Advertising on Escapist

[SnakeoilSage]

I keep my adblocker off for the Escapist because there are a lot of people here I want to support. But I'm just about fed up with the ridiculous ads I'm getting bombarded with. Over the past few weeks alone I've had these fun little experiences on multiple occasions:

-Sitting through a minute and thirty seconds of ad to watch a 1 minute video.
-Videos that fail to load after ads.
-Ads that freeze themselves, making it impossible for me to watch the video without reloading and watching the ad AGAIN.

I'm trying to be supportive here, Escapist, but you're not making it worth my time. If I have to put up with this kind of jump-through-the-ring nonsense I'll just stop using your website. I stopped watching TV for less.

 

[Queen Michael]

Just a friendly FYI- You mention something in the first sentence. Something that we aren't allowed to mention. And that I advice you to remove.

 

[Mezahmay]

Just a friendly FYI- You mention something in the first sentence. Something that we aren't allowed to mention. And that I advice you to remove.

I thought you just couldn't advocate using "it", unless admitting you use it turned off is the same as admitting any use.

OT: Yeah it's annoying. Some of these ads make me grind my teeth with anger. However, I can mute the ad and have another tab open to something I actually like. Once I discovered the magic of multiple tabs I stopped caring about ads.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

Just a friendly FYI- You mention something in the first sentence. Something that we aren't allowed to mention. And that I advice you to remove.

You're allowed to say adblock, the moderation here isn't based on keywords. You just aren't allowed to admit to using it or suggest that others do so.

I haven't had any ads before videos at all lately, which is odd. I do get video ads on most pages of the site now, though. Some of them have audio. Some of them cannot be muted. If I leave a tab open long enough, one of them WILL play.

It's very frustrating.

 

[Hoplon]

I paid the huge $20 for the year so i don't have to see them. cos i hate them, and like being able to contribute.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

I had a page with ads (the same ad over and ad really) that was twice as long as the site content itself one time.
A bit of hyperbole there perhaps though I took screenshot of it for fun.

Autoplaying ads.....nnooo,thankyou.
Epilepsy inducing ads....again..just, no..

If circumstances were otherwise, the escapist would lose a lot of visitors because of their ads.

 

[Elfgore]

Let me tell you what's gonna happen. A mod will come in saying the line "those ads aren't meant to exist. Please report it to the tech team." I'm the event you take the effort to actually screenshot and send the complaint, the exact same type of ad will pop up again. This thread will be locked and nothing will be changed. Your better off just paying the twenty bucks.

 

[SnakeoilSage]

Let me tell you what's gonna happen. A mod will come in saying the line "those ads aren't meant to exist. Please report it to the tech team." I'm the event you take the effort to actually screenshot and send the complaint, the exact same type of ad will pop up again. This thread will be locked and nothing will be changed. Your better off just paying the twenty bucks.

No, here's what will happen (read this in Liam Neeson's voice for best effect). The abusive ads will keep coming, one after the other. I won't be able to watch anything without being confronted by them. My efforts to bring the issue up will be confounded, every voice added to mine silenced. The people running the website will chose profitable lies over uncomfortable truths. But they will never see my money. I'll gladly walk away from this website and never bother with it again before I pay to fix a problem they manufactured. Manufactured so that they could squeeze one more dollar out of me, the way the games industry tries to squeeze every dollar with DLC's, subscriptions, and pre-ordered B.S.

If that statement comes with a measure of irony, you should know I learned it from this website. But that doesn't absolve them from using the same sleazy tactics. You see during my time on this site I've acquired a very particular set of skills. Skills that I have honed over years of watching The Big Picture, Zero Punctuation, and the Jimquisition. Skills that make me a nightmare to talk to in public. If the Escapist deals with the problem that will be the end of it. I will not complain, I will not bring up the issue later. But if they don't, I will look for better sites. I will find one. And I will unbookmark this one.

 

[Elfgore]

If we could like post here, you'd be getting one.

Seriously, that was probably one of the funniest things I've read in a while. I'm still laughing.

I only suggested paying as well under the idea you really enjoyed this site. Honestly, I would have left a few months ago if it wasn't for user groups. I hear NeoGaf and Giantbomb are pretty nice.

 

[SnakeoilSage]

If we could like post here, you'd be getting one.

Seriously, that was probably one of the funniest things I've read in a while. I'm still laughing.

I only suggested paying as well under the idea you really enjoyed this site. Honestly, I would have left a few months ago if it wasn't for user groups. I hear NeoGaf and Giantbomb are pretty nice.

I use humor to show that, frustrated as I am, I'm not speaking out with the irrational hatred that might make up this kind of discussion. I'm not here to sling death threats because I don't get my way. But there is a problem I'm having with the ads on this site, it feels more manufactured than just a series of glitches and I would like it addressed. 30 second ads that go away when they're done is reasonable. 90 second ads that force me to view them twice is not. I understand The Escapist needs to make its money, but there's a difference between earning money and scamming for it

 

[MiskWisk]

While I do have issues with the ads on the vids, they get a pass from me due to the fact they could be worse... which is a really bad justification but oh well. They aren't the hidden sound ads I get on KYM or the ad on Roosterteeth that decided that it would start playing loudly when I try to switch to full screen.

 

[Something Amyss]

I have ads just randomly go off while I'm on a page. I was reading something the other day and someone just started talking. Couldn't figure out where it was coming from and then it took me forever to get it to turn off, and then it crashed the browser. It's annoying to say the least.

The Escapist's ads used to hang my browser (a couple crashed my PC) years ago. I haven't run into anything that bad in quite some time, though I have seen some annoyances.

 

[giles]

I quite like the targeted adverts as they remind me of the page I was looking at five seconds ago. B&Q really want to sell me that CLS timber! Advertising something to me that I've already looked at doesn't seem worthwhile, especially in this case as timber doesn't really have competition. If I need wood, I need wood.

Haha yea I love how you get ads from amazon like "hey, friendly reminder: here's what you decided not to buy the last time!"
Well, gee, thanks.

OT:
I think the fact that being on the main site often loads a twitch stream of some dude I don't care about playing a video game/playing D&D I don't care to watch is more annoying than the ads.

 

[IceForce]

I thought you just couldn't advocate using "it", unless admitting you use it turned off is the same as admitting any use.

You're allowed to say adblock, the moderation here isn't based on keywords. You just aren't allowed to admit to using it or suggest that others do so.

But, isn't saying you've turned it off technically admitting to its use?

In order to turn it off, you have to already be using it, right?

 

[Mezahmay]

But, isn't saying you've turned it off technically admitting to its use?

In order to turn it off, you have to already be using it, right?

Yes, but it isn't actively denying ad views if The Escapist is whitelisted. I should have distinguished active use and whitelisting in my initial post.