Ads on the forum

[Moonchild]

Trying to keep everything self-sustaining I've added a small link strip at the top and regular text links at the bottom of forum pages now.
It should remain low-impact but might help offset the costs for actually keeping this up and running on my own server. Sorry of this annoys you.

The ads will at all times remain text-based - no need to cause more loading time from the ads than it takes to put a topic on your screen, after all.

[jcdenton2k]

Not trying to be offensive, but I'd like to ad some quick thoughts on this.
While I understand the need to be self-sustaining and make a tiny bit of ad revenue, perhaps Google AdSense isn't the best way to do it with the Pale Moon audience.
By using Pale Moon we're already proving we are a bit more savvy than your typical computer user. After all, PM isn't exactly advertised outside of word-of-mouth and an article or blog post here and there.
The only time I visit the forums/website are to download the latest version of the browser or as a response to your request to post something that may benefit the community here.

I block all Google AdSense and all ads in general because I demand privacy on the internet when browsing or performing other tasks. If a website refuses me access, then I will refuse to go to their site.
The vast majority of advertising is not only intrusive but a severe invasion of privacy. But I guess we should just ignore that for the sake of helping out, hmm?

Perhaps it may help that (in addition to the ads you have now) you could try putting a donation button that isn't only for Paypal. Maybe Amazon or Google Checkouts (since you likely are getting paid something from AdSense anyways). OPTIONS would be helpful, rather than admonishments. Paypal has a bit of a notoriously-bad internet reputation for randomly freezing any accounts (locking people from their money) for days/weeks/months/years with little to no explanation under the guise of 'security verification' or whatever BS they wanna spout for that day. In reality, the summation of these accounts helps to give them pure profit, as the people they tend to steal from (and it is theft) tend to be charities and small businesses who lack the legal manpower to fight such illegal actions. When they joined with eBay, they gained a lot of additional legal backing for them to continue their overt abuse of the ACH banking transaction system to bypass normal built-in safeguards within the banking system. You can search the net for whatever proof you need, as enough news articles and even a wired article have been written on these issues with Paypal.

Ever consider selling some merchandise with the Pale Moon logo on it? Surely since you own that stylized logo you could do so without too much hassle.
Though I'm a bit of a broke college student using gifted components in my computer, I was able to put together a pretty sweet system thanks to the generosity of others.

I'd hate to have to stop visiting this site...so please give us options. Thanks.

[Moonchild]

The ads are optional - you can block them if you want. Other options for ads that are, in fact, paying decently, are low risk as far as getting drive-by downloads and other malicious things, and can be relied on paying regularly and promptly are few and far between. In addition, most ad sites don't have the option of displaying links only, and on a forum I do not want rich media clogging up page loading.

If you value privacy above all else, then any alternative ad provider will be blocked by you too, as they are, by definition, always third-party content.

Alternatives for donations are, unfortunately, also limited.
Most alternative e-payment sites require you to be a registered charity to be allowed to accept payments. Asking for gifts otherwise is apprently a faux pas in today's economy (I don't understand why. If people want to give money in thanks, let them?)
Google Checkout is, as far as I know, for selling only, not for donations. Same with Amazon.

Having the ads as they are now has little impact on the forum, isn't too intrusive, and I think a good compromise for paying a small part of the electricity bill for my little in-house server.
If you know of viable alternatives, keeping the above in mind, then please let me know.

[Greenboyb1]

Ever consider selling some merchandise with the Pale Moon logo on it? Surely since you own that stylized logo you could do so without too much hassle

I think that this is a good idea. I would buy a shirt if it didn't cost too much. Also ever consider giving a shirt as a thank you to a BIG donation. I have seen other places that do this and I think that this would add an incentive to donate.

[Moonchild]

I'm not sure what shirts would cost to produce, but custom designs aren't cheap. Giving one as a thanks for a big donation would probably cut into that very donation by quite a bit, so i don't think that would be a good idea. It's not like I can order them mass-produced beforehand so it will have to be on-demand.

[lobocursor]

I'm not sure what shirts would cost to produce, but custom designs aren't cheap. Giving one as a thanks for a big donation would probably cut into that very donation by quite a bit, so i don't think that would be a good idea. It's not like I can order them mass-produced beforehand so it will have to be on-demand.

A poster, bookmark or another paperwork may be a good substitute.