anything that would bring in revenue, such as ads.
I think there is a fair use type of law for websites. You arent benefitting monetarily from anyone's avatar.

I also dont think Scott Adams or United Sydicate artists have a history of suing sites such as yours for avatars like TRFs dilbert ont.

The only thing that would happen if a company/representative wanted something copywrited removed would be a friendly notification of the violation and request to remove it. To which wouldnt be very hard.

Kind of making a mountain out of a mole hill in regards to all this stuff. If you look around other forums, they are laden with logos and other imagery that is copywrited from their respective team and have continued on without legal ramifications.

Putting up links to illegal wares, MP3, movies and other types of works however WILL get your site in trouble but I don't believe you have to worry about this.

The only thing in question is newpaper articles on the web. Many times a media company doesnt like to have an entire news article elsewhere. I think legally, you can excerpt it and link to the real article like they do at Buckeyeplanet.com.

BTW, adsense doesnt work as well as you would think for forums as nichey as this one. We get a constant flow of repeat visitors who arent likely to click on a contextual ad like google or yahoo.

You would be better off going with an affiliate system like commission junction or something like that to appeal to our tastes rather than let google guess.

Just saying...

[Boss-Hog]

Thanks for the input, everyone...much appreciated.