Can someone point me to the ad-blocking software? Definitely can't stand the new ads.

Either that, or I'll be hanging out in the Northeast more.

http://www.adblockpro.com/

(I've had it working for about 15 minutes now and haven't gotten a single ad... Back to normal! )

Hi everyone. I've gotta say, I'm surprised by the level of hostility. Before you go ahead and throw the baby out with the bath water, I think there are a few things it would help if you understood.

First, I really think that with the "stick it to the man" attitude, you're really only sticking it to yourselves. The bottom line is that it'* your community and whatever I do is with the goal of keeping it independent and healthy. Yes, the ads are necessary, isn't that obvious?

There is no entity with deep pockets supporting this site. Just me. I'm a regular guy, with a wife and kids (this is them http://www.flickr.com/photos/petertdavis/2439622781/ ) I live in a regular house, in a regular town. I get by but don't make too much money at it.

When Jeff sold me this website, he was concerned about what happened to it. He wanted to sell to an individual who had experience with forums, and not some corporation. And, yes, there are corporations who buy car forums. I can name two for you, VerticalScope out of Toronto, Canada, and Internet Brands in El Segundo, California. Both probably would have paid Jeff more than I could have afforded to pay him, but that'* not the route he choose to take.

I hope everyone can take it as obvious that we need to have ads to support the site. I'm already thousands of dollars into this, and it does cost more ongoing to keep the site live. As radomirthegreat stated, the Google Ads don't pay that well. Maybe the current mix of ads doesn't work that well either, I don't know yet it'* too soon to tell. But, let me ask you what do you think is better, for us to work together to find the right mix to keep the community independent and healthy, or for you to fight me tooth and nail every inch of the way?

I did add the ads at the bottom of the page. I'm surprised people are upset about those, where else would you like to see ads than at the very bottom? I did not, and do not plan to, add any popup ads. Anyone who is seeing popup ads should consider running a software called AdAware on their system http://www.lavasoftusa.com because those popups aren't coming from here.

I also changed the color of the text ads from red to blue. That seems to have been the other thing that ticked some of you off. I didn't really think that would be a big deal. Let me ask you, if changing the ads from red to blue helped keep BC independent, would it make a difference to you?

Why do I think it'* important for you to think about what it would take to keep BC independent? Well, have a look at what happened to some of the communities that the big corporations I mentioned before took over....

On the Ford Forums, how many ads do you see before you get to the first posts?
http://www.fordforums.com/

How many ad spots do you see on this thread at Toyota Nation? I stopped counting at ten. They do have an option to pay them $24 for "less ads", though.
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=247261

Here'* a thread on the RX 7 Club, notice how long that spam has sat there in public?
http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=753336

I don't mean to be rude at all, or insult you guys. I'd just like you to think of this as a problem we can work on together rather than a you against me thing. I don't think anyone wins if we make it a you against me.

Thanks for listening.

If you're really struggling that bad to keep this website up, why don't you create a donate button somewhere on the site? I think that would be a lot more effective, and would utilize the community aspect of this great site. We love BC and some literally consider it a second home. If it'* in trouble, we'll do something about it, but don't resort to ads like these. We're not an RX7 or a Ford site. We're a BONNEVILLE site We're not half as big as those sites are. We're a niche site, and as one, we're a smaller, more tight nit community. I suggest you rethink your strategy, and ask some of the members what they would want to do. You might end up ahead in the end

For instance, I would pay at least 10 bucks a month for this site. I think others would do the same, probably even more. Remember, this is a DONATE button though. Don't resort to that membership service they have at that Toyota site. We're better than that . If you have 20 members donate 10 dollars a month, that would net 200 dollars. Are you making that much with the ads?

Thanks for responding Peter and stating your position.

My intent at this post was not to vent hostility'* at you or the reason behind it but point out the new ads and ask whats next?
You have a valid point in that it takes money to run this site and ads seem to be the way to go, our fear however is the sites you pointed out.
Open discussion and letting us in on your plans will help us to help you maintain this site without going corporate.....or postal

Hi guys, I wouldn't really say "struggling", it'* more of a 'treading water' situation. The donation idea is interesting, but I'd feel somewhat like I was asking for handouts and that I should give something back in return and with giving something in return then it would start looking a lot like those memberships anyway. The ad spots are not set in stone and it'* something like me testing to see if something else works better or not. Except for the ones at the very bottom of the page, there were already ads there before I became involved here. Maybe the fact that nobody was much bothered by them because they blended in so well has something to do with why they didn't make much money. Ironic, isn't it?

If I knew a heads up would have avoided p*ssing off y'all, I'd certainly have done that! lol

The other half of the story is that yesterday I was home by myself with a sick kid (my daughter), and trying to get some things done in between, and probably only functioning with half a brain or less.

But, I do hope everyone will understand that I mean well, even if I do sometimes step in doodoo.

we all step in poop from time to time the real question is can you clean it off and make the shoe look new again

I think part of the issue is with the color change from red to blue of the ads. When the ads were red, they blended in, and were more easily looked over by the regular membership.

Now with the blue, it is such a contrast, that everyone'* eyes are drawn to it, and it take more of the focus off the content. From an advertiser'* prospective, that'* great cause it'* drawing people there, but from a long-term user, it isn't. And you have to think: Most people who are regulars at this site are NOT the ones clicking on the links. It would be those people browsing.

One suggestion would be to change the ads to red for those people logged in, and leave them blue if someone is not. Also, the bottom Banners are a little large, so they also bring someone to see them and be annoyed with them. Maybe reducing the size might help some, or moving their locations.

Lastly, for me I am not a fan of having ads on the Log In page or the confirmation of a post page, as they look very cluttered, and are not really a content page, which I believe is against the Adsense policy from how I understand it.

I think that more involvement and lead time for the membership would be good when making major changes or layout changes. Jeff was pretty good with this, and it has seemed to quell the issues a lot for past changes.