Advertising Note - Please Read!

[hunter]

An important note about the advertising on this Web site:

The ads here are provided by Google through a service called AdSense.

We do not have direct contact with any advertisers. We don't share any personal information from this Web site with any advertisers (or anyone else for that matter).

I want to make that VERY clear.

We take your privacy very seriously, as that trust is what keeps this community together.

Again, we have NO direct contact with any of the advertisers on the site. They submit ads to Google which are matched up to this site based on complimentary content (i.e. Las Vegas related content).

[hunter]

I should also mention that we are interested in reports of bad behavior from any person whose ad you see on this site.

We will report them to Google.

[Steve]

I agree with Hunter 100%. If you think you are being spammed from posting to the Forums, please let us know and we will look into it. Google is very effective in handling this type of problem.

Steve

[Stephen]

I should also mention that we are interested in reports of bad behavior from any person whose ad you see on this site.

We will report them to Google.


Have not been here in a few days and now seems the ads you have here are larger in size than last time I was here. The ones on the left hand size. I hope you are making some good money with them.

There is one that it totally false advertising and you should not allow it on your website. The ad says "great prices for KA" and then will sell you a $150 seat for $275 during the dead period of mid week between XMas and NYE.

Please report them. http://www.ticketsguaranteed.com/

Thank you

December 27th, 2005
Time 7:30 PM
Number of tickets 2
Seats Level S, Section 101, Row E, Seat 3-4 (HOUSE DOOR LEFT)
The seats we can offer you are in price category CAT1

ORCHESTRA SECTION 102 ROW K $275.00 6

[Steve]

Stephen,

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Please refer to Hunter's comments which say, we do not have control over what Google puts on our site but we do have the power to stop it, which we will. This is an obvious ticket broker that makes their money by offering tickets at a premium.

Steve

[Steve]

Members will be happy to know that Hunter has blocked a lot of unwanted advertising from the Forum group. We both will continue to monitor it.

Steve

[hunter]

Yeah, we appreciate your feedback and want to make sure that the people advertising here are not taking you guys for a ride.

So, today we blocked a few more advertisers.

[MJNelson]

Can any one walk me through how to post a question or ask for some help
about Las Vegas

[Steve]

Can any one walk me through how to post a question or ask for some help
about Las Vegas



Can any one walk me through how to post a question or ask for some help
about Las Vegas


Well judging by the question you asked, it looks like you know how to post or it wouldn't have shown up. :)

To post a question just to to the proper forum and click on NEW THREAD. The banner is on the right towards the top. Type out your question and then hit SUBMIT POST. It's that easy. To reply to a question, just click on the POST Reply icon, then answer the queation and hit POST REPLY.

Steve

[Johanna7]

As for the ads, I don't mind them at all. May look into some of them. After all, there is no obligation to buy and it is a necessary thing.

This is a great forum and plenty of great information and it is easy to separate the wheat from the chaff.

[maeve]

Ads may be a necessary evil,:( the cost of doing business, but it's gone too far recently. When a POST IS TWO LINES and the ADS TAKES UP HALF THE SCREEN,:mad: it's time to make a change. Is this a forum for Las Vegas info:confused: or (and it looks like this is what it's becoming) an advertising forum.

[hunter]

Hey There,

I'm sorry that you have a problem with the advertising.

As you may have guessed, running a site like this costs money and even with the advertising, it operates at a loss.

Is a site with advertising worse than no site at all? I hope the answer is no but if the ads really bother you that much, we're sorry to see you go.

Despite the fact that we do have some ads on the site, it is still less than a lot of the ads I see on other sites, and without all the blinking, flashing ads that some sites use.

I hope you understand that we need to use advertising to offset the cost of running the Web site.

Best,
Hunter (and Steve)

[Steve]

Just to add to Hunters comments.

I was just going over some of the advertising on various threads and noticed that there may be 4 links in one post, three in another, two in still another and no ads at all in many posts. Most of the ads may prove to be very helpfull to our members.

Here is a thread that verifies this:
http://www.everythinglv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3417&page=2

The bottom line is that by viewing these ads, it helps to offset the cost of this 100% FREE website. If this type of advertising bothers you, just ignore the links and just read the posts. :)

Oh and By The Way...I don't see any ads on this post!

Steve

[VPlady]

While I totally understand the need for advertising to help cover costs, I find it bothersome that it is IN actual posts. Other sites that I use have it next to, above, and below the posts, so that I can read the posts easily, yet access any advertising that I might wish to. I hope that something like that might work for you, as the posts are now so long that it is adding needless pages to topics.

[hunter]

We did it that way for a long time and honestly, it just wasn't working.

We're not sure that we've found the perfect mix and I don't want to sound disrespectful to the members... We just need to have a situation where we can keep the doors open.

Thank you for your feedback. We're still working on this.

[hunter]

I should add that the ads are only in the top two posts on each page... Not every post.

FYI.

[legalois]

So the trick, then, is NOT to have your post be one of the first two on a page. Then you should have no advertising to distract from whatever message you're trying to get across.

[KenoMom]

I think the problem for some of us is that this originally began as a newsletter and we thoroughly enjoyed the information that was received. Steve was convinced along the way to turn this into a website and for most of us, I'd be willing to bet that it's been a nice transition and certainly one that has opened up the opportunity to share more of our mutual love for Las Vegas.

While I realize that running a website is a costly venture, it wasn't what we originally had and that's probably why the sudden appearance within postings of advertisements is bothersome.

On a personal level, I think the ads are way too big and I have no personal interest in clicking on any of them. But I'm also hopeful that after some trials and errors, some of this might change and go away (or at least get smaller). If it becomes more common within the forum, many of us might elect to merely read the front and forego the forum.

So all I'm urging is to keep in mind the original intent and I hope the proliferation of ads doesn't ruin a good thing :)

[Vegastraveler]

I for one have no problem with the ads and will click on more in the future.

[Steve]

As any longtime reader of the newsetter and the newer Forum website, you should know that everything we do is on a trial and error basis.

Do you remember how long it took to get all the kinks out when we went from emailing the newsletter to the website? I must have taken 3 months to get things the way we wanted it. The same for the Forum website..at least 2-3 months. The most important point to remember is that in both instances we listened to your input and we adjusted certain things based on your input.

As for the ads, they will only be in the first two posts. We are also working on the sizing of the ads to fit the post. I personally do not like to see the ads take up more room than the posts.

This is something that will take just a little getting used to but it was
necessary to do. IMO, it does not take away from the excellent content found on these Forums. If you don't like the ads, just ignore them.

Steve

[ChicChas]

I don't have a problem with the ads. In fact, a couple that caught my interest actually provided good information for me.

I think this newsletter and member forum is one of the best web sites I've run across since I bought my first computer ten years ago. Steve and Hunter, you do a great job here.

[polar]

I don't have a problem with the ads. In fact, a couple that caught my interest actually provided good information for me.

I think this newsletter and member forum is one of the best web sites I've run across since I bought my first computer ten years ago. Steve and Hunter, you do a great job here.

I am in agreement with ChicChas..thanks for all the two of you do!!
LOL,Polar

[togabill]

I have no problem with the ads. There are ads on almost everything that you read everywhere online. And, quite frankly, I'm not sure how an ad on the right side of the page that someone is reading or on a post that someone may have sent would be a problem for anyone. It isn't in the text, it's off by itself and it doesn't take anything away from the message that you are reading. Keep the ads coming, just for fun I like to check some of them out anyway.

[iam4nd]

The ads are no big deal at all for me.:)

[VPlady]

Thanks for listening to our feedback! Ads in the first two posts sound very doable for me (except again, I personally think multiple ads along the side will detract from a trip report as they tend to be longer than just a question posted). BUT, I understand the need for reimbursement for this site. I look forward to seeing how it all turns out.

[wiley]

The ads don't bother me at all. Like anywhere else, I read what I want & skip the rest. I really appreciate all that goes into keeping ELV going, and if the ads help, I'm fine with that.

[barfar1]

The ads are fine with me also. As said previously I'm use to them and have no problem blocking them out and if one does catch my eye, I'll click on it. You both do a great job by continuing to add substance to this site and I for one, appreciate it.

[Tweeets]

Hunter & Steve,
We don't mind advertising at all. We think it's a good idea...you never know when you're going to see something you may want or need. :)

[Vegastraveler]

Steve/Hunter just curious here, how much time per week do you put in per week working on the newsletter? 20ish hours or so?

Like I said just curious.

[hunter]

Steve does all the newsletter creation and I can't speak for him.

I handle the server maintenance, database stuff, security, etc... It varies quite a bit since some weeks it is quiet and others there will be major new security bugs to fix.

[Steve]

Steve/Hunter just curious here, how much time per week do you put in per week working on the newsletter? 20ish hours or so?

Like I said just curious.

I spend at least 2-3 hours per day putting the newsletter together and checking out the Forums. It is a great way to relieve stress. This doesn't include the time I spend with the footbal contests, giveaways and one on one help.

Fridays are my long day as I have to put the newsletter together, compose it, post it and send out the Google notifications. But I don't mind doing that.

I also have a very understanding wife that allows me to do this and never complains about the time I send doing it. :)

Thanks for asking,

Steve

[wiley]

Eileen,

Thanks you for being so understanding and enabling Steve to spend so much time doing all this for us out here in cyberspace (and LV).

[oldradio99]

I do not like the ads that now appear with the posts

Top and bottom were OK but side by side it is terrible

Just my 2 cents.

[anniep]

I agree..very annoying...

[Pimp_N_M]

Looks like they are trying to increase clicks. You'll probably get used to it. For instance I gouged out my right eyeball. This has perfectly cut out the ads. Just a little tip.

[Steve]

I merged the above three posts from another thread that was recently started. There was no need for a second one to be started.

I really wish you would give Hunter and myself a little time to try to work out a few of the kinks in our ad setup. You can refer to my post to see that we are indeed listening to your comments good and bad. (Like we always do)


Steve

[iam4nd]

Well let's see. We have a great website in the ELV with loads of information about Las Vegas. We have a fabulous forum with a lot of really nice people sharing information and ideas about Las Vegas. And all of this is FREE! I realize everyone is entitled to their opinion but a few ads on the side of two thread responses is certainly a reasonable exchange for all we get in return.:confused:

[polar]

I don't think these adds are anoying at all...actually I have clicked on a few..something I never did when they were top and bottom.
Just to compare, I just went over to my local weather channel site and counted twelve adds just on the first page... some of them were very distracting..from flashing colours,all different shapes and sizes..all over the place!! I really think we all should do our part and click on adds that we might be interested in!
This is how web sites pay for themselves..it has to come from somewhere.
LOL,Polar

[Pimp_N_M]

For those who might say that ELV is full of great advice. I point you to my suggestion to gouge out an eyeball. Not all the advice is good. In fact... I will go on record as saying that is a bad idea.

[PinkFloydActuary]

I realize everyone is entitled to their opinion but a few ads on the side of two thread responses is certainly a reasonable exchange for all we get in return.:confused:

Sure. In all honesty, one could add flashing ads, ads with sound, pop-up ads, and even racy ads and if the content is still good, I'll keep coming back. I appreciate that feedback is solicited on this site (as opposed to people who run their sites with "If you don't like it, take a hike" attitudes). Some people will not like the embedded ads...I'm among them because I think they clutter the posts. But that's just my honest feedback, nothing personal intended. I still like this forum a lot and appreciate that people take time out of their lives to work on it.

[Steve]

One of the things we are working on is to unclutter the ads that appear on the posts. Time frame on doing that is two weeks.

Steve

[hunter]

I wanted to give an update on this.

I spent some time working on the layout stuff but I've been side-tracked on other projects and haven't been able to get back to it yet to get things settled.

So, we're still working on this but we're not there yet.

[Nancy from Indiana]

Why apologize? It it wasn't for you 2 guys, we on this board wouldn't be here. Y'all do a SUPER job & THANK YOU!

[iam4nd]

What Nancy said!:)

[polar]

DITTO

LOL,Polar

[Steve]

Yes I have seen one or two flashing ads and I am very upset about it:mad:

Please bear with us... As Hunter mentioned, he is involved with a few projects that have taken longer than anticipated but once that is done, we will go full speed ahead in tweaking the ads.

Thanks for you patience. :)

Steve