The Advertisements - A new level of annoying

[Mike Sixel]

I will say this.....Fangraphs has some of the same issues. A big honking national site with a huge budget.....

[Brock Beauchamp]

Keep the ads running but use that money to buy bigger servers!!! This site is slower to navigate from article to article than a lot of other sites that I goto.

That's easily my biggest annoyance with the site but it's not a server speed problem, it's an optimization problem.

 

I'm not a system administrator. At some point, I'm going to need to enlist a real Linux tech, someone who better understands scaling, caching, and SQL optimization.

[DAM DC Twins Fans]

Jumping in a little late...

 

I used to come to TD daily--sometimes twice a day. Around the beginning of May it got to be too annoying with the ads. Now I come 2 or 3 times a week--read only the minor league reports and some of Seth's otherstuff. Too slow and too much of a pain with ads...this forum caught my eye.

 

I think Seth is the best BB writer out there--that is the only thing keeping me on this site.

[REPETE]

I concur, this latest trend is annoying, but it hasn't stopped me from reading daily.  i just keep the mouse on the bar.  
Perhaps a TD "print" version could be dropped off on our doorsteps.  For old times sake, we could get a morning and afternoon edition!  If we're willing to pay $20, how about we just give it to our TD Carrier instead?

[DaveW]

 

That's easily my biggest annoyance with the site but it's not a server speed problem, it's an optimization problem.

I'm not a system administrator. At some point, I'm going to need to enlist a real Linux tech, someone who better understands scaling, caching, and SQL optimization.

http://www.shredfat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/excuses.jpg

[Steve Lein]

 

I have about 4 sites where I have Flash deactivated. When there is a video that I want to watch on those sites, I temporarily reactivate Flash. I experience much less frustration over auto run video ads.

 

So much this. Every time I see one of these threads pop up, I drop in and go "DEACTIVATE FLASH FOR CRIPES SAKE!" Apparently no one listens...

 

I see none of the associated ads now, and as a result the sites don't crash my browser from overloading Flash anymore, which was quite common.

 

As an aside, the ads are required to help run the site, and you'd be amazed how many clicks on ads it takes to make any reasonable amount of money. You're not going to get rid of them unless content here becomes pay-subscription based. And that's never going to happen, it's not the Twins Daily way, and I'm thankful for that!

[DaveW]

In all seriousness: It doesn't take clicks to make Twinsdaily money, they are given money on a CPM basis, which means every impression served (everytime someone visits the site, reloads a page etc) it earns them money. Disabling flash prevents them from making the money.

 

It's not Brock or TD's fault, its the fault of the crappy ad networks who are serving the ads (Which is why you see the issue with FanGraphs.com as well), however they can choose which networks to work with and which ones not to work with.

[d-mac]

 

So much this. Every time I see one of these threads pop up, I drop in and go "DEACTIVATE FLASH FOR CRIPES SAKE!" Apparently no one listens...

 

I see none of the associated ads now, and as a result the sites don't crash my browser from overloading Flash anymore, which was quite common.

 

As an aside, the ads are required to help run the site, and you'd be amazed how many clicks on ads it takes to make any reasonable amount of money. You're not going to get rid of them unless content here becomes pay-subscription based. And that's never going to happen, it's not the Twins Daily way, and I'm thankful for that!

 

How does one deactivate flash? I'm not particularly computer savvy. I'm using Chrome right now. All I want is the %(*&% video ads to stop playing. And it's not just this site, that seems to be the trend over the past year, internet add sites have turned to autoplay video ads that suck up so much of the computer's memory. 

[Craig Arko]

In all seriousness: It doesn't take clicks to make Twinsdaily money, they are given money on a CPM basis, which means every impression served (everytime someone visits the site, reloads a page etc) it earns them money. Disabling flash prevents them from making the money.

 

It's not Brock or TD's fault, its the fault of the crappy ad networks who are serving the ads (Which is why you see the issue with FanGraphs.com as well), however they can choose which networks to work with and which ones not to work with.

Agreed the ultimate problem is not TD's fault. It's more the poor communications (at least until recently) where the ball was dropped at White Sox-like proportions.

[twinsnorth49]

 

Agreed the ultimate problem is not TD's fault. It's more the poor communications (at least until recently) where the ball was dropped at White Sox-like proportions.

I'll try and look into a rebate on your user fees for the poor service..................................oh wait.

[Craig Arko]

I'll try and look into a rebate on your user fees for the poor service..................................oh wait.

Our user fees are in not blocking the annoying ads. Look into that.

[Brock Beauchamp]

In all seriousness: It doesn't take clicks to make Twinsdaily money, they are given money on a CPM basis, which means every impression served (everytime someone visits the site, reloads a page etc) it earns them money. Disabling flash prevents them from making the money.

 

It's not Brock or TD's fault, its the fault of the crappy ad networks who are serving the ads (Which is why you see the issue with FanGraphs.com as well), however they can choose which networks to work with and which ones not to work with.

I disabled the worst of the networks we used quite some time ago. Unfortunately, some of the previously reliable ones have turned to serving obnoxious ads.

[Brock Beauchamp]

One thing I won't allow on the forum is open discussion how to deny the site revenue by blocking ads. That's how we make the meager amount of money we earn to keep the site running, folks.

 

Anyone who posts instructions how to block ads will get a vacation not only from the ads on Twins Daily, but from Twins Daily itself.

[Craig Arko]

I disabled the worst of the networks we used quite some time ago. Unfortunately, some of the previously reliable ones have turned to serving obnoxious ads.

Well, keep us posted when the future arrives.

[DaveW]

 

One thing I won't allow on the forum is open discussion how to deny the site revenue by blocking ads. That's how we make the meager amount of money we earn to keep the site running, folks.

Anyone who posts instructions how to block ads will get a vacation not only from the ads on Twins Daily, but from Twins Daily itself.

I get you don't want people posting about ad blockers and stuff, but disabling flash only ends up blocking a small percentage of the ads, no? Seems like a decent compromise?

[Brock Beauchamp]

I get you don't want people posting about ad blockers and stuff, but disabling flash only ends up blocking a small percentage of the ads, no? Seems like a decent compromise?

Yeah, just a portion. I can't stop people from using software to disable flash, I simply think it's a bit much to discuss it openly with instructions how to do it when we have paying customers - like the Twins themselves, for example - who rely on that software to serve ads on Twins Daily.

[Steve Lein]

 

One thing I won't allow on the forum is open discussion how to deny the site revenue by blocking ads. That's how we make the meager amount of money we earn to keep the site running, folks.

Anyone who posts instructions how to block ads will get a vacation not only from the ads on Twins Daily, but from Twins Daily itself.

 

My bad...

 

As further FYI - I still see ads with Flash deactivated. From what I know about how these ad's work, you're not losing anything simply because the buggy ones get taken away. There's "Billy Butler Country Breakfast Bowl" and "John F. Kennedy University" on the right of my page, "Salute to Armed Forces Fireworks" in a top banner, and "online components.com" in a bottom banner currently as I write this...

 

I have to do disable it. I can't browse the site or provide the content I do without doing so. It crashes my browser or will freeze it up eventually every time. I know I'm not the only one with this issue. I need the site to work, and it does so flawlessly with this taken away.

 

You will never know the extreme anger I have gotten from writing a blog post I had put hours upon hours of effort and research into being lost because the site would crash in the middle of it. This has happened multiple times, including while in the middle of writing the MiLB reports for here as well.

 

[Brock Beauchamp]

I get it and I harbor no ill will toward people who use various workarounds, I just can't allow it to be discussed on the forums for obvious reasons.

[DaveW]

 

Yeah, just a portion. I can't stop people from using software to disable flash, I simply think it's a bit much to discuss it openly with instructions how to do it when we have paying customers - like the Twins themselves, for example - who rely on that software to serve ads on Twins Daily.

Ah that makes sense. Flash isn't the issue anyways, its just the stupid ass auto play ads, and even those are tolerable, just the ones that ruin the mobile experience, slow up the site, etc are what are over the top.

[twinsnorth49]

Our user fees are in not blocking the annoying ads. Look into that.

No need, you just got it.