Not seeing any myself using android chrome. No adblock or anything as I understand the need of sites to make money. However, anything that looks like an endorsement from a poster needs different formatting if it is actually a ad. Also, if I was a P and still seeing ads despite paying not to I would be quite vexed.

I thought it was just me! 🙁

I wondered why regular posters had suddenly started putting links to random shite in their posts.

At least make these links appear different to legitimate links (colour, double underline, or whatever).

Even if it was obvious, double underline or different colour, it’d still be annoying.

Second that. They also make you – the website owner – look a bit pikey. In my opinion 😉

You know you can just run a plug in and never see a skim link

That doesn’t help Mark build a sustainable business though.

Hmmm…not seen one yet on STW, but hate them on other sites.
Would cut down on my use of the site, and depending on whether it became annoying I might cancel my membership.

I still haven’t seen any auto links on here.

They seem to have everyone riled up! Where the hell are they ?

You probably have. Have you seen users linking to places to buy products that they mention? If so, that’s probably a skim link, though there’s no way of knowing which I why people are annoyed.

Edit: or maybe not as the one further up this thread has now disappeared…

nteresting point about the Classifieds as Skim Links will be doing something we, the users, are forbidden to do; refer to sites where products can be found at better/competitive prices to that being advertised here.

I stopped using Crash.net because of the intrusive links, pop-ups and banner ads. Don’t miss the site and will actively avoid any sites using this. Would expect this was switched off for Premier subscribers in the same way as the ads and if not I’ll go elsewhere and probably cancel subscription.

It’s odd but on mobile Firefox i haven’t seen any of these links.

I usually run ABP in ‘allow some non-intrusive advertising’ mode. When I saw these links appear last night I thought I had picked up some malware or something. Now I have unchecked the ‘allow some non-intrusive advertising’ option so don’t see any ads at all now, including these spam links. So in your quest for more advertising revenue, from me anyway you’ve ended up going from some to none.

You probably have. Have you seen users linking to places to buy products that they mention? If so, that’s probably a skim link, though there’s no way of knowing which I why people are annoyed.

Nope. I’ve been looking for links specifically and haven’t seen any.

Nope. I’ve been looking for links specifically and haven’t seen any.

Possibly your browser blocks them by default or you’re running a filter app of some sort.

I’ve never seen on either.

If Mark turns them back off, I’ll renew my P (which only expired on Tuesday…) and I promise not to wait three months to get a free gift 🙂

Drovercycles makes a very good point. Singletrack is a business. The fundamental purpose of a business is to make money, so that wages can be paid. This is actual people’s jobs, not some vanity publishing blog project where a few quid of ad revenue would be a Brucie bonus.

The challenge of monetising a website is a difficult one. How far can you push passive advertising (banners like on here) as a stream, how much sales resource (wages & commission) can you afford if you want to hunt ad money proactively, how much % increase on subscriber cost increase will the subscribers tolerate. All these need exploring.

Sadly, the web has conditioned people to think they have a right to something for nothing, in other words free content AND not being sold to, but if challenged to work for free or reduced earnings themselves, would soon complain.

Have they been turned off? I’m not seeing any – though Ghostery is reporting a skimlink thing which I hadn’t blocked… (and I don’t have any other freeloading software – TBH the only reason I have that is because it halves page load times here by getting rid of the share button, which I don’t think makes Mark any revenue – does anybody actually use it?)

The thing is, there are plenty of us on this thread and the forum in general who don’t expect something for nothing – there’s an easy way of telling who they are.

Sadly, the web has conditioned people to think they have a right to something for nothing, in other words free content AND not being sold to, but if challenged to work for free or reduced earnings themselves, would soon complain.

Says someone without a P 😉

When I used to frequent Briskoda a lot, I paid for their freedom access. Having the ability to sell stuff with minimal cost was a bonus.

But I’m quite happy with ads so no incentive to pay it. Have never been “offended” by advertising in print, digital or anywhere else. Its how we know things are available to buy.

horrible hateful things. Am getting totally pee’d off with having adverts forced on me all over the web

Take the Piss all you like Drac, you are certainly adding to the argument and thread.

You asked for opine opinion, you are getting it.

I’m also offering up another business case for you: here we go…

Set up a site, just an Advertising site. A site that holds no content other than Adverts. Charge each other £100 for a 2cm box with advert content in it. Then why not just link that to all the other Advert revenue generator sites and you can pass that £100 around between you. So acting like a Ponzi Scheme, where theres only £100 available and you just send around invoices to all the Advert contributors and gain millions £100…Just like Bernie Madoff did. He just passed around the same initial funds and waited until he had enough revenue then passed that around.
You can all spaff off about how many “clicks” & site impressions & new users had until the Pub opens, all you are in reality doing is targeting the same limited number of people who use the site and make them (by adding this function in) visit a chuffing advert site for Tudor Watches, nice.

You’re all just chasing the same amount of money, passing it to each other and charging each other for it.

And in the real world exploiting the public who because of a design fault in devices, and a human fault in designing thumbs, you get all sorts of miss hit scroll down and page swipes that hopefully catch the fat thumbed or lazy swiper out) and they inadvertently “press” the link and get shifted to another chuffing advert for Women Pants.

Nice business case you have.

I’d say if you’re losing money, cut costs. But I expect this new directive has come from above you in STW towers and you’re being told to Tow the Advert Generator Revenue Party Line like so many other sites are falling into.

Meanwhile the UX is frankly shite.

Thats my opine opinion that you generously offered we oblige you with.

Are they still on? I’ve made a point of logging out and (ahem) disabling any add ons that may have been in use accidentally. I haven’t seen any. I’m using Safari on mac.

Think they’ve been switched off now.

Shall we just never speak of them again?

*Shares*

*Shares*

Haven’t got one of those either 😆

Sadly, the web has conditioned people to think they have a right to something for nothing, in other words free content AND not being sold to, but if challenged to work for free or reduced earnings themselves, would soon complain.

I thought it was a spin-off of a paper magazine, that generated interest in it? Funnily enough I’ve not seen any, but then I’m on Mozilla with ABP running.

Given the number of classifieds-only users, that’d be my first port of call. No classifieds-only user is going to click through to adverts, or subscribe to the mag, or voluntarily donate from a sale. They’re profiting from this site more than the owners.

Do I have to put my pitchfork away?

I’ll keep it handy just in case it was a bug and they appear again.

monkeychild – Says someone without a P

if you read a little further up the page you’ll see I used to be a “P”. But the fact that my browser never remembers me (not sure why but STW is the only site that I have to login to every time) I don’t get the purported benefits until I want to post so didn’t bother renewing.

So have they been turned off now? We can finally mention Macbook SSD without it getting linked to a broken John Lewis page?

Is Rickrolling still a thing? Crumbs!

I think they’re great if they get rid of all the flouncing big hitters who think the forum is theirs and their god given right to have control over 8)

if you read a little further up the page you’ll see I used to be a “P”. But the fact that my browser never remembers me (not sure why but STW is the only site that I have to login to every time) I don’t get the purported benefits until I want to post so didn’t bother renewing.

Don’t come here with facts!!! Sheesh, it was tongue in cheek 😆

Is Rickrolling still a thing? Crumbs!

I’m a paper subscriber right now, but when I cancel that, I was planning to get a premier subscription to the forum specifically to avoid having it full of adverts and spam (and only for that; I don’t use any of the other premier functions). This, and anything similar, would stop me doing that.

“Hey, you’re a Premier User! So you get to decide if you want to see ads or not.”, is the deal you’ve made with subscribers.

It was awful, but it was only a short time-bound trial!

Or a terrible dream.

I have a ‘p’, and I don’t turn the ads off. On the whole they don’t annoy me, some of them are useful, on a couple of occasions I think I might even have bought something from one of them and you’ve got to cover the bills.

Skimlinks would annoy me, especially if they are indistinguishable from others. It’s not the sort of thing that would have me flouncing off but it might be what tips the balance when I’m wondering whether to renew or not. For what it’s worth I like stw and dont begrudge a subscription because it generally seems to be run on pretty honest grounds. This, reasonably or not, feels like a bit too much.

Badger badger badger badger badger, well played sir!

I really like this place.

I’ve got a sub and a P and a stack of a mag which I like, but haven’t got round to reading the last few issues.

I’ve been logged out on 3 or 4 different platforms last week, found it slow and difficult to log back in, and now this.

Not flouncing, but I do think Mark needs to think carefully about losing subs from some of us who have already given him cash up front, without even cancelling every now and then to get a free gift…

Either P means that you’ll not try to screw us and experiment on us, and perhaps will try and run something which works a bit better in terms of log outs, or some Direct Debits might get cancelled. But It’s a free market, and it’s Mark’s choice.

Yes they were switched off like Mark says it was a trial and if you look he did say he was going to push the buttons. Hence me chuckling at the tantrums, can’t be arsed to read something about cardboard boxes.

why not make classifieds for P members only?

Hence me chuckling at the tantrums

Chuckle away, but wipe that brown stuff off your nose first, it looks ridiculous.