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Page name: About the Elftown ads [Logged in view] [RSS]
2009-06-03 00:57:53
Last author: Hedda
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About the Elftown ads


As seen on <URL:donate.html>, Elftown is run on hardware bought from donations from its users, so why are there ads?

The thing is that Elftown's server ([Elftron]) is quite hungry for both electricity and bandwidth. And since it became too much trouble to have it at Linköping University with power-failures, restrictions on what to do with the server and that it's located far from where anyone can fix the hardware problems (and locked in during weekends for anyone who cares), someone else than the university has to pay for it.

So because the donations are meant for buying new hardware, it feels wrong to use them keeping Elftown running.

So therefore there are ads at the following places:

1) When you log out from Elftown on top of your house. If Google does its job well, the ads should be accourding to what you've written in your presentation, but so far Google seems to do a bad job at it.

2) To the right of wiki-pages unless you're logged in. Logged in Elftowners who help producing the wiki-pages don't get any ads.

3) At the bottom of the different news-pages (<URI:news.html>, <URI:poems.html>, <URI:featured_member.html>, <URI:featured_wiki-pages.html> and <URI:drawings.html>). At least at the drawing and poem pages, the ads seem to be close to the subject so someone might actually enjoy the ads.

I thought of having ads on the entrance page, but as that page is an advertisement for Elftown, it seems like a bad idea. It's better with a new Elftowner than a click on an ad.

About clicking on the ads
For the Google ads, Elftown gets income for every time someone clicks on them. What ads that are served depends on the content on the page their are shown on and what you click on. If you avoid clicking on your favourite shop's ads, then they have to pay much more for every click to be seen, and if you click a lot on some ad, that advertiser gets the clicks cheaper.

The Project Wonderful and the other ads on the bottom of pages are not paid per click at all, but per impression.

The links in the Elftown Mall (<URL:mall.html>) don't give Elftown a shit unless you buy something following those links.

What do you think?
About the Google Ads (logout and news-pages):
3.0/10

About the Project Wonderful ads (Right bottom and Mainstreet):
2.8/11

The MyStarship.com ads (bottom):
2.5/10

The big ugly ad at the bottom (Might not always be seen):
92.1/10

The Elftown Mall (<URL:mall.html>):
2.7/9



Update 2009-01-17

I'm trying out some new ads now. The Elftown Mall (<URL:mall.html>) hasn't sold one single item yet and both [Hedda], Lilo and [Elftron] need food and shelter.

There is some word-ads from Kontera that appear on exported wiki-pages. They give very little money per click, but I personally don't think they are in the way, but I've heard other opinions, but not from Elftowners.

There is a huge totally annoying ad that pops up when you move to the top-links (after 3 seconds after the pages is loaded) now. I'm not sure if it will be irritating and I'll test it out myself now. (Update That is removed now)

Another ad...

Now there is a link at the bottom of the pages from http://mystarship.com/
These ads basically gives Elftown's ad (Right now looking like http://elftown.eu/elftown_468x60.gif) the exposure on other sites. The more that is is viewed and clicked on, the more Elftown's ad is shown on other sites. I'll try it for a while at least. All these ads should point to science fiction sites, so they should at least be remotely interesting.

As for the Chitica and Kontera ads, I think I'll be removing them. There are some other ads that needs removal too, because they don't give anything.


Even more ad test... (2009-01-19)

Sorry about this, but I have to try out some ads. There is a big one at the bottom of pages now. I think I'll switch between that and the Project Wonderful ads (and remove the MyStarship ad), but not have both at the same time. Update: ADSDAQ said that Elftown is a filthy piece of shit and that they want nothing to do with it. Maybe because they fucking morons that don't like the language we use here. So no ads from there, which I guess is just as well as their ads tend to be annoying. Eh... Wait, it says: "Domain is primarily a social networking application" as one of the possible reasons. I bloody selected that as a type of site and then it isn't OK. Grrr! Wasting my time.

More stuff (2009-01-20)

There are also AdEngage ads at the bottom now. It isn't more ads, but it's replacing the left Wonderful Project and MyStarship ads a little. So now you get three kind of ads on that place. Should make it more interesting than seeing the same ad/kind of ads all the time.

I got a really good deal here, and I really hope you like it and want to take a few minutes to try it out at least:

2.5

8 votes

(Seems like no one likes it. I honestly can say I blame you. There are no shortage of free really good games to play (See some other ads here.).)

Message ads

(2008-02-19) There are now an ad in your messages. Seems like the Elftowners spend a huge part of their time (about 4%) on checking if people can read their messages yet. So I though they can just as well spend some time on watching some ads if they are that bored... The ads should be somewhat targeted at your interest if you have the right ones selected. (poetry, hunting, cats, physics, board games, beer, whisky, LARP, dogs, fashion, stocks, operas, wines, fishing, knitting, Mac and Linux are the ones used now and everyone gets ads about fantasy and scifi, of course).




Feel free to leave a comment about this.

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2008-08-05 [NOOOPE]: ADS.

Sorry, I just wanted to be the first. Yey for money?

2008-08-06 [Neferoth, the lethargic stigmata]: Yeah.. I'm just confused because on the side there was an add for House.. And under, was an add for.. House.. Just my two cents. Google really didn't do a good job. =/

2008-08-09 [nokaredes]: Fixed a typo :)

2008-08-23 [Imperator]: I was so excited when I saw ads after I logged out! How much will this suplement the donations?

2008-08-23 [Artsieladie]: I understand the need for ads. I so wish I could help more with the costs for Elftown. <img:stuff/cr-gif.gif>

2008-08-25 [Hedda]: It will not be added to the donations. The ads will pay for the hosting of Elftown. Just as I've written above.

2008-08-26 [Imperator]: But how much is Elftown earning from the ads?

2008-08-29 [Hedda]: Nothing. The deal is that I have the ads there for the hosting.

2008-08-30 [Imperator]: Well certainly there's a price on hosting? I'm just curious here...

2008-08-31 [Hedda]: Yes, the price is the ads.

2008-08-31 [Imperator]: ... Fine then. How much did it cost to host Elftown before the ads?

2008-08-31 [Hedda]: It costed nothing for Elftown as I personally paid for it, and before that Linköpng University paid for it.

I pay 320 SEK/month for my internet connection plus about 150 SEK/month for powering the [Elftron]. Unfortunately I can't get more than one Internet connection, unless I pay for another flat, and that's too expensive. 

2008-09-01 [Imperator]: SEK? What does that stand for? Isn't Sweden on the Euro?

2008-09-01 [Hedda]: Do I have to write SEK? You'll get so much better answers from Google than me.

2008-09-01 [Neferoth, the lethargic stigmata]: Because Google knows all!.. ;>>

2008-09-05 Federico Tejera: Hello,

My name is Federico Tejera, Executive Media Buyer at Harren Media. We are a premium ad network looking to be able to partner with your company, working with you on the monetization of your properties in both your local and international traffic.
Our System rotates different kind of products and optimizes showing the creative's that better pays according to the audience behaviors.
We have a very rich client base with which we are helping Publishers monetize all of their inventories all the way to their last impression. We have a wide range of branding clients such as Danone, Kodak, Phillips among others and also a wide range of direct response clients such as Movistar (the number one telecommunications company in Spain and Latin America), Flycell, Celldorado, Vodaphone etc.
On the Publisher side we are already working with top Publishers such as MSN and Yahoo as well as with top Social Networks Facebook and Hi5. We also manage other sites similar to yours achieving excellent results.
I would like to discuss with you about this by phone, so if you can send me a phone contact or an E-mail, I’ll be talking to you shortly about our business proposal and possibilities.
Let me know if you consider this proper, when would be a good time to reach you.

Thanks in advance.
Hope to hear from you soon.

ftejera@harrenmedia.com

2008-09-05 [Hedda]: Better ads and more money? <img:stuff/$-sign-gif.gif>

I emailed him and we'll see if that's something to have. It would be nice with "art" and "game" categories instead of Google's ads that tend to be pretty irrelevant often.

2008-09-06 [Imperator]: You should make Elftown earn so much money that every member can recieve a monthly paycheck just for being a member. That would surely boost our numbers!

2008-09-08 [Hedda]: Harren Media apparently shows mostly ads for scammers and sites trying to fool people to send an expensive SMS to join a contest that probably is totally illegal and a scam. I'll have non of that on my sites, especially since it's more problem than getting money from Google who has pretty OK advertisers.

2008-09-09 [Imperator]: Who cares about doing the right thing when being immoral creates cash? :P

2008-09-10 [Hedda]: Well, I don't want the site to get a bad reputation. It's not good in the long run.

2008-09-11 [Imperator]: Too late. [windowframe] is already here. Ooooooo! BURN on [windowframe]!

2008-09-14 [windowframe]: :O

2008-09-14 [Hedda]: Now Google started to give the same shit-ads too. At least I could filter them out.

2008-09-16 [Artsieladie]: *applause for Hedda and a toast!* <img:stuff/ThumbsUp_Wh_Mood.gif><img:stuff/WineRed_25.png>

2008-10-29 [Mortified Penguin]: ...*eats ramen*...

2008-11-21 [Helob]: Among my interests I've chosen 'religion', so the ads are 99% about that for me. The problem is just that I'm a satanist (no, not devil-worshipper - satanic atheist), and all the ads are fucking christian. This is bugging me.

2008-11-21 [Hedda]: [Helob]: Sometimes the keywords trigger the wrong things. It's not that strange that both the ads and people looking at your profile assume something Christian when it just says "religion" and you're located in Sweden.

I tried now, and at least I got this ad under the Christan ads:
death metal
Allt i gitareffekter, Studio & Pa- effekter. Hitta det hos Sound1!
www.sound1.com

Not that they can spell "guitar" in Swedish, but anyway. <img:stuff/zabuN-gif.gif>

I guess I should stop having image-ads there though. They are usually crap, as far as I've seen, and they are only about the top-thing, which is mostly the highest paying, but not the most interesting thing.

2008-11-21 [Hedda]: Thanks for the input, by the way! Anything that hints on how I can make better ads is good for both you and me. <img:stuff/dand-gif.gif>

2008-11-23 [stevedoyle]: Is there a way to sell ad space to Elftown members who have something to sell, books, artwork, custom clothing, jewelry, etc.? Because they're members, they'd have to abide by the rules, (i.e. no scams, no porn, etc.). The ads would be "relevant" because it would be Elftowners helping Elftowners.

2008-11-23 [Hedda]: You can easily bid on AdWords for a space on this site.

Generally people who have something to sell have that on a wiki of some kind. They could of course get together and create some sort of shopping mall, and we could freely give the a little attention.

2008-12-04 [Hedda]: I just saw this ad:

http://military.swords24.eu/

That's some serious fantasy equipment! <img:stuff/dand-gif.gif>

If there could just be some 10 times more Elftowners, I could afford to buy some stuff <img:stuff/cheshmak.gif>

2009-01-05 [elfflower1989]: V.V' I don't like when the ads pop up every time I try to get back to my house ><'

Why don't you make a poll asking people who donate if they'd mind if their donations went to keeping elftown running, and not just hardware, so that there can be less ads?

2009-01-05 [Chimes]: That huge ad is so annoying... and ugly. Even if it does go away. *dies*

2009-01-05 [Hedda]: I've made it faster now.

2009-01-05 [Hedda]: [elfflower1989]: If people would be donating all the time, that wouldn't be a problem. The thing is however that Elftowners want to keep their money and even the generous gifts aren't close to what advertising gets.

What I want to do is making helpful ads that both gives me money and helps Elftowners find good stuff or save money.

2009-01-05 [Dr. Androgynous]: 1. Will the adds be disabled for those who donate, similar to for competitive sites? and 2. might be a time to consider the efficiency the way Elftown is created. 

2009-01-05 [Hedda]: I'll not have ads that annoy Elftown users. Well... Generally speaking: Some will always be annoyed but some are annoyed that they get messages, that we announce contests and everything that's done here.

The ads shouldn't blink and jump around while you're reading or typing stuff, for example. And they shouldn't be in the way of content.

And I really fail to see how the current Elftown ads can be even remotely as annoying as TV or DVD-ads that you can't fast forward through.

2009-01-05 [Chimes]: Can you not move the big ad to the bottom? It's really annoying when you hover over the navi-bar up top and you get a huge ugly white thing appearing...

2009-01-05 [Viking]: The big ad that comes up when hovering over the nav buttons at the top is extremely annoying. I'd rather have a nice, neat set of ads on the left or right that display at all times.

2009-01-05 [james2777]: so as with anything else in the world it is about greed pretty much the add`s/listings should be on the front page for all to see and let the user deside if they want to partake in them not have them cover the page every 2-3 messages and have them forced on you

2009-01-05 [Jitter]: I agree that it is very annoying (and quite ugy :P) but it did list me books and good music. Not that I can afford anything at the moment but at least it got my interests

2009-01-05 [james2777]: then have it on the front page right when you sign on and if you want to use that service go back to home some people would still do it im sure

2009-01-06 [Hedda]: [james2777]: You did read about the comment that no one has bought anything from the links on <URI:mall.html>?

I've removed the popup ad now as it annoyed everyone myself included. I've added the ads on empty places on Mainstreet and the news instead. The Sword24 add is different all the time, but the others don't change.

2009-01-06 [Viking]: Much better!

Hmm...Amazon is on there, and I was just considering ordering a couple things from them...

2009-01-06 [james2777]: thank you with what several 1,000 peopple out here people will sooner or later im sure

2009-01-06 [Viking]: Ah. I read that Amazon thing wrong. Oh well.

2009-01-06 [Chimes]: I am in agreement, that is much better. It took me ages to find it XD I count that as a good thing.

2009-01-06 [Calico Tiger]: I missed the big annoying part. I feel deprived! :O I like the current placement of the ads on the side (since they're not in the way and aren't noticeable unless you scroll way down). Especially if it's going to help Elftown keep going :D

2009-01-06 [Hedda]: [Viking]: Yepp, you get books 10% cheaper than on Amazon! Maybe some other things too. <img:stuff/cheshmak.gif>

2009-01-06 [Hedda]: [Calico Tiger]: I don't think that non-noticeable ads will help Elftown going... It would be nice if they would though.

2009-01-06 [allenp]: [Hedda] If you don't mind me asking...how much is Elftown eating up per month in funds?

2009-01-06 [Mortified Penguin]: Basically nothing. The university/university computer club pays for the upkeep.

2009-01-07 [Hedda]: [Mortified Penguin]: You're wrong. [Elftron] is nowadays situated at my place. It was too much problems with everything at the university and it was a pain to service the server there.

It's about $62 per month for network and electricity to run it (which is 50% more than the ads give!), but the main problem is I can't work on or advertise Elftown if I have no income. Elftown will always mostly depend on the users themselves, but some paid staff would do wonders in some areas.

2009-01-07 [allenp]: I see. 62 US $'s?

What is your vision for Elftown if you don't mind me asking? What need of advertising? (I hope those questions come across right...I don't mean them in a negative way.)

So you run this from your house...impressive. Thank you for that.

2009-01-07 [Artsieladie]: [allenp], I'm very glad you asked this question, because I, too, wanted to know what the cost is to [Hedda], but I thought I might be asking something I shouldn't be asking? <img:stuff/c-gif.gif> But, I guess it would have been ok to. :)

but the main problem is I can't work on or advertise Elftown if I have no income.

This makes perfect sense to me, because it takes money to earn money and it makes sense to advertise Elftown, because it's vital that a community always continues to grow. Maybe, people here on Elftown just aren't aware enough of this fact, [Hedda]. I'm not sure why, considering you informed people of the move from the university to your flat for the very same reasons you just explained... again. Maybe many people do still think just like Mort does? You've also mentioned in your diary about keeping Elftron cool, though, at your place when it was hot weather.

but some paid staff would do wonders in some areas.

I'd be interested in your thoughts/reasoning with this. How could this be pulled off and how can we, as members be helpful with this? How can we, as members help to initiate more donations? Can we offer any other little extra benny for donating? ...and even individually? *ends questions* <img:stuff/zabuN-gif.gif>

2009-01-07 [Chimes]: You're like a one-woman interview machine. :P (In a good way)

2009-01-07 [Hedda]: My vision for Elftown is that it should be the natural gathering point for people interested in fantasy and science fiction. Elftown shouldn't be only about fantasy and science fiction, but also about the people behind it.

As for the ads, my vision is that I can give people valuable advise while making money of it. I for example recommend Newegg for computer hardware despite that they pay me way less than for example buy.com (I do this because of what I've heard from trustworthy Elftowners, not because I actually know personally though).

But then people who read my (our) advices have to use the Elftown links and not just read about it and then buy it without using the link. You would be amazed to know how people unconsciously go out of their way just to not click on the ad-links that made them buy what they are buying.

It seems like people really don't want to confess to themselves that ads have an impact on them and therefore they only click on ads that lead to crap, and Google's AdWords sends the ads that people are the most likely to click on. Which means that AdWords sends you crappy ads and that my selected ads give no money.

2009-01-07 [allenp]: hmmm.....yeah....I got lost in the whole add description thingy :)

That said...I tell you this....I am a hardware junky and yes...Newegg is the place to go.

Your vision I think is certainly understood, at least by me, as the reason for ET....now some (not all) of the younger generation may not quite understand that but I know some of the older folks get that.

Now...am I understanding that you want ET as your job?

I ask these questions because I am an idea guy....and maybe I can find or through our discussion WE can find a way to help

2009-01-07 [Hedda]: Another misconception among shoppers is that they don't want to click on their favourite shop's ads because that will cost it money and you want your shop to be able to offer cheap stuff instead of paying for ads.

But with Google's ads it doesn't work like that. The more people click on a particular ad, the less that advertiser has to pay per click. And if no one clicks on an advertiser's links, their ads will not be shown and your favourite shop will fail in its marketing.

For Elftown's affiliate links, you can click as much as you want on them, because there is no pay per click on them.

So the general rule is simple: Don't go out of your way to not click on ads! And you'll get better ads, better shops and a better Internet.

2009-01-07 [Hedda]: Elftown is my job at the moment. It just doesn't pay...

Any ideas of how to make money is greatly appreciated. I'm trying my best to make Elftowners both save and earn money, but I'm not so got at it yet.

But we should of course not forget that Elftown should be fun! This isn't a salt mine! (I do recommend the Salt Mines in Krakow though, but working in one is supposed to be less fun)

2009-01-07 [Hedda]: (buy.com do seem to be cheapest on books though and if that's wrong, then I hope I get corrected. I doubt they are cheapest on every book, but if they live up to that 10% less than Amazon offer you see at the bottom of a page it's generally very good)

2009-01-07 [allenp]: Ahh....so Elftown is your job...now that puts things into a different perspective. I think the only means for steady income would be through the adds.

Another way, but a way that would have to be carefully approached, would be to offer memberships of some sort not unlike deviant art does. Now...what this membership would include I dont know yet. I know that you shouldnt take away from the towns people what they already have...so it will take some thought. Perhaps others will have ideas as well.

2009-01-07 [Hedda]: The problem is that I don't like the membership idea. Some reasoning behind it:

It's the most active members of Elftown who would become members.

It's the most active members of Elftown who makes this a fun and useful place for everyone else.

People who don't mean a shit to Elftown as a community are the ones who click mostly on the ads. It's people who have Googled and come to Elftown. That content is made by the most active Elftowners.

So instead of people donating, I would prefer if they just sell me their soul... That is: Following the Elftown advice when shopping online. Then they would both save money and help the community in the long run.

The second thing is that it needs to become easier to go from registered member to active member. I'll try to set up a new member attack-squad, see the Elftown members forum in a minute.

2009-01-07 [james2777]: [Hedda] why not ofset with a membership to fake? do they not all somewhat run together? and plus it would eliminate the underage people on that site. even if it is just 2 dollers a month on there you could spred the wealth with all the sites and do somewhat better.... it is just an idea

2009-01-07 [Hedda]: Any community would die with a membership fee. It has been tried on many sites and the results are horrible.

2009-01-07 [Dr. Androgynous]: Depends, if the community is worth paying for.

2009-01-07 [james2777]: fake should be for 18 and over and for some people an on line life means a whole lot if they can not make a 2 doller p/p payment a month or 10 dollers for a year then something is fishy there i do belive hell sex sites charge 29.99 mostly i belive for that site a 2 doller fee would help alot you could at least try on there  of all of them and if it does not work then you can drop the membership after 90 days if the numbers drop so badly but if it was to work then it would help on these 3 major elf sites  ah just my openion

2009-01-07 [allenp]: I dont think that would be in the best spirit of Elftown. I understand where you are coming from but those things work well in a perfect of which this is not. [Hedda] is right...ET would not survive and thats the whole point...its survival.

2009-01-08 [Chimes]: "but those things work well in a perfect of which this is not."
Whuuuuuut...? o.o;

2009-01-08 [james2777]: im not referring to elftown I mean for the mostly adult site FAKE to see i that works and i so spred the monies around on fake elfpack and elftown. that is what I was getting to.. but if ya all think that is not a good idea then i`ll accept that

2009-01-08 [Artsieladie]: Hmm.. I only click on ads that peek my interest, occasionally just out of curiosity, but as a whole, I'm not much of an ad clicker, because it usually seems to lead me to a place I don't really want to be, either because they want my personal info and/or they are just trying to get me to buy something that I can live without. :P However, if just the clicking on the ads can be beneficial, without actually having to carry through with anything, I can certainly do more clicking! :)

lol [Chimes]. ;) I just want to know how we can help [Hedda], that's all. :)

2009-01-08 [allenp]: [Chimes] It means that some times great ideas will only work if everyone in life does what they SHOULD (or what we think they should) do....but we know that never happens.

Its hard to tell when someones being sarcastic or honest on the internet sometimes....so if you were being sarcastic...we are only trying to help in here. If you don't want me help I will go elsewhere.

2009-01-08 [Artsieladie]: [allenp], I think we all just want to see how we can be helpful. Everyone's positive help and input is welcome. I think [Chimes] just wanted you to clear up what you said so she could understand what you said. We all have ideas, which we should mention, because a silent idea can never become a good idea. *winks*

2009-01-08 [Chimes]: Artsie is right. :] Your sentence seemed like it was missing a word and so confused me. Help is good. If I were being sarcastic I would probably put '>.>', but I wasn't so all is well. :]

2009-01-08 [allenp]: :)

2009-01-08 [Chimes]: Sorry for the confusion. :]

2009-01-19 [Hedda]: That new ad is bugging though... It's set to not display when there is no ads, but I can see a damn FightGlobalWarming ad. Maybe because it isn't active yet.

2009-01-19 [Hedda]: Hm, now it started to work as in not appearing. At least for me.

2009-01-19 [Artsieladie]: At the moment on the bottom of this page I see the MyStarship and Project Wonderful ads. The Global Warming one I did see before on other pages, but I do not see it now.

2009-01-19 [Artsieladie]: Maybe because they fucking morons that don't like the language we use here.

lol  Well... fuck them!!!! <img:stuff/hh-gif.gif>*grrrrrrrrr* is right! <img:stuff/mood8-gif.gif>

2009-01-23 [Hedda]: I hope I don't spam too much about that GamePass... It's just that I really want you to register... <img:stuff/$-sign-gif.gif>

I'll promise to write something about it as soon as possible, but I hope someone else beats me to it. <img:stuff/cheshmak.gif>

2009-01-23 [Artsieladie]: Well, you have to use IE, so I would need 3 browsers running at the same time, which I don't want, because it adds to slowing down my computer. I did set up an account with ProjectWonderful, but I haven't spent the time to understand just what it would cost, etc.. I still think I'd rather give you some money to advertise Elftown. :P

2009-01-23 [Hedda]: One has to use IE for that GamePass?!?

2009-01-23 [Artsieladie]: That's what I got when I clicked on it and I clicked on it twice to see if I would get the same thing, too, and I did. :/ Besides, I loathe IE!

2009-01-23 [Hedda]: Aha, no. It just messes with Opera. Firefox works just fine, and probably Opera too if you tell it send another string, but I don't find how to do that.

2009-01-23 [Hedda]: I sent a bug-report to http://www.realarcade.com/

2009-01-23 [Artsieladie]: Ah. I'm not on Elftown through Firefox, so I didn't know. If you find out how to use it with Opera, that'll be good. I don't use Firefox with Elftown, unless I want to reload every Elftown page and I don't feel this desire too often.

2009-01-23 [Hedda]: http://www.realarcade.com/ told me that they don't give a shit about Opera-users and they don't have any plans at the moment to fix the problem. I think it's because the wrong person was handling my request. They could easily fix so that it says "Might not work with Opera" and show the page instead of blocking Opera all together. I'll speak to the Opera-people too because they should know how to handle this.

2009-01-23 [Artsieladie]: They don't?! Well, they oughta', considering the Opera Community itself has 2,018,019 members. I'm willing to bet that a sizable portion of these members probably use Opera and how many have downloaded Opera to use it and have not joined the community? They're the ones that are missing out, then, I would think. 

2009-01-23 [Hedda]: Go to the menu: tools->quick preferences->Network->browser identification.
Change that to Firefox. Then it works just fine.

I've registered for a pass now. The first game I tried was crap, so I'm still searching. I wonder how many I can get to work in Linux though. The games are downloadable though, so I assume they work just fine even after the 30 day trying period.

I'm mostly interested in the puzzle-games, but there might be something else fun too.

2009-01-24 [Artsieladie]: Tools->Quick Preferences->Edit Site Preferences-> = New Little Window->Network->Site Identification-->(a)"Identify as Firefox" -or- (b)"Mask as Firefox"? (a)I'm assuming?

I wouldn't bet on it working after 30 days -or- you'll get a certain amount of times that you'll be able to play the games and that will likely be it, because my daughter did this with some site and with hers, she had a certain amount of times she could play and that was that, unless she paid for more playing time or something. It would have to be a really awesome game to convince me to buy it. Just to sign up, they want my credit card and I'm not comfortable with that idea.

I like brain teasers and puzzles, but not too many other games. I still like Pacman and DigDug, hehe, but Wow and FF do nothing for me at all. I still have my Nintendo and my Atari with the joysticks and all. I should sell them on Ebay. haha

2009-01-24 [Hedda]: It's kind of evil of them to demand card-info, yes. They should use something that is prepaid instead, but they are evil... I wouldn't have trusted them unless it was a well known company. The idea is obviously to get money from people who are too lazy to sign off.

2009-01-24 [Artsieladie]: I wouldn't have trusted them unless it was a well known company.

Hmmm...a 'well known' company isn't always so trustworthy, either. I can think of one! ;)

So, "identify as Firefox" or "mask as Firefox"?

2009-01-24 [Hedda]: "trustworthy" != "likable"

You're on your own there.

2009-01-24 [Artsieladie]: Usually.

I'm always on my own, but.... huh?

Go to the menu: tools->quick preferences->Network->browser identification.
Change that to Firefox. Then it works just fine.

http://elftown.eu/stuff/aj/119747/ChangeToFF_WhichOne.png

Which one? :P

2009-01-24 [Hedda]: Try it!

2009-01-25 [Artsieladie]: Ok... I did... both with "Identify as Firefox" and "Mask as Firefox" and I got the exact same thing, both ways:

Internet Explorer 5.0 or Greater Required.
To view this site and enjoy all the great games from RealArcade, please make sure you are using Internet Explorer 5.0 or later.  Get Internet Explorer 6 Now!

<img:stuff/br2N-gif.gif>

2009-01-25 [Hedda]: It works for me. Have you really tried to reload?

2009-01-25 [Artsieladie]: Reload the page (link)? If so, then yes, I just went and tried it again, both options, and hit 'reload' on the link with each option.

2009-01-25 [Artsieladie]: Ah, I see this little advice you placed with that Arcade Game Ad:

Try it out! You need a creditcard, and remember to sign off after 30 days unless you want to pay (Tip: Write a reminder with the form at the bottom of your house!). /[Hedda]

LOL

2009-01-25 [Dr. Androgynous]: As for visual appeal, the adds are pretty horrible placed as well.

2009-01-25 [allenp]: Where would be the best place?

2009-01-25 [Artsieladie]: [allenp], I typed in basically this same question, like:... And where would be the best place? But then I decided not to hit submit. lol

2009-02-08 [raw10]: i think the ads are well placed, they're not in the way and probably couldn't be clicked on accident like most websites have them. they are a bit of an eyesore, but it's not so bad that i'll stop using elftown. though i think some of the ads may be a bit inappropriate for some of our younger members, like i just saw an ad with a link to "kinkytoystogo.com". lol

2009-02-08 [Hedda]: I checked that site and I doubt you can find one single kid who can become hurt of it. Maybe some parent might get an awkward question, but that's their own fault for not using a condom...

2009-02-08 [raw10]: oh good. plus it is the parents fault for giving their child the power of internet.. much worse things out there. no complaints tho. ;D haha.

2009-02-09 [Hedda]: For a kid, Internet is thousands of times safer than the kitchen. It's a great place to learn. I don't think clicking on my ads is the best way, but it's the way I like the most...

2009-02-09 [Artsieladie]: I agree it's a great place to learn WITH COMPETENT ADULT SUPERVISION. It is certainly no place for a child without it. Even if the ads themselves are harmless, it's where a child can get to from these 'ad sites' that can be quite inappropriate and harmful. But.... the true knowledge 'about' being a parent, can only come from 'actually being' a parent.

Maybe some parent might get an awkward question, but that's their own fault for not using a condom...

So it's the parent's fault as well, for wanting a child? It's pretty difficult to have children using condoms, don't you think? So, what, every child is a mistake? There shouldn't be any children born at all? You were once a child yourself or did you simply materialise? I doubt your mum would agree that you just materialised one day.

2009-02-09 [Hedda]: "it's where a child can get to from these 'ad sites' that can be quite inappropriate and harmful. "

Explain exactly how that is "harmful"! Do kids' heads explode if they see a couple fucking? Or do they have nightmares? And would the supposed problems be worse because they encounter this the first time on the Internet? And, seriously, what kind of sick people are believing that the parents should supervise kids' first encounters with "dirty" things? Should the parents be there for the first masturbation or sex too?!? People need privacy, kids too.

"Maybe some parent might get an awkward question, but that's their own fault for not using a condom..."
So it's the parent's fault as well, for wanting a child?

If you become a parent and expect to get no awkward questions, then you need a slap in the face. When the parents do get the awkward questions they mustn't blame the kid, the Internet, the world or anything else, but just accept it.

2009-02-09 [Artsieladie]: Well, [Hedda], if you have to ask these questions... -sigh- It's clear that you don't have a clue about the true meaning of being a parent, but I'm not faulting you for it, because you've never been a parent. Hell, [Hedda], we parents should just be willing to expose our kids to EVERYTHING, whether they be 2 or 10 and most definitely a parent should never interfere in this 'total exposure', because it's so much better for the kids to be left with unanswered questions and then seek those answers from people that can't be trusted. Good thinking, [Hedda]!

I think most parents expect some awkward questions asked from their children. I think parents should be honest when they do answer, however, and not sugar coat that which is not so sweet.

2009-02-19 [Hedda]: Note: The new ads in your messages are showing a lot of herpes ads at the moment, but it will go away after a while. I hope... Unless Elftowners starts clicking on them like mad, but then I guess it's good ads for you, you lucky bastards!

2009-04-25 Shaun Davis: Hey just a heads up, I wanted to let everyone know that Xio Dibin speaks English. I hope I posted in the right location?

2009-04-26 [Hedda]: No, you didn't...

2009-04-27 [Mortified Penguin]: Strange...

2009-05-08 Satan229: I only have one main issue with the ads that are popping up when you log out. The blasted thing posp up in the middle of the screen blocking part of the page from view and you can't move it. Fix that problem and they are fine. It doesn't matter which Browser I use same problem and reloading the page doesn't work either.

2011-01-12 [Akayume]: I like how they're supposed to be based off of what's in your house, and all my ads are for sex sites and to rate your sex life. X3 (I am quite the scandal apparently.)

2011-01-12 [Chimes]: Same here. :P

2011-01-12 [Akayume]: Well we can be scandalous together Chimes. :3

2011-01-12 [Chimes]: Excellent. :P

2011-03-10 [Mortified Penguin]: You Europeans/Canadians check and see if my ad is working correctly (on mainstreet)!

2011-03-10 [Hedda]: It seems to work for me now.

2011-03-10 [Hedda]: I see that you're spending a whopping $0 per day on that ad :P

2011-03-11 [Mortified Penguin]: I've only gotten one click so far. I hope to double that before my bid expires.

2011-03-11 [Mortified Penguin]: Dang it. My European ads were outbid.

2011-08-13 [Dark Side of the Moon]: How on earth do I get rid of the ad at the bottom of the page with the giant boobs on it?!

2011-08-13 [Chimes]: Sadly, you don't. It's currently not possible. But maybe if enough people write about it in the suggestions forum, it can be changed. I don't know though.

2011-08-14 [Mortified Penguin]: Actually, it is possible. For just a little bit of money, you can buy that ad spot yourself and leave it blank or advertise something that isn't boob related (vagina related, perhaps?). I've been thinking about it myself.

2011-08-14 [Mortified Penguin]: Or we could all pitch in and pay like a penny a day to keep Elftown boob free!

2011-08-14 [Dark Side of the Moon]: Well, I honestly don't see that happening [Mortified Penguin], but there's always hope I guess. :)

2011-09-22 [Mortified Penguin]: There. Now there's one less spot for boobs.

2011-09-23 [Akayume]: Oh my god Mort. XD

2011-09-23 [Dark Side of the Moon]: Bob's Diner. Nice. XD

2012-02-13 [Mortified Penguin]: Haven't seen any ads for a while now. What up?

2012-02-13 [Hedda]: Project Wonderful's robot suddenly decided that extra spaces in the ad-code weren't allowed. Fixed now. Thanks!

2013-05-15 [Mortified Penguin]: So much support for the big ugly ad at the bottom!

2014-03-03 [Mortified Penguin]: I've tried to buy up all the Elftown ad space for every country again. Any Europeans/Canadians wanna confirm that every ad for you links to Bob's Diner? I must make sure I haven't missed any spots.

2015-02-03 [Stephen]: Unique idea, Mort.. :P

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