Ad-blockers, subscriptions and money? ATS is worth $2 million and makes $466,920 a year

a reply to: Blackmarketeer

Blackmarketeer you're as smart as a whip, and you're using an enterprise machine to pursue and post on ATS? Really... but your overall point is valid.

The costs incurred for losing a member would be greater than the profits gained from forcing a member against their will to disable their ad blocker. I think ATS should be thanking their loyal members instead of telling them off. I've already had a warning for my opinion before on this subject, even though I did not break the T&C. Sorry in advance, please don't ban me ATS is meant to be about denying ignorance, not encouraging it!

I wake up this morning, and this is what I see on my homepage (which for now, is ATS). It covered most of the top links and I had to refreesh the page to get rid of it. That's not intrusive at all is it? Why should any of us be upset?

a reply to: DumpMaster
It depends what kind of "ads" you allow on your website. Thinking back in the good ol days, at least it were advertisements for real products, not stuff like how to slim fast and all the other scams. However I also understand it´s difficult to check each ad. But then on the other hand, as long as the partner that provides the ads does not burn his fingers now and then, they will do it.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

I demand you tell me the use of your finances. Where is all that money going?

You just waltzed into a trap without looking where you were waltzing.

I donated to this site under the premise that it was in need of financial assistance-if that is not the case then I would feel cheated. I understand the need to generate revenue but I can use my homepage and email free of charge and ad free.

There is another way-make the ads not so intrusive. Clever advertising only needs to distract your vision for a fraction of a second to be effective and there will be no need for pop ups or those god awful flashing monstrosities. Excessive ads will drive away the very folk you are hoping to attract.

Perhaps a subtler approach is best; a hashtag has proven to be a very powerful thing.

originally posted by: ignorant_ape
a reply to: daaskapital

the " worth " of a website is some fantasy number pulled out of someonse arse [ IMHO ]

Agreed. I have a website that earns about $100 a month in ad revenue, if I'm lucky. According to this website I am earning $2100 a month. If only.

I doubt very highly that I would waste any money on this site should they move to a subscription model. The main reason why is actually very simple, this site provides virtually nothing of its own. Almost everything on here is user generated content, content which is given freely by the poster for the rest of the community to read and comment on. ATS provides little in the way of officially generated content, NLBS is the only one I can think of off the top of my head, and honestly those can be hit or miss at the best of times. If ATS is serious about wanting us to put money out on this site, they had better start producing some worthwhile content of their own to justify the expense otherwise it really isn't worth it.

As far as ad-blocking software yeah I use it and that isn't likely to change anytime soon, i've gotten virus' and malware in the past from those freaking ads, so yeah I'll stop using the site long before I ever stop using ad-blocking. Besides advertising online has more options these days than just those ridiculously annoying pop-up/banner ads we always see. In the last few years I've noticed a lot of sites moving to text ads and static ads (both of which routinely slip past ad blocking software and aren't obnoxiously intrusive) - Maybe that is something ATS should consider rather than freaking out about ad-blocking software and threats of a sub service... just a thought.

Ads don't usually bother me unless they 'take over' what I'm trying to do or slow the performance of my system. When I hit play on a video ... I expect to watch that video ... not be held hostage by a 30 second advertisement. Slow my computer ... and you'll be adblocked for sure (don't expect me to not defend myself).

It is now extremely rare for me to even pay a visit to Fox News. They're dumbasses (no offense to our own Dumbass). The moment they stopped caring about their audience was the moment they lost relevance. I saw 'em try to fix that, but they couldn't keep up with the endless ploys of the advertisement industry.

Here: The ads are kept in check. Then they become a problem for contributors. They're NOT IMMEDIATELY addressed. Tons of complaints surface. Problems taper off. Rinse and repeat. LMAO ... Nuh-uh. It's like having to "Press 1 for English."

So........

I have for many years like most members lurked, then found a thread that we needed to comment on, then made a few threads myself. even got a few on the front page!

and although i agree that advertising is the reason ATS is still here, i would prefer some of the adverts be more for the members and type of site this is, ATS isn't Amazon, Ebay or other selling sites, it relies on member input to be here,

its catch 22....

for example, if you run AdBlocker, certain aspects of the site dont work,

if you block sites from setting cookies, you cant log in!!!



and keep getting this message:



it appears that ATS have decided to go this route, and locked down the site,

Personally i hate adverts, i know why they are there, but i hate them, i am lucky at work, we have very strict firewall settings, and can get some items blocked, but adverts are a pond for malware, and can lead non-confident internet users down a OS destruction path,

I love ATS, its my go to site, but...... these changes are too restrictive

also cant help but notice that in the 11 pages of this thread, only one MOD has said anything, why the silent treatment???

before the haters start taking what I've said, i'm trying to say ATS is heading down a path that might be self destruction, i dont want that, I have always said ATS is the place for experts, we have the members, skills to get the answers that other sites fail at, in my eyes lose that skill, you lose the edge,

I will not stop using my adblock software, I use it now like another form of anti virus / web safety net, in my line of work a bad piece of malware can destroy data, and that cant happen,

Peace!

Because as it stands, a cursory search shows that abovetopsecret.com is worth $2.1 million and has the potential to make $466,920 per year

If that's true.

I need to start a website.

Also you can cut that in half for the IRS bill.

Cut even more off of it for website hosting, and servers.

May sound like alot.

But after FIXED COSTS, and Variable costs.

Net revenue is significantly lower.

originally posted by: Phatdamage
if you block sites from setting cookies, you cant log in!!!

and keep getting this message:

it appears that ATS have decided to go this route, and locked down the site,

We've always required cookies.

And, I've been consistent in consistently being consistent in stating that there never has been, and never is, anything inherently wrong with cookies. I currently have over 100,000 cookies in my primary browser; I never delete them (unless I need to delete domain-specific cookies for testing). I've also never blocked ads. I've never had any problems.

I love ATS, its my go to site, but...... these changes are too restrictive

The only changes have been a site-wide, top-to-bottom, total revamp of our entire ad delivery process to include nearly 70% of what's called "acceptable ads" and the other 30% from highly reputable suppliers. I spent three months on it.

I use it now like another form of anti virus / web safety net, in my line of work a bad piece of malware can destroy data, and that cant happen,

There has been no documented case of malware coming directly from simply displaying an ad in over five years. There is still the risk of malware coming from sites that are the landing page for ads, but all our current providers scan for that.

a reply to: Phatdamage

also cant help but notice that in the 11 pages of this thread, only one MOD has said anything, why the silent treatment???

What good would it do them? They'd just get the same or worse treatment than SO got.

a reply to: IlluminatiTechnician

There is an [X] at the upper-right of the ad to close it.

Also, clicking anywhere outside the boundaries of that ad will close it.

It only appears when your cursor rolls over the original top-of-page ads.

I'm just curious as to what a community like this pulls in annually. You know, before all the hard costs.

I'm sure it's an undertaking and decades to make large, and while my curiosity is stirred....I'm in no way prone to making a board like this.

Some say one amount, others quote another, some state nothing at all.

So what's the ballpark?

a reply to: BlackboxInquiry

With or without the CIA funding?

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: BlackboxInquiry

With or without the CIA funding?

Both. lol

originally posted by: Phatdamage


also cant help but notice that in the 11 pages of this thread, only one MOD has said anything, why the silent treatment???

1) SO can answer any questions better than most of the rest of staff.

2) I do not and have not used Ad Blocker on ATS since not long after joining back in 2012, nor have a disabled cookies since them.

3) Absolutely NOTHING bad has happened to my computer because of number 2.

There you go, a staff member other than SO has posted.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Firstly thank you for responding to me,

ok, so i'll agree with you on this point

There has been no documented case of malware coming directly from simply displaying an ad in over five years. There is still the risk of malware coming from sites that are the landing page for ads, but all our current providers scan for that.

but, it is know as mavertising, and yes ATS may be good at stopping these kinds of attacks, but are most other websites??

McAfee has identified, in their Threat Report for February 2015[19] that malvertising is growing quickly on mobile platforms and is expected to continue to grow rapidly, targeting mobile users. This year has seen attacks against, eBay, answers.com, talktalk.co.uk, wowhead.com and many others

I use AdBlock because ATS isn't the only site i visit, i do visit (alot) YouTube, and the use of Adblock stops adverts, before and during videos. YouTube and FB have been bad places for viruses, albeit not as much any more

with the cookies, i even created a thread about it What is 'cpv2tracking' running behind ATS?

and there have been cases of cookies being infected (although again, as an attack, its numbers slow)

How can a cookie threaten a computer?
A cookie itself cannot harm the computer, as it does not and cannot hold code (therefore the cookie cannot perform an action itself). However, the cookie can support (help) malicious actions to be taken on the respective system. Even more, being a plain text file, they are vulnerable, meaning that they can be “harvested” by other applications.

Source

I guess what i'm getting at, is have your new restrictions been for financial gain, or security purposes? reminds me when Microsoft said they would introduce DRM, they wanted to introduce restrictions, but realised they would lose to much, and retracted it,

Like i said on your thread "New ATS Home Page (And More) Is Now Live..." when i said "i do like it, is there a way you can have a setting to let us chose our own design?"

Apologies for grammar and brevity, i am currently at deaths door with man flu

I just feel the need to interject here...I was a lurker for over five years and joined in 2010 because I finally felt the need to comment.
I have seen many familiar faces come and go. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse.
ATS has been the first site I visit when I wake up and the last I check before I go to bed because the community at large combs through the bs of the news to find the stories that might directly impact my life. I am thankful for that.
Why are people hung up that SO and company want to make a living providing this site for us to exchange ideas?
I can't pay money directly to the coffers due to being economically challenged, but I click on the occasional ad hoping that a few nickels go their way in appreciation of the service provided.

Has the quality of content dipped since my join date? Possibly. But that is not the fault of staff. WE, the members create the content. And I'm at fault the same as many others that I don't create threads to share when I am perfectly capable of doing so.

I'm not going to suck ass, but I love ATS. I always will.

a reply to: IlluminatiTechnician

Your screenshot here? Ive never seen such a thing...not even close in over 5 years. I get a few small ones who go away fast, no auto-plays, pop-ups. ...and the only thing Ive ever blocked was pop-ups like most people.

All these complaints?! Ive never had issues. Ever. So it cant be the site...and thats on 5 completely different and average devices. Either wi-fi or my data plans or my work server (city gov). Nothing.

So, look. If all these ads and such are ticking you off...I suggest you analyze where you browse, sites you visit and click on.

Honestly...your screenshot here I have NEVER seen anything like it or size or page covering. Never. And Im just an average user....so...it has to be related to a degree on injectors through your browsers and servers based on your viewing habits, and of course, a few from ATS.

As I read these posts Im looking at a full screen of ATS with DENY IGNORANCE borders. Period. Switch pages? One small ad in one corner.

May I suggest something here folks? Dont block any ads...but do the simple block popups in your Internet Options. Not the same...but there is something to that for me.

Try it.*

* I support solicitation for support, necessary advertising to support this site (ads)...and understand that some ads are injected by advertisers based on viewers habits.

GO ATS!