BOL Round Table

Obliviously FB is not the best example. But take an iPhone free app vs a paid app. What does the paid app offer that the free app does not??? Adds!!

I understand where you are coming from but when you have people paying 110 bucks a year for your service and you throw in bush league pop up adds people get upset.

Just my 2 cents and I know it's not worth much. At least you are an owner who will listen to the people and we appreciate that.

I hope that was a joke....

Well I can say the fixes are not working yet. Clicking the x on the add does nothing on my screen.

I understand ads and work in a business of user interface and know how important that is. I find it less of a concern that you have ads and more of a concern at how often in the past 3 months I get the oops message. Also pushing out new ads without telling anyone about it, you shouldn't be suprised at the response you are getting. This is not a free site and you already had ads. Your customers feels used and taken advantage of.

Perhaps a little less spin on the back end and a little more work on the front end and you would not have the backlash you have.

Just a customer service tip.

Also, not everyone cares that there are 5 writers instead of 3 or 4. It might be a big addition to you, but is that what your customers are paying for.

My rant is done.

Please understand that I am not "spinning" this. I am being honest with you guys.

Everyone on the internet is trying to figure out Mobile and mobile advertising. Global internet usage is projected to be 50/50 PC to Mobile by 2015 and company's aren't monetizing mobile at the same rate rate of the PC. So, there isn't the sophistication that we have in ad serving.

We are working to fix the problem and will dig into it more tomorrow.

Again, I apologize for the inconvenience. I completely understand the negative impact of obtrusive ads and that was not our intention.

Thanks for putting up with our bitching, Lucky.

Guys -- I don't mind you bitching. Just understand that we are not making excuses about this. We recognize it as a problem and will get it worked out.

I am juggling about 5 different things right now and everybody is claiming "high priority." I apologize if I came across as less than genuine in my previous posts.

Just got an email from Laura in our ad department. The boxing ad is definitely malfunctioning from the ad server. They will get it removed or fixed.

Anyone who would seriously accept having 2 fewer writers in exchange for no ads has fallen off their rocker. BOL is the best (BY FAR) on the internet because of the commitment of Shannon to give us the best, hardest working staff.

Frick that nonsense. I'll take the "intrusive" ads all day long.

The funny part is, companies wouldn't pay for advertising if it wasn't working to some degree. The golden rule of advertising (or hating advertisers really) is that if you want the ads to go away, get people to stop buying the products.

I appreciate your response and I am not asking you to apologize for big products and a 5 man staff. No one begrudges you for wanting to have the best site.

We just want to be heard, and have our concerns validated. Some people on here are mad that the ads are there. Some are mad they were not told ahead of time. Some seem mad about the response. People just want to know they are heard and that you care about the voice of the customer just a little bit.