Forum Spam is allowed if it pays Cheapy?

I don't see the problem here. If Cheapy wanted to make 500 posts, all stickied, all with adbot spam, it's within his rights to do so. He owns this place.
 
[quote name='BigPopov']You think the site runs itself?[/QUOTE]
No, us using CAG affiliated links does.

Having ads on the site sides and header is fine because they can be avoided, but having an administrator bot posting automatic sticky threads really isn't.

Cheapy DOES have the right to post ads and hire administrative bots, he also has the right to charge for the podcast and even shut the site down. Remember the CAG premium joke?

Now I'm not angry at Cheapy, and I still respect him just as much, but in my opinion what he is doing now is just greedy.
 
Allowing an ad-bot to post with admin-level rights also creates a slippery slope in terms of the community here.

Content would be lessened if adbots are allowed to post to threads.

javeryh: how would you feel if the next time you posted a thread about poop problems, an ad-bot posts about new Depends X-tra Strong super capacity?
 
[quote name='manthing']javeryh: how would you feel if the next time you posted a thread about poop problems, an ad-bot posts about new Depends X-tra Strong super capacity?[/QUOTE]

It wouldn't bother me at all. Does anyone actually read my posts? Aren't you guys just bots posting in threads for me to read? I'm so confused.
 
Dude just dropped how many thousand dollars to be on some fucking terrible radio show - and in the process, pay at least another $1000 to fly from Japan to NY and back.

Let's not act like he's "trying to make money" in terms of budgeting his meals - dude makes plenty of money off of the affiliate links we purchase off of, as evidenced by what he can do with his discretionary spending.

Does this ad bother me? No. But it's an indicator of possible changes that could come to this site, over time, that won't make it worth coming to anymore. This *one* ad won't matter, but as he discovers more and more ways to up his revenue, it will matter.

Another perspective contrary to this is that enough people use ad blocking plugins for their browsers that banner ads aren't shown, and aren't making money for Cheapy. So this is a way of circumventing that. I don't really support that, but maybe it's plausible.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']
Does this ad bother me? No. But it's an indicator of possible changes that could come to this site, over time, that won't make it worth coming to anymore. This *one* ad won't matter, but as he discovers more and more ways to up his revenue, it will matter.[/QUOTE]
I agree with this

[quote name='mykevermin']terrible radio show[/QUOTE]
I disagree with this
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Dude just dropped how many thousand dollars to be on some fucking terrible radio show - and in the process, pay at least another $1000 to fly from Japan to NY and back.

Let's not act like he's "trying to make money" in terms of budgeting his meals - dude makes plenty of money off of the affiliate links we purchase off of, as evidenced by what he can do with his discretionary spending.

Does this ad bother me? No. But it's an indicator of possible changes that could come to this site, over time, that won't make it worth coming to anymore. This *one* ad won't matter, but as he discovers more and more ways to up his revenue, it will matter.

Another perspective contrary to this is that enough people use ad blocking plugins for their browsers that banner ads aren't shown, and aren't making money for Cheapy. So this is a way of circumventing that. I don't really support that, but maybe it's plausible.[/QUOTE]

Fully agree.
 
Nothing against anyone's opinion so far but its something I've thought of in general that I've seen lately. CheapyD created a website that is successful because its useful. Why should he be limited to his income because of this? This may be Cheapassgamer but I doubt most users are poor, they just enjoy being frugal with their money so they can become wealthy while enjoying video games. Cheapy understands the community and I don't think he would ever do anything that would compromise the quality of the forum just for personal gain.

He could easily charge for the upcoming iphone app but he has already said it will be free.
 
[quote name='Treythalomew']Nothing against anyone's opinion so far but its something I've thought of in general that I've seen lately. CheapyD created a website that is successful because its useful. Why should he be limited to his income because of this? This may be Cheapassgamer but I doubt most users are poor, they just enjoy being frugal with their money so they can become wealthy while enjoying video games. Cheapy understands the community and I don't think he would ever do anything that would compromise the quality of the forum just for personal gain.

He could easily charge for the upcoming iphone app but he has already said it will be free.[/QUOTE]

I agree with this. Cheapy knows what makes his site popular and I doubt he will jeopardize it.
 
[quote name='Treythalomew']Nothing against anyone's opinion so far but its something I've thought of in general that I've seen lately. CheapyD created a website that is successful because its useful. Why should he be limited to his income because of this? This may be Cheapassgamer but I doubt most users are poor, they just enjoy being frugal with their money so they can become wealthy while enjoying video games. Cheapy understands the community and I don't think he would ever do anything that would compromise the quality of the forum just for personal gain.

He could easily charge for the upcoming iphone app but he has already said it will be free.[/QUOTE]
No, CAG isn't successful because "it's useful." It's successful because of its community.

CheapyD is only doing more and more to alienate his users, what with allowing bots to spam the forum, and letting rampant moderator abuse go on, with his full knowledge (ask munch and zewone about the time CheapyD changed the names of their accounts to "Jerk-Off #1" and "Jerk-Off #2" when they had done essentially nothing).

Yeah, he can do whatever he wants, but he has to walk a fine line between making money and maintaining the community. I know I definitely don't approve of this, and I'm sure many more don't either.
 
Cheapy makes successful site that we frequent.

He puts stickied ad's up. We don't -have -to click those links. We can just as easily ignore them.

It doesn't really effect you. And, without a doubt, I'd bet you guys wouldn't be so vehement about this situation if Cheapy -wasn't- getting paid from these ads.

Let's cut the shit and get back to reality. This doesn't effect us, one way or the other. Move on with life, move on with getting great deals and being a cheap ass.

We don't need to blow this out of proportions.
 
[quote name='RedGamer']Cheapy makes successful site that we frequent.

He puts stickied ad's up. We don't -have -to click those links. We can just as easily ignore them.

It doesn't really effect you. And, without a doubt, I'd bet you guys wouldn't be so vehement about this situation if Cheapy -wasn't- getting paid from these ads.

Let's cut the shit and get back to reality. This doesn't effect us, one way or the other. Move on with life, move on with getting great deals and being a cheap ass.

We don't need to blow this out of proportions.[/QUOTE]
It bumps OUR threads and OUR stickies. So it DOES effect us. As someone stated earlier, "one" thread isn't going to do much, but this is a step in the wrong direction for CAG.
 
im guessing anyone that is complaining about cheapy being "greedy" are being supported by their parents. this is the real world. people want and like to make as much money as possible so they and their families can enjoy a better life.
 
[quote name='guinaevere']Wombats profile? What am I missing that's a problem?[/QUOTE]It's a trick to try and get you to get the "Wombat Achievement" for looking at Wombat's profile. For the people that click and don't check before clicking.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']It's a trick to try and get you to get the "Wombat Achievement" for looking at Wombat's profile. For the people that click and don't check before clicking.[/QUOTE]
Well that just ruins all of the fun. I'm pretty sure gwen was scouring that page looking for the ad. ;)
 
Cheapy may be free to do whatever he likes, but that doesn't mean we have to like it.

[quote name='Liquid 2']No, CAG isn't successful because "it's useful." It's successful because of its community.[/QUOTE]


This hits the nail right on the head. Credit should be giving to Cheapy for the initial idea and providing unique content like the CAGCast. However, this site is only here today because of the contributions by the sum of its members, so I feel we're well within our rights to complain.

I don't think anyone really cares that there are ads; the site does have to be paid for. But I'm quite sure there will be vocal complaints when ads are placed that violate the integrity of the site, such as the one being discussed now. Its stickied in two forums and can't even be commented on. I would imagine the complaints would subside if the posts were unstickied and unlocked, so at the very least if there's little to no interest they'll go away on their own.
 
It's not SPAM if the site's owner approves of it. Then, it's just advertising.

With all of us using FireFox/Ad Block, you'd better get used to methods like this to raise funds.

If you don't like it, we'll, I don't know what to tell you. Cheapy gives quite a bit to Child's Play *and* donates stuff for the raffle as well - so if he wants to do something like this to raise more funds, that's all well and good with me.
 
Yeah, quite frankly I don't give a shit. I understand the points that were raised, but it doesn't affect me. Even if we hit the dystopian future of ad bots advertising me Depends when I talk about shitting myself, I don't think all of us will cease to exist because of it. We'll still be a community.
 
[quote name='manthing']Allowing an ad-bot to post with admin-level rights also creates a slippery slope in terms of the community here.

Content would be lessened if adbots are allowed to post to threads.

javeryh: how would you feel if the next time you posted a thread about poop problems, an ad-bot posts about new Depends X-tra Strong super capacity?[/QUOTE]

It's not spam and it does not come from a bot. They are targeted ad campaigns (which are approved and listed by a human being) which I am testing out on a trial basis.


[quote name='javeryh']I agree with this. Cheapy knows what makes his site popular and I doubt he will jeopardize it.[/QUOTE] Exactly. I have been doing this for over 6 years, so yes, I do believe I know what I'm doing at this point.

[quote name='mykevermin'] Does this ad bother me? No. But it's an indicator of possible changes that could come to this site, over time, that won't make it worth coming to anymore. This *one* ad won't matter, but as he discovers more and more ways to up his revenue, it will matter.

Another perspective contrary to this is that enough people use ad blocking plugins for their browsers that banner ads aren't shown, and aren't making money for Cheapy. So this is a way of circumventing that. I don't really support that, but maybe it's plausible.[/QUOTE]See above. Also, your theory is correct. I've seen page views go up and ad impressions go down.

[quote name='Treythalomew']Nothing against anyone's opinion so far but its something I've thought of in general that I've seen lately. CheapyD created a website that is successful because its useful. Why should he be limited to his income because of this? This may be Cheapassgamer but I doubt most users are poor, they just enjoy being frugal with their money so they can become wealthy while enjoying video games. Cheapy understands the community and I don't think he would ever do anything that would compromise the quality of the forum just for personal gain.

He could easily charge for the upcoming iphone app but he has already said it will be free.[/QUOTE]I have no idea what the future holds for CAG. Digital distribution is inevitable and internet advertising in general has taken a serious hit. I think anyone in my position would try to be as successful as possible as soon as possible, obviously without compromising the quality of the site. Doing so also benefits the users as it enables me to invest more in CAG.

[quote name='BlueLobstah'] I don't think anyone really cares that there are ads; the site does have to be paid for. But I'm quite sure there will be vocal complaints when ads are placed that violate the integrity of the site, such as the one being discussed now. Its stickied in two forums and can't even be commented on. I would imagine the complaints would subside if the posts were unstickied and unlocked, so at the very least if there's little to no interest they'll go away on their own.[/QUOTE]I knew the threads were going to stickies, but was surprised to see they were locked. As soon as I saw that, I emailed the company, suggesting that we open them up. I think it's in everyone's best interest to have them able to be commented on.


Currently, I don't think a single, 45px tall sponsored thread in a forum violate the integrity of the site. Like I said, I'm testing this out and of course my opinion may change in the future.
 
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okay i don't get what everybody is crying about. who gives a shit if this is stickied? it's clearly an ad, and marked as such. second of all, CAG is rife with people who profiteer using really lame methods (buying out a particular game stock at one store to flip at another), so i don't see why it's suddenly a big deal that an ad is posted. if you don't like it, don't click on it.
 
[quote name='Liquid 2']No, CAG isn't successful because "it's useful." It's successful because of its community
[/QUOTE]

Why would there be a community if the site wasn't useful and didn't draw people to join in the first place?

Games sites with forums area dime a dozen, and the quality of discussion here isn't necessarily any better than a lot of other sites out there--better than some and worse than others. The deals aspect of this forum is why it's a success and has a good community.

I don't like seeing ads pop up all over the place on forums, and have stopped going to forums because of them in the past. And I'd give this one up if ads popped up all over, especially since I don't game that much and really only regulary check the off topic, vs and DVD/BR Deals forums here now.

But I'll wait until that happens, and not worry about slippery slope potentials.

The other points with modding etc., I've never had much of an issue. Just a few cliques of people here who treat the forum like a chat room and want to have things there way seem to have issues with that stuff.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']I don't like seeing ads pop up all over the place on forums, and have stopped going to forums because of them in the past. And I'd give this one up if ads popped up all over[/quote]Without knowing what browser you use, remember that firefox has an ad blocker add-on, and other browsers may have similar utilities.

The other points with modding etc., I've never had much of an issue. Just a few cliques of people here who treat the forum like a chat room and want to have things there way seem to have issues with that stuff.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, that happens on any site which has social interactions. It's innate behavior within us all to find personalities we get along with (or not get along with). The cliques are the end result of members who find they get along with other members.

Now, that doesn't mean that regular threads ought be treated as a chat room. With a site this large and active, we definitely need structure, but Cheapy and the mod team like to keep things friendly and fairly easy going. So it's a balancing act and we can only try to do our best.
 
Just my two cents here:

While I don't agree with the ads, it's the owner of the site's right to post them!

But I have one word for you guys if you don't want to see ads. Well, two!

Firefox + Adblock+ !
 
[quote name='japatten']Just my two cents here:

While I don't agree with the ads, it's the owner of the site's right to post them!

But I have one word for you guys if you don't want to see ads. Well, two!

Firefox + Adblock+ ![/QUOTE]
We're not discussing advertisements, we're discussing the spam accounts that can post sticky threads.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Why would there be a community if the site wasn't useful and didn't draw people to join in the first place?

Games sites with forums area dime a dozen, and the quality of discussion here isn't necessarily any better than a lot of other sites out there--better than some and worse than others. The deals aspect of this forum is why it's a success and has a good community.[/QUOTE]
Who posts those deals that makes the deal section worthwhile?

It's the community.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Another perspective contrary to this is that enough people use ad blocking plugins for their browsers that banner ads aren't shown, and aren't making money for Cheapy. So this is a way of circumventing that. I don't really support that, but maybe it's plausible.[/QUOTE]do cheapy get money if the ads are shown or only if they're clicked? i have no problem adding CAG to my whitelist but if i'm never going to click the ads i figured why bother.
 
Damn this capitalist system!!! Damn it all to hell!!!!

CAG is a product, if you don't like said product, don't use it. It really is that simple.
 
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