Forum:Wikia, I'm thoroughly disappointed

Wikia, over the years there's been furious debate about ad content here. First it was no more top banners because advertisers DEMANDED a 300x250 top right in the content area, as well as banners in the content area. We were told ads couldn't be "hidden" at the bottom of the page.

Then you revamped the skin again. With that revamp came a shift of ads OUT of the content area, however sites now feature at least 2 ads much larger than 300x250 in many cases to the right, as well as 2 box ads at the bottom.

Today, I find out that on top of all that advertising, checking my main page a huge banner pops up that follows content down on the screen. I've also observed popup ads, and now the final straw: the green-underline text Vibrant ads.

Previously, Danny described these types of ads as "Horrible...ugly and distracting, and it creates a direct link between what contributors type and what advertisers sell," as well as "more aggressive than what Wikia plans to use." Wikia was described as having "fewer ads, and less aggressive ads" than other sites. Now, in 2011, this is totally false.

At what point did Wikia allow the advertisers to dictate the site content to them? Before it was effectively 'we just want this little corner or we're not interested.' Now it seems that they want every inch of wiki space possible, and Wikia is only too happy to provide that, especially when mobile ads are coming too.

For a company that has claimed in the past that you're "not happy about taking up content space," you do a fairly inadequate job of demonstrating that. In fact, I'm convinced that since 2008 advertising has significantly increased each year.

What happened to the "sacrosanct" principle of advertising not encroaching upon content? Is anything here sacrosanct?

When we're steamrolled with skin and editor updates that don't provide options, and ludicrous amounts of advertisements, I really don't think any principles exist. As a 6-year community member here, I can't stress my disappointment enough. I find it hard to take anything seriously any more. -- LordTBT Talk! 00:23, September 10, 2011 (UTC)


 * What are "green-underline text Vibrant ads"? What do they do? How are they bad? Can you link to a page with them. Maybe a screenshot. --Timeshifter 02:21, September 10, 2011 (UTC)


 * You can find them on just about any page. Basically, random text is underlined so it looks like a wiki link, but it's not, it's an ad. When you mouseover that link, an ad pops up, and clicking it goes to an ad site. This is a link before mousing over. This is what happens when you move your mouse over it. -- LordTBT Talk! 03:17, September 10, 2011 (UTC)


 * There are few things I hate more on the web than these type of link ads. I leave most websites right away when I happen to come upon these type of very irritating ads. If this continues I may have to reconsider whether to fork to another wiki farm. --Timeshifter 09:20, September 10, 2011 (UTC)


 * If it isn't the autoplay bandwidth draining ads, it's these intrusive link ads. And it's especially disturbing that they are within the content area of popular articles... I thought one of the points of Oasis was to remove inner content ads. It wouldn't surprise me if readers believed the ones who typed the content are responsible for these types of links. The links are suspicious and it makes it seem as if you have malware on your computer. There is no reason why advertisers should dictate a Wikia skin. We could have had larger content area by using narrow banner ads. -- Bunai82 (talk) 03:38, September 10, 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't mind ads as long as they are not in content space without my permission. I should have to click on an ad in order for it to expand into content space. --Timeshifter 09:20, September 10, 2011 (UTC)


 * If you hate ads, use FF and AB. 09:32, September 10, 2011 (UTC)

Unfortunately, browsing Wikia when logged out is akin to being on a porn site. The problem is not that we have to see the ads, it is that the content we spend so long on is presented to the majority of viewers after being whored out and covered with ridiculous adverts that look a lot like malicious software. I remember the ads for the film "priest", where ninja death stars flew all over your computer screen even outside of your browser, completely obscuring the content of wikia as well as anything else on your monitor. I don't know what else would cause someone to leave a website quicker. I made a complaint to special:contact, and my feedback was "passed on", but lo and behold those sorts of ads prevail. It's a stupidly short-sighted tactic, because these ads will drive wikia's reputation down and lose lots of traffic. And the adwords masquerading as wikilinks are just as bad, attempting to trick people into click on them--Acer4666 10:15, September 10, 2011 (UTC)


 * At first I did not understand this thread because I never see any advertisements here at Wikia. But then, when I read Acer’s comments immediately above, I realized that this is what occurs when one is either not logged in, or has ads turned on in preferences. Imagine how awful this must be for wikis like the Runescape Wiki where the vast majority of their visitors are IP-only editors! One would expect that these in-content ads would drive people away from Wikia. I also think that Bunai had a good point when he wondered if visitors think that those content contributors listed in an article’s revision history created the advertising links. Sheesh! — Spike Toronto  10:32, September 10, 2011 (UTC)


 * On top of all that Acer, it's the fact that Wikia community members were misinformed and basically lied to about all of this, and I struggle to see why anyone should trust any Wikia pronouncements going forward. -- LordTBT Talk! 16:59, September 10, 2011 (UTC)