Is It Me or Did Something New Start Today?

[cliffy]

Today when I went to look into MS I have found that after the opening page a Google ad pops up and the top banner drops down to 

cover about 70% of the screen making reading anything very difficult

As I said- Is it something I did or have we gone a new direction to force large ad space on the forum pages?

[Fly Boomer]

8 minutes ago, cliffy said:

Today when I went to look into MS I have found that after the opening page a Google ad pops up and the top banner drops down to 

cover about 70% of the screen making reading anything very difficult

As I said- Is it something I did or have we gone a new direction to force large ad space on the forum pages?

What device?  I don't see any difference on my laptop.

[cliffy]

HP laptop   Still there  top banner covers about 70% of the screen with a large ad in the middle

[Fly Boomer]

3 minutes ago, cliffy said:

HP laptop   Still there  top banner covers about 70% of the screen with a large ad in the middle

I would probably stop the browser, clean cookies and everything else (I use CCleaner for this), cold boot the system, restart the browser, and see if it persists.  If that doesn't change anything, you might ask @mooniac58.

[cliffy]

OK I'll try that  Not a pc geek here  :-)

[Andy95W]

I’m getting that also, Cliffy.  Supporters who donate won’t see those ads.

It’s adding to my reasons to avoid MooneySpace.

[Fly Boomer]

8 minutes ago, cliffy said:

OK I'll try that  Not a pc geek here  :-)

I just logged off for the evening (I logged back in to write this), and I immediately see what you are describing.  This appears to be a new behavior for non-supporters.  @Mooniac58 didn't write the software, so don't yell at him -- probably a change pushed out by the company that wrote the software.  In any event, the easiest "fix" would be to become a supporter.  I think there is a button near the bottom when you first go to MooneySpace.com but you have to keep paging down until you see it.  Donating is cheap and all the adverts go away.

[cliffy]

Exactly what I thought BUT I was going to donate this month anyway

Did a complete clean and shut down to cold but of course it came back

I just love the IT life  :-(

[cliffy]

12 minutes ago, Andy95W said:

I’m getting that also, Cliffy.  Supporters who donate won’t see those ads.

It’s adding to my reasons to avoid MooneySpace.

Its going to have an adverse affect on readership     I didn't mind the small ads as a free sub but I do take 

umbrage with the forcing  ads now. Many will just drop off viewing.  

Like I said I was going to donate anyway but this is the wrong way to go for many who view the site. 

[McMooney]

i'm getting it also, makes it impossible to really view the site

[hammdo]

Try the brave browser. May let you block some of those…

+1 for supporting….

-Don

[Andy95W]

I was a supporter here for many years.  When the attachments got deleted from old posts I couldn’t believe the incredible amount of institutional knowledge we lost, and that’s when I stopped paying.  Truthfully, I’m not sure how much we actually lost because the search function of MooneySpace has been atrocious for so long we just accept it now as normal.

Losing M20Doc and a few others removes even more usefulness to me.

And the lack of a true archives and FAQs means having to wade through the same questions every 3 months.  And now the ads have become more obtrusive.

Edited September 27, 2023 by Andy95W

[FlyingDude]

I'm not getting those ads. I purge the cookies and browser history on my personal phone and personal computer very frequently (company policy carrying over to personal life).  I always get ads the first time after a purge. Once I log in, ads go away.

[Fly Boomer]

18 hours ago, cliffy said:

Did a complete clean and shut down to cold but of course it came back

I just love the IT life  :-(

I worked in IT for 40 years, and I have as much frustration as everyone else.

[Tom 4536]

It is the mooneyspace.com masthead banner that covers the top half of my screen, not adds. Makes it difficult to read posts.

[pwnel]

17 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

I worked in IT for 40 years, and I have as much frustration as everyone else.

25 years, but frustration is at the 40-year level.  This site is impossible to use now.  Also, having led 3 large social networks - what you cannot put a price on, is the contributions from users that actually make the site.  Ie M20doc and others.  I'm not super active myself, but I have invested lots of effort at times to answer detailed questions on specific technical points.  That stuff all adds up.  If you chase away the 5% that adds useful content, you're dead.  

[Fly Boomer]

22 minutes ago, pwnel said:

25 years, but frustration is at the 40-year level.  This site is impossible to use now.  Also, having led 3 large social networks - what you cannot put a price on, is the contributions from users that actually make the site.  Ie M20doc and others.  I'm not super active myself, but I have invested lots of effort at times to answer detailed questions on specific technical points.  That stuff all adds up.  If you chase away the 5% that adds useful content, you're dead.  

I suspect the cosmic-level aggression that is so easily triggered these days has more to do with losing valued contributors than the two gallons of avgas per year it costs to get rid of the adverts ($10).  The company that wrote and maintains the software has to be paid somehow, and advertising is how it's done on MooneySpace.  Providers of "free" services like Google and their various offerings usually monetize the service either with advertising or by collecting and selling your personal information, shopping preferences, political leanings, income level, and other tidbits of information that would surprise you.  The money has to come from somewhere.  As they say, if you are not paying for the product, then you are the product.

[skykrawler]

If one looks under Browse->Online Users you will see the vast majority of folks are "Basic Members" - non-paying.

Personally I think this forum provides a high concentration of information that is difficult to find anywhere else.   That's why so many come here, not the charming discourse.  If one has solved a single problem with information from Mooneyspace  the least you can do is spend ten dollars and become a paying member to loose the ads.

[cliffy]

Here's a question I've never seen asked or answered-

WHO actually owns and/or controls this web site?

I've been here for years and I don't think that question has ever come up

As a second thought-

Maybe if they were to come online and actually explain just what expenses they have to pay out (in detail) to keep this 

website alive (instead of just a generic request for donations), actually explain the process, it might go a long way to

garnering more donations from those who are reluctant but who enjoy using the site.

Mooneyspace is a small community in reality and they might just come together with the correct approach rather than suffer the 

complete loss of the website

Building a surprise pay wall with no explanation doesn't create a good feeling to most.

Edited September 28, 2023 by cliffy

[donkaye]

1 hour ago, cliffy said:

Here's a question I've never seen asked or answered-

WHO owns and/or controls this web site?

I've been here for years and I don't think that question has ever come up

I think Craig McGregor set it up many years ago,  He had owned an M20J and lived on the Big Island of Hawaii until he moved to New Mexico and bought a Malibu.  We're lucky he continues to maintain it.  I think MooneySpace is valuable enough that I donate more than the minimum and, if you find the forum useful as I do, I recommend doing the same.

[mooniac58]

That pretty much sums it up.  I had to sell the Malibu some 4 or so years ago though.  I currently don't own/fly anything because I cannot afford to.  The moment I can afford such a thing I will be diving back in - more than likely into another Mooney   The Malibu was an amazing ship but one needs to have some serious income to keep one of those in the air.

Safe flying everyone!

[skykrawler]

3 hours ago, cliffy said:

 

Building a surprise pay wall with no explanation doesn't create a good feeling to most.

It's not exactly a pay wall.

[mooniac58]

10 minutes ago, skykrawler said:

It's not exactly a pay wall.

Yeah if one is seeing a paywall on this site then you are probably getting that from some kind of malware on your system.  We don't have any such paywall and the donation system we have should not be a surprise since is has been unchanged in 13+ years.

[cliffy]

I should have put "pay wall" in quotation marks as a figure of speech

My question was only that what has changed (letting the banner come down over 60-70% of the page) 

"seems" very similar to a pay wall.

Also I have no issue with the donation system. Its up front and honest.

Its just that suddenly the top banner drops down to cover most of the page and can't be driven away.

Something has changed that many are seeing

I'd just like to know why the change?  Is the answer so as to drive mort traffic to the donation arena?

If so just say so. No  recriminations. no hard feelings

Just asking a straight question-

mooniac58-  Was a change made to the opening page to drop the banner down over 70% of the page and if so why? 

I do feel though that newbies to the forum may think twice about coming in if this change persists  JMO

[Fly Boomer]

13 hours ago, cliffy said:

mooniac58-  Was a change made to the opening page to drop the banner down over 70% of the page and if so why? 

This will make sure @mooniac58 sees your question.