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SBNation on the verge of driving me away


I love Stampede Blue. And Talking Chop. And Indy Cornrows. The whole thought of blogs for fans, by fans, is incredible. But the advertising on SB Nation is about to make me leave. It's not that I don't want to see ads. I understand that ads pay the bills. But when I'm trying to read your site, do NOT put detergent ads in my face that make me hunt down a "Close" button just to read the article. Not only that, I'm on a pretty fast internet connection that grinds to a halt while the 57 different ad networks all load their flash and javascript ads. Please, SB Nation, find less intrusive ads. I might even click on one if they're relevant, but when they interfere with my purpose in visiting your blogs, it makes me want to leave and never come back.

I will point out that as of right now, the mobile version of this site is virtually ad-less. Please keep it simple, folks. You have a chance to get this right, by using sensible mobile ads and not making me angry while I read your blogs on my phone.

I don't know how much (if any) control BigBlueShoe has over the ads on the site, or where else I could post this to get someone's attention, but if there's anything I appreciate about Stampede Blue, it's that the readers here have a voice too.

Poll
Is it just me, or are the ads on SB Nation driving you crazy?
Yes!
63 votes
Ads? What ads? I use an ad blocker!
40 votes
No; I rather like being interrupted while I browse the site.
4 votes
But Bullitt is healthy! He should be starting over Bob! (oh wait, wrong poll...)
20 votes

127 votes | Poll has closed

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.

Comment 39 comments  |  0 recs  | 

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Do you have/use firefox?

download this app and those pesky ads will disappear and you can enjoy reading all the stampede blue goodness

by metal_militia on Oct 8, 2009 11:41 PM EDT reply actions  

and I mean really disappear

it not only blocks pop-ups, but it removes all the ads that come with the page and the video ads that you might find when trying to watch an NFL.com video or something

by metal_militia on Oct 8, 2009 11:44 PM EDT up reply actions  

I use Google Chrome

and I also know that a number of visitors to the site won’t be using an ad blocker. If the ads are too annoying, they might not stick around long enough to become active members of the site. Ads in themselves aren’t all bad, but SB Nation is definitely using some pretty annoying ones.

(Full disclosure: I work for a large internet ad company, though I don’t do anything related to ads.)

by nmbrthry on Oct 8, 2009 11:46 PM EDT up reply actions  

I do that at home.

But at work, IE is mandatory.

by hartley on Oct 9, 2009 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions  

I've been surfing this site via firefox 2+ years

and with the right software (Adblock/ No Script) you should have ZERO problems with adds

by LBizZLE on Oct 9, 2009 2:55 AM EDT reply actions  

Ads

The reality of the way blogs are run now is that there have to be ads on the sites. When I started blogging here in 2006, the economy was great; people had lots of money; bog hosting was not that expensive. Now, in order to pay for things like the easy chat system on open threads, or the cool FanPost interface that many of you use, we pay for all that with revenue from advertisers.

Mind you, most of the ads are from things relevant to the content (like NFL Network’s RedZone channel). So, it’s not like we’re consistently smacking you over the head with BUY AXE BODY SPRAY ads all the time. Sometimes it’s for NFL Shop. Sometimes its for Sprint Mobile phones (who stream Stampede Blue contact on their NFL app).

Bottom line: We’re in a recession, and blogging ain’t cheap.

I personally do not use the FireFox app because I always want to know how ads affect the site. However, I agree with you that sometimes the ads over step the bounds of acceptance. I don’t like pop-ups and I don’t like ads that require a “Close” button. But, sadly, those kinds of ads pay the most.

If you feel ads on the site, contact the SBNation.com webmasters here: http://www.sbnation.com/pages/contact?community_id=247&return_to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sbnation.com%2F

I know for a fact that they read and respond to comments placed in that area. Trust me. Readers from rival sites have used it to get me fired.

SB Nation's Indianapolis Colts blogger at Stampede Blue. Please make an account and post a diary, add some comments, and make some noise. Accounts are free, and only require an email address.

by Brad Wells on Oct 9, 2009 9:33 AM EDT reply actions  

Also

Just so everyone knows: When people complain about ads, I often go through my own channels to let the people at the top of SB Nation know about it. I don’t do this to be a pain in the ass, though I’m sure some view me that way.

I do it because people like Jim Bankoff (the head man at SB Nation and the brains behind things like AOL Instant Chat, AOL Fanhouse, and other amazing things) really and truly wants to know what readers are thinking about the blogs.

SB Nation's Indianapolis Colts blogger at Stampede Blue. Please make an account and post a diary, add some comments, and make some noise. Accounts are free, and only require an email address.

by Brad Wells on Oct 9, 2009 9:57 AM EDT up reply actions  

Most of them aren't bad, and I think of ads as a way of life, so they generally don't bother me.

But the fake detergent/actually a car ad for the Subarau Outback I saw yesterday was terrible.

Not only did it pop out of the screen, not only did it move around, it also made it very difficult just to find the close button and make it go away.

by hartley on Oct 9, 2009 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions  

Thanks for the reply

I really, really like Stampede Blue, so I’m not ready to leave yet. I perfectly understand the necessity of ads; it’s the nature of the recent ads that are getting in the way. I’ll try to contact the webmasters (though the form is broken in Chrome/Linux… sigh) to let them know too.

by nmbrthry on Oct 9, 2009 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions  

You got Fired?

Dun nuh nuh nuhhhh!!!! Super Mathis

by hoosier in sodak on Oct 9, 2009 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions  

Go home. Enjoy the new wife.

Oh wait, you blog so you probably are home already?…

Dun nuh nuh nuhhhh!!!! Super Mathis

by hoosier in sodak on Oct 9, 2009 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions  

ROFL.

That was great. I have no idea what BBS was really trying to say there.

Now a proud annoyance on Stampede Blue, 18to88, Indy Football Report, and Phil B's blog.

Man, I need a life...

Random fact of the week from the empty void that is my mind: This is what happens when college students get bored.

by Cassieper on Oct 9, 2009 10:45 AM EDT up reply actions  

probably forgot the word try

or someone did it successfully a long time ago, but BBS was hired back.

Probably #1

Luck is probability taken personally, clutch is probability attributed to individuals.

by shake n bake on Oct 9, 2009 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions  

TRY

Readers have used it to “TRY” and get me fired.

Or, maybe I was fired this morning and haven’t heard the news yet.

SB Nation's Indianapolis Colts blogger at Stampede Blue. Please make an account and post a diary, add some comments, and make some noise. Accounts are free, and only require an email address.

by Brad Wells on Oct 9, 2009 11:13 AM EDT up reply actions  

You're fired!

How can you not love a team that does this?

by LovinBlue on Oct 9, 2009 11:16 AM EDT up reply actions  

SB Nation's Indianapolis Colts blogger at Stampede Blue. Please make an account and post a diary, add some comments, and make some noise. Accounts are free, and only require an email address.

by Brad Wells on Oct 9, 2009 11:30 AM EDT up reply actions  

Hmmmmm.......

Great minds think alike.

Now a proud annoyance on Stampede Blue, 18to88, Indy Football Report, and Phil B's blog.

Man, I need a life...

Random fact of the week from the empty void that is my mind: This is what happens when college students get bored.

by Cassieper on Oct 9, 2009 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions  

Hey Donald!

Now a proud annoyance on Stampede Blue, 18to88, Indy Football Report, and Phil B's blog.

Man, I need a life...

Random fact of the week from the empty void that is my mind: This is what happens when college students get bored.

by Cassieper on Oct 9, 2009 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions  

The ads here don't bother me.

I don’t sweat the small stuff.

"You can't defend the perfect throw, what can I say?" Peyton quoting Marino

by Indy Lori on Oct 9, 2009 9:36 AM EDT reply actions  

+1

I barely notice them, except for the those that you have to close. I can find the close button fast enough that it doesn’t cause me angina.

How can you not love a team that does this?

by LovinBlue on Oct 9, 2009 11:16 AM EDT up reply actions  

That stupid floating detergent ad...

Had me yelling at my monitor. Ads don’t generally piss me off, put that one nearly had me climbing a bell tower with a sniper rifle. I started having visions of myself pushing a mail cart with a wild look in my eye.

by tim55 on Oct 9, 2009 10:05 AM EDT reply actions  

yeah that one might be the first one that's really bothered me at all.

ads should stay in the ad space.

Luck is probability taken personally, clutch is probability attributed to individuals.

by shake n bake on Oct 9, 2009 10:15 AM EDT up reply actions  

Yeah,

the detergent ad is ridiculous. I don’t want to see virtual dirt smeared on my screen and fake cleaned up by virtual detergent. There was also another ad before that expanded on it’s own and covered up most of the FanPost I was reading, and there was no close button on it.

That particular one is what made me switch to Firefox.

Now a proud annoyance on Stampede Blue, 18to88, Indy Football Report, and Phil B's blog.

Man, I need a life...

Random fact of the week from the empty void that is my mind: This is what happens when college students get bored.

by Cassieper on Oct 9, 2009 10:44 AM EDT up reply actions  

Also,

what does detergent have to do with the NFL? I don’t clean on Sundays or Mondays.

Now a proud annoyance on Stampede Blue, 18to88, Indy Football Report, and Phil B's blog.

Man, I need a life...

Random fact of the week from the empty void that is my mind: This is what happens when college students get bored.

by Cassieper on Oct 9, 2009 10:45 AM EDT up reply actions  

I actually thinks it's for Subaru.

Really effective, Subaru Marketing Dept… You have confused everyone into thinking they are seeing an ad for Laundry Detergent and you are trying to sell Outbacks.

LMFAO

Dun nuh nuh nuhhhh!!!! Super Mathis

by hoosier in sodak on Oct 9, 2009 11:56 AM EDT up reply actions  

I like me some irony.

Now a proud annoyance on Stampede Blue, 18to88, Indy Football Report, and Phil B's blog.

Man, I need a life...

Random fact of the week from the empty void that is my mind: This is what happens when college students get bored.

by Cassieper on Oct 9, 2009 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions  

that ad isn't just on SB Nation

it just jumped out at me on PFR when I was about to get started on looking at Offense vs Defense in correlation to winning and playoff success.

Luck is probability taken personally, clutch is probability attributed to individuals.

by shake n bake on Oct 9, 2009 8:21 PM EDT up reply actions  

Note on the Ads

I believe that if you are running Windows 7 and have ABP with Firefox, you still get ads. My XP machine has them blocked but my W7 machine shows the ads in all their annoying, mud on the screen, glory.

by TouchdownMonkey on Oct 9, 2009 2:26 PM EDT reply actions  

Firefox and APB

Should work regardless of OS. I’ve not heard that complaint from anyone else running FF and APB on Windows 7.

by eltharion_doa on Oct 9, 2009 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions  

I have never noticed any annoying ads.

I am running Firefox and Kaspersky firewall.

May the wind be always at your back, and may your placekicker have icewater in his veins.

by juperee on Oct 9, 2009 3:24 PM EDT reply actions  

I have never seen any ads here...

because I use Adblock. But I can imagine how that might drive someone insane.

BBS is annoying enough as it is, floating detergent ads would just make it unbearable! :)

by willyduer on Oct 9, 2009 4:20 PM EDT reply actions  

Response from SB Nation...

All – I work for SB Nation and just wanted to apologize that for this particular campaign. We do not allow pop ups, non user initiated audio or other intrusive elements but this one slipped through the cracks and we promise to do better in the future. We try to create an environment where readers and brands thrive but the user experience is not compromised. We screwed up on this one and apologize for any inconvenience.

by Kyle Ragsdale on Oct 10, 2009 8:01 AM EDT reply actions  

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