[barskey]

I can understand why banner advertising creeps into websites these days. I don't particularly care for it, but I can understand. But when I am forced to either watch or skip an ad before being directed to your site, I feel it crosses the line. Which line? Right now it is just the "highly annoying" line, but if it were to get more invasive (e.g. not able to be skipped) then it would become the "I won't frequent this site" line, for me at least.

Please consider removing the intro-ads. They are intrusive, offensive, and highly annoying.

Does anyone else feel the same as I do?

[jroller]

My bookmark apparently takes me in past the intro ad, so I had to manually enter the site to see what you meant. No question, intro ads are like being taken hostage; I hate them. Hope you guys are being paid very well.

[Jason Snell]

jroller said:

My bookmark apparently takes me in past the intro ad

As do all bookmarks set for http://www.macworld.com/news.html

Just sayin'...

[oadesign]

That's true, however that's not the main Macworld.com page, which I prefer. When I click on my bookmark I expect to be taken there, not to an ad for HP. This annoyance will certainly lessen my visits to the site and steer me toward others.

Just sayin'...

[Jason Snell]

oadesign said:

That's true, however that's not the main Macworld.com page, which I prefer. When I click on my bookmark I expect to be taken there, not to an ad for HP. This annoyance will certainly lessen my visits to the site and steer me toward others.

I hear you, but the ads pay the bills. Your comments have been received loud and clear.

I'm glad you prefer the main page! I'd actually love to hear more about that. Why do you like it better than the jumbo list o' stories?

[Demonic_Rush]

Hmm... I've never once noticed an ad for HP as a primer for the main page, and I'm not using Bookmarks either (I have Macworld Bookmarked, but I usually type it in manually since it's nestled in menus) Maybe because I have ad-blocker on Firefox? Just a thought...

Also, on the topic of the main page, I Iike it as well. The giant list looks cluttered and each story is indistinguishable from the others. That's actually the reason I canceled my RSS feed to Gizmodo.com. Too much info in too plain a format, very messy, especially without visual cues.

I understand some people like that, but without Soft-edged squares to group things and preview images to preview what's inside, I'm not really feeling some stories.

For example, I'd never normally open a review of Bento, since a bento is a lunch box. I might look at it out of curiosity of what the heck you're going on about, talking about lunch boxes and such, but in all truth it was the icon next to the review that got my attention not the story's header. Subsequently, I've tried and kinda like Bento. I may even purchase it, if some issues get addressed in the next update.

Well, that's my .02 anyway

[rab777hp]

I dislike the ad too, consider putting ads on the podcast instead, it's a popular thing to do. I recently bookmarked Macworld, and I guess I hadn't noticed that it took me past the intro ad. Now though, I entered the site a few times manually, however the intro ad was gone. Did you take it down?

[oadesign]

The jumbo list is visually overwhelming and therefore too time-consuming to scan. The main page, on the other hand is divided with more recent stories highlighted on their own, while the main list of stories is short and quick to scan through.

[Hurley42]

I have been visiting MacWorld less and less due to the intro ads. Everytime they start to appear, I click the home button on my browser and don't return for the day. This is a great way to drive consumers to other web sites. I already abandoned AppleInsider due to deceitful pop-under ads and have not visited that site in nearly a year. There are so many resources for news and info related to Apple, that MacWorld will make that list if the intrusive advertising continues - not that one person leaving MacWorld (or AppleInsider) will make a difference, but if enough people feel the same way and take action, we can change the way advertising is done online.

[Jason Snell]

I hear you, but we also need to find ways to make money so we can stay in business. If you find what we do valuable.

I hope to have a new option that gives readers who hate ads another way to support Macworld. Sometime early next year...

[rab777hp]

I don't know if you have realized this- but there is a button in the upper right hand corner which lets you skip to the site.


Jason-
You're looking for a way to earn money from site visitors without ads? That shouldn't be too hard, you'd only become richer than Bill Gates by figuring out how to do that!

[imalex]

I'd rather have a 5-second (or whatever length it is) skippable
occasional* intro ad than for Macworld to become a subscription site.
As Jason says, they have bills to pay - a web publication costs money
to maintain, and the articles aren't researched and written purely by
volunteer staff.
At least there aren't flashing, loud, obnoxious ads and pop-ups at
every turn to truly drive you nuts, like so many other publications.

Thanks to everyone at Macworld to providing valuable information and
resources in a pleasing environment. I can put up with a few ads for
that.

Alex

*The intro ad doesn't always come up - just sometimes.

[rab777hp]

Well said.

[barskey]

imalex said:

I'd rather have a 5-second (or whatever length it is) skippable
occasional* intro ad than for Macworld to become a subscription site.
As Jason says, they have bills to pay - a web publication costs money
to maintain, and the articles aren't researched and written purely by
volunteer staff.
Alex

I don't think the alternate is to have a subscription site. Like most online publications, there are already several (more actually) inline ads on the home page, as well as in the articles themselves. Now there is an additional ad before you are taken to the site. Sure it is skippable now, but it won't always be. Once they realize they can generate more ad revenue by making them unable to be bypassed, or by making them appear every time, they will. Next may be longer intro-ads, or more than one. And then who is to say what is next?

Take the print publication, as an analogy. IDG generates most of their revenue from the advertising they sell in the print publication (and it is a substantial amount, you can believe). So then it was realized that they could put several-page-long ads for greater revenue. These ads are disguised as articles, even though there is a small disclaimer at the top or bottom stating that it is an advertisement. I find these very annoying, deceitful even. They also decided to wrap the magazine in a cover, giving the ability to sell more advertising - very similar to the intro-ad you must click through to get to the web site. What happens next when they use non-tearable plastic so it takes you longer to open up the wrapper? Or when they require you to manually remove individual page covers displaying ads to get to the content?

I am exaggerating, of course, to prove my point. Unchecked, this site could become much more ad-infested. Of course I realize that they need to generate revenue. And I also realize that the ad-selling business model online is much different than print media. That is why I feel it is important to give my feedback in the Website Feedback forum. And I think it is also important for others to voice their opinions as well, thank you for speaking up!

I agree with you that a 5-second intro ad is better than a non-skippable alternative. But let them stop now before they lose my patronage, please.

[/soapbox]