So I want to ask you guys today about thread advertising. We'll been mulling over concepts for this and generally disagreeing for a while! Plus of course anything that requires coding and needs artwork and so on has to join the queue of things to do. So I wondered, what if we went for a code-free option...then there's always the question of would anyone actually use it! So this is what I'm here to ask you :D

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My basic concept is this:

• Create a specific forum for this (not a subforum, a main forum in the "main" section along with the Info Desk and so on, subforums go un-noticed...)
• The forum would have seperation of some kind. Different threads showing ads for different forums most probably.
• You wouldn't be able to post in this forum yourself, it would be just the same as sending an ad into the classified section of a newsaper. You'd make up a banner and pay a gold fee depending on the amount of space you wanted/time you wanted the ad to run for, and would submit that.
• Just like with a paper, ads would run for a set amount of time which would be governed by how much you'd paid. You'd be able to re-submit or extend your ad run.
• We wouldn't be able to make banners for you, not unless you were happy to settle for my stick figures xD
• Would probably offer higher top-of-the-page rates if you wanted to get your banner at the head of the thread where it would be noticed the most.
• Banners would be hyperlinked to your thread of course, but you'd also get a space under it for a little blurb of so many characters to explain what your thread was about.
• I think you'd be able to advertise most things that required other users to participate: RPs, games, charities, contests, art auctions and shops, themed hang-outs that were looking for more people, exchange threads with new stock...
• The collected fees would probably be donated to new users.

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I think that's everything. Right now I have no figures in mind for prices as this is purely testing the waters but this wouldn't be intended to bankrupt people! Obviously if only 3 people showed any interest then there'd be no point in doing this. I just know from personal experience that I'd like somewhere central to advertise my charity so that more people know about it and I'm sure others feel the same way about their own games, contests and give-aways.

The main point of this being, of course, to try and boost overall activity. If people have somewhere to come to seem what interesting threads are about, instead of having to search the entire site, then hopefully stuff that's in places where they don't generally go will get a bit more attention.

Plus it should encourage other people to create more activity threads if they know that there's somewhere where they can get the word out :)

SO, here's the question...would you use a feature such as this? Either to advertise your own threads, or to browse other people's ads and see what's going on around the site?

It's actually a pretty good idea. I'd use it, if we had it ^.^

Will it affect the speed of page loading if this implements? D:

if it cost gold, yes. if it cost me real money... no.

I would definitely use this to browse other threads. It sounds like an awesome, unique and useful feature. Go for it! :)

I'd advertise my charity useing this, I think its a splendid Idea ^.^

I, personally, wouldn't use it to advertise my threads... Might browse it once in a while.
Excitement for this feature from me... a low 3/10.

I would definately use a feature like this. I am planning on opening a charity in the future (distant future yes but still) and starting a group RP and so on. So yes, I really would like a feature like this.

I feel it is a pretty awesome idea :)

I think it's a good idea. I probably wouldn't use it to advertise my threads, but I would totally use it to search for the more popular threads. So my vote is a YAY

I'm in. I'll certinly use that atleast once.

Hmm nice idea, though I can't really say that it would benefit me personally. I just don't think the website is big enough for things to need advertising within the community. If I wanted to see what was going on I'd visit the forum, and things wouldn't be hard to find. It would be nice to see what 'new' things are going on rather than entering an old thread where the special goings-on have finished, but I rarely see something like that.
I guess it would be a nice touch, though until the site starts to get very busy and people feel as if they really need to get noticed above lots of other threads, then I don't see it being a very big priority.

novel idea but i think it would just end up being an uncheck thread by most of the population... a thread spot light similar to the ava one would prolly get more draw.

I mean if you want a newspaper ish section for that just make it on the home page and trash the current home page. you could have a daily thread, ava spot light and news worthy posts or user made news

so..its like a newpaper ad~??

That actually sounds like a really cool idea. I can see myself sing it someday, and I'd really like to what others post. I think it'd be really useful for those wanting to do user run events, also.

I wouldn't use it, most probably, and maybe not even go into the forum (which I think many might not do), but since I know many wants it, I vote for it, if it doesn't put strain on Mene it self. Kind of good black hole for gold/gold sink, too, I suppose? Rhough, I hope the advertising prices wouldn't be too high.

Originally Posted by Gary Stargazer

novel idea but i think it would just end up being an uncheck thread by most of the population... a thread spot light similar to the ava one would prolly get more draw.

I mean if you want a newspaper ish section for that just make it on the home page and trash the current home page. you could have a daily thread, ava spot light and news worthy posts or user made news

Agree :yes:
And also agree with Blood Stained Wings

would you use a feature such as this?

Yes I would if it cost gold, but if it cost real money, then no. :( Just like bloodstainedwings said by the way. ^_^;

Either to advertise your own threads, or to browse other people's ads and see what's going on around the site?

I would use it to Advertise my own shop, my role plays, to browse other people's ads, and I would also use it to see what is going on around the site. :)

So yes, I think this feature is worth wild. :D

I love this idea. ^^

Could we advertise user event stuff there too?

I would use this, definitely.

For pricing schemes... I can only really think of two variables. Length of time it's posted, and how close to the top of the page it gets.

Perhaps you can competitively bid out the "number one" spot?

I really like this idea.
I'd use it if we could advertise our quest threads? :D

I don't know. :\ I'm slightly against this.
I don't want mene to get into the media craze of advertising and trying to get as many people to their threads as possible, it just doesn't seem the right attitude for this website to have.

If it is controlled maturely and wouldn't have too much of an effect on us all then fine, I guess it could work.

I'm just a firm believer in "Good Conversation/Topics/Kindness brings people together in threads" not "adverts brought me here".

I like it, just as long as it doesn't lag and take a up a huge space. :o

Hey, that's a great idea! I'd use it for sure, to find threads which interest me.

I personally would use this. I am going to be creating a new roleplay shortly and I already made bannars for and it is nice to find other places to advertise. c: I think it would be worth the fee with all the advertising I could get for the roleplay.

It sounds like a handy and functional feature to have. I might use it to post my own searches, but most of the time I might just look for various things that people have posted. I'd say it's a good idea so long as it won't be a difficult problem for the staff to work with, and as long as the price isn't so high that only a certain group could use it (though I doubt that's gonna be a problem, really). So it sounds good to me! ^^