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Posted: 12/30/2006 11:56:48 PM EDT
It's ruined. I can understand the need to generate a little revenue to keep the servers running and cover some shooting costs but in it's current state, it's just too much.
It doesn't feel anything like it used to. It feels like that one athelete or music group you used to like but changed their style and went mainstream (I don't wanna say 'sold out' but...). Having ads between pictures in the middle of the page is just overkill, with everything all flashing everywhere. It just looks too busy and really detracts from the effort put into the experiments and general style of old painless that everyone liked. It seems to disrupt the flow of the site. Old painless, if you read this, I mean no disrespect. I've always been a fan but geez a louise, it looks like you've got the advertising turned up to 11. What does anyone else think? Am I just being a  ?www.theboxotruth.com ETA: I counted 17 individual advertisements just on the main page. That's gotta be some kind of a record. |
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Posted: 12/30/2006 11:58:18 PM EDT
[#1]
Yep. |
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Posted: 12/30/2006 11:58:48 PM EDT
[#2]
I'd say its better than losing the website. I'm not sure what it would cost to keep a site like that up but I'm sure it's more than I would want to pay.
OPin08 
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Posted: 12/30/2006 11:58:57 PM EDT
[#3]
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Posted: 12/30/2006 11:59:22 PM EDT
[#4]
The web page isn't free, and wouldn't be there without the sponsors. A nececsary evil, if you will.
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Posted: 12/31/2006 12:01:21 AM EDT
[#5]
Maybe, but if you look at it, more than half the site has gone to advertising. Literally. Probably 40% of the page is actual content it seems. Lots of sites require advertising, but how many have been taken over to this point? I just feel that it's choking the genius that is the box-o-truth. |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 12:13:24 AM EDT
[#6]
Who gives a shit as long as the content is there, what is the problem? |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 12:14:46 AM EDT
[#7]
Personally, I appreciate the fact that he doesn't charge users. Probably wouldn't help to do so, but I appreciate the fact that he keeps it free.
Now, if he starts allowing AUTOMATIC POP-UPS, I will nuke the site. O_P, KUTGW! (Keep Up The Good Work!) |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 12:15:27 AM EDT
[#8]
+1 I'm just glad its available. I LOVE his threads! 
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Posted: 12/31/2006 12:16:42 AM EDT
[#9]
I guess ya'll are right, I'll just shut up and go back to my pacifier/bottle of Knob Creek.
It's just that I went to go visit his site and felt like I had to fight off an epileptic seizure. |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 12:20:47 AM EDT
[#10]
Just offer to pay his bill for keeping that page up and I'm sure he will remove all these ads for you.
I do click on ad when I'm over their to help pay for the site. |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 12:23:42 AM EDT
[#11]
All the info is there and it's free to the public. No pop ups. I don't see anything to complain about.
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Posted: 12/31/2006 12:23:55 AM EDT
[#12]
I clicked on your link and the first add that popped up was a "Bare Necessities" Underwear ad, I turned the lights down low and went to work. Im not complaining.
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Posted: 12/31/2006 12:38:14 AM EDT
[#13]
Quit yer bitchin.
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Posted: 12/31/2006 12:56:58 AM EDT
[#14]
Yessir.
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Posted: 12/31/2006 1:24:32 AM EDT
[#15]
How much of a donation have you sent O.P. ? If ZERO STFU. |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 1:36:56 AM EDT
[#16]
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Posted: 12/31/2006 1:45:18 AM EDT
[#17]
I hate to agree with MW on the sky being blue, but it is a little much.
Load times are bad, and the site is so ridden with ads if I was a first-time visitor I would just close the window and find something else to look at. I normally wouldn't even give something like that a chance. ETA: Worse, and O_P you should talk to your web guy about this, the buttons on the page that actually belong there look like the ads. Basically, I wouldn't trust clicking on anything on that page. I do a little bit of this kind of work, and that just looks really bad. |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 1:50:04 AM EDT
[#18]
So have you sent him a donation to keep the site running, to help cut down on the number of advertisements? No? |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 1:52:54 AM EDT
[#19]
There are other options. Merchandise, etc. Ads won't help you if they make people stop going to your site. |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 1:56:16 AM EDT
[#20]
What's he going to sell? Exploded milk jugs? I think Don is enjoying his retirement, not looking for another job. 
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Posted: 12/31/2006 1:57:27 AM EDT
[#21]
No charge, good information, okay with me.
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Posted: 12/31/2006 1:59:56 AM EDT
[#22]
T-Shirts, stickers, posters, coffee table books, whatever. Hell, just make a couple of images and put them on Cafepress. He doesn't have to do a thing. I would get more creative in paying for the site than turning it into a platform for ads that potentially drive visitors away. |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 2:20:54 AM EDT
[#23]
There won't be pop ups or adult advertising ever. That's a fact.
I'll rechange some stuff starting next week, I thought that placing the advertising box in the middle of the scrolling, with no content around was easier to get rid of with half a mouse wheel rotation. It seems people want it integrated to the content... |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 2:21:11 AM EDT
[#24]
Replace the Oreck air purifier banner with a mortgage company get rid of a gun ad and replace it with an airsoft or "shoot like a SEAL" banner....it will be just like ar15.com
Whats the problem? The info is there, just click it. Ignore the rest. -or- Just come here to ar15.com and search O_P every now and then.... ETA: Oh you can't...someone who uses this site for free is complaining about another free site  |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 2:31:16 AM EDT
[#25]
I dont know, the Lane Bryant buy 3 panties get 3 panties free is a tempting offer
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Posted: 12/31/2006 2:47:45 AM EDT
[#26]
You've never surfed for porn have you? |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 3:31:20 AM EDT
[#27]
We've been looking into merchandise options for some time. Look for them in 2007.
People do click on the navigation images. A lot. I track everything  Suggestions are always welcome, but you guys have to understand that our time, and the soft and server costs money and we have to recoup that somehow. Ad agencies impose certain rules for banner placing on the website. I'm going back to bed now. I've been up all night. If you catch an unapropiate ad or a pop up, please let me know sending me an email at [email protected] We always check that those are not included on the rotation, but we might get tricked at some point. Let me know and I'll get rid of it asap. |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 3:47:54 AM EDT
[#28]
I very much enjoy the content and style of OP and his bud T man.They are very much a class act and provide information that may not be the absolute last word but always has two solid feet planted in reality. That is a lot more than I can say for the majority of internet commandos who repeate all sorts of "TRUTHS" without ever pulling a trigger.I hope the adds cover their costs and hopefully give them the pocket change to go out to dinner and have a drink or two at the end of a long day at the range!
Yeah the adds cover a lot of space but the content and index of the Box O Truth is clear,well laid out ,and easy to use. |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 4:15:10 AM EDT
[#29]
I did. In for $25 - would have been nice to get at least a form-letter-email thank you. It was an interesting concept early on.........kind of a home built MythBuster. But there is nothing commercial about "how many sheets of plywood can a .308 pierce from 50, 75, 100, 250 yds?" Then again, I am not a terminal ballistics nut. |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 4:23:46 AM EDT
[#30]
until you realize that lane bryant caters to girls the size of defensive lineman, and the panties have the ringling bros. logo on them ETA: the site is fine the OP obviously never surfs porn on the web |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 4:29:40 AM EDT
[#31]
Much Ado About Nothing.....
Capitalism is Groovy. |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 4:38:23 AM EDT
[#32]
Well fellows, I appreciate all the comments, both positive and otherwise.
Like some of you, I wish there didn't have to be any advertisements. But Ponyboy kindly supplies the bandwidth and it is getting expensive. Deimos supplies his time to maintain and build the site, and his time isn't free. We have to pay for some of it if we can. As I've noted before, it is still a money-losing proposition, but Ponyboy is willing to absorb the loss for a while. Hopefully, it will some day pay its own way. In the mean time, Deimos will try to make things better. We appreciate the comments. |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 4:41:38 AM EDT
[#33]
I don't know how in the world that happened. I get notification of any donations and always send a note of thanks. Always. Don't see how one slipped by me. Please accept my apology. It's not like it's a big job. I would guess that I average about 1 donation per month, so it's not like the workload is overwhelming. |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 5:33:27 AM EDT
[#34]
First off, if you want to gripe at somebody O_P isn't the one, it's me. He provides the content for the site and we take over from t here to put it up and everything else. I've been paying for the site hosting and everything else out of pocket for a couple of years or more. If you send in a donation it goes to O_P for shooting materials, ammo, his time, etc. Not a dime of it goes towards getting the website on the net, it all comes out of my pocket. We don't charge a membership fee and there are no other costs to the user. We've got a free message board, I'm working on some other free options to benefit the users to make the site better and more interesting. Deimos our webmaster has done a ton of work that he hasn't yet been paid for. We attempted to sell ads to lots of dealers and manufacturers, most of which are also members on this site and only a couple were interested (Pete at www.lifelibertyetc.com and Chaim at www.suresight.com). Since obviously two ads wouldn't pay the bills we started to look at other lower paying options since a gun related website isn't able to use most of the higher paying ad options. We have been experimenting with different ads and we were planning on making some changes and cleaning stuff up after the holidays since I didn't plan on anyone throwing a fit before then. Most of the ads that you see right now are non-paying ads and are going to be removed, we just hadn't got to it yet. So, are the ads going away? Not unless I hit powerball or you guys decide that you'd rather have a membership type site instead of one where everything is free. Are you looking a gift horse in the mouth? Yeah, I kind of think so. Is 17 ads on a page a record? I doubt it. Scroll to the top of this page and you'll see at least 16 that cost a hell of a lot more than what we were trying to charge for ours. Again, if you have any suggestions or anything like that then please let us know by contacting Don, Deimos or myself. However, unless you're willing to donate a significant sum of money don't count on the ads completely disappearing, it's just a fact of life to keep a free website running. Michael |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 5:39:01 AM EDT
[#35]
I prefer the site without the ads, but then I'm not paying for it, am I?
Keep up the good work, guys. |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 5:46:07 AM EDT
[#36]
No problem, OP. I have no regrets about contributing. The time and effort it takes to put your reviews together is a big commitment on your part and I felt it was the least I could do to demonstrate my thanks I think it is awesome your work has become legendary in firearm enthusiasts circles, especially those with web-forums. I won't be the least bit surprised when we hear the Discovery Channel, or R. Lee Ermey and mail Call came knocking.
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Posted: 12/31/2006 5:50:16 AM EDT
[#37]
Considering the class of people that work on boxoftruth, and the level of information that is available there...I don't care if there are 100 ads per page to keep it going.
Keep up the GREAT work guys! (That said, I'll be buying some merch when it becomes available.) |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 6:35:23 AM EDT
[#38]
Thanks for the comments. It really takes a lot of time to keep things going and improving. But keeping you guys, our visitors, happy is the most important thing, so we try our hardest but you can't please everybody. |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 6:43:49 AM EDT
[#39]
[sarcasm]You're absolutely correct. How about hosting boxoftruth on your (free ) bandwidth ! 
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Posted: 12/31/2006 6:44:26 AM EDT
[#40]
STAY-FREE!!!!
 Just kidding. Good site.
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Posted: 12/31/2006 7:20:30 AM EDT
[#41]
Frankly, the ignorance shown by the original poster is significant. To gripe about someone elses website is childish and smacks of a teen's mentality.
I'd say the original poster should pay up to help defray costs or STFU. HH ETA: Are there any posts MORE informative than O_P's BoT's? I'd say not. |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 7:33:01 AM EDT
[#42]
I don't see a single ad on The Box O' Truth and my pages load instantly; but then I'm using the Firefox browser. :)
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Posted: 12/31/2006 9:09:55 AM EDT
[#43]
Even if you weren't using Firefox the ads wouldn't slow down the site content because they are hosted on different servers. So if the ads were loading slow then the worst case scenario is you wouldn't see the ads, which should make some people here happier. In any case, I've got Deimos working right now on New Year's Eve on his day off cleaning stuff up since it couldn't wait until after the holidays. Hopefully he'll be done before midnight so that he can do a little celebrating before he crashes in his bed from exhaustion
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Posted: 12/31/2006 9:29:17 AM EDT
[#44]
You're using a COMPUTER. Where there's a problem, there is a solution! and then some more problems of course.
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1865/ |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 9:33:02 AM EDT
[#45]
So, after we are saying that the ads helps us maintain the site, you post a link on how to get rid of them? Nice, really nice... |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 9:35:56 AM EDT
[#46]
Stuff costs money.
And he could charge for the knowledge and real world tests performed there. Not to mention the entertainment value. It ain't perfect but it is great! |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 9:37:24 AM EDT
[#47]
To be honest I didn't even recognize it when I clicked the link.
I hadn't been there for several months and it certainly has changed. Too bad it had to happen. |
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Posted: 12/31/2006 9:38:08 AM EDT
[#48]
Some people just have no clue. 
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Posted: 12/31/2006 9:38:52 AM EDT
[#49]
I see very few of the ads on BoxOTruth.com because I have qksz.net in my HOSTS file. Instead there are large blank spaces all over the page. I've also have Mozilla set to "Accept cookies from originating web site only" to block a lot of these third party attempts to catalog my surfing habits. Banner ads are fine for paying the bills to keep a site running, but I personally hate ad tracking services like Commission Junction, DoubleClick, etc., and am disappointed to see an otherwise cool site use these services.
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Posted: 12/31/2006 9:38:54 AM EDT
[#50]
This is America. No need to say more. If you don't want the Ads blocked hire a programmer to defeat it. |
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