New Advertising on the Mafia

[pedro2u]

Hoping to find out if it's just me........ I'm now seeing advertising on ZHPMafia that didn't seem to exist about a week ago... At the top of every screen, there are product placement advertisements based on my internet activities. As well as advertisements in between posts in a thread? In the past, all I've ever seen was the site sponsor ads at the top (which I'm fine with and support, like that Amazon link that benefits this forum)

Have I been hacked, or has anyone else noticed this also?

[fredo]

I noticed the same. It started yesterday morning on both my iPad and laptop. I don’t use tapatalk so I can’t tell how are things there.

[pedro2u]

I noticed the same. It started yesterday morning on both my iPad and laptop. I don’t use tapatalk so I can’t tell how are things there.

no Tapatalk here either. Just using my laptop. I'm not seeing it on the other forums I like to read like E90Post, M3Post, or E46fanatics.....

gotta say, its annoying:mob

[cakM3]

I was having the same problem Pete. Google advertisements.... I installed Adguard to my Safari browser on all my Macs and after setting Adguard up I no longer have all those annoying Google advertisements. I find them highly annoying...

[pedro2u]

the question is, why ads on just the Mafia site? Something changed

But, in the holiday spirit, and based on the ads on my screen at this very minute.........

:idea

maybe I need to buy that Ceramic coating, rent that Hertz car, and get that Ryobi router?

[pedro2u]

oh, the Omaha Steaks just popped up........ At least it is lunchtime here in the Northeast :dunno

[Oli77]

It happened for me as well but seems to have stopped now. :cigar

[pedro2u]

It happened for me as well but seems to have stopped now. :cigar
Still getting buried in ads here

I didn’t know the advertisement bots seem to think I have an interest in Artisan bread franchises? C’mon man!

[fredo]

The ads keep showing for me. :dunno

[pedro2u]

Here’s a screenshot of Dane’s posts and some tasty looking Omaha Steaks………

[Oli77]

The are indeed here on my tablet android device. Not so on my pc.

[Will]

I'm buried in ads too. Top of the page and within most of the posts. Don't know what happened, but the ads make the forum difficult to read.

[cakM3]

I'm buried in ads too. Top of the page and within most of the posts. Don't know what happened, but the ads make the forum difficult to read.

I installed Adguard and all those annoying ads went away permanently...

[pedro2u]

I installed Adguard and all those annoying ads went away permanently...

I just wonder what changed on this forum from last week to now = having to pay monthly for an app to block ads that weren't there before.... just sayin'

I do agree that Adguard gets good reviews

[danewilson77]

Guys,

I've introduced Google Adsense to the site to see if any revenue can be generated. That's all.

I know it may be somewhat annoying, but if it keeps the site floating (click the links!!!!!...LOL), then so be it.

I'll evaluate if the annoyance is worth it or not.

Let's give it a month. Thanks for your grace.

[pedro2u]

thanks Dane for clarifying. I'm all for supporting the site! More than willing to give it some time to see if it's tooooooo much.

Happy holidays :santa1

[Will]

Thanks, Dane. I was concerned it was something going on with my computer.

[az3579]

Guys,

I've introduced Google Adsense to the site to see if any revenue can be generated. That's all.

I know it may be somewhat annoying, but if it keeps the site floating (click the links!!!!!...LOL), then so be it.

I'll evaluate if the annoyance is worth it or not.

Let's give it a month. Thanks for your grace.Is using the ZHPMafia Amazon link still effective? I've had that link bookmarked since it was first announced and have used it exclusively when buying on Amazon, but I think the link posted somewhere on the forum no longer works. My bookmark, which works, has the ZHPMafia name in the link so I'm not sure if it's different.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[danewilson77]

I think you may need to update your link. Thanks for reaching out BP.

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[az3579]

I think you may need to update your link. Thanks for reaching out BP.

Sent from my SM-G988U using TapatalkMy link has always worked fine, but when I checked the link on the site, it wasn't working.

I just checked it again and oddly it's working now. /shrug

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[danewilson77]

My link has always worked fine, but when I checked the link on the site, it wasn't working.

I just checked it again and oddly it's working now. /shrug

Sent from my Pixel 5 using TapatalkCopy. :thumbsup

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[BADCLOWN]

wheres the link to donate to the mafia operational costs?

[Oli77]

Good question. Done with the steak pictures!

[pedro2u]

where's the link to donate to the mafia operational costs?

+1 on chipping in

There has to be a better way than what's happening now.

If you leave the advertisement riddled page to follow an interesting thread, it even opens another full advertisement page that you have to close to continue to your thread!

[BADCLOWN]

I know theres a section or link on the site somewhere to donate to the site/Dane directly. I just cant remember where its buried at

[fredo]

I know theres a section or link on the site somewhere to donate to the site/Dane directly. I just cant remember where its buried at

The “Subscribe” yellow button shows on the top section of the desktop site. When you click on it, goes to PayPal.

[BADCLOWN]

thats just to "subscribe" to the website for a dollar a month. looking to donate more than that and not have a measly dollar donated every month.

[fredo]

That's right. I don't see a way to change that amount.

38702

[cakM3]

Back in the day I donated a nice amount of cash to help support this forum....

[BADCLOWN]

tis the season, sounds like a couple guys wanna donate.

DANE...………. you got venmo/paypal?

[YoitsTmac]

I think a voluntary annual fee would be best, or even selective. Obviously most of us have paid to be able to even post. If that is insufficient, it would be nice if we could get like a "ZHP Mafia Premium" where you pay a monthly or annual fee to not see ads. I'm running an ad block but if there's a revenue issue, this is a resource I find valuable and I'm happy to pay if it helps the place.

This is how WhatsApp ran in the day before Facebook. They had a monthly (or annual fee), but you didn't lose any features if you didn't pay. It would remind the user every 6 months or so asking if they will pay. For them, this strategy gave them enough money to keep the lights on and a little room to develop. Just a suggestion.

[pedro2u]

I really like this idea. Let it be a member choice on the tier level of “benefits” they’d like to be at. Like Hulu does with their no ads tier ……

And no better time than the holiday season for folks to chip in to support a site they read and participate in every day

[holyc0w]

I'm also willing to donate. The ads are a bit over the top huge and there are pop-ups. I'm guessing most built-in browser ad blockers are able to block them reducing their usage. Would it be possible to have less intrusive ads when logged in? And maybe guests get the full blown ad experience?

[YoitsTmac]

Good point. I agree, I think for me it was just the massive intrusiveness. It was over 1/3 of my vertical screen real estate with a 900px

[pedro2u]

I'm also willing to donate. The ads are a bit over the top huge and there are pop-ups. I'm guessing most built-in browser ad blockers are able to block them reducing their usage. Would it be possible to have less intrusive ads when logged in? And maybe guests get the full blown ad experience?
Exactly. But how do the other forums not have this amount of excessive ads? I’ll pay to play here because this is the best of the forums in my opinion, but it would still be nice to know what’s different between our site and some of those other BMW forums that don’t have this barrage of ads? Is advertising cost driven by membership count?

[YoitsTmac]

For me to hold 25GB of storage on a single core for our website at work we paid about $40/mo. We since lowered the core as it never reached over 10% utility. At $40/mo, we could realistically sustain 125 users at any given moment. Bandwidth was a rounding error at best. There's also a license associated with the form backend, I remember it being fairly hefty. If we had 100 users paying $100/yr, the website would bring in $10,000, which would support $833/mo. If the forum license was even $5,000 that still allows $416/mo in variable costs.

We can do this without ads. I bet we could even do 150 users at $50/mo, you know the price structure can be played with.

edit: I am not a sys admin but I do handle all digital services for my company and so I have a rough idea of some of these costs. I also once looked into starting a forum and I know there is an annual fee associated with the forum, I forget what the backend is called.

[danewilson77]

At the top of the site is a $0.99/mo subscription. If those that feel inclined would like to donate, I'll turn the ads off tomorrow at work.

Thanks for voicing you opinions on this.

Have a great Christmas. Stay safe. Enjoy famy and friends.

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[pedro2u]

Done

Thanks Dane

Happy Holidays to all!

Put those Omaha Steaks in the freezer……..

[danewilson77]

Done

Thanks Dane

Happy Holidays to all!

Put those Omaha Steaks in the freezer……..

Hehe....Thanks!

[Oli77]

Done.
Merry Christmas to all!

[danewilson77]

Thank you to all those that have donated, and those that might donate in the future.

A little longer explanation as it was late last night when the torch bearers came...:smiley

I've owned the site for nearing 10 years now and was interested in modestly monetizing the site, in the interest of not wholly eating ~$1,500/yr. I'm not looking at ROI targets, nor am I performing a P&L scrub each month as I do at my facility, but did want what I do, and the time I do spend in and around the site, to count.

In addition to the above, my thought was, the revenue generated would help facilitate me being able to provide more opportunities for annual meets, t-shirts, stickers, swag, etc...at minimal costing to the members.

With the above said, I started the $0.99/mo subscription service in mid October 2021. New members have been trickling in, some join and then cancel the subscription service. The vetting process of new members, and account creation does take time, and when I receive an email relative to a new member, I pretty much drop everything to build his account. Not because the $0.99/mo is important to me, but I feel like customer service is important and I love getting those emails appreciating the speedy service.

As of the writing of this post, the ads have been removed. I appreciate the concern and the feedback, as the mission relative to this site, has always been friendly, mature commiseration centered around the ZHP, and BMW's, life, family, friends, careers, etc in general.

You guys are like family to me. I've known many of you for going on a decade now, and I anticipate for many more decades to come.

Wishing you guys/gals all the best during the holiday season and a great start to 2022.

Cheers/

[Oli77]

You are the Mafia leader, the tutti Capi! Best boss in town Dane.
Thanks for setting us up to play together and for setting up the subscribe button.
:wave

[johnrando]

Merry Christmas Boss!

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[danewilson77]

Merry Christmas guys. Thank you

And just to be clear:

1. For new members that are already on the subscription service, obviously, no need to do anything additionally.

2. For the OG's that don't donate, there would obviously be no ill will for not subscribing. If you feel inclined, great. If not, you're still family...hehe.

[pedro2u]

Thanks Dane for the open book financial review. I'm sure many of us were unaware of how or who bore the financial and time consuming burden of providing this great forum for us, yet alone creating a group of vetted members to insure the quality of our experiences here

And the "Subscribe" set up couldn't be any easier with the PayPal approach, so thanks for that

I say don't hesitate in the future to tell us at any time if there are costs that aren't covered...... this family has reaped the rewards many times over from your generosity and it's long past the time for us to pay it back (or forward)

Happy holidays to all! Stay safe

Pete

[holyc0w]

Thanks for the rapid response

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!

[BADCLOWN]

Post a venmo or PayPal so we can send more than a buck Dane

[danewilson77]

Post a venmo or PayPal so we can send more than a buck DaneThanks BC.

zhpmafia.com@gmail.com

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[BADCLOWN]

Sent $40 plus subscribed, thanks Dane!

[pedro2u]

Great idea! Just sent $40 too!

Merry Christmas Dane

[johnrando]

Very cool of you donors!

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[GeorgeH]

Subscribed...

I do feel this is the best forum going for anything that I have interest in. Thanks for keeping it rolling Dane.

-George

[danewilson77]

Subscribed...

I do feel this is the best forum going for anything that I have interest in. Thanks for keeping it rolling Dane.

-George

Thank you George. Have a great week.