Page 15 | Top bar advertising

TalkinBoutWhat · 2017-10-23T12:17:51+00:00

MN, PLEASE fix this advertising bar at the top of the computer screen. It is so large, that I can't actually click on any of the MN links that are at the top of the page. (eg, active, I'm on, etc). Right now, on Site Stuff, I can't even click 'Site Stuff' to get other threads in this section. It's hidden by the ad, which is NOT scrolling up and away the way I've seen others do. It's just sitting there. The ONLY threads I can get onto are the active ones on the right hand side of the screen, and only the ones lower down the list as the top ones are hidden by the Ad. (Experian and Marks and Spencers, are the two so far....) You did this before, we all complained, you apologised and said it shouldn't have been loaded on as you were testing something new. I really hope this was a mistake, because it is IMPOSSIBLE to navigate the site.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 24/10/2017 17:24

@ToadTheVampireThreadKiller

No nothing! (that article was a pile of tosh tbh)

However, people have read it, and the other papers, and it is still out there for all to see.

Doesn't seem to have affected advertisers though - I think most understand the value of authenticity - and there have been other articles saying as much. Plus I got a personal apology from Confused.com for their quote the piece. But fingers crossed it's not all about to cave in...

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 24/10/2017 17:22

@ToadTheVampireThreadKiller

The problem with the annoying white thing at the top or the ad that is there when it isn't blocked is that is stays there making it difficult to read the page until it decides to slide up to the top.

I can't cope with things that make random noises or auto play or flash at me.

I turn the ad blocker on and off depending on the site I am using, but usually on mainly for Ebay and Mumsnet because there is just too much gong on and it is in my face (and eyes).

If the companies are not making money from the ads it is because people don't want to see them, they are intrusive. If they were scaled down to a reasonable size and didn't flash and bounce around I wouldn't need to hide them although I would never click on them anyway.

As said we're looking at introducing alternative premium options but I don't think ours are worse than your average site and better than most. We'd love to move to a more native solution (like facebook sponsored posts) but there's been a fair bit of negativity around our experiments in that area. We'll certainly keep trying other options though with a view to moving to be less reliant on display advertising (which I agree is not ideal) over time, as I mentioned.

callmeadoctor · 24/10/2017 17:18

Really really hate it

ToadTheVampireThreadKiller · 24/10/2017 17:18

No nothing! (that article was a pile of tosh tbh)

However, people have read it, and the other papers, and it is still out there for all to see.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 24/10/2017 17:17

@clownfaces

I have this hell. MNHQ - I thought you said the wrap around ads had gone?

Ah yes we will still have a few - we've stopped taking them programatically (that's the automatic route that most of ads are sold by), as said, but there will still be the odd one or two that are sold direct. They should be much less prevalent though. (And we are working on making them a bit more beautiful).

ToadTheVampireThreadKiller · 24/10/2017 17:16

The problem with the annoying white thing at the top or the ad that is there when it isn't blocked is that is stays there making it difficult to read the page until it decides to slide up to the top.

I can't cope with things that make random noises or auto play or flash at me.

I turn the ad blocker on and off depending on the site I am using, but usually on mainly for Ebay and Mumsnet because there is just too much gong on and it is in my face (and eyes).

If the companies are not making money from the ads it is because people don't want to see them, they are intrusive. If they were scaled down to a reasonable size and didn't flash and bounce around I wouldn't need to hide them although I would never click on them anyway.

callmeadoctor · 24/10/2017 17:13

I hate this introduction, it is driving me nuts!

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 24/10/2017 17:13

[quote ToadTheVampireThreadKiller]The changes we've made are because our ads are display being penalised for their lack of view ability. Essentially advertisers are insisting that the ads stay on screen for at least 5 seconds even when you scroll. You'll notice that pretty much all ad funded sites now have these same ad formats - The Guardian, Telegraph, Daily Mirror - we're pretty late to the game to be honest.

Nothing to do with this then?

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/top-brands-pull-ads-as-mumsnet-users-turn-the-air-blue-confused-com-bulgari-national-trust-prjv0rlgd[/quote]

No nothing! (that article was a pile of tosh tbh)

ToadTheVampireThreadKiller · 24/10/2017 17:09

The changes we've made are because our ads are display being penalised for their lack of view ability. Essentially advertisers are insisting that the ads stay on screen for at least 5 seconds even when you scroll. You'll notice that pretty much all ad funded sites now have these same ad formats - The Guardian, Telegraph, Daily Mirror - we're pretty late to the game to be honest.

Nothing to do with this then?

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/top-brands-pull-ads-as-mumsnet-users-turn-the-air-blue-confused-com-bulgari-national-trust-prjv0rlgd

clownfaces · 24/10/2017 17:09

I have this hell. MNHQ - I thought you said the wrap around ads had gone?

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 24/10/2017 17:08

@OlennasWimple

Hang on JustineMN- I really resent the "freeloading" comment.

AFAIK there's nothing in the MN guidelines that says users should not block ads. We all use the internet in very different ways, and what works for one user won't work for another.

FWIW I don't use an ad blocker because they tend to interfere with a couple of other sites I use, but I never ever click (deliberately) on the ad. Partly because they are seldom of interest to me, partly because I find it creepy that if I search for flights to Paris on Expedia one day, the next day ads for hotels in Paris are being pushed at me through MN the next day. I know how and why the system works, but I don't like it and refuse to engage with it.

Meanwhile, I am a reasonably long standing MNer who posts a fair bit (probably more than I should at the moment...). I reckon that this helps MN by keeping the activity up, responding to threads and therefore encouraging other users to post and keep responding themselves. Heck, occasionally I might even post something really useful to other MNers. I even report trolly threads and posts, including during the night. I think I'm a pretty decent MNer all in all.

So I'm sure you didn't mean to insult us by calling us freeloaders, but your choice of words was pretty crass.

I didn't actually say freeloading, I said free-riding - which is a slightly different well known economic dilemma. Really not trying to knock your contribution Olennas, but of course if everyone took the same stance on adblockers we'd struggle. (Although I also agree that posting advice is also a valuable contribution and maybe something we can try to consider if we were to introduce an alternative subscription/premium model)

OlennasWimple · 24/10/2017 17:00

Hang on JustineMN- I really resent the "freeloading" comment.

AFAIK there's nothing in the MN guidelines that says users should not block ads. We all use the internet in very different ways, and what works for one user won't work for another.

FWIW I don't use an ad blocker because they tend to interfere with a couple of other sites I use, but I never ever click (deliberately) on the ad. Partly because they are seldom of interest to me, partly because I find it creepy that if I search for flights to Paris on Expedia one day, the next day ads for hotels in Paris are being pushed at me through MN the next day. I know how and why the system works, but I don't like it and refuse to engage with it.

Meanwhile, I am a reasonably long standing MNer who posts a fair bit (probably more than I should at the moment...). I reckon that this helps MN by keeping the activity up, responding to threads and therefore encouraging other users to post and keep responding themselves. Heck, occasionally I might even post something really useful to other MNers. I even report trolly threads and posts, including during the night. I think I'm a pretty decent MNer all in all.

So I'm sure you didn't mean to insult us by calling us freeloaders, but your choice of words was pretty crass.

clownfaces · 24/10/2017 16:48

It is great news to hear that it won't remain for every page change, as I really cannot bear it
I was still having the wrap around adverts last night. I posted a screen shot

SandyDenny · 24/10/2017 16:45

I'm getting the lights on page for about 10 secs on each page, it's getting so annoying it's putting me off now

Laiste · 24/10/2017 16:23

Thank you justine

For me, and many others i'm sure, MN is not just another web site. Please don't measure it by the low standards of lots of other sites x

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 24/10/2017 16:17

@Laiste

It stays down for 16 seconds on mine.

Every.time.i.refresh.or.change page.

Once would be ok as you log on. Not every bloody page change.

Yes agreed - that's what we're implementing.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 24/10/2017 16:16

@heron98

Please please please can you stop the logo being shown at the top all the time when you scroll down?

I use MN at work on the sly and having the logo blasting out means I can't do this any more :(

Hmm - we hadn't thought of that one - will talk to Tech to see if there's any incognito solution...

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 24/10/2017 16:15

@ToadTheVampireThreadKiller

If the ads didn't slow the site so much them we wouldn't need the adblockers in the first place, there are other sites that have ads that don't do this.

It is the sheer waste of time waiting for all the crap to load that made me block them, so much clutter on the page that I can go and make a hot drink while I am waiting.

Surely they don't have to be so big, they are still going to be at the top of the page where you can't avoid them.

What will the advertisers do if people stop using the site?

I don't think the ads do slow the site at all now we've implementing the dual loading - i.e. content loads first, followed by the ads (we've employed some third-party software to do this at an annual cost of 20k). The billboard format is large I agree and over time we'd like to lose it - but it's used widely, we're and by no means unusual. I think all non subscription newspaper sites have it more than MN for instance.

ToadTheVampireThreadKiller · 24/10/2017 16:07

If the ads didn't slow the site so much them we wouldn't need the adblockers in the first place, there are other sites that have ads that don't do this.

It is the sheer waste of time waiting for all the crap to load that made me block them, so much clutter on the page that I can go and make a hot drink while I am waiting.

Surely they don't have to be so big, they are still going to be at the top of the page where you can't avoid them.

What will the advertisers do if people stop using the site?

Laiste · 24/10/2017 16:06

And ad blocker isn't helping. I'm just having the screen taken up witha blank space with the daft 'keeping the lights on' message.

heron98 · 24/10/2017 16:06

Please please please can you stop the logo being shown at the top all the time when you scroll down?

I use MN at work on the sly and having the logo blasting out means I can't do this any more :(

Laiste · 24/10/2017 16:02

It stays down for 16 seconds on mine.

Every.time.i.refresh.or.change page.

Once would be ok as you log on. Not every bloody page change.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 24/10/2017 16:01

Hi all,
Sorry some you are cross about the ads and that we had a bit of an implementation issue where they weren't functioning correctly and blocking some of the links - we have a few different outsourced ad providers showing multiple ads, so it's pretty difficult to be sure we've tested every last one on every last device prior to launch - but we probably should have given you some warning that it was coming and there was the possibility of teething troubles (my bad!)

The changes we've made are because our ads are display being penalised for their lack of view ability. Essentially advertisers are insisting that the ads stay on screen for at least 5 seconds even when you scroll. You'll notice that pretty much all ad funded sites now have these same ad formats - The Guardian, Telegraph, Daily Mirror - we're pretty late to the game to be honest.

The delay in ads loading is also a deliberate strategy to stop the ads slowing down the loading of the page. We made this change a few weeks ago and our page load speed has pretty much halved, which is considered very good for usability.

At the same time as introducing this new, more viewable format we've stopped taking what's known as "page takeovers" programmatically. They are the ones, as the name suggests, that wrap around the entire page - there's one on the Mirror homepage at the moment - in attempt to improve user experience.

In short, we're not try to increase revenues from display advertising - actually our strategy is diametrically opposite and they've been falling over the last few years as we are aiming to reduce our dependence on display ads over time. We'd rather make our revenue from something folks don't find annoying - e.g. insight, e-commerce, native content etc - but we can't just switch them off I'm afraid and the simple truth is that those who use ad blockers are free riding off those who don't - hence our whitelist message. I can appreciate, though, that the repetitive message might become a bit annoying so we'll look at limiting it's use.

We are also considering subscription/ upgrade options and working on some alternatives in this regard which might work better for some and we should be in a position to show you some of those this quarter.

Thanks for all the input.

CatAfterCat · 24/10/2017 15:01

I get the message for ad blockers.
I would happily pay a sub for ad free site but I won't remove the ad blocker.

SilverySurfer · 24/10/2017 14:56

CarolineMumsnet (MNHQ)
^Hi everyone. We are so sorry for all the frustration this is causing. Just wanted to hop on quick to let you know tech is, as we speak, working on a fix for the issues with the advertising bar. We'll keep you updated here.*

I don't believe MNHQ are working to stop these fucking irritating ads at the top of the screen at all. I think the income from the fucking irritating ads at the top of the screen are too profitable and they are working as intended.

Since MNHQ appear to be exercising their right to prioritise ad revenue above the irritation of users, I shall exercise my right to press the X in the top right hand corner and find a less irritating forum.

I wouldn't bother wasting your time posting screenshots, like MNHQ can't see with their own eyes what their own website looks like