9 Google Ads In A 1451 word Story?

[Flip-Flop]

I hope this is not what is in our future!

I was checking out @RichardWrites story listings and decided to revisit "Trusting The Triplets" 10/12/23.

I remembered it was a great little 1451 word, 1 chapter story. I was shocked when it loaded with 9 google ads! The short story

had streaming  ads mixed all thru it, and fixed ads between the comments! I have had trouble with google ads blocking

stories  from loading with an "AD REMOVED PAGE". Am I the only one to view this new google format? 😒 😒 😒

Edited February 16 by Flip-Flop

[Zombie]

4 hours ago, Flip-Flop said:

I hope this is not what is in our future!

Just skimmed this story + comments on my iPad and not an ad in sight. Zero, zilch nada

Maybe an issue with your device / browser / settings?

 

iPad 6, iOS 16.6, Safari

Edited February 16 by Zombie

[Bill W]

I've not encountered it yet, but it sounds like an absolute nightmare.  Of course I've got an ad blocker as well, since some ads have caused me computer problems in the past, so maybe that's what I encountered not just the ads themselves.  I hope that format doesn't spread.  

[drpaladin]

I've seen these ads lately mixed in the text. It startled me at first, but they don't bother me.

Keep in mind these ads along with Premium Membership are what pay the bills here and keep us online. Unlike other sites, we don't constantly beg members for donations to exist. The bandwidth, storage,  and software are all expensive and GA doesn't generate profits. We're lucky if we break even. 

I'll happily tolerate ads I occasionally click on knowing they keep the lights on.

 

[Myr]

While authors on the site provide content, Ad blockers for others or on other sites are at minimum ethically dubious.  Websites provide content to you without charging in exchange for display of ads.  If you go and take their content but provide nothing in return... that has a word I'll let you think of on your own.  As a website owner, I either pay for Premium or ad-free or whatever for the sites I visit, live with the ads, or I don't visit.

Many sites run a "Freemium" model, such as Gay Authors, where a mixture of paying members and ad-served members are enough to sustain sites... but as you look around and watch sites, news sites in particular, disappear, it is in large part due to this model going away.  I fully expect most sites to go full pay to play in order to survive.  Ad blockers just accelerate this process.

It appears that Google is getting desperate because of this seismic change in the internet, as an insane percentage of their revenue is advertising.  They are the ones that adjusted the settings on the site to add more ads.  I've adjusted them back 4 times now and they keep changing them.  Not sure what that tells you, but I can say that Gay Authors is running in the red right now due to dropping subscribers and severely dropping ad revenue.

I'll be exploring options because it is clear that the current path is not sustainable to any website. 

[Headstall]

I just started my Premium subscription back up again. GA deserves to be supported. Cheers.

[Flip-Flop]

First, I want to say, that I realize that the Gay Authors site is  not controlling the ads. I agree that it is Google, and their

desire to increase revenue, that is the problem. I was just shocked when I saw the lengths they were playing with to do it.

I was curious if I was the only one (the lab rat, so to say) viewing this change? I checked newly listed stories and they were all

appeared normal. After posting I went back to the 10/12/23 story and found, the same new format, just with different ads.

[Myr]

14 minutes ago, Flip-Flop said:

I saw the lengths they were playing with to do it

Google has decided the site needs to be on "auto-ads" so they are controlling what shows up. It's different for everyone based on browser, location, and other things.  I've seen some pretty stupid stuff and have been fighting with Googles settings... which they keep changing to suite themselves or ignoring my settings after a day or two.  Can't turn them off though. 🤷‍♂️

[Flip-Flop]

I hated hearing that this site was "running in the red"! I just joined with a Premium subscription myself. 💌

[Zombie]

ditto

[lawfulneutralmage]

  The problem is not one ad, but we are swarmed with them. If the greedy ###### at Google would scale down a bit, there would not be a need for ad blockers.  I am paying for the sites I use, including news. But I refuse doing so on sites where my data and I already payment enough.

[Ron]

It's interesting that I got "Safari can't open the page. The error: "The URL was blocked by a content blocker"." when I clicked on this topic to read it. I tried linking in from Headstall's profile and Flip-flops and got the same message while using my iPad. Now, here using Google on my PC I ran into no difficulty. I had no issues with any other topic on the forum page while on my iPad.

I get the need for ads. I subscribe to The Washington Post, and you can't read more than a couple of paragraphs of an article without running into an advertisement for something running across the page and dividing what you're reading or running vertically along one side of the digital page. We know what advertising allows for, but no one likes advertising except the advertisers and those making money from the advertisers, I guess. Other than by accident I have never clicked on any advertisement, so there's that.

I've paid for premium access to support GA in the past and gladly, but my circumstances have changed dramatically so I must put up with the advertising. Although, I refuse to put up with it on my television and I can't afford to otherwise pay more so I've cancelled my month-to-month plans, and I will end up not renewing those streaming video apps that have an annual plan when they run out. It sucks to become poor people.

[chris191070]

I've been a Premium Member for well over a year now, it's the way to go if you don't want adverts and it helps GA keep the site running.

Edited February 16 by chris191070

[ReaderPaul]

I am glad I have Premium access to GA.   I rarely had problems accessing GA on my desktop computer before becoming Premium, unless I was using a browser other than Chrome, Firefox, or Edge.  But on my phone -- ads out the proverbial ying-yang until I became a premium member.  If you possibly can I recommend Premium for GA.  If you cannot go Premium at this time, I understand -- I was there for a time.

I did not realize how many ads I was clicking around on my phones until I went Premium and was no longer dealing with them

[Flip-Flop]

Just went back to the story "Trusting The Triplets" 10/12/23.

Happy to enjoy it once again without the Google ad attack! I am happy that I am able to pay for the Premium subscription, but it .is  not really in everyone's  budget.

 @Ron "It sucks to become poor people." Been there, done that! 

Edited February 16 by Flip-Flop