Intelliwords

[drizzt81]

Hi all,

I assume that this "feedback" includes stuff concerning the main site. I am somewhat surprised to see that there are now the "intellisense" or whatever it's called adwords in the text.

In my oppinion, they are the second most annoying ads there are and rather distracting from the actual text.


There, my not-so-constructive feedback about them. I really wish they'd disappear, they ruin the otherwise so nicely done interface.

 

[AMD[H]unter]

Sigh. Kyle, you said this wouldn't happen. I am sorta disappointed in this.

 

[daphatgrant]

I just started noticing this myself, ohh well, got to pay the bills I guess.

 

[uzor]

Where? The only links I see on the front page are the article-related ones that go to the source. Unless Firefox is blocking them somehow for me, which I doubt, since other sites show them in FF.

::edit::
On refresh, I see them now. For the record, though, as long as they are clearly differentiated from regular links (some sites make them look exactly the same as their reg links), I've never had any problem with them. Do what you gotta do. This place is too valuable a resource to let die because of funding problems.

Also, are they per page view, or per click? Or somewhere inbetween?

 

[FrgMstr]

Well, there are a lot of folks that need to get paid now days to keep everything around here rolling. New cooling guy hired and soon four new video card editors not to mention the 7 on the Consumer section. This is test and we will see how things work out.

 

[Jovi]

Check another annoyed long time reader. Gotta do what you gotta do, but at the demise of readers.

 

[FrgMstr]

The only reason this is being done is because of people that block our ads. We lose about 20% of our revenue now days to people blocking ads. I looked into text advertising literally years ago but turned down the money because of my readers.....now I am having to put them on the site....because of my readers. Wish I could get that 2.5 years worth of money back now for being considerate.

We are now looking to implement technology to block all images on our site if the ads are blocked. Not because we want to...but because we are now seeing a real economical impact to our bottom line.

 

[uzor]

I actually like the ads here. Useful, relevant, and without all the bullshit you see on a lot of other sites.

 

[FrgMstr]

I actually like the ads here. Useful, relevant, and without all the bullshit you see on a lot of other sites.

Yeah, that has always been the focus, but things change I guess.

 

[belmicah]

Why don't you guys just pimp some hoes and get real [H]ard with them?


Naw just kidding, anyways, I understand all that you guys have to do to keep this thing afloat. Good luck and keep it going strong! BTW, do you have a donate ad in the main page? It might work (considering the dudes on this forum have $10,000 PC's).

 

[Darkala]

absolutely worthless to stoop to such a low level of advertizing. I think ill stay away from all but the forums.

 

[FrgMstr]

absolutely worthless to stoop to such a low level of advertizing. I think ill stay away from all but the forums.

Then again, if you feel the need to be a jackhole, you might not...

 

[lesman]

Well, all I have to say to that is pwnt.

Kyle, please tell us you wont put intelleTXT in the forums. I can get over it on the main site, but in the forums, it would be a mess, IMHO.

QFT....I don't see it posing too much of a problem on the main site, but people would be clicking on things accidentally every second, and it would get horribly annoying.

 

[MN Scout]

I'm ok with it. People have to get paid to keep the site running the way everyone wants. The site is running great and I don't mind them doing what they need to to keep it that way.

 

[FrgMstr]

Yeah, I don't mind the image ads, it just intelleTXT is annoying.

Yeah, I think you are right, it can be annoying. Don't know what else to do. Too many people think they have a right to our information when all we ask is that you dl the ads and they dont want to see them.

 

[FrgMstr]

Well, all I have to say to that is pwnt.

Kyle, please tell us you wont put intelleTXT in the forums. I can get over it on the main site, but in the forums, it would be a mess, IMHO.

It is being looked at and will likely be tested. That said, it will be a minimum of text ads, not 10 or 15 like some sites have.

 

[BoogerBomb]

How about just a plain old donate link? I myself dont like the IntelliTXT stuff but can deal with and at least you make them obvious unlike, as mentioned before, other sites that dont distinguish them from their normal links. Is it enough to stop visiting the forums or the main site? Not at all. Some people can act all childish over some of the stupidist things. Loyal HardOCP readers are finding out what its like to go from enthusiast only to mainstream, but at least HardOCP still maintains its enthusiast side.

 

[InorganicMatter]

You know, I'm going to go against the flow here. I actually LIKE intellitxt ads, they seem to flow with the page a lot more than a ton of flashing banners. I'd love you guys to pull the banners and use only intellitxt, sure would make the site a lot safer for work. As it stands, I constantly have to keep my fingers poised for an instantaneous alt-tab (for when someone walks by)...I've actually gotten pretty good at it.

 

[n64man120]

Not sure how easy this would be to implement, I'd imagine it has been discussed to some degree before...

What about extending the Genmay subscription to some overall member registration that includes the forums and main page as well, which is completely ad-less? Could set a price on membership which compensates for the lossed ad revenue, and even then some extra income for [H] as well. I'm sure the long time loyal members, which understand the need for ads, but would still prefer to not have them, would be more than happy to pay for such a membership.

 

[Oldie]

Eh, unless you happen to mouse over everything you read, I don't think it's really that intrusive. I didn't even notice them when I read it earlier. I'm pretty sure Kyle would like to run the site with NO ads if he could make bandwidth and paychecks out of thin air, but what the [H] is becoming is expensive I'm sure. That said, I really like the extra content you guys are pumping out, so ads or no ads, I'm reading it anyway.

Seizure inducing pop-ups are my only, not going there again, webrule .

Thanks for the good reading Kyle.

 

[BoogerBomb]

Eh, unless you happen to mouse over everything you read, I don't think it's really that intrusive. I didn't even notice them when I read it earlier. I'm pretty sure Kyle would like to run the site with NO ads if he could make bandwidth and paychecks out of thin air, but what the [H] is becoming is expensive I'm sure. That said, I really like the extra content you guys are pumping out, so ads or no ads, I'm reading it anyway.

Seizure inducing pop-ups are my only, not going there again, webrule .

Thanks for the good reading Kyle.

I usually get an uncontrollable eye twitch that is apparently the anger winding up. I think the adless front page with a paid subscription is a pretty good idea, if even for a test run. You never know until you try it.

 

[DragonNOA1]

Just go light on 'em Kyle. I move my mouse aound a lot (i guess since they keep popping up) and having these popups pop-up can get annoying. Please use common sense with them.

 

[lesman]

Ehh, I guess it's really not a big deal, and wouldn't hurt THAT much on the forums, either. I took a swing at the main site for a little bit and now feel as though it wouldn;t really make an impact.

 

[KennyT]

the main thing i hate about the intellitxt is that i have a tendency to accidentally run my mouse over them and booom no more article i have a new page popping up with crap i dont wanna see. picture adds are fine imo as long as they arnt overbearing.

 

[Megadeth_Guy01]

A truely loyal [H]'er would put up with the ads, I've just learned to ignore them. I threw a fit when we got the sidebar ad, but I've learned to come to terms with them.

 

[uzor]

speaking of which: Ad-free or intellitext-free [H]OCP for $3-4 month, purchase by the year? I am game. Though implementing it would likely be hard.

IIRC, its been discussed, but dismissed as a last resort. Kyle wants to keep this site free to as many people as possible, and a subscription model axes a large (insert random statistic here) portion of your audience. And maintaining/coding two different versions of the site, one ad-based, and one ad-free, is not a trivial matter either.

Given all that, between sub and no [H], I'll take the sub. Until then, I don't mind the ads at all.

 

[odoe]

I saw like 2 skimming the front page. That's totally non-intrusive and a non-issue. It's not like every other word is an ad.

 

[TECHKnight]

the main thing i hate about the intellitxt is that i have a tendency to accidentally run my mouse over them and booom no more article i have a new page popping up with crap i dont wanna see. picture adds are fine imo as long as they arnt overbearing.

boom no more article? it just throws up a little click here thing that if you move a away from goes away. It's not like it's open a page for everything you hover over

 

[uzor]

boom no more article? it just throws up a little click here thing that if you move a away from goes away. It's not like it's open a page for everything you hover over

TECHKnight, the thing is, that on some other sites, it DOES open a new page every time you mouse over one of them. I didn't even finish the article I was reading on the site where I found them, it drove me so nutty.

 

[AuxNuke]

<-- Very long time [H] reader here.

I think a lot is said about the appearance of a website when you first look at it. My younger cousin asked me "What hardware site do you read for reviews / news / etc?" I said "The [H] of course." After giving him the URL his first reply was, "Ugh, to many adds, I don't like it."

The [H] used to be a place for us "hard" guys to go and get the news / reviews straight up... with harsh abusive info that tells it just like it is and might even toss some profanity in there to convey a point. Thats what made this site unique... a bunch of crazy guys, just like me, who lived to overclock, kickass, and take names doing it.

The slow change over the years towards a more "commercial" approach has had a tendancy to push people like me away. I persure the news and I see a comment made that "this link might be NSFW" NSFW?!? I hope not! Thats why I COME to the [H]... to escape the doldrums that is every other hum drum commercial hardware news/review website. The addition of all of these advertisements, sponsors, intelewords, etc all just makes for a poor reader experience and a genral turn off to what this site has become; a money making machine at the expense of the readers. Hell, even as I type right now theres a Monarch add "bleeding and flashing" down the right hand side of my screen in the damn forums.

I know Kyle will read this and have the attitude of "You don't like it? Fine, piss off" and thats cool with me as it's his site and he can do what he pleases with his bottom line. But just hearing him say "losing 20% of our revenue" makes me cringe as to whats next. I guess the old addage Money talks and bullshit walks hold true.

File me under bullshit.

 

[Oldie]

File me under bullshit.

Sounds like a plan. Why do you think making money is evil. Should Kyle spend 100+ hours a week working for free?

I'll tell you what, go in and tell your boss that you'd like to take a 20% paycut to help make it easier on your customer; and then your opinion might be valid.

I for one see every effort being made to keep ads visible, but as non-intrusive as possible; and it's appreciated. A lot of the "annoying" forms of advertisement out there are a direct result of people blocking ad content on websites. If you're going to visit a site, it's only fair to help pay for all of the time and bandwidth put into it. Besides, it costs you virtually nothing; and you get great content that keeps you coming back in return.

 

[FrgMstr]

<-- Very long time [H] reader here.

I think a lot is said about the appearance of a website when you first look at it. My younger cousin asked me "What hardware site do you read for reviews / news / etc?" I said "The [H] of course." After giving him the URL his first reply was, "Ugh, to many adds, I don't like it."

The [H] used to be a place for us "hard" guys to go and get the news / reviews straight up... with harsh abusive info that tells it just like it is and might even toss some profanity in there to convey a point. Thats what made this site unique... a bunch of crazy guys, just like me, who lived to overclock, kickass, and take names doing it.

The slow change over the years towards a more "commercial" approach has had a tendancy to push people like me away. I persure the news and I see a comment made that "this link might be NSFW" NSFW?!? I hope not! Thats why I COME to the [H]... to escape the doldrums that is every other hum drum commercial hardware news/review website. The addition of all of these advertisements, sponsors, intelewords, etc all just makes for a poor reader experience and a genral turn off to what this site has become; a money making machine at the expense of the readers. Hell, even as I type right now theres a Monarch add "bleeding and flashing" down the right hand side of my screen in the damn forums.

I know Kyle will read this and have the attitude of "You don't like it? Fine, piss off" and thats cool with me as it's his site and he can do what he pleases with his bottom line. But just hearing him say "losing 20% of our revenue" makes me cringe as to whats next. I guess the old addage Money talks and bullshit walks hold true.

File me under bullshit.

Well, the bottom line is that it is not a hobbyist site anymore. More than a few people have put their lifeblood into this site working their asses off to make it what it is, and these guys have rent and mortgages to pay.

Has [H]ardOCP changed over the years, certainly. Has the industry changed? Has overclocking changed? Has our reader base changed? Yes. Yes. Yes. It ain't 1997 anymore and this is not the wild wild west of OCing. That place does not exist anymore. And sadly, us hobbyists are the ones that brought it mainstream and changed it....

 

[hity645]

Isnt there a way to allow certain sites to display images, but also keep image blocking on for othersites? If so maybe Kyle could ad a how-to in the FAQ or rules or someplace and see if that generates more revenue. I have no problem with the intelli words on the site but the forums would be chaotic.

 

[FadedSpark]

money makes the world go round, no biggie kyle

only issue I personally have is the fact its hard to read [H]Consumer any chance there is a color change you could do for consumer?

 

[uzor]

money makes the world go round, no biggie kyle

only issue I personally have is the fact its hard to read [H]Consumer any chance there is a color change you could do for consumer?

Its all CSS-based now, couldn't you just tell your browser to use a custom sheet for that page, and adjust it to what you like better?

 

[GilmourD]

Opps.. I'm one of those people.. when browsing at home.. usually the other comptuer sites I go to have ads plastered all over.. side bars, header.. every paragraph in the article.. so I usually have a firefox extension block pretty much everything. I'll turn it off for this site cause I like the forums, you have good info.. and your ad's arn't that evasive. I had no ideal you took such a hit

I take it a step further than that... I don't use anything to block sites besides my own mind. If a site has too many ads (or just completely sucks), I stop going there. It's like magazines that have more ads than articles -- I stop buying them. That's one reason I'm a devout [H]er. There's so much more content than there is bullshit, so the ads really don't bother me. Hell... I've clicked them a bunch of times because I've found them useful (like a sale at Newegg that I wasn't aware of).

If you read the main [H] page, what are there, really, 4-5 ads? Big fuckin' whoop. If 4-5 ads really bothers you, then what kind of wimp are ya? LOL

 

[uzor]

Edit: thought - have you looked into those ads that turn a couple words into hotlinks that people can click? Maybe be less intrusive, but prob more annoying..

If you go back and read the first post, that's exactly what this thread is about.

 

[SoulkeepHL]

Just out of curiosity, has any ever clicked on an intellitxt ad ever? anywhere? I know I haven’t, where as I regularly click through on the newegg or monarch ads because of the deals they list. That and I know the banner advertising is tailored to the site (e.g., monarch and newegg, two sites most any computer enthusiast buys hardware from), where as the intellitxt seems to be random, at least with the product it's hawking.

Also, I understand the bottom line has to be met, but an ad-free subscription based access to the site sounds like a good alternative to try to offset the losses from ad-blocking (and instead of using intellitxt, which can potentially be more annoying than pop-ups). And I have no idea what the back end of [H] looks like, (other than it being strung across a lot of hardware) but assuming it’s modern in its design in terms of db structure and php/asp/etc driven pages, adding another “interface” for the ad-less members view shouldn’t be that hard. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Mayhs]

if it keeps [H]ard hard, then its fine by me

 

[clean_me]

As a long time lurker since '98/99 I am 'annoyed' by the banner ads, everything is flashing and in your face. And now the intellitxt makes the site seem cheap. Almost as if someone is trying to hard...I'll still visit but in my opinion it makes the site look cheap despite the high quality articles, comments and news. This is a business though, so it's all a balancing act and this is an experimentation with marketing to see how 'we', the readers, respond.