Getting this started.

A lot of people email me and say "CMJ, I really don't mind if you want to run ads, it's pretty much expected these days," and I say "Yeah, well, we used to run ads but when I took them down the donations increased." So we're gonna try this advert-optional idea, and see where it takes us.

Anyone have any concerns?

I don't mind. Not even a little bit. If it helps get you where you need to be, go for it and stick with it. I love the turquoise skin dearly, but I'll probably switch off between that and the ad skin.

I'll likely switch to the ad skin right away. I wish I could donate more often then I do. But Things are tight here as well.. being able to chose to play with ads on sounds like a nice passive way to feel like I'm doing my part.. between the times I have some funds to spare.

How is this optional ad thing going to work? Will the site get more money if I switch to an ad-supporting skin?

If you switch to an ad-supporting skin in lieu of donating, then we'll lose money; the ads will likely bring in about a fiver or a tenner a day, spread out over a few thousand players. The money will go into the same place where the money that I pay for advertising with goes out of, so it'll likely result in some more advertising, hence more players, hence more donations.

We like to spend about fifty bucks a day on advertising, but since I got the tax bill and had to buy these plane tickets, we've not been advertising, so our numbers have gone down.

Fine by me, then. If adverts aren't obnoxious, and they're for things which don't piss me off, and they're there to support something I love - well, then, I'd be happy to whitelist II for Adblock if it helps you feed the lions and so on. I'll even click on them occasionally if it makes you happy.

I'd suggest putting the ads in the sidebars under the navigation links, rather than making the header even bigger to accommodate them.

On this subject, please could you say what exception filters to use so that the adverts definitely show? I currently use Adblock to hide the header and footer, just to somewhat reduce the amount of scrolling I need to do to see my buffs etc. This is what my II-specific blocking filter list looks like:
(Collected hopelessly unscientifically, by right-clicking things and blocking them until the page looked how I wanted. Probably there's a much simpler way of doing this, by looking at the page source or something, but oh well.)

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Improbable Reference Links - goo.gl/MRBnb -------------- Land Registry (map of Places) ---- goo.gl/bpkRR

I will definitely switch to an ad-supporting skin. You know this. (In addition to donating, not instead of. You know this, too.)

A lot of players have been saying they really want to help you but are so strapped themselves that they can't donate even five dollars. Don't know if these folks will more than make up for the others who think, "Hey man, I'm looking at ads. Don't have to donate, too." But they just might. It's sure worth a try, anyway.

It's been a while since I thought about Project Wonderful. Their process is rather different from other web ads. I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't know how they work at all -- maybe you could explain what's the best thing we can do to help you:

* Will just using the ad-supporting skin (without AdBlock!) get you money?
* Will clicking on the ads get you money?
* Will engaging in some way with the advertised site get you money?

Ya, running the ad skin is a 'on top of donating when I can afford it for neat do-dads and to help out.'

Knowing if doing so without clicking is good as I know myself and I rarely click on ads (which says something to how the island ad actually caught my attention way back when)... I do want to support the site as much as my cash strapped self can.

Yeah, this is where I am, too.

The fact that this is an option also means I can go back if I start having performance issues or something... frankly, the fact that the option thing even crossed your mind is pretty cool of you. That in itself convinced me to go with the option.

I'm also curious about Sessine's questions... I'll gladly help out (within reason, I'm not gonna buy a truck so that you get a few extra cents, but a click or two isn't out of the question), but I'd like to know how to do that most efficiently.

I'm alright with this, but I have to agree with Budd- a vertical banner ad under the buffs etc seems like a much better place than another thing in the header that makes me have to scroll even more to see my buffs while jungle fighting.

Project Wonderful (that's an affiliate link) charges by the day - not the pageview, or the click, or the conversion. However, more clicks/conversions/engagements/whatevers will get noticed by the advertisers, who will be more likely to bid more. So yes, using the ad-supported skin will get me money.

The advert's going in the header - that means that the logo graphic will move to the left, and the ad will go to its right, so the layout of the part of the site that you look at won't change at all.

If I know my Island meta-history, these ad slots were sometimes used in the past by players for the dissemination of rumors and other fun activities. Will that be going on, or, rather, will that be allowed to happen, again?

Yay for Enquirer format cross-pollination!

I see no reason why not.

I'm okay with this.

This is good, in my opinion. I haven't been able to donate as much as I wanted to recently, and now with a move in my very near future, I'm even more strapped for cash. I will be opting in to the ad skin. If it doesn't bother me too much later on, I'll keep it even if I resume my usual donations.

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Something something unintelligible gibberish something.

I don't know how typical I am, but here's how it works in practice with me.

I tend to donate for two reasons:
1) Because you need and deserve it.
2) To acquire shiny things.

I suspect that that about covers it for most people, I find it hard to believe that there's many people donating because they have too much money and are desperately trying to get rid of it.

In practice, it tends to be the second reason which triggers donations, a desire for some particular shiny. BUT this doesn't mean that reason 1 is irrelevant. When I do have a few squid spare I'm much more likely to spend them on Island shiny than on other shiny of similar personal value, since I reckon "...and I owe him this by now anyway, just for playing." Reason 1 builds the tinder pile, reason 2 provides the spark.

So will having adverts affect the impact of either of these things? Well reason 2, obviously not. Reason 1 not either, in my case. That's because I'm a regular forum reader and I'm aware of the situation as you've presented it to us. For more casual or newer players, I don't know. Your past experience would suggest that there is an impact there.

So you might want to consider ways to let new players (or all players) know what the situation is. I don't know how. Something that's short enough and easy enough that people are likely to read it. maybe under the ad a small note saying like "To turn off adverts see under preferences - skins - no donation necessary." and then in the skins preferences a short note explaining the whole financial situation. Something like that.

No problem for me. At all.

Do what you need to do to keep this wonderful experience happening.


D.

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The lunatics are taking over the asylum! Come with?

Also as a few others have said, I'd be willing to buy ads the way the Something Awful forums (used to? Still do?) let users buy ads, with a handy "advertise here!!!" click-through. It was simple to throw up your own bought banner with whatever message/click-through you wanted, which led to wacky hi-jinks.

No problem with the new setup at all, and looking forward to savings/a new job so you can have more of my money, and I can have more special comments!

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"Ain't nothin' left to do but smile, smile, smile." -The Grateful Dead

Seconded. As usual, the Hairy one reads all my thoughts and speaks them before I can.

-Rose

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moooooooooo Visit and help me finish the monster list: goo.gl/rpBGe (Ya'll mostly know me as CLOG, fyi)