So, The Escapist is in the news again...

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

A lot of people tend think that while the ads are seemingly annoying, they also pose a very real threat. No not making you angry, many of the java/flash/embedded video ads found over the Internet have multiple forms of malware in them. Roughly 85% are tracking cookies which in themselves are harmless (hey, if you want to track my usage then pay me for it, don't steal), but as someone who does work in the home computer repair job market, I have traced some very infectious Trojans and rootkit viruses back to these seemingly harmless adverts.

(NB, none of the adverts I have thus far dissected from The Escapist seem to carry anything more annoying than tracking cookies)

If websites in general don't want us using advertisement restricting software, then, guarantee our safety by verifying (and proving) whether or not the content is 100% safe. It's largely an uphill battle that. The servers which host the adverts, which are then linked to millions of websites, don't have the most secure of security policies in place making them a prime target for criminals looking to exploit. Simply allowing a video to load, or scrolling over an advert is usually enough to infect your machine.

Rule #1; Security is prime.

 

[Lionsfan]

I think we can either say ANYTHING or NOTHING AT ALL, because that's what "Freedom of Speech" actually means.

You're right, Freedom of Speech actually means that we can say anything we like......without fear of being censored by the Government.

Maybe next time you should learn the definition of the terms you're using

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Yup this site can be overly strict at times.

The only thing close to an ad blocker I use these days is flash block and it dose not really block ads or the newest flash based stuff but meh the only annoying ad's here are the ones before the videos but the only thing I watch these days are Bobs and maybe Jims stuff Yahtzee got old and mostly predictable.

 

[shrekfan246]

Things like this is why I hate posting on this website, it feels like a dictatorship.
Say anything off and it's the firing squad for you. This place is way to damn strict.
(Also if I get a warning for this post it just goes to show)

Yes, totally... that's why there are countless people on this website who have been posting for years and haven't received a single infraction...

OT: The entire "fiasco", as pointed out in the thread in question by at least Marter and Kross both, is because people can't discuss the topic without also admitting to or advocating the use of the software in question. Everything said in that silly techdirt "article" was also answered by the mods or staff but conveniently ignored because hey, DERN CENSORSHIP!

I understand both sides of the discussion. On the one hand, users feel like their ability for free discussion is stifled. On the other hand, the staff don't want more and more users to be convinced into using software that completely halts their primary form of income. They're taking a heavy-handed approach to the issue, if Kross' post is anything to go by, but the onus for that is still on the users. Every time any thread about the ads comes up, you get a bunch of people showing up who go "Well, you should just do what I do *wink wink nudge nudge*", and that's exactly what the staff don't want to happen. It's a very real problem for the website that allowing for the discussion of the software in question wouldn't really change. Granted, I don't necessarily think it would make it any worse either.

It's turned into a cyclical pattern, one that I imagine weighs just as heavily on the minds of the staff as it does the normal users. They should put more faith in us, but at the same time we shouldn't betray that trust by going out and saying "Hey, you know what's great!?!", which is basically what happened in the past because people seem to be unable to simply report problem ads to the Tech Team.

Of course, nothing I say will matter, because this thread has already turned into bitching about the moderation around here. I guess we have our "Flavor of the Week" threads again.

 

[Norithics]

I'm just really not sure what the banning based on that was all about. Was it supposed to stop people from learning about that plugin? It sort of feels like China banning google searches for "Democracy"- that is to say, really laughable and ineffectual. And I for the most part really like this site.

 

[2xDouble]

So... some whiny little ***** gets banned from The Escapist, writes an essay crying "oppression!", and submits it to a different website. This constitutes "being in the news"...

Yup, that's FoxNews quality journalism alright, I hope his new job works out well for him.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

I'm just really not sure what the banning based on that was all about. Was it supposed to stop people from learning about that plugin? It sort of feels like China banning google searches for "Democracy"- that is to say, really laughable and ineffectual. And I for the most part really like this site.

The warnings were because the site has made it clear they don't like adblock (it interferes with the revenue stream), and there were people in the thread who proclaimed they use adblock, which is against the rules and so, they got warnings (or if they were on the last infraction banned).

You can discuss the usage of adblock without actually admitting to doing it yourself.

That was about half the warnings, the other half got them because they flipped out and started ranting about the moderation and directly insulting the mods, the site and the staff.

 

[Norithics]

The warnings were because the site has made it clear they don't like adblock (it interferes with the revenue stream), and there were people in the thread who proclaimed they use adblock, which is against the rules and so, they got warnings (or if they were on the last infraction banned).

Oh wow, I didn't even notice that. I must've missed it initially.

Well then, that just makes this even more confusing. It almost feels like a big dumb trap. "Hey, here's a thread where you can discuss adblock! But remember the first rule of Fight Club!" Ka-ban.

 

[ForumSafari]

Yes, totally... that's why there are countless people on this website who have been posting for years and haven't received a single infraction...

To be fair though most of those people just post inane, vapid opinionless gibberish.

I don't really want to count three years of posting "throws pony at Furburt" as an achievement.

The warnings were because the site has made it clear they don't like adblock (it interferes with the revenue stream)

You know what interferes with the revenue stream more than having people using adblock? Having people using adblock and not bothering to find out why.

 

[QuicklyAcross]

So you can talk about it and have a civil discussion just not mention the word itself so you kind of have to make vague statment and beat around the bush, and anyone daring to tackle the issue head on with structured and wellformulated opinions is going to get the banhammer?

Hmm....

 

[romxxii]

Since we're on the topic of ads, anyone else getting these stupid autoplay celebrity news videos? Is this intentional? Can Escapist just serve me game-related ads please? I'd rather get advertising for stuff that might actually interest me.

 

[88chaz88]

You can discuss the usage of adblock without actually admitting to doing it yourself.

You can't discuss both sides of the adblock debate without, in part, advocating it's use.

 

[shrekfan246]

Yes, totally... that's why there are countless people on this website who have been posting for years and haven't received a single infraction...

To be fair though most of those people just post inane, vapid opinionless gibberish.

I don't really want to count three years of posting "throws pony at Furburt" as an achievement.

I almost feel like that's a dig at me, considering the context. I'll admit that the majority of my posts have come from user groups, but I hardly believe that they're "inane, vapid opinionless gibberish".

Not that I consider it to be an achievement that I've had nothing better to do for the last three years.

 

[ForumSafari]

I almost feel like that's a dig at me, considering the context.

You can relax, I don't have any fucking idea who you are.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

The warnings were because the site has made it clear they don't like adblock (it interferes with the revenue stream), and there were people in the thread who proclaimed they use adblock, which is against the rules and so, they got warnings (or if they were on the last infraction banned).

Oh wow, I didn't even notice that. I must've missed it initially.

Well then, that just makes this even more confusing. It almost feels like a big dumb trap. "Hey, here's a thread where you can discuss adblock! But remember the first rule of Fight Club!" Ka-ban.

It "feels" like a trap, but that's the way it's always been (piracy discussion follows a similar procedure), you can discuss the advantages and disadvantages to your heart's content, but you do need to avoid saying those three magic words.

You know what interferes with the revenue stream more than having people using adblock? Having people using adblock and not bothering to find out why.

I would like to say companies in general don't care about "why", but general statements are general and not necessarily true. I can't speak for the site or the reasons they do things. In other words, I agree, if there is discontent in your userbase, it would probably be a good idea to find out why.

So you can talk about it and have a civil discussion just not mention the word itself so you kind of have to make vague statment and beat around the bush, and anyone daring to tackle the issue head on with structured and wellformulated opinions is going to get the banhammer?

Hmm....

You can mention the word "adblock" you just can't admit to using the plugin.

You can discuss the usage of adblock without actually admitting to doing it yourself.

You can't discuss both sides of the adblock debate without, in part, advocating it's use.

I am of the opinion that you can, in the same way you can do research and write a report on a country without ever actually going there yourself, but if that's where we disagree then okay.

 

[Gennadios]

I'm not seeing the unfairness, I admitted to adblocking and participated in quite a few piracy discussions over the years, alot of them on the 'Pro' side of the discussion, without a peep from the mods. As far as I've seen making a case for such things has never been an issue until the *really* strong feelings get brought out.

Although, I'd have to admit that more passionate people on the pro-horrible-thing side get moderated than the passionate people against the horrible thing.

(replace "passionate" with "raging asshat")

 

[-Dragmire-]

You know what's the real punchline to The Escapist's ad issues? The Publisher's Club. This is actually a great idea in theory, and you could potentially use a subscription model to be able to do away with obnoxious ads altogether. Instead the biggest incentive for the Publisher's Club is to remove the ads that are causing the problem.

I remember Susan Arendt, when she was still in charge, talking about how the publisher's club relates to their income in comparison to ads. The answer went something along the lines of, if every member of the escapist signed up for the publishers club it wouldn't even be half of what ads give them to function for a month.

A month long ad campaign can net them a 6 figure pay check (for a really profitable one like the Dragon Age 2 ads), but those don't come every day(their are large gaps in the year where nothing big is coming out so getting any game related ads becomes tough). Money the escapist generates likely doesn't stay completely within the site as they are owned by Alloy Digital. Speaking of which, the site was in serious money trouble before Themis sold it. Content creators were not being paid on time with some having large gaps since the last time they were supposed to be paid*.

With this in mind, I don't see the Escapist as being in a position to be picky with ads. Giving people the freedom to talk about systems to bypass ads does not make the site very appealing to advertisers.

While some may argue that the comfort of the users comes first, that position is kind of hard to take when it means turning away money that you need to pay the content creators and keep the site up and running. If you drop your content creators(obviously, shutting down the servers is not an option) to lower the cost of the site, you also lower the reasons for coming to the site which in turn gives the non intrusive (but lower profit) ads a lower view count making the investment in the site a less profitable one.

The whole situation, as I see it, is a giant compromise that works perfectly for no one but sustains the site at it's current size.


*This info came to light during the Extra Credits departure fiasco.


EDIT: Side note: This site takes place on a privately owned server, so they have the right to decide how people act to a certain extent. Think of it like the, "No shirt, no shoes, no service" rules that restaurants enforce.