Anyone else out there like ads on the forum?

Matt Betea · October 17th, 2003, 10:30 PM

Chris,
Would there be a way to work in a "Sponsors" link around the top of the main forum page? Or maybe even a button like the "home", "search", etc. are? I don't know how tedious it would be to code just for a link or if the forum software would even allow it.

matt

J. Clayton Stansberry · October 17th, 2003, 11:26 PM

Matt,

See the post earlier on this thread that Chris made....he suggested that exact same thing! Great minds think alike...

Matt Betea · October 18th, 2003, 01:58 AM

Doh! I thought he was talking about having it linked in the moderators' sigs. I apologize.

matt

Patricia Kim · October 21st, 2003, 06:44 PM

Well, this brings up a question I've been wondering about. When B&H became a sponsor, a link was cited and we were asked to use that link so B&H would know dvinfo members were going to B&H's site. I marked the link as a "favorite" and have been using it to access B&H's site. Since I know zero about tracking, however, and the page that comes up is the usual front page of B&H's site, does marking the link as a favorite and accessing B&H from my favorites menu do any good for dvinfo?

Second, I agree with the idea of showing the sponsors on the first page of the discussion forum. Maybe their logos at the top with links. I wandered into the site and set up the discussion forums page as a favorite, which means that I usually bypass the front page completely, which then means I tend to overlook dvinfo's sponsors (though much of what they carry is targeted more at pro users than at the home movie crowd like me).

On the other hand, and here's my gratuitous comment of the week, please don't do what camcorderinfo is doing. I think I'm about to stop visiting that forum completely because of the way ads now intersperse each new post! Worse than pop ups and pretty demeaning to those posting (how'd you like to be a lead-in to an ad for a sponsor about whom you may know nothing). At least Yahoo only does it once in awhile in its groups and not after every post.

Ken Tanaka · October 21st, 2003, 08:16 PM

Patricia,
Actually, bookmarking that B&H Photo link will probably not work to support us because the identifying tag in the URL disappears as soon as the main page loads.

If you know how to manually edit and/or set up your bookmarks, here's what it should be:

www.bhphotovideo.com/?BI=155

Patricia Kim · October 21st, 2003, 09:04 PM

Thanks, Ken. I think I managed to do it. At least, when I opened the favorites window in msie after clicking organize, I managed to edit the address to the one you gave me. Hope it works.

J. Clayton Stansberry · October 21st, 2003, 09:10 PM

Ken,

I would assume this would be a good thing for one to do if they bookmarked most of the sponsers? Or, does it matter?

Clay...

Ken Tanaka · October 21st, 2003, 09:57 PM

Good question. But I don't think that any of the other sponsors have given us tracking codes. So you might as well just bookmark the main links to their sites.

Chris Hurd · October 21st, 2003, 10:42 PM

At this point in time, B&H is the only sponsor that tracks the hits from DV Info. The rest of our sponsors just rely on you telling them where you found 'em when you call. Thanks,

Will Fastie · October 23rd, 2003, 07:29 AM

The idea of putting some kind of button or link at the top of each forum page, ala "DVi Community - Support Our Sponsors," is a much better solution than signature tag lines. It keeps the button, which would direct us to appropriate links (and perhaps instructions for making our own shortcuts), visible at all times but is not as intrusive as ads, pop-up or otherwise.

Perhaps I'm unusual, but I pretty much ignore signature tag lines. They tend to be static; once you've been hanging around for a while you know what the tag is going to say. That makes it boilerplate, with no reason to read over and over again. Sooner or later I forget it's there and become insensitive to changes.

The advantage of the top of every forum page is that it is always visible when the page loads no matter what you happen to be reading. There's enough room there to put in a tasteful link without taking up forum real estate.

Will

October 17th, 2003, 11:26 PM	#17
J. Clayton Stansberry Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Colorado Posts: 316	Matt, See the post earlier on this thread that Chris made....he suggested that exact same thing! Great minds think alike... __________________ I understand everything about nothing.

October 21st, 2003, 08:16 PM	#20
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Patricia, Actually, bookmarking that B&H Photo link will probably not work to support us because the identifying tag in the URL disappears as soon as the main page loads. If you know how to manually edit and/or set up your bookmarks, here's what it should be: www.bhphotovideo.com/?BI=155 __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

October 21st, 2003, 09:10 PM	#22
J. Clayton Stansberry Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Colorado Posts: 316	Ken, I would assume this would be a good thing for one to do if they bookmarked most of the sponsers? Or, does it matter? Clay... __________________ I understand everything about nothing.

October 21st, 2003, 09:57 PM	#23
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Good question. But I don't think that any of the other sponsors have given us tracking codes. So you might as well just bookmark the main links to their sites. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

October 21st, 2003, 10:42 PM	#24
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	At this point in time, B&H is the only sponsor that tracks the hits from DV Info. The rest of our sponsors just rely on you telling them where you found 'em when you call. Thanks, __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

October 17th, 2003, 10:30 PM	#16
Matt Betea Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: detroit, mi Posts: 187	Chris, Would there be a way to work in a "Sponsors" link around the top of the main forum page? Or maybe even a button like the "home", "search", etc. are? I don't know how tedious it would be to code just for a link or if the forum software would even allow it. matt

October 18th, 2003, 01:58 AM	#18
Matt Betea Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: detroit, mi Posts: 187	Doh! I thought he was talking about having it linked in the moderators' sigs. I apologize. matt

October 21st, 2003, 06:44 PM	#19
Patricia Kim Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Posts: 453	Well, this brings up a question I've been wondering about. When B&H became a sponsor, a link was cited and we were asked to use that link so B&H would know dvinfo members were going to B&H's site. I marked the link as a "favorite" and have been using it to access B&H's site. Since I know zero about tracking, however, and the page that comes up is the usual front page of B&H's site, does marking the link as a favorite and accessing B&H from my favorites menu do any good for dvinfo? Second, I agree with the idea of showing the sponsors on the first page of the discussion forum. Maybe their logos at the top with links. I wandered into the site and set up the discussion forums page as a favorite, which means that I usually bypass the front page completely, which then means I tend to overlook dvinfo's sponsors (though much of what they carry is targeted more at pro users than at the home movie crowd like me). On the other hand, and here's my gratuitous comment of the week, please don't do what camcorderinfo is doing. I think I'm about to stop visiting that forum completely because of the way ads now intersperse each new post! Worse than pop ups and pretty demeaning to those posting (how'd you like to be a lead-in to an ad for a sponsor about whom you may know nothing). At least Yahoo only does it once in awhile in its groups and not after every post.

October 21st, 2003, 09:04 PM	#21
Patricia Kim Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Posts: 453	Thanks, Ken. I think I managed to do it. At least, when I opened the favorites window in msie after clicking organize, I managed to edit the address to the one you gave me. Hope it works.

October 23rd, 2003, 07:29 AM	#25
Will Fastie Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Jarrettsville, MD Posts: 353	The idea of putting some kind of button or link at the top of each forum page, ala "DVi Community - Support Our Sponsors," is a much better solution than signature tag lines. It keeps the button, which would direct us to appropriate links (and perhaps instructions for making our own shortcuts), visible at all times but is not as intrusive as ads, pop-up or otherwise. Perhaps I'm unusual, but I pretty much ignore signature tag lines. They tend to be static; once you've been hanging around for a while you know what the tag is going to say. That makes it boilerplate, with no reason to read over and over again. Sooner or later I forget it's there and become insensitive to changes. The advantage of the top of every forum page is that it is always visible when the page loads no matter what you happen to be reading. There's enough room there to put in a tasteful link without taking up forum real estate. Will