Free Users - Turn off your ad blockers

[blantonl]

We're going to start implementing gatekeeping for those that have adblockers installed and who are not premium subscribers. It will be a gentle reminder a few times a day for non-premium subscribers who have ad blockers enabled.

You can use this thread to complain to me that this is a violation of your rights, and you'll be quiting RadioReference, and you'll be reporting us to the BBB. Flame away...

 

[mmckenna]

You left out "Selling all ma scannerz!!!!!, getting out of the hobby!!1!!!! encryption bad!!!!!!"

Wondering when you'd do this. Good for you. Not offended and my rights are fully intact.

 

[wtp]

 

[prcguy]

This is a violation of my rights, and I'll be quitting RadioReference, and I'll be reporting you to the BBB.

 

[vagrant]

Egad! Do you mean hosting a forum costs time...and money?

 

[gtaman]

Eh my Pi Hole will get around it.

 

[chrismol1]

revenue drying up?, thats a violation of site owners rights ,right???! I remember the 2000's I ran sites and everything was about Adsense loading up every single space left with ads. If you saw any white space left on the site, no good! Boy what a time and I suppose thats what drove the ad blocker revolution

 

[Outerdog]

Turn off your ad blockers

That's a nope from me, dawg.

Sadly, ads are not simply just about "supporting a site" -- ads have proven themselves nefarious and downright dangerous to network security. The trust for ad networks is beyond broken. Ad networks and trackers are hostile attacks on a network.

The scanner master ad in the corner served by RR.com supports the site. The ad networks and trackers can f right off.

 

[Mikejo]

Apparently, the Admin's here are either not the sharpest knives in the drawer, or they are kniving weasels!

I use Firefox, and the instructions for disabling "AD BLOCKERS" in Firefox involves disabling "Enhanced Tracking Protection" !

So in order to allow AD's, I will also open the floodgates for all manor of nefarious trackers and such!

So, it's a big Fat ...NOPE... for me as well.

 

[billcurrie]

Go for it Lindsay. You started this, and did a great job. So great that it has become the gold standard.
You and your team deserve the rewards.

 

[GlobalNorth]

$30 annually is cheap.

 

[Mikejo]

If it were just about AD's I have no problem with that, it's all the other bad stuff that goes on as well.

Gold Standard you say? Nose diving Pyrite is more like it!

 

[prcguy]

My question is, if an add blocker is used and I don't see the ad, does the ad owner even know? Do they still pay the site in this case? Another question would be how much does each annoying ad I might see pay to the site?

I'm still not interested in turning off my ad blocker, I try to eliminate annoying people and things in my life and its almost unbearable navigating this site with the ads. This site generates a lot of $$ for the owner(s) in gathering and verifying frequencies by donation that are then sold to the major scanner mfrs to download into their scanners. I can't imagine a $30 a year fee that I'm not willing to spend is all that critical to the operation and maintenance of this site.

BTW, I own a couple of scanners that download the data supplied by RR and those scanner mfrs have already paid on my behalf for some kind of use here. This site needs to offer things that attract users that will then participate in frequency gathering and verification at no cost so the site can make a profit from it. If you make it too cumbersome or expensive to visit this site, then say by by to some valuable people who contribute here for free.

Even retail stores figure in shoplifting as part of their operating expenses, so get used to a few people circumventing the annoying ads. Although I don't view an ad blocker as shoplifting.

 

[blantonl]

My question is, if an add blocker is used and I don't see the ad, does the ad owner even know?

yes, we know.

Do they still pay the site in this case?

negative.

Another question would be how much does each annoying ad I might see pay to the site?

Depends. Cumlatively it adds up significantly over time as lost revenue.

I can't imagine a $30 a year fee that I'm not willing to spend is all that critical to the operation and maintenance of this site.

it’s not about what I earn, or what it costs to run the site, it’s about whether or not you see value in paying a couple bucks a month to enjoy an ad-free experience among other things. If you don’t see that value, then I need to do a better job.

. If you make it too cumbersome or expensive to visit this site, then say by by to some valuable people who contribute here for free.

again, see above. It’s all about the value that you receive.

in any case, the numbers speak for themselves. Tens of thousands of people are active premium subscribers. They get value out of $2.50/month.

We’re also pretty cool about use of ads… we work hard to keep them relevant and we don‘t implement pop-ups, vignettes, full screen, etc.

 

[buddrousa]

As stated above $30 a year for the info I receive is $30 well spent the world is not free and Santa Claus does not give away everything to everybody.

 

[prcguy]

You could do a better job of not bombarding us with ads which in some cases actually slows down the pages as we navigate your site. A few small ads that are not shoved down our throats might be tolerable, but when my piehole is off line this site is hard for me to endure due to endless flowing ads that I would never respond to.

it’s not about what I earn, or what it costs to run the site, it’s about whether or not you see value in paying a couple bucks a month to enjoy an ad-free experience among other things. If you don’t see that value, then I need to do a better job.

 

[blantonl]

You could do a better job of not bombarding us with ads which in some cases actually slows down the pages as we navigate your site. A few small ads that are not shoved down our throats might be tolerable, but when my piehole is off line this site is hard for me to endure due to endless flowing ads that I would never respond to.

I will catagorically disagree that we are “bombarding“ you with ads. It’s just not even in the same realm of what other major media companies do.

 

[Outerdog]

I will catagorically disagree that we are “bombarding“ you with ads. It’s just not even in the same realm of what other major media companies do.

In your day-to-day, do you run with an ad blocker, Pi-hole, content filter, or anything like that? Or do you bareback the internet yourself?

 

[blantonl]

In your day-to-day, do you run with an ad blocker, Pi-hole, content filter, or anything like that? Or do you bareback the internet yourself?

That is a great question.

I use a piHole on my internal networks, however I do whitelist a number of sites where needed or appropriate.

I don’t disagree that ad blockers provide significant value where appropriate. I am also intimately aware of what ads and services we deliver to our customers and they aren’t even in the same ballpark when it comes to obtrusiveness that you see on many media sites. We literally just run a few banner ads on our properties.

 

[prcguy]

So I turned off my piehole for a few minutes and the ads didn't seem as bad as a few months ago before I installed it, but I still don't like it. How bout I turn off my ad blocker for a few minutes a month, would that satisfy things?

And another thing, one of the first ads that popped up without my ad blocker was an ad for an ad blocker shown below. No kidding. How can you complain about ad blockers when you take $$ for their advertising? With that I'm done with discussing ad blockers and will live my life as I see fit.