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.

I spoke too soon. After making a change in the Admin panel I couldn't see it anymore but my members were very quick to let me know that they still can.

Well it's the same with most countries, the Italian and Spanish forums are going nuts about the ads, some forums have gone on strike, closing them down temporarily (on holidays) ... the Admins on those forums don't know what's happening either.. .no use blaming or asking the staff here, they seem to be in the dark as the rest of us.
You can however blame the 'French', they run/own Forumotion.

That's an interesting concept: everyone putting their forums into 'holiday' mode. I wonder how long it would take to make our point?

Yikes!! I have just discovered all of our member's profile pages have large colourful ads (not text) on them. How is that going to generate revenue for Forumotion?? It is just irritating. Thought it was bad enough seeing text ads in my admin login page as I am the only one who would see them.

Did, momentarily, check Members & Guests in Activate Ads which removed the ads from my forum viewing but not for my members. Quickly changed it back to All as I felt it was only fair I also bear the pain.

It seems that area where you can activate the adds now only has two options:
"ALL" and "Members and Guests" Doesn't make sense as both means one in the same.

PS: "Guests" has disappeared.

Yes, we know. That is one of biggest complaints, especially as the Guests option just so suddenly disappeared. Having just All & Members & Guests to choose is a crock as the second choice just stops the ads from being seen by the Admin (me).

efbe wrote:Well it's the same with most countries, the Italian and Spanish forums are going nuts about the ads, some forums have gone on strike, closing them down temporarily (on holidays) ... the Admins on those forums don't know what's happening either.. .no use blaming or asking the staff here, they seem to be in the dark as the rest of us.
You can however blame the 'French', they run/own Forumotion.

This is how i perceive the situation....Forumotion have gone bang and hit everyone with ads with the hope they will get members to quickly pay for ad removal, i think the forums and the options for guests only to view ads will return but not after they have accumulated enough money to their satisfaction, hence the no replies from the owners of Forumotion, it might take a few more days, possibly weeks before our forums return to some type of normality. I guess (and i'm only guessing here) that a lot of members will panic and react by spending money on credits, also some forums have been hit with an increase to buy credits, it's not only here but with all the non English speaking forums. I guess now it's up to the individual to decide if they want to take the chance and spend some money (of which some have not) or just ride it out and wait and see what happens.
My personal thoughts only.

Made wrote:

Sanket wrote:Guys, please everyone needs to calm down. I can understand the problems & anger you feel, however there is nothing that could be done until we hear more on this issue. Discussing, bickering on about the issue & other random things related to database transfer etc is not helping at all.

Sanket, I'm really sorry if there are people who have gone overboard about this but most of us just want an explanation and to know exactly what to expect in the future. IMO, the lack of communication and mixed messages we've received from FM is what has caused this chaotic situation. Is it a glitch, is it a test, is it here to stay? Well, then just say so!

Exactly my thoughts as well. I accept there has been a lack of communication. I personally regret this & would never like anyone in such a situation. You see, i have been getting negative reputation for my replies in this thread. However, i still would keep on replying. All of you all need to just relax & wait for an official reply. I have been doing everything in my hands to get information related to this.

Sanket wrote:All of you all need to just relax & wait for an official reply.

Haven't Typlo posted about this already?

Link : https://help.forumotion.com/other-problems-f46/how-to-deactivate-ads-from-my-forum-s-t39496-60.htm#523026

Quote :

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.

Sanket wrote:

Made wrote:

Sanket wrote:Guys, please everyone needs to calm down. I can understand the problems & anger you feel, however there is nothing that could be done until we hear more on this issue. Discussing, bickering on about the issue & other random things related to database transfer etc is not helping at all.

Sanket, I'm really sorry if there are people who have gone overboard about this but most of us just want an explanation and to know exactly what to expect in the future. IMO, the lack of communication and mixed messages we've received from FM is what has caused this chaotic situation. Is it a glitch, is it a test, is it here to stay? Well, then just say so!

Exactly my thoughts as well. I accept there has been a lack of communication. I personally regret this & would never like anyone in such a situation. You see, i have been getting negative reputation for my replies in this thread. However, i still would keep on replying. All of you all need to just relax & wait for an official reply. I have been doing everything in my hands to get information related to this.

Thank you, Sanket.

I have already read that.

I am talking about fixing of the issue & the exact reason as to why this happened.

Sanket wrote:I have already read that.

I am talking about fixing of the issue & the exact reason as to why this happened.

The reason is to make more money to pay the development team so that they'll keep working on new features for forumotion. Typlo said it was just going to be used for the moment, so I'm guessing everything should be back to normal by tomorrow or Monday. If not, then a week, if they want to keep their forum owners using forumotion.

Well its your personal choice to deduce that inference from his statement, i however would like to know more on the issue.

efbe wrote:
I think you will find that that is incorrect, it's Forumotion who have changed what advertising you see, remember you did have a choice before this crap started, banner ads or text ads

I'm talking about the ad content. Yes Forumotion can choose what advertising company they go through (Google Ads, Doubleclick.net, etc), but they can't decide what ads get shown. So there's no point whinging about a weight loss ad or whatever other ad that goes against the ethics of your forum.

Prizm wrote:

efbe wrote:
I think you will find that that is incorrect, it's Forumotion who have changed what advertising you see, remember you did have a choice before this crap started, banner ads or text ads

I'm talking about the ad content. Yes Forumotion can choose what advertising company they go through (Google Ads, Doubleclick.net, etc), but they can't decide what ads get shown. So there's no point whinging about a weight loss ad or whatever other ad that goes against the ethics of your forum.

It's a bit more than 'weigh loss' no-one has mentioned weight loss as far as I have seen.

There are pet forums that have ads about selling animals, there are flashing banners that people with illnesses can't cope with, there are add for selling cup D-KK bras with pictures that not everyone (kids) wants to see etc etc.

SophieDophs wrote:What can I say? Except, Forumotion... SHAME on you!

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 wish I could believe this, I really do, but we all know deep down that something underhand is going on here.

You have not even afforded us the courtesy of advance warning that you were going to force these advertisements on our forums. This is sharp practice, indeed.

Couldn't agree more
This is a very underhanded act that needs addressing NOW

Graham

This is totally unfair. WE are forumotion, and now we are earning them money.
Look how many members are on this official forum, I think that they will earn enough if they place ads here.

...but nothing free today, we will soon have to pay air.

Dear users,

We at Forumotion are deeply sorry that this decision has been hard to accept for you and your members.
It's necessary for us to find new ways to generate revenues, and like all other free forum hosts on the market (we were an exception until now) displaying ads seems like a vital solution.

This said, nothing is permanent, we are studying other ways to generate revenues and if you have any suggestions, we will be happy to listen.

Best,
Forumotion Team.

Please also send me a screenshot of the ads you consider offensive, and they will be deleted.

Typlo, what is hard for people to accept is the way this has been handled.
No notification whatsoever, followed by conflicting posts regarding permanency, and intentional vs error, followed by complete silence to member's questions.
Forumotion is not the only free forum to offer an ad-free service, so please don't state that it is, especially when a simple Google search proves otherwise.

As for ways for Forumotion to raise funds, making ad removal a paid option is your choice, but it is wrong to do so without forewarning your client base.
Furthermore, requesting donations as a way to keep it ad-free would have seen a lot more support than making people feel like they were being extorted.
Also, offering to sell the exporting of forums would raise funds for Forumotion that they will miss out on as people leave due to underhanded practices that insult and infuriate them.

I would rather pay top dollar to a company I trust, than a single cent to a company that I feel abuses me.

Letting us buy over our database would be a good way to generate revenue.

I must say I am really astonished about this matter !

Don't get me wrong, I believe paying 10 EUR for 1 year without member-ads is not too much, especially for the quality of the forums and its customizability.

B.U.T: you make me feel like a dork now, as I thought I had found a fine forum (with limited ads, or none for members), compared to a dozen I had tried before. And now, all of the sudden (and after convincing my members of the choice of this forum) ADS APPEAR, and the "Guest only" button disappeared...
NOT a very fair way of doing.

Again, I understand the 10 EUR/year...but you should not give us the impression that ads can be limited to GUESTS and then change it afterwards. At least adapt this to newer subscribers to the forum, not the already users. In commercial contracts this is the way it is done also: existing users keep what they've signed up for originally.

Thank you,
[26]Col.Goldman
Clan leader 26 Airmobile
http://26airmobile.forums.cl/

Goldman26 wrote:
Again, I understand the 10 EUR/year...but you should not give us the impression that ads can be limited to GUESTS and then change it afterwards. At least adapt this to newer subscribers to the forum, not the already users. In commercial contracts this is the way it is done also: existing users keep what they've signed up for originally.
http://26airmobile.forums.cl/

I like this idea.

Yes, I also understand that Forumotion needs to be paid for and 10 Euros a year isn't a big fee (I may end up paying it).

The thing I have a real problem with is the lack of warning, and then the lack of clear explanation about what you were doing for two days. I am really quite surprised that none of you were able to anticipate the kind of reaction doing that would receive. You should probably remember that for the future!

Oh well, what's done is done.

Thank you, Typlo, for informing us about what is going on. It is much appreciated.

While most of us understand the need for Forumotion to generate much needed revenue, I do think the suddenness of what happened & the lack of any information or consultation caused much bewilderment. This led to anger in some, especially when no real explanation was offered. I know I felt a bit like a mushroom. Kept in the dark & fed BS. At least some light has been shed on the situation, now.

LOL the staff "is deeply sorry". That is so believable!

But thanks for putting your two cents in, Typlo. Hope it is as you say it is.

rhe, they're not deeply sorry, they're "deeply sorry that this decision has been hard to accept".
There hasn't been an actual apology for their poor handling of the situation, nor the disrespect shown to their clients.
Forumotion's continued poor form is just upsetting me further.
It's amazing what a genuine and simple apology can do to smooth ruffled feathers... but even that seems to much too expect from Forumotion at this point.

BTW, I'm not normally this snarky, but the continued poor handling of this is just making me angrier and angrier

My message might have been misunderstood, but I was also making an apology for the lack of communication and the way we abruptly added those ads on your forums.
This was only meant to be a test in the first place, we didn't think we would have so much feedback on the situation.

In reply to an earlier question yes i paid for them to be removed, as soon as i did they removed the ad's in an instant.

I will be very very upset if i have paid for these removing and then everyone has there's removed for free, I was told in one of the threads that if i want them gone then i had to pay for this.

Still unsure to whats going on here and looks like the staff know as much as us.

Is it a test or isn't it that's the question.

From Typlo's two messages I would think that it it permanent until other ways of generating income have been found. So not really a test or temporary.