Changes to RedsZone's Donation System / Ads

All,

GIK and I would like to thank everyone for the wonderful experience RedsZone has provided for nearly ten years (in April we'll celebrate our 10th birthday). This site would not exist without the many types of contributions from its members, and for that, we thank you!

For a decade we have attempted to facilitate the best possible environment for Reds' fans to congregate and enjoy the team we all love and follow. In doing so we have asked the community (around this time each year) to assist us with donations to keep the site up and running for another season. A big thank you to all who have donated in the past. It was and is greatly appreciated.

Moving forward we are not continuing the spring donation drive. We were never completely comfortable knowing that a very small minority of members were, in the end, providing the opportunity for others to enjoy the site. The advantage, however, was we were able to remain ad-free for ten years. Quite an accomplishment, we think!

To ensure RedsZone's sustainability we embark on a new format: the addition of advertising and the reintroduction of annual subscriptions.

To those who are dissatisfied with advertisements being placed within the forums of RedsZone, you have the ability to disable them. This is where subscriptions now come into play. Subscriptions now are the defacto "donation" at a set cost of $30 for one year. By selecting an annual subscription to the site, you can enjoy RedsZone without in-forum advertising. Users will be able to subscribe using the Paid Subscriptions link within their User CP or by clicking the link adjecent to the advertisements. Ads will remain for all other visitors in the hope that this additional revenue will help us provide the best quality experience possible for all 'Zoners.

Thank you again for being part of this community over the past decade. If you have any questions, please post them here. We look forward to providing the premier destination for Reds' fans.

GIK and Boss-Hog

Click to Subscribe

In case you're wondering, we're still working out the kinks, but we're close, so expect ads to be implemented in the very near future.

Cool, do whatever you gotta do to keep it up and running. I don't mind ads, but I'll probably do the subscription.

Thanks for telling us. I think this is a very good idea to keep the best site around going.

Edit: And my subscription has been taken care of. This is the easiest subscription decision I've ever made...can't live with out my RZ fix.

What about the fact that many of us do not want the ads and want to support but cannot even post in the ORG? I know ORG members cant post in the sun deck etc. Big deal, the quality is nowhere even near comparable and I have to pay the same as the ORG posters who get more? I am not complaining about what it takes to get in the ORG or anything like that don't get me wrong, but I believe there should be two different membership amounts based on what access you have.

Glad you mentioned it. I will turn off my ad blocker for the site and be sure to click some ads every now and again to boost the CTR, which will boost the money (I have dealt with Google Ads in the past and that is how they used to work).

bc- Thank you for your feedback. It is appreciated. The goal of moving away from donations and to an ad-based format is to try and treat all users similarly. Ads are placed in both forums. To make ORG posters pay more is not the right message, in my opinion. One forum is not worth more than the other. The purpose of including subscriptions is to give all members the opportunity to remove the in-forum advertising regardless of whether they post in the ORG or Sun Deck.

About 8 years overdue. I like the move. Good job.

I see this as a major turning-point in the history of RedsZone.

Seems like this thread should be a sticky on ORG and Sun Deck main forums for greater exposure.

I paids my monies, so should you.

I've got no problem with the ads, and really enjoy the site even though I rarely post. I've enjoyed reading the discussions of others for years, and think that ads are a fair income method.

I do have one suggestion, though. The vertical banner ad running along the left side of the page really throws off the look and design of the page. Given that the flow of the forum is left to right (reading), it's prominent presence on the left side of the page is really distracting, and really goes against the grain in terms of most advertising placement (in my experience).

Just a thought.

Ed Otten

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ed Otten

I've got no problem with the ads, and really enjoy the site even though I rarely post. I've enjoyed reading the discussions of others for years, and think that ads are a fair income method.

I do have one suggestion, though. The vertical banner ad running along the left side of the page really throws off the look and design of the page. Given that the flow of the forum is left to right (reading), it's prominent presence on the left side of the page is really distracting, and really goes against the grain in terms of most advertising placement (in my experience).

Just a thought.

Ed Otten

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As a UI guy I have to agree, eyes go left to right, it hurts the eyes to break the return left visually. On the right I'd still see the ads and they would blend easier into the page layout.

Thanks, Ed and woy. I am sure we will make tweaks as the days go by and your comment/suggestion is appreciated.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by westofyou

As a UI guy I have to agree, eyes go left to right, it hurts the eyes to break the return left visually. On the right I'd still see the ads and they would blend easier into the page layout.

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Thirded.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bob Borkowski

I see this as a major turning-point in the history of RedsZone.

Seems like this thread should be a sticky on ORG and Sun Deck main forums for greater exposure.

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Agreed, but I wanted to give everyone a chance to respond.