Dangerous/Expoitative/Lying advertisements
A complaint here, posted in the forum as I know it will be read by Ben, but also relevant I think to enough users of the site to be worthy of discussion.
I realise that every website needs revenue, and that people pay for ad impressions.
It is demeaning to the site however when advertisements are shown for clickbait sites, and dangerous when advertisements are shown for devices such as Voltex.
Not only is the Voltex device (a capacitative power factor device) not going to save money the ad shows a transformer modified dangerously with a low voltage high current secondary (possibly intended for welding?)
I feel that FWW needs to take responsibiltiy for the advertisements shown and not simply accept the revenue from Google.
Whilst it would be possible not to show them to paying subscribers (yes, please) it is irresponsible to accept money for showing advertisements that you know may be misleading or dangerous.
Please take the time to adjust your ads settings until it is more likely that advertisements for genuine products will appear. I am sure that if you look at the amount you get paid by Google for the ads, you would almost certainly be able to get more by selling the space to other more relevant advertisers.
Meanwhile, and until this issue is solved, please everyone click on the Voltex ad every time you see it and then ignore the BS content. At least that way they will have to pay for their impudence!
Replies
Lord I wish Taunton would just charge what they need to charge to turn a profit without all the crappy add-ons like the Google adds you've referenced.
Get rid of the Popular Woodworking cast-offs (they bankrupted that magazine), pay premium dollar for the best furnituremakers in the world to do articles, and fire the polemicists, "anarchists," and dilettantes.
I would recommend getting an Ad-Blocker and pop-up blocker. It will improve your experience on all websites, not just this one.
It will also allow a publication like FWW to not have to "charge what they need to" to be rid of advertising revenue. I don't think I'm alone in saying I have no interest in paying twice as much for the same content to be able to see it without a banner ad I can easily ignore.
The sad thing is the google ads probably only bring in a few cents per user, so it wouldn’t take much of an increase in the subscription to offset them.
I use the ad blocking browser Brave (great browser by the way), but I do feel slightly guilty knowing it’s hurting revenue for sites I wish to support. Ben, if you wish to sign up as a Brave publisher I will forward a few more dollars your way every month through Brave to offset the blocked ads.
I put an ad blocker on my computer so I don't know about what you speak. But hey, have a laugh at their expense & continue to spread the word. Once a few know it only follows that a lot will know.
"A word to the wise is sufficient; a tale to a fool is lost."
Mikaol
Funny, I didn't even know that FWW had ads?
I assumed my subscription was causing a very pleasant ad free experience!
I recommend getting an Ad Blocker add-on, as well as not clicking on ads for items in which you are not interested. The only real ramification of clicking on an ad for an item you don't want is that you will continue to see that exact product advertised on other websites as well as that's how targeted ad sales works, if I'm not mistaken.
Seen, heard, and noted. I'll forward this on to the powers that be as well. I'm really just in charge of the content of the site, and not the operation of the site (thankfully!). I do know that the money from external ads is not insignificant, but we really do try and "zap" as many bad ones as we can. It's a constant process–or really a chess match between hosts and advertisers.
Thanks, Ben for looking into the comments about worthless gewgaws like the Voltex.
For years I taught engineering and agriculture students about electrical power systems, including the proper role in them for well designed phase correction devices.
As I look forward to upgrading my membership in Fine Woodworking to to the Unlimited version, I sincerely hope, and trust, that these dreadful blotches of ads that mar the very essence of your image as a journal of "Fine Woodworking" will be eliminated and not replaced by similar trash.
One note for the record, most of those ads are driven by a user's browsing history. So it's pretty doubtful that others are seeing that particular ad. I don't think I've ever seen a voltex ad on here and I'm on the site more than just about anyone*. So, you might want to clear your cookies and see if that make s a difference as well.
This is a universal thing across almost all of the internet these days.
*oh no, I just googled it. We'll see if they start following me!
I'll second this. I've never seen that ad, anywhere. And the ads that I do see are very clearly related to my recent purchases and searches. Sadly, it's never anything embarrassing.
Thanks for caring.
Your responsiveness to issues is very important, and it makes a big difference to the user experience.
I prefer not to use an ad blocker as sometimes I see things in which I have interest and it does support the sites I use some.
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