You know after the first banner ads alot of us were, to say the least, displeased. Then we learned basically to deal with them. Then we find out there's adware/malware/spyware and a couple had pop-ups that defeated just about every pop-up blocker. Those pop-ups were removed and if more are found those are also removed, I give credit for that.
Then the decision to go "industry standard" HUGE-amungus banner ads and are beyond distracting, slow the pages down (yes, I AM on dial up), even MORE spyware including an attempted Active X installation. So, what happens? People: a) leave; b) get Firefox or do something else to get rid of the ads (this should NOT be necessary just to play a game); c) once again learn to deal with them, but there is much grumbling; or d) if possible get Premium and hence starts the "pay for play" version of the game - no matter what anyone says. Yes I do have Premium on just my main account. If I go to my other one, I'm bombarded, so I don't spend very much time on my gallery. A shame really.
I was talking to my RL friend/roommate about the ads one night, and off handedly said something like, Just wait, there's gonna be banner ads at the bottom of the page too. She looked at me like I was completely nuts.
I really wish I was wrong. Apparently I wasn't. This is a complete disgrace. There's a banner ad at the top, there's ads in the sidebar. Enough is enough. If I want to (why?) visit a site that's loaded with ads, I'll just cruise the internet, go to Yahoo, etc.
More and more, Real Life and the problems that come with it and using the internet are intruding on a supposedly child safe, family friendly site. Outside clickable link ads, some of which are completely inappropriate no matter what your age, some go to definite scam sites (that system tray ad is something to really stay away from, as is Callwave).
If these new ads stay, I honestly think that this time people WILL start to leave and not come back. The plan to try to make even more $$ on these ads is going to backfire on whoever thought it was a good idea.
Less people on the site, less people recommending the site to others, less people buying merchandise = less income for the company. Please, TNT, rethink your strategies for the good of us all.
*hops down off soapbox, stomps away*
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