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See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

MASSIVE ADS halfway down the thread page

140 replies

SinisterBumFacedCat · 10/06/2019 13:33

I don’t know if this is a new thing, i’m sure it’s been done before and wasn’t popular. There are massive ads halfway down the page of threads, it’s very disruptive to the flow and also makes me think it’s the end of the thread. On one thread there was a ad placed straight after the OPs first post, making it appear that there are no other posts on the thread. I am logged in.

OP posts:
WeShouldOpenABar · 14/06/2019 18:14

Is anyone else getting the Disney ads I get two after the first post and 4! At the end

FeminismandWomensFights · 14/06/2019 22:55

Please could you just stop having the ads interrupting the thread? It’s really confusing and intrusive and I’m still not getting used to it.

DameSquashalot · 14/06/2019 23:27

Mumsnet please get rid of the ads after the OP.

They're so annoying - I just click on the X to close without noticing what is being advertised. Are the impressions more important than the engagement?

Monty27 · 15/06/2019 04:47

They're still there...
Very off-putting indeed. Angry

Barnabyboy · 15/06/2019 06:37

It doesn’t bother me. You’d all be complaining if they got rid and turned it subscription only. Any sort of change to this site and everyone is up in arms. Even the dots being on the left instead of the right started a complaining thread. Really? This site needs a massive overhaul and they can’t do it because it would be one moaning thread after the other

Cakemadeoffruit · 15/06/2019 07:17

I came on to say the ads mid thread aren't loading for me (not all bad then) but they are blocking posts from site users. On a thread I've just been on, I can't see the OP's update as there's a big white square over it, with a band of green peeking out top and bottom so I know there should be a post there.

Decormad38 · 15/06/2019 07:21

Change to the Mumsnet app then you won't get that.

LemonRedwood · 15/06/2019 09:20

Change to the Mumsnet app then you won't get that.

You do, except it's large ads mid thread for the mumsnet podcast rather than spammy things based on your cookies and browsing.

It's more difficult to differentiate between op posts, your own, and the others on the app because it's just the username that's a different colour. Also, the red they use for your posts and the purple for everyone else's are similar enough for it to take me a little while to realise.

Also doesn't automatically jump to the last thread I bookmarked which is incredibly inconvenient, especially on long threads, and defeats the point of bookmarking.

The app is crap. Which is why I use mobile Web for mumsnet. And now they've made that crap too.

Frusty · 15/06/2019 10:45

Barnabyboy I’ve already said on this thread that I would rather pay for an ad free mumsnet.
I think we all know why there are ads, and we will still see them if they are at the top or bottom, but we will see them and hate them if they are in the middle, and take steps to get rid. Has it really helped mumsnet that several people on the thread have now installed adblockers?

Fairyjuice · 15/06/2019 13:56

Ads are still there so I'm installing an adblocker.

Anyone who suggests the Mumsnet app- it's really shit and doesn't work properly for me so I won't be switching.

hobnobsaremyfavourite · 15/06/2019 17:10

Really shit, makes the threads pretty much unreadable
But am in no doubt that MNHQ don't give a Shit as it's all about clicks and income and nowt to do with user experience

MNHQ
FlissMumsnet · 15/06/2019 21:00

Hi Everyone,

We're so sorry these ads are not hitting the spot - we'll take a look and see if there's anything we can do to make them less jarring.

Thanks for your patience while we work this stuff out.

WeShouldOpenABar · 15/06/2019 21:04

My Disney ads have multiplied there are 10!!!! Now at the end of some threads. If they keep increasing at this rate I'll never be able to reach the comment box

IWantMyHatBack · 15/06/2019 21:09

The ones at the end are fine, it's the ad placed immediately after the OP which is the main problem (and you've just changed it, so can't you roll it back?)

The large animated ads are killing my data and are incredibly distracting. Some are really badly placed immediately after a sensitive OP as well.

hobnobsaremyfavourite · 15/06/2019 21:13

"Not hitting the spot"
Really?
Could you be any more twee and patronising?

StoorieHoose · 15/06/2019 21:43

Your users have told you have it's eating into their data and people are installing ad blockers and think 'they aren't hitting the spot'!!! For goodness sake You can make them.less jarring by removing them from the middle of threads and be content with adverts and that top and bottom of every single thread

Frusty · 15/06/2019 21:50

Yeah if it went back to how it was I would remove my ad blocker, I don’t want it using data either but it’s better than seeing the mega ads in the middle.

hobnobsaremyfavourite · 16/06/2019 09:06

Intrusive
Annoying
Distracting
No idea what they are trying to sell as I skim past as fast as I can, so utterly pointless
Get rid, please

DrinkReprehensibly · 17/06/2019 07:47

The rubbish new ads brought me to site stuff to see if anyone else was finding it annoying. I'm not liking it being second post on a page. Fourth or fifth would feel a bit fairer and less like one of those spammy websites that's all adverts. I think it makes the content feel less credible and more unreliable when adverts are prioritised to such an extent.

StoorieHoose · 17/06/2019 08:15

I think 3 adverts on one page is v excessive MNHQ. It's like going back in time internet wise

MNHQ
JanineMumsnet · 17/06/2019 08:52

@WeShouldOpenABar I'm really sorry about this. This shouldn't be happening at all. As a logged in user you should not see more than 3 ads per page on a mobile device. Could you share a screen shot?

I can assure you we haven't increased the size of the ads, nor have we made them more interactive, so it shouldn't be the case that ads are eating up more of your data. I am sorry if this appears to be the case - it shouldn't be.

As I said, we have changed the rules of the ads in order to create more consistency - the rule previously was that a square ad would appear after the 12th post, but feedback has been that users thought this was jarring as they weren't aware the thread continued beyond and therefore it was disruptive to user experience. The rationale for after the OP is because we need to have an ad mid thread (as we had before) and typically a user knows how many posts are in a thread before they open a thread so after the OP would be less jarring to that experience.

It's clear though that some users don't agree, and nothing is set in stone and we are open to suggestions. We will also look at alternative rules for where these ads might appear.

StoorieHoose · 17/06/2019 09:54

Top of the page and at the end of the thread is more than enough adverts. To have them during the thread is overkill

MNHQ
JanineMumsnet · 17/06/2019 10:42

Hi @StoorieHoose I'm afraid we do need to have an ad mid thread - we have had ads mid thread for a number of years now.

At the moment with online advertising advertisers often buy ads based on their 'viewability'. This means is that if the ad isn't viewable on the screen for more than a few seconds we don't get any money for that ad. Ads right at the bottom of the page have a low viewability score, as you'd expect. It would be rare to find a site that is primarily paid for by advertising without ads mid article/page. We do try to keep the number of ads a to a minimum for our logged in users - if you are logged out you will likely notice one more per page on mobile.

But to be clear, these new rules introduced last week are not to make the ads more viewable. But it's worth noting that from time to time we may have to switch around where ads appear on a page to keep up with the latest way buyers measure and pay for their ads.

It's a tricky balance that we don't always get perfect first time, so we are open to opinions and we take them on board.

InterchangeableEmma · 17/06/2019 14:52

If we must have adverts in-thread why isn't it possible to at least communicate that the content continues after? It's done that way on plenty of sites, the box that now says 'advertisement' could surely say 'advertisement. Content continues below' or some such?

One of the reasons that it's so irritating IS the placement directly after the OP. It looks like the wrong thread (of a single post) has loaded rather than the one I think I've clicked on. It the Active Convos page wasn't so keen on jumping about just after loading it'd be easier to know that I'd not opened the wrong thread

MASSIVE ADS halfway down the thread page
BaronessBomburst · 17/06/2019 14:57

I downloaded Opera to use with Mumsnet. It's a browser with a built-in AdBlocker. I've had it a week and it's brilliant. I can recommend it for Android.