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Sorry folks but I have to protest about this new advertising link policy.
I logged on to the board tonight to show my wife our posting and your esteemed input, only to find the word FISHING in [#ff4040]MY[/#ff4040] post highlighted and underscored. Upon clicking on this text we were directed to some advertisement.
I am not in the least happy with this new and sudden change.
The idea of someone being able to advertise any product, affiliation, club or ideal by means of a link without consent to any of the words I have typed, submitted and am responsible for is to say the least, disturbing to me .
If BFT is that desperate for cash, I would be more than happy to contribute money to thid great and informative site, as are many other members to be sure.
This new feature on BFT will surely keep me away from posting here.
Not a good addition at all!
-ABT-
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[size 2]Hello ABT,
Thank you for your frank feedback of the new ad program. Also thank you for the kind words and volunteering to contribute to the site.
Let me just clarify a couple of things. In our effort to continue to try to offer users the best possible site and provide the best possible value for our advertisers we do explore new options that we think might make sense for users and advertisers. This is one of those times, and it has less to do with bigfishtackle.com needing money and more to do with exploring options that would allow us to post less banners, increase site load time and still deliver the quality of value to our advertisers.
The new program you see is a test and we are just exploring the possibility of implementing a system like this. We respect yours and all other users thoughts on this and would just ask you to bear with things for a week or two until we test the possibilities. We welcome all feedback and can control many aspects of what words are targeted and what words are not, also how the program is implemented (if it is at all, after beta testing).
We do care what you think and would ask you "if we were to implement a program like this what guidelines would you like to see" and if you really just think it is a horrible idea then we also understand and will take that into account when we make a final decision.
Please just keep an open mind and bear with this while we run some tests.[/size]
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TheAngler BFT Moderator
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Just my 2 cents but the highlighted words to a link don't belong in someones post.
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I tend to agree. Especially since there is the possibility that the advertised product, service, etc... may not be acceptable or up to the standards of quality or otherwise of the individual who created said post.
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I tend to agree. Especially since there is the possibility that the advertised product, service, etc... may not be acceptable or up to the standards of quality or otherwise of the individual who created said post. [/reply]
Sorry, for the "said post" line, sometimes the inner lawyer[mad] comes out and likes to talk like a cliche.[crazy]
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[#0000ff]I have already registered my dislike of inserting advertising links into a member's posts. I hope you find a better alternative.[/#0000ff]
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Since this appears to be the venue for registering response to inserting link advertising into members' posts, I'll put my feedback here.
First let me say that I enjoy participating here. BFT provides a wonderful gathering place for fishermen and fisherwomen. I consider regulars here to be my friends. It is a high point in my day and I enjoy contributing. I hope to continue.
That said, let me add my protest to the practice of inserting ads into posts. A forum like this is a partnership. BFT provides the place to participate. In exchange, posters provide the contributions that supply the interest that brings people here and brings them back. Neither party could exist without the other so it is important that we all get along.
The BFT pages are already covered with advertisements. I count 16 separate ads surrounding me as I type this post. I have contributed to other forums and none of them have as much advertising as BFT. I am OK with this to a point - but the ad insertions into contributors' posts cross the line. The trouble with inserting the ads into actual posts is that it appears to be an endorsement by the poster. Yet we have no idea what will be attached to the links. The potential for communicating things the poster never intended is very real.
I hope this little experiment is over very soon. If it continues and becomes the policy of BFT, I will consider going elsewhere, though that would be a  decision to have to make.
zonker
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I like it! Although I don't come to this forum for the ad's just like a few magazines I have dropped because of the ads (too many)
I have dial up, don't feel the need for anything more, not that I can't afford it. BFT comes up so much quicker now
Again, I LOVE IT!
As far as the highlighted words, it is not a big deal to me, I just don't click on them either. I think it is a great idea however. I don't have to put up with the ads unless I want to...for that I say thank you very much!
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That must just be a coincidence if it comes up faster because no banner ads have been removed as of yet. The site still loads the same for me. As a matter of fact, the last couple of days it seems to be loading a bit slower than before for me.
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I am very interested to see how this whole thing plays out. Patience in this experiment has been requested. OK. But will there be an acknowledgment of "Yes, we're going to go with this" or "No, we've decided to reject this idea" or will we simply see it continue or disappear? Like ABT, I am really bugged about this intrusive idea of lacing our posts with advertising links that we may or may not agree with. It's one thing to surround our posts with ads. Its a whole different thing to invade and edit our posts. The more I think about it the more it bugs me.
Tubedude, you're a bit of an insider in all this - at least you seem to have a position closer to the center of the BFT organization. I know you've already registered your protest above, and I appreciate that. But can you keep us informed as to to the outcome?
And just in case my point isn't made clearly enough, theangler said, "if you really just think it is a horrible idea then we also understand and will take that into account when we make a final decision."
I really do think it is a horrible idea.
zonker
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Yes, and after further 'testing' if you wanna call it that, it seems to me that it DOES increase the load time of the site, even though it is only text links. It really slows me down especially when I'm trying to scroll down through the forum main list to get to one near the bottom (such as the tubing forum), and it won't respond because it is loading those dang links, then once they appear it lets me go on. I don't think it is any faster than banner ads.
I really do think it is a horrible idea too.
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Hello,
Yes we will make public announcment once testing is over.
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TheAngler BFT Moderator
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Thanks Mike. I appreciate your prompt response.
zonker
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