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Anyone been off to look at the ads that we are talking about?

 

They're tiny! And very unobtrusive. I say fair enough - besides, without thinking I just clicked on one because it sounded interesting.... and I *never* click on ads. :angry::angry:

 

It's great that we get to have our say, but Groundspeak don't have to listen to us. However much we like to think otherwise, *they* run the company and can do what they want. They've had a decency to listen to our moans/rants/suggestions before, but they don't have to!!

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I think GC have got it just right, and anyone who doesn't like the ads can get rid of them by becoming a member, or use firefox with Adblock.
Please tell me how? I have Adblock installed in Firefox, I right click the iframe to block the ad but it reappears on relaod and on other cache pages?

Jon

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It's great that we get to have our say, but Groundspeak don't have to listen to us. However much we like to think otherwise, *they* run the company and can do what they want. They've had a decency to listen to our moans/rants/suggestions before, but they don't have to!!
Are you serious? They certainally do have to listen to us, and this is one 'feature' that was introduced without any consultation or agreement of the people who keep them in their very existence. Time will tell, however I think they are playing a very sticky wicket.

Jon

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I think GC have got it just right, and anyone who doesn't like the ads can get rid of them by becoming a member, or use firefox with Adblock.
Please tell me how? I have Adblock installed in Firefox, I right click the iframe to block the ad but it reappears on relaod and on other cache pages?

Jon

Go into Adblock Preferences, you can either do this from the Tools/Addons screen, or else right click Adblock on the toolbar & select Preferences.

 

Then paste this into the New Filter box:

 

http://*.googlesyndication.com/*

 

& add it, then any google ads on any pages anywhere will be blocked.

 

(these instructions are for Firefox on Linux but I guess they're near enough right for Windows too).

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I think GC have got it just right, and anyone who doesn't like the ads can get rid of them by becoming a member, or use firefox with Adblock.
Please tell me how? I have Adblock installed in Firefox, I right click the iframe to block the ad but it reappears on relaod and on other cache pages?

Jon

I use Adblock Plus, it comes with default rules that block most ads automatically. (Just add the USA 'subscription' on install (its free))
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I've never selected a site for use on the basis of whether or not they show ads (that I'm not obliged to click). Seems a kind of trivial consideration.

 

And if it bothers you so much then I'm sure that someone will write a greasemonkey script that replaces them with pretty non commercial pictures.

 

Good luck to Groundspeak if it it balances the books.

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It's great that we get to have our say, but Groundspeak don't have to listen to us. However much we like to think otherwise, *they* run the company and can do what they want. They've had a decency to listen to our moans/rants/suggestions before, but they don't have to!!
Are you serious? They certainally do have to listen to us, and this is one 'feature' that was introduced without any consultation or agreement of the people who keep them in their very existence. Time will tell, however I think they are playing a very sticky wicket.

Jon

I really can't see what you are getting worked up about. As a Premium Member I don't even see the ads and as you are also a PM then you should be able to turn them off too

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And if it bothers you so much then I'm sure that someone will write a greasemonkey script that replaces them with pretty non commercial pictures.

 

No need to write a Greasemonkey script there are loads already.

 

But in removing the ads, longer term it'll contribute to other methods of revenue being sourced, Groundspeak is a business

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Got to agree - it's our subs that pay for the servers that everybody uses to search for caches,

And so were premium members consulted before this, rather profound, change of policy? I can't understand how such a decision could have be made without the fee paying membership given the chance of their input. I for one feel steam-rollered into accepting these 'ads' without due consultation to the very people who keep Groundspeak alive.

Jon

 

I own a business (make no mistake that Geocaching is a business to Groundspeak) and if I anyone suggested to me that I check with my customers on how I market my business, I would laugh til I hurt. In fact, I would be willing to bet that there's even a few of my customers that if asked would not even support me growing my business thinking that it would compromise the services that I am providing.

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Got to agree - it's our subs that pay for the servers that everybody uses to search for caches,

And so were premium members consulted before this, rather profound, change of policy? I can't understand how such a decision could have be made without the fee paying membership given the chance of their input. I for one feel steam-rollered into accepting these 'ads' without due consultation to the very people who keep Groundspeak alive.

Jon

 

We weren't consulted because this is not a club, it's a business. Jeremy can do what he likes, legally. He only 'consults' to make sure he doesn't upset people so much that we leave in droves.

 

He is lucky that he has the forum which allows him to do some quick market research and gauge opinion at no cost.

 

Personally, I think most people are now 'advert blind' and won't even spot them.

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In my opinion the membership fee is far too cheap for what we get out of it. Even £10 per month wouldn't be too expensive - comparable to a TV license for which we willingly pay and never watch as we're always out caching!

Steady on there! :D

If we're willing to pay much more as premium members, there's never going to be the possibility of getting all these other freeloaders to contribute :P;):D

 

I've never seen anything from a non-PM acknowledging that they get something for nothing: they’re in denial. The only “valid” point ever made is the “but, mister, you said it would always be free, you can’t charge now” line, and it’s only valid in the sense that it once applied. Look at the excuse they often use: "I don't use the PM features so why should I pay?" Now the owners are spending serious cash on the technology we all use and not just the PM services and they have a right to change the rules.

 

I don’t really care about adverts as they can be ignored. I don’t mind people not paying either. Honestly. What I do object to is their continuously justifying not paying a bean in the face of overwhelming facts. Just once I’d like someone to say (without sugar-coating it), “yeah, it’s free and I’ll use it like that if there are people willing to subsidise me.” At least that’s honest.

 

That said, though, I would be interested to know how many premium members there are relative to those cachers who elect not to support the caching community. Are we really in such a minority? Supporting the community does not mean going out and setting caches either. We all do that.

 

Has anyone noticed that the people posting in this thread are, by and large, premium members? Everyone else has remained very quiet; off caching at our expense.

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Got to agree - it's our subs that pay for the servers that everybody uses to search for caches,

And so were premium members consulted before this, rather profound, change of policy? I can't understand how such a decision could have be made without the fee paying membership given the chance of their input. I for one feel steam-rollered into accepting these 'ads' without due consultation to the very people who keep Groundspeak alive.

Jon

 

We weren't consulted because this is not a club, it's a business. Jeremy can do what he likes, legally. He only 'consults' to make sure he doesn't upset people so much that we leave in droves.

 

He is lucky that he has the forum which allows him to do some quick market research and gauge opinion at no cost.

 

Personally, I think most people are now 'advert blind' and won't even spot them.

 

Because it is a private business, we'll never know the answer to this but I sometimes wonder if the trackables business (fee for GC# for geocoins, travel bugs, and so on) isn't going to be off the charts someday. Again, it's their business and they have no obligation to share this information but one can't help but ponder.

 

Oh, and I saw the Google Ads today.. only because I was looking for them. I am not sure that was even worth announcing. It's Geocaching related stuff too... no big deal what so ever in my book.

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In my opinion the membership fee is far too cheap for what we get out of it. Even £10 per month wouldn't be too expensive - comparable to a TV license for which we willingly pay and never watch as we're always out caching!

Steady on there! :P

If we're willing to pay much more as premium members, there's never going to be the possibility of getting all these other freeloaders to contribute :):D:P

 

I've never seen anything from a non-PM acknowledging that they get something for nothing: they're in denial. The only "valid" point ever made is the "but, mister, you said it would always be free, you can't charge now" line, and it's only valid in the sense that it once applied. Look at the excuse they often use: "I don't use the PM features so why should I pay?" Now the owners are spending serious cash on the technology we all use and not just the PM services and they have a right to change the rules.

 

I don't really care about adverts as they can be ignored. I don't mind people not paying either. Honestly. What I do object to is their continuously justifying not paying a bean in the face of overwhelming facts. Just once I'd like someone to say (without sugar-coating it), "yeah, it's free and I'll use it like that if there are people willing to subsidise me." At least that's honest.

 

That said, though, I would be interested to know how many premium members there are relative to those cachers who elect not to support the caching community. Are we really in such a minority? Supporting the community does not mean going out and setting caches either. We all do that.

 

Has anyone noticed that the people posting in this thread are, by and large, premium members? Everyone else has remained very quiet; off caching at our expense.

 

;) Seems I'm going to enjoy this one! :D

 

:P:D:P

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I think that the basic membership should remain free, with minimum "perks" on the pages. I, for one, am a premium member and have no problem paying for things, I even paid up to 2009. I don't feel that I am supporting free members, I feel like I am supporting GC.com and Groundspeak. Who ever whined about these places being for profit... you're darn tootin they are... and they have a right to be so. If they are doing good and looking to make MORE money... good for them... they are doing what they are supposed to be doing.

 

If there are premium members out there that are feeling "holier than thou", shame on you! We are all here for the same sport/ game (whatever you want to call it) and no one is any better than anyone else.

 

I personally think that Groundspeak needs to add more to their stores and maybe even "sponser" a GPSr... and get royalty $$'s for those GPSr's that are sold. If they don't have their own geocoins, with the current fad of everyone buying and collecting them, they should get one. I say do whatever you have to do to make more money to keep your website and company going.

 

Now back to your regularly scheduled program.... stop whining and get caching!! :D

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Conclusion, you get a virtually free sport (at the moment)
Right. It's cheap by most sporting membership standards. I compare the sport of geocaching with annual costs of other interests of mine like amateur radio, my local running club, BPA and others, yet I feel I have no say in the way Groundspeak make their decisions.

 

As others have said: I must remember Groundspeak is not a club but a business.

 

Jon

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I personally think that Groundspeak needs to add more to their stores and maybe even "sponser" a GPSr... and get royalty $$'s for those GPSr's that are sold. If they don't have their own geocoins, with the current fad of everyone buying and collecting them, they should get one. I say do whatever you have to do to make more money to keep your website and company going.

 

 

Interesting, I've just bought some new GPSrs (see my other thread on 10 GPS - 10 different readings). Anyway, on the waypoints page there is a category for geocaches already there by default.

 

I wonder what commercial arrangements were made for Garmin to put that there.

 

I also wondered how we felt about that. Everyone that buys a new Garmin gets to hear about geocaching. Somehow I always liked the idea that we only told people that we trusted about the sport. I was always concerned about too many people getting to hear about it and the possibility of cache trashing , too many caches per sq mile etc.

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£1.50 a month is hardly paying through the nose for such a service. However I do respect the right for people to decide if they wish to pay for the service. I had cached for about months before the need for a PQ (or 6) became to great. Also agreeing with Geo-Kate that placing a cache costs more than a month of PM yet adds more for the community as a whole. Therefore setting caches is support in its own way.

 

In fact, i'd pay double if they opened up some of the data for use on our own websites, TB mileage/location, cache lists etc.

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I also wondered how we felt about that. Everyone that buys a new Garmin gets to hear about geocaching. Somehow I always liked the idea that we only told people that we trusted about the sport. I was always concerned about too many people getting to hear about it and the possibility of cache trashing , too many caches per sq mile etc.

 

Drifting OT a little, but I wonder if this is looking back to a golden age that never existed. No one came up to me and whispered in my ear about Geocaching. I read about it on the net long before I ever got a GPS. In fact I've never met another geocacher - although I did see a couple once (and put an extra loop onto my walk while they found the cache).

 

If Groundspeak want to grow then this will involve publicising Geocaching. And the pessimist will say this will result in caches getting trashed, while the optimist will say this will result in more people enjoying caching. Probably something to be said for both views.

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I also wondered how we felt about that. Everyone that buys a new Garmin gets to hear about geocaching.

 

Been going on a very long time. We started the game because a software update from garmin included new geocache icons...and that was a very long time ago indeed.

 

AFAIK Jeremy doesn't own the name Geocaching only Geocaching.com and Groundspeak.

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You are using billions of dollars worth of satellites free

 

Not quite... the nice people who made your GPSr had to pay a small license fee to the nice people who run the satellites. It can't be very much, because the factory-side price of the cheapest GPSr is around the $20 mark including chipset, display, and packaging, but it is paid for and the cost (plus plenty of successive markups on it) went into the price you paid for the unit.

 

Apart from that, I agree with everything you said. :o

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Just saw an ad and thought the placement was poor. For a brief moment, I was wondering why on earth the cache owner put that link in their cache description. Then I remembered reading about the upcoming Google ads. I say more power to them on the ads, but work on the placement and hopefully Google will work on matching the content a bit better.

 

Scratchy of TI&S

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I still don't get this thread.

1. PMs won't see the ads

2. There is no suggestion that prices should go up

3. If you're not a PM then how can you complain.

:angry::rolleyes::huh::unsure::huh:

I disagree with point 2, Jeremy has said that the ads are in lieu of raising membership. Which means they have considered the fact to raise the membership fee, but for the time being found a better solution.

 

How long before they think about raising the fee again?

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at the end of the day he is running a company that employs people, buys equipment, has to pay rent and all the other usual bills. all of which go up yearly with inflation.

 

every other thing you do in life goes up every year, why would this be different?

 

to be honest if we all can be, we get a good service for very little money, especially those who decide that they do not wish to pay for it. so he comes up with a way of making money by placing a few adverts, relevant non obtrusive ones at that. and those of us that do pay can choose not to see them.

 

very good value for money from my real world.

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I see they've now appeared on the forums! Any way PM can switch them off without Adblock?

 

Also the ignore script is no longer working in FF due to the changes :signalviolin:

 

Well again I can't see the problem, I didn't even notice them in the forums until I read this post, and then had to scroll all the way back up to see them. I could have gone weeks or even months without noticing them if I hadn't read this.

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I see they've now appeared on the forums! Any way PM can switch them off without Adblock?

 

Also the ignore script is no longer working in FF due to the changes :signalviolin:

 

Dino to get them working again delete them from Greasemonkey [tools,manage user scripts, highlight, uninstall] and then do a search for "user.js" [without quotes] on your PC, this will list all greasemonkey scripts, delete the non working one them reinstall and the script will now work

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I still don't get this thread.

1. PMs won't see the ads

2. There is no suggestion that prices should go up

3. If you're not a PM then how can you complain.

;):signalviolin::o:mmraspberry::drama:

I disagree with point 2, Jeremy has said that the ads are in lieu of raising membership. Which means they have considered the fact to raise the membership fee, but for the time being found a better solution.

 

How long before they think about raising the fee again?

 

This is a quote from the premium membership page

.................. yet you will always be locked in at the current rate as long as you continue to renew.

 

So if you are a premium member, and continue to renew, the fee will not go up even if it is increased for new PMs.

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I see they've now appeared on the forums! Any way PM can switch them off without Adblock?

 

Also the ignore script is no longer working in FF due to the changes :signalviolin:

 

Dino to get them working again delete them from Greasemonkey [tools,manage user scripts, highlight, uninstall] and then do a search for "user.js" [without quotes] on your PC, this will list all greasemonkey scripts, delete the non working one them reinstall and the script will now work

Lordelph has updated the script here just install again and it copies straight over the old one and remembers your settings.

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I see they've now appeared on the forums! Any way PM can switch them off without Adblock?

 

Also the ignore script is no longer working in FF due to the changes :signalviolin:

 

Dino to get them working again delete them from Greasemonkey [tools,manage user scripts, highlight, uninstall] and then do a search for "user.js" [without quotes] on your PC, this will list all greasemonkey scripts, delete the non working one them reinstall and the script will now work

Lordelph has updated the script here just install again and it copies straight over the old one and remembers your settings.

 

Not for me :mmraspberry: , I had to go into window explorer and delete the old one first, mind you I've had to do the same with several scripts after FF updated.

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Erm... Where do PM folks turn them off then?

 

J

You don't! You never see them in the first place. However this only applies to cache pages, apparently the forums are set up differently and Everyone sees them, PM and non-PM. However Adblock gets rid of them very nicely thank you :signalviolin:

Ahh... thanks chief... Figured I'd not have them at all... Just gotta resist clicking to "Learn Spanish like a Secret Agent" as per the current ad showing as I type this :mmraspberry:

 

Jon

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Well again I can't see the problem, I didn't even notice them in the forums until I read this post, and then had to scroll all the way back up to see them. I could have gone weeks or even months without noticing them if I hadn't read this.

The ads don't bother me on the forums. The lack of an ignore button did....it's fixed now though so :signalviolin: = :mmraspberry:

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They're tiny! And very unobtrusive. I say fair enough - besides, without thinking I just clicked on one because it sounded interesting.... and I *never* click on ads. :laughing::(

 

 

Ok, something else has changed, as no non pm , but logged in I now get a google add after EACH of the 3 returned caches in a search, right the way across the screen.

 

Stuart

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They're tiny! And very unobtrusive. I say fair enough - besides, without thinking I just clicked on one because it sounded interesting.... and I *never* click on ads. :laughing::(

 

 

Ok, something else has changed, as no non pm , but logged in I now get a google add after EACH of the 3 returned caches in a search, right the way across the screen.

 

Stuart

 

I'm a non premium member, and now have add separating each of the three listings at the top of a page and every three further down.

 

Does this change if you are a premium member?

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They're tiny! And very unobtrusive. I say fair enough - besides, without thinking I just clicked on one because it sounded interesting.... and I *never* click on ads. :laughing::(

 

 

Ok, something else has changed, as no non pm , but logged in I now get a google add after EACH of the 3 returned caches in a search, right the way across the screen.

 

Stuart

 

I'm a non premium member, and now have add separating each of the three listings at the top of a page and every three further down.

 

Does this change if you are a premium member?

You don't get any adds on GC.com if you are a Premium Member, and when they are finally displayed we will have the option to switch them off.

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Erm... Where do PM folks turn them off then?

 

J

You don't! You never see them in the first place. However this only applies to cache pages, apparently the forums are set up differently and Everyone sees them, PM and non-PM. However Adblock gets rid of them very nicely thank you :laughing:

 

Im a PM and I still see the adds... A non PM friend of mine sees the adds... :(

Help...

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I'm a non premium member, and now have add separating each of the three listings at the top of a page and every three further down.

 

Does this change if you are a premium member?

 

Yes,

I just logged out and did a search and the ads were there somewhere around the 4th or 5th entry, though not repeating down the page. I must admit I would find this annoying.

 

I logged back into my premium membership and they disappeared.

 

I wonder if GC are still tinkering with the placement as it seems to change with the wind direction.

 

If you really want to get rid of the ads either sign up as a PM or use Firefox with Adblock/Adblock+

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