I know nobody really asked, but isn't this just a sad state of affairs? I'm glad I finally figured out why the forum was blocked—and honestly, I can't say I disagree with the take on Google.
What follows is mostly directed at the Owner. Look, maybe organize a charity drive, set up a PayPal button to take donations, or just start a membership fee... goodness, just do something.
If we’re going to use an example, let's look at this thread. At the top, sorted by likes—right?—would be your opening post. Then you'd have at least ten posts where people are just spitting on your idea, mocking it, or flat-out denying it—judging by how the users are reacting and the current like-to-hate ratio on this topic. After that, there'd be a pile of irrelevant comments, plus a bunch of actually good points that ended up with zero likes and zero hates. Finally, buried at the bottom under a mountain of hate, would be your responses or explanations that you actually put effort into. What kind of impression does that leave on a reader? That you shared an idea, everyone tore you apart, and you just quietly vanished, even though you did try to respond a few times.
It seems pretty obvious to me that you spend a lot of time on political forums, where threads reach ABC pages in length, and following those discussions can feel more like work than anything else. Now, imagine the first ten pages of a thread like that, sorted by likes. I guarantee you'd still find a massive amount of comments attacking the Democrats, Republicans, Greens, or whoever—claiming that some politician like John Doe is the biggest thief to ever live and all that sort of thing.
Go take a look at the comment sections on news sites like CNN or Fox News; it's very similar to what you're suggesting here. Often, the top is filled with totally irrelevant, populist posts that usually involve bashing someone, whether it's justified or not. Meanwhile, high-quality comments get buried somewhere in the middle with zero likes and zero hates. They just float around in that digital limbo, waiting for someone to stumble upon them. The only conclusion I can draw is that the system clearly isn't working.
slycrane94 said:Well, AdSense is blocked by Google, so there isn't really much of a choice—and considering how many massive sites rely on AdSense to survive, I doubt they're turning into some kind of malware-ridden mess.
I don't have any blocks on my end, so I haven't run into anything either. Though, I guess it’s possible I’m just missing certain ads because someone is constantly messing around with the style sheets.
Anyway, from what I've heard, you aren't going to find better money elsewhere. How or why doesn't really matter.
I'm not exactly a tech expert, so I don't know which ad plugin you guys are using. But it seems pretty telling that Google has already flagged us—or you—twice this year as a malicious site. To me, it feels a bit like being both the prosecutor and the judge in your own trial, but whatever.
I won't get into the financial side of things; at the end of the day, this is about the business behind the forum, and I agree that's not our concern—it's yours.
I'm only stepping into these threads because I hate seeing the forum lose its credibility with users over issues that seem pretty fixable.
slycrane94 said:True. I remember back in the good old days when AdBlock wasn't such a big deal. There was always some excuse for it.
I don't really care personally—but if you want something for free, you should probably pay for it somehow.
Back when ads were just sitting in the sidebar and rotating quietly, most people didn't mind. But, strangely enough, advertisers realized nobody actually looks at them if they're too subtle. So, they decided to start throwing pop-ups at us. Then came the pop-ups where the "close" button or the X is hidden. Then "hackers" figured out that since nobody checks those ads anyway—starting with Google and moving down the line—they could just bundle in all sorts of scripts, ranging from malicious to just plain stupid.
If ads had just stayed where they belonged, tucked away on the side, there wouldn't be any need for AdBlock.
The easiest thing would be to just set up AdSense on the forum, run some ads, and then when people catch a virus through them, nobody is held responsible. Even Nica mentioned, while relaying news from the technical admins, that it’s just a plugin that's out of their control.
So what are people supposed to do now? Disable AdBlock and just catch viruses in the spirit of "taking one for the team"? You're trying to convince me that even though things haven't changed in years, we'd suddenly find the budget for a new server, a new version of the Bulletin, dropdown menus, or... facepalm.
I'd report you for trolling, but we all know that doesn't really do anything.
Is it really that hard to just write two simple sentences about a topic you actually enjoy?
"I agree, this is easily the best game released in the last two months. Most things coming out lately have been pretty questionable."
"You're right, Dean Lovrin played terribly today. I guess he might still be dealing with that injury from his junior year of high school."
"I watched that movie too—I think I agree with your take. It was just way too many special effects and not enough acting. Though, Salma Hayek was great."
But no, let's just be lazy and spam likes instead.👎 I suppose it’s no wonder online communication is becoming such a mess.
I don't really see the point in adding a feature that doesn't even work on other sites. Usually, I just stumble upon some article on CNN or something and start scrolling through the comments. Then, the top comment—or whatever long reply is trending—ends up being a response to someone else's thought that's buried deep under a mountain of likes. It basically means I'll see a headline saying "I totally agree with Unknown" or "You're a complete idiot, Unknown," but I can't actually find the original comment without digging through everything.
The whole concept works on sites like Quora because people go there with specific questions looking for specific answers. Adding this kind of feature doesn't make much sense for a forum acting as a news medium—I mean, the whole point of a forum is supposed to be the discussion itself.
I don't want to play doctor here—that's what medical degrees are for, after all—but your last post was way back on page 15, and this user is posting on page 18 without even quoting you or mentioning your name... she's talking in the plural, yet you seem pretty certain she’s calling *you* a "disturbed idiot."
placidorca16 said:Look, equality isn't about pretending biological differences don't exist—that’s impossible. It’s more about ensuring those differences aren't used to justify social hierarchies where men end up on top and women get sidelined just because they can bear children—which, let's face it, happens all too often. It's honestly absurd that female biology is so frequently devalued when it’s literally what keeps the entire human race going.
Look, I'm all for equality regardless of gender, but you seem to talk about superiority constantly in your posts.
So, we're all equal, but some people are just more equal than others?
It’s funny how everyone is suddenly finding their voices in the public section of the forum—all this noise now—whereas before, when things were being handled behind closed doors by the mod team, nothing could be shared or moved out of those private channels.
Where's your buddy? I thought he'd be joining you on this thread.
And honestly, trying to discredit someone just because of how old their account is or how many posts they've made... it's pretty pathetic.
Alright, thanks for letting the right people know.
Is there any way we could get some feedback on what you heard—or what you're expecting to hear—or is that all considered proprietary? 🤷 I’m just asking because I'm not entirely sure how things work on your end.
Since the admin Q&A thread is locked—and since it’s been 48 hours without any response to my previous post—I figured I’d just rephrase things here rather than starting an entirely new thread about the same issue.
What steps are being taken to protect users from malicious software delivered through unvetted ads? I’m not talking about what we can do ourselves—like using AdBlock or other tools we've already discussed—but rather the responsibility of the site admins and the owners regarding technical safeguards and oversight.