Please put the ads back at the top of the page

[Alison]

I'm not saying there shouldn't be ads, just that I don't ever look at them but then again I don't watch them onTV much either and it's a waste of space not using the right hand column.

[ginger ninger]

It feels claustrophobic, all squashed in, i'm not against the adds, i'd just like to see them back at the top, as a lot of others have said ...its a big waits of space.

[Farmer_Gyles]

i've run large forums myself on my own servers - some forums much much larger than this

large forums use up a LOT of server resources and bandwidth - but a dedicated server for a site like this can cost from a couple of hundred quid a month - not a huge amount for a magazine publisher that gets revenue from the magazine and uses the forums to drive purchases of the magazine - and the forums are also an extra benefit to the magazine readers

i'd rather not see ads at all, but ads do make money ......

putting ads on the right makes it easier for people to accidentally click them when they really mean to click the scrollbar and scroll down to read - a good revenue earning move

[tamsin]

I think part of the squished in/cluttered feeling is the lack of white space.

The old layout has approx. 20px between the edge of the white content area and the start of the green boxes around the forum sections. The new site has 10px. It makes quite a difference, the same as newspapers don't print right to the edge of sheets.

It would actually feel less cluttered if the forum width was reduced a bit further to allow for a 20px margin each side and between the ads and the forum. Or the whole site with could be increased to allow for the original whitespace.

In terms of ad clicks, content at the top statistically get more attention because English speaking audiences read top down, left to right. So items starting at the top right are looked at before the top left. If ads load slow then place them at the bottom in the code and use CSS to display them at the top of the page.

[terrier]

There's lots of sites that I DON'T use simply because there's so many ads, it's almost impossible to navigate round the useful bits. Unfortunately, the vine seems to be heading in that direction.

[Fat Bob]

I don't mind the ads - they are relatively small and unobtrusive.

I think I'd prefer them on the top though. I voted the wrong one :/

I've even been outrageous and clicked a few too.

[rana]

Much prefer ads at the side, it results in a more familiar aspect ratio in the part of the screen that I read (more lile a printed page) and it is faster with less need to immediately scroll down when opening a new page.

[Paulottie]

I can proudly say I have never clicked on an Advert here. My opinion is nicely summed up by my chosen quotation.

I have paid my my mag subscription since 2005....contribution enough I should think.

It strikes me that the magazine seems to be becoming more and more commercially driven under successive editors. I am not sure how much this site costs to host but I should imagine that Aceville do very nicely from the magazines anyway.

The page is now lopsided. We don't need adverts here on the forum bit at all. I agree with you Terrier, eventually many will vote with their feet

Much of the attraction of growing my own was a reaction to a plastic commercial world foisted on me. As a country we produce little now...just a nation of sheepish consumers. I am happy that more folk are reconnecting with the land but I do resent the whole marketing bandwagon that has grown up around veg growing ...the two are mutually exclusive to my mind....don't want to get too political here but you get my point? Move the Ads to the main site, the bottom or the bin please.

[Pumpkin Becki]

I just think its a bit odd to squish everything up to the left of the screen for the sake of 3" of adverts. If there were (dare I say it) more ads, or if they scrolled down the screen with you, it might make more sense visually.

[piskieinboots]

If there were (dare I say it) more ads

I'd say that is the plan - makes sense from a commerical point of view

[bluemoon]

I click on the ads, I've even bought things through the ads. If the information I get from them is useful and I find what I'm looking for then that's fine by me, but having them down the side is distracting. I suppose a month from now I won't notice.

[beefy]

Will you be happy to pay membership for the Vine?

Ok let me see if I get where you are coming from Piskie -
You want me to pay to post information that others can access through a google search which in turn leads them to think "That was useful and as there is so much useful information here I'll take out a subscription to the lovely magazine that they print as well. "

I do pay for membership of fora throughout the internet but in doing so I have access to a range of professionals who provide specific information on a range of topics that I have an interest in but more importantly that information is not easily available elsewhere.
Now with all due respect to the owners of this site gardening fora are ten a penny throughout the internet. I suspect if they tried to charge for access to the site there wouldn't be so many of us about.Then again why limit the number of prospective clients that may take out a subscription to their magazine .
While we all think this is a great place with great people etc etc the gardening info that the knowledgeable among us post is being used to get the Vine further up the google rankings therefore creating more visits to the site from non members . More people using the site means more people click on the links in the advertising which makes the owners more money.
And you want us to pay them money as well?

I've asked before and got no reply but I'll ask again (I won't get a reply or if I do it will be full of "we don't disclose commercial information etc etc"-

Would any of the admin staff like to tell us how much it costs to run the vine / month and how much do they bring in / month in advertising?
Or -"For every pound you spend on running the website how many pounds do you receive in advertising?

Now for those of you that have made it this far the owners of this website are entitled to run it any which way they please . They don't even care if you or I leave because if we leave the gardening information we posted is still here and thats more valuable to them - thats what draws the customers in.
So far I'm happy enough with what I'm getting - when I'm not I'll not be here.
What do I get here that I can't get elsewhere that I would pay for? (apart from your lovely knees?)

[Hazel at the Hill]

It's only been like this a couple of days, and - goldfish brain as I am - already I don't remember what it used to look like....

I don't mind adverts - and I don't care if the revenue they generate is used to fund the vine, or line Aceville's pockets. Why should I object to them exploiting their own site for their own gain? How the vine is funded with regard to the running costs, and revenue raised by it are of none of my business - as long as it is a free resource and continues to entertain and inform me, that's ok by me.

And if you really don't like it, as Beefy says, there are plenty of other fora out there.

[piskieinboots]

anyone would think you and I run our own businesses Hazel

[Snadger]

Come on then you lot.............I have BT Yahoo browser, how do I zoom it to ditch the quarter of my screen on the right which has either ads or a blank notepad area!