[Free]

I don't care much about bridge or non-bridge adds, as long as I'm not bothered with them! This means: NO POPUPS, NO PERSONAL MESSAGES!!! Banner ok with me, put a hot girl in bikini on it and we'll all love it But from the moment I need to click something to get the advertisement away, I'm against it!

As to Deanrover's questions:
i) I'm already annoyed with all the personal messages I get when I haven't been online for 2 days. Give me some extra popups or messages with adds I'm not interested in and I throw my XP through the windows You know what I mean... Would I use BBO less? Perhaps. Would I leave BBO? Not in the near future, but if the adds are sprayed to us, then I'd go for sure!
ii) Paying for an ad-free BBO? No way... I hate to pay for stuff on computers, since you can get most things for free I think I'd try to manage a way to get rid of the adds. As I told in i), when it would become too annoying, I might leave, but I won't pay.

[Deanrover]

BBO users will react to any attempts to advertise viagra with a stiff response.

[inquiry]

sceptic, on Aug 2 2004, 06:54 AM, said:

Ben,

I have to object to your attitude about adverts for viagra, some of us need this service and I am sure that if fred and co can benifit from this, I dont see a problem with it, so please, consider us unfortunate ones, I would also appriciate if you just kept this between us, I dont want everyone to know I am important

If you need viagra, just open you email in box. No doubt you will have 20 ads for it a week.

Ben

[guggie]

In my hotmail profile i filled in i was an elderly widow with the lowest income possible (I thought that would give me the lowest SPAM risk). And as everyone knows, the income from Mrs. Guggenheim out of robber bridge is always negative.
Nevertheless I get the odd viagra add, but a really astounding number of ads about enlargement of something (dont know do not open them;-) per day, the other ones are more appropriate to my profile, ie loans;-).
Poor Mrs. Guggenheim. I wonder if they loan me some money, how would they expect to get it back. Strange. But then i never understood anything about economics.

[Brandal]

Anything that doesn't affect the "playability" is fine by me.
Adding logos/companynames to roomnames=fine
Adding logos/companynames to tournamentnames=fine
Having companylogos/names on cards=fine
Bannerads=fine

But please no aggressive popups that you have to click on 5 times during a hand to remove.

[paulhar]

I wouldn't mind a popup that came up just as I was clicking a bad bid or play

[Brandal]

paulhar, on Aug 3 2004, 11:51 AM, said:

I wouldn't mind a popup that came up just as I was clicking a bad bid or play

Educational popups?

[pclayton]

Deanrover, on Aug 2 2004, 06:19 AM, said:

BBO users will react to any attempts to advertise viagra with a stiff response.

And hopefully the response goes on and on.....

[TimG]

I voted for "don't like it, but..." but it reallydepends upon how intrusive the ads are. If they pop up or are flashing, I'd find it quite annoying. Less intrusive and I wouldn't even say I don't like it.

Tim

[Deanrover]

pclayton, on Aug 3 2004, 06:42 PM, said:

Deanrover, on Aug 2 2004, 06:19 AM, said:

BBO users will react to any attempts to advertise viagra with a stiff response.

And hopefully the response goes on and on.....

Any advertisement for viagra would have to be a pop up.

[3for3]

I am all for ads....they pay the bills.

I would prefer you avoided the flashing ones...

Danny

[irdoz]

Most people seem to be saying yes to the advertising option that causes the least disruption and therefore gets the least attention. I think potential advertisers would opt for the strategy that gets the most attention - the complete reverse of what the potential target for the advertisements want. The 'most attention grabbing' is not necessarily pop-ups because they are easily blocked by lots of free software. Further, I think advertising income is often dependent on how many times the advertisers site is clicked on - as well as how many times and for how long an ad is 'on view'.

Given that you want to generate as much advertising income with as least disruption as possible then I would not object to having to click once through one advertisement while logging on. Further you could have some policy / software that encouraged people logged onto BBO to click on sponsors sites while they were dummy. You could perhaps credit people with a small amount of $BBO for say every 100 times they did this.

[Rain]

I think ads are fine, but tasteful design is most important...

Dean says :..."Also it mind bring some much needed color to BBO, whose scheme is a tad dull. e.g. the current "Bridge Base" cards are rather unsightly.... "

So far, everyone who's commented about BBO colours to me agreed that its too colourful and bright... I like the current colours, but wouldn't mind an option to customise all the colours. Anyways, I think its colourful and bright enough....

No pop ups or flashing ads please please please...I don't think I'll be able to bear that....

Thanks

rain

[skorchev]

I absolutely agree with Rain, ads are ok, but no pop ups or flashing.

Stefan

[luke warm]

i appreciate uday even asking our opinion, he sure didn't have to...

i think it's a wonderful idea.. in any lobby (main room, tourney room, p'ship bidding, chat, team games, etc) have any ad type you want, except popups (seems those are universally hated, and i know why)... in any room where card play goes on, try some other form... others have mentioned putting logos on cards, that's fine... even corporate sponsorship of events is fine... heck, have a logo on the table felt if you want.. can even (if you choose) set it up where kibbers see more than the players

i think a certain number of clickable banner ads is necessary, i think they pay the most... heck, go for it... anything that helps you guys helps us

[doofik]

My vote is to go for it.

It's normal that when you work and have success that you get paid. In this case, BBO has been a tremendous success, but in terms of money (not that I count anyone's income except mortgage applicants) I'm not so sure. Therefore, any ad other than a popup, is great.

Jola

[helium]

Any ads its fine whit me, pop ups too, i have a good pop up stopper:)


kenneth

[1eyedjack]

It is becoming increasingly popular elsewhere to fund software development by allowing the consumer a choice between (1) accepting software riddled with advertising and (2) the customer paying for a "key" (typically for about $20 or so, perhaps with an expiry date or expiry on software upgrade), the installation of which suppresses the advertising.

Either way the developer gets its cash, and the customer decides how, with the option of paying nothing (but accepting adverts instead).

[etherwiz]

No objection to "normal" adds.

This means not only Pop-Ups but viruses (including things like Home Page ReMapping) and ADDVERTIZING Self-Install Programs or Tracking Programs) are definately off limits. But I think you guys would not do anyway.

You must make enough to feed your families and we can not expect BBO to continue on with no more money with the way the cost of living has gone (let alone the cost of MILK).

I personally would not to see alcohol or "girlie" (prorno) adds, but strangely enough if I had to choice I would rather my 13 year old girl not see the Alcohol ones (I think she is smart enough to stay away from the Porno Stuff or at least smart enough for them not harm her), but Alcohol can easily be assumed the Normal (as Tobacco) and therefore mead to more harm when someone young is drinking. Let's face, if morals are not learned by 12-13 years old, they simply will not be learned and nothing can be done about that. But the learning means nothing when someone is drunk for the first few times and the normalzation of drinking (even beer) can be very distructive, leading not to the merry parties shown in adds but to a totally different result.

But then you do not have many young players,

But then for the few you do I hope you want to impress on them that Bridge has a higher plane then Budwizer or Miller Light ! I honestly do not think you would place "girly" stuff on something you have worked this hard to get a name for !

_*_Dave