First topic message reminder :

I have a great time with the other members but Why advertisement column reappear.

Made an Only Topic

Typlo wrote:Dear user,

I'm sorry for the inconvenience it may have caused, the ads are here to support our developers and the staff so we can offer you new features.

This is only a test for the moment.

Latest Update:

Typlo wrote:We have taken into consideration your complaints, and due to popular demand we will add back the option "guests" in your admin panel.

So everything will be back to normal on your forums, but if you want to support us please keep the option as it is.

We are sorry for the inconvenience, and will be studying new revenue ways for next year, the option Goldman26 mentioned on Page 10 seems a nice alternative.

Well, Say goodbye..... Thanks for letting us beta test your forums.. Now we know what we want from our main domain... We will NEVER pay for something free... Good luck with being cheesy and trying to BLANK everyone... I'd rather pay for a domain (Which is cheap through Godaddy, along with web development access for free) than to be tricked into this bullshit.. You won't get even unregistered traffic through us anymore.. This whole holding a gun to our heads is gonna backfire.. Cant' believe you guys would do this.. You just made it more advantagous to rid ourselves of your issues including the photobucket flood.... Later

Classless not notifying your members of this change. Piss poor way to have customer service and putting many of us between a rock and a hard place, thanks!

I think what bothers me most is that this isn't the first time. I've been using Forumotion for 3 years now and last year, this very same stunt was pulled where they put up ads on all the forums and made us pay to remove them. There was so much of an outcry that they removed them. A year later, here we are again and something that happened both times which I find insulting and disrespective is the lacking of any foreknowledge.
They did not communicate any of this with us. Forumotion is always posting updates in the admin panel of changes coming up and this is a big one and this is twice now that we have not been informed of what's going on. The only reason my members aren't complaining is simply because we've been through this already and I do still have a domain registered on another forum host that I could easily go to. The only thing keeping me at Forumotion is the history. If I could transfer the database, I might very well leave.
But that doesn't affect forumotion, why, because I'm not paying now. Now here's the thing. My forum consists mostly of teenager with no jobs who want to socialize and talk about sci-fi stuff and whatever. So who's going to pay for that? Me? Them? Why do they need to pay? What possible service will they want that is hosted by this intrusive ads. If the ads were subtle, appropriate and location customizable so that it doesn't mess with the CSS, I would be acceptant to this and I think my members would be too.
I hate that the few posts that I have here and essentially the only times I've come on the support forum is to voice my opinion on the matter of sudden ad appearances with the lacking of communication. You guys have *usually* been very good. There's a lot of customizing you can do with forumotion and a lot of good services provided that a lot of other hosts don't have, even for paying members.
So I guess what I'm saying is please communicate with us. Please treat us like we're respected members of the forumotion community. I did respect you guys and when you guys removed the ads the first time, I respected you even more. But two times is setting a bad track record. I understand you need to make money, but like I said, subtle and unobtrusive and appropriate.
And on another note, having ads for guests is in some ways a better idea because in a way, more guests view (my) forum without registering. The few active members on my forum are not interested in what these ads provide, nor is it of any benefit to offer these ads to the members. Now of course I'm not one of these massive 4000 member forums, I'm only a 400 job with like 25-30 actual active users.
But yeah, it's just insulting for there to be no communication and no customization options allowed. If founders could even have the option of limiting what type of ads are displayed (ie for my site, things that are sci-fi related, or gaming related) I mean, what direction is the ballerina spinning? What purpose does that ad serve at all?
Because I don't want to end sounding angry, I thank forumotion for all of the hard work I've seen them do over the years. For stabilizing the servers, for all of the free options and customizations, for the space and for everything else, just keep us in the loop ok?

Cumon darren.. We're not stupid dude.. We see whats going on VERY clear... Don't treat us like dumbass sheep.. If it doesn't work this time, after 2 times trying, you will keep trying till it does.. As for my gaming community, we are out of here... Not waiting for the next try.. We already got caught with our pants down THIS TIME.. ADMINS DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME waiting for next time.. Get out before you waste more time on your forums...

Next update??? Is that supposed to be better???? I dont think so, we know where you're going with it.. I realize you're just a PR guy but, YOU wouldn't agree with this shit and YOU know it.. This is a BALL grab 100%... Go get a job that doesn't entail compromising your integrity dude!

Here's our forum.. http://strengthandhonor.forumotion.net/ Look down to the left at the geo-locator.. You find almost 14 THOUSAND people that have crossed our forum and saw your ads.. Is that NOT fucking enough?? We only have 134 members, YOU do the math.. You are NO longer going to get this free traffic.. YOU should be paying US!!!!

Thats funny.. Kirk has over 6000 posts.. Think he might be employed? Re-itterating..

Cumon darren.. We're not stupid dude.. We see whats going on VERY clear... Don't treat us like dumbass sheep.. If it doesn't work this time, after 2 times trying, you will keep trying till it does.. As for my gaming community, we are out of here... Not waiting for the next try.. We already got caught with our pants down THIS TIME.. ADMINS DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME waiting for next time.. Get out before you waste more time on your forums...

Next update??? Is that supposed to be better???? I dont think so, we know where you're going with it.. I realize you're just a PR guy but, YOU wouldn't agree with this shit and YOU know it.. This is a BALL grab 100%... Go get a job that doesn't entail compromising your integrity dude!
STEELHED
Forumotion Member

Kirk, for a guy that has over 6000 posts, I'd have to say you're employed..LoL Good job trying to bump past the protest..




Cumon darren.. We're not stupid dude.. We see whats going on VERY clear... Don't treat us like dumbass sheep.. If it doesn't work this time, after 2 times trying, you will keep trying till it does.. As for my gaming community, we are out of here... Not waiting for the next try.. We already got caught with our pants down THIS TIME.. ADMINS DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME waiting for next time.. Get out before you waste more time on your forums...

Next update??? Is that supposed to be better???? I dont think so, we know where you're going with it.. I realize you're just a PR guy but, YOU wouldn't agree with this shit and YOU know it.. This is a BALL grab 100%... Go get a job that doesn't entail compromising your integrity dude!
STEELHED
Forumotion Member

There seems to be conflicting stories. Is this an error and something that will be fixed, or are these adds permanent and can only be removed if we pay?

Here's our forum.. We've had damn near 14 thousand visit it (Look down to the left at the Geo-locator), we have only 143 members.. YOU do the math.. You should be paying US!!!! You are NO longer going to get this free traffic..

http://strengthandhonor.forumotion.net/

Ok firstly i have had a forum with forumotion now for over 2 years and we are rated one of the top 5 forums in our category (games) with over 2000 registered members and over 150,000 forum posts. Previously there was an option to have ads for guests only, that option no longer exists.

My question is, I AM WILLING to pay to get the ads removed, however i would like to add my own advertisement in the forums. Technically speaking both win in such a case because Forumotion get paid TO NOT SHOW the ads and i get paid TO SHOW my own ads. I also get the option to add advertisements in the form which fits my requirements (ie Google text ads).

Please respond to my topic here if we can find some solution

https://help.forumotion.com/other-problems-f46/how-to-put-my-own-ads-t81092.htm#522808

Regards

Nina, they are permanent.. They've been trying to double-talk the whole thing but, it is concrete.. You will have to pay yearly to have ads removed.. They waited til everyone put their heart into their site, and are now proceeding hold a gun to our heads.. "Do you really wanna start over, Or pay us a fee?" Pretty chickenshit if you ask me.. I am willing to start over, I already have a domain name and have had thousands visit my forums and can be re-directed but, many do NOT... This is one of the cheesiest things i've ever seen...

Typlo wrote:Dear user,

I'm sorry for the inconvenience it may have caused, the ads are here to support our developers and the staff so we can offer you new features.

This is only a test for the moment.

I was told once that pigs fly, i didn't believe that as i don't believe the above quote. Utter rubbish and it's one of the lamest excuses iv'e heard in quite a while.
I hope i'm wrong and apologise if so, but i doubt it.

Sorry for the triple posts.. Apparently, the forums are so bogged down with complaints, they cannot keep up.. They are banking on the fact that they can make up for the departing subscribers ad revenue by charging the remaining subscribers. I think they GROSSLY under-estimated their user base's ad generated income potential..

Darren1 wrote:
All this winging and whining isn't doing anything but wasting your time, and my time chasing all these other topics.

You are giving the impression that you are more than just an ordinary user. Why? As far as I can see you're just a member like you and me. Do you know things we don't know? Why would we believe you? Please back up your statements.

We have not been consulted or warned. It's not very professional let alone showing any respect for your customers.

Made wrote:It's not that easy to just move your forum as FM doesn't give or sell our databases to us. How do I move 4,000 member and almost a million posts without a database? Do I have to lose everything?

Anyway, let's give the tech people some time to figure this out when they get back to work tomorrow. There's no use to freak out or speculate at this point, IMO.

It would be easy for me to move the forum. There are only a few sections I would need to manually copy. Please can anyone give a few ideas of similar forum providers. Luckily I didn't tie myself into getting a domain through FM and got it here in the UK from a reputable domain registry company. But what to do next should we want to move. I'm not a programmer. I actually haven't heard my members protest that much they might just want to accept having to see the ads, but I feel that this treatment is not justifying us staying with FM any longer. So please let the alternatives flow in.

Bundy wrote:My first post and probably my last....
I have only had a forum for about 6 months now with Forumotion, i knew there were going to be Google text ads, as i am a member of a sports forum hosted by Forumotion. That didn't bother me as once my forum became more established i was prepared to pay to have the ads removed. Now i have changed my mind and i will move to another host that's much more professional than what this host is here. The Ads that now appear are not a glitch, our Administration panels/ forum configuration has been altered, i repeat, this is not a glitch. What i have witnessed over the last couple of days with Forumotion is the unprofessional manner in which they go about trying to make everyone pay for ad removal with out any consultation with everyone here. This is kindergarten stuff and Forumotion should be ashamed of the way they have treated their long time members and supporters. Fine, try ways of gaining extra revenue, but to sneak in behind everyone's back door and practically give us all no alternatives but to pay up or put up with it seems barbaric to me.
As for those who posted about Epilepsy... yes it's real, unfortunately many suffer from it and these flashing banners are a concern to me with those that suffer with Epilepsy.

Where are you moving to? Which are the better forum hosts?

I am still amazed that we have not had a response from the admin team
do we mean that little to them

I have been with you for 3 years now and find you have little or no respect for us
weather a site is free or not if you are going to provide a service then do it right

Very disapointed with your service and response times once more

I will be looking elsewhere if we don't get a response soon...

Graham

I don't understand all the stress. Forumotion is a free hosting site and my members have all said they would be more than happy to pay a subscription for our forum which gives some very ill, housebound people the chance os social contact.

So we all pay a pound or two and get the ads removed, big deal.

I would rather pay for ad removal than have to start again somewhere else. Nowhere is perfect. what happens when a new/alternative site does something you don't like. Are you going to play hopscotch all over cyberspace.

Just relax.

Still have not received an official word, i will soon pass the info once i get to hear something.

Sanket wrote:Still have not received an official word, i will soon pass the info once i get to hear something.

Thank you

Forumotion officially joins Mirco$hite. We have to pay to remove porn ads, ad's we don't give a shit about and ads that can cause seizures. Well done! You can't fool me about this being a test, look under the options to remove ads.

Nina wrote:There seems to be conflicting stories. Is this an error and something that will be fixed, or are these adds permanent and can only be removed if we pay?

Yes! Someone sees my point. Thank you!

Guruland wrote:Ok firstly i have had a forum with forumotion now for over 2 years and we are rated one of the top 5 forums in our category (games) with over 2000 registered members and over 150,000 forum posts.

Yeah, my forum's number one in it's category

alicia wrote:Forumotion is a free hosting site and my members have all said they would be more than happy to pay a subscription for our forum which gives some very ill, housebound people the chance os social contact.

So we all pay a pound or two and get the ads removed, big deal.

Oh sure, I can ask the teenagers on my forum to donate money, big deal! It's illegal to ask kids for money but, big deal!


And to the people saying this kind of stuff has happened before - how long did it last for? Was it from Tuesday to Tuesday as it was said things might change with the next update?

Luckily I haven't received any complaints yet cause I'm nice enough to put an announcement up but my main concern is the content of the ads and I will definitely post a screenshot once I see it. I have seen some bad ones before, when not logged in and I already then didn't wan stuff like that on my forum.

Sorry, I was speaking from my own forum's perspective. We are small and exclusive, but I would happily pay the subscription to keep my forum a good place for my members to be.

I was just wondering, is this forever?
If it is, I'm sure that at least 50% of users of forumotion forums will abandon and spend about 50$ on year on pay forum and earn own money via ads.

Darren, people would probably have remained calm if we had some announcement beforehand or was told what was going to happen instead of it just happening and then getting conflicting messages from people, and even now we have no real answer. If this is going to be a fixed thing and we are going to be "made" to pay then why not just tell us? so people can decide what to do on hearing it instead of trying to bully people into paying or try and make as much money quickly out of peoples confusion.

Until the ads are removed, I have posted a message on the main page of my forum telling people NOT to click the ads.

kirk wrote:

wow99 wrote:Too late for the screenshot but I had an ad for these people earlier tonight with, as stated before, a picture of the top half of a woman in a bra. http://www.bravissimo.com/default.aspx

ok i will be sure to keep an eye out for it.
If anyone else happens to see the same ad please get a screnn and post the link.
to make sure it's the same ad

How about the ads with a female stating to CALL HER!! Many kids use the forums for one reason or another and I do not want them to see such inappropriate things on my forum. Who is responsible if the decide to "CALL HER"? I sure hope not me!!

I'm loosing faith in you Forumotion These ads are not making you any money they will lose you forums.

I have made a global announcement advising my members to boycott the ads as they are misleading and inappropriate for people with a medical problem.

Also I have advised them to install the following add-ons for Firefox.
This one blocks Flash ads and gives you the option to open.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/433/

This one blocks the ad and leaves a white patch where the ad would be.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865/

I'm sure all the people posting on this thread would have dealt with a problem on their own forums by now in a professional way. So come on Forumotion give us an official announcement and let us all get on with running our forums.

Sanket wrote:Still have not received an official word, i will soon pass the info once i get to hear something.

Forumotion - the dsyfunctional company.

FM is loosing members and destroying his reputation !

The Ads that now appear are not a glitch, our Administration panels/ forum configuration has been altered, i repeat, this is not a glitch. What i have witnessed over the last couple of days with Forumotion is the unprofessional manner in which they go about trying to make everyone pay for ad removal with out any consultation with everyone here. This is kindergarten stuff and Forumotion should be ashamed of the way they have treated their long time members and supporters.

That is the main truth about this comedy !
And now the last one is:

If the adds are undergoing a change for the better, wouldn't you rather have a little bit of badness now, and have less, or no adds in the next update.

Is he means, this will be on going until next update ??

Just put the code back into the forum script and stop with all this games FM.