Forum:Issues with ads

In Firefox 2.0.0.12 the column on the right is extended slightly beyond the browser window (my monitor is 1280x800, so this shouldn't be a problem). Also, some ads are about 25% wider than the column, which makes the page even wider. In Internet Explorer 6, the add column is still wide, but the left side is under the main central column, keeping the browser from needing to scroll.

Also, adds for "Western Governors University" have been showing up in the past week. The problem with these is they have an audio segment, and I'm getting tired of constantly having to turn the audio off. --FortMax 20:34, 9 February 2008 (UTC)


 * I consider ads with audio to be completely unacceptable. How much longer will these be in rotation?  Can we count on audio ads not appearing again?  I generally don't run adblockers because I want to help the sites I visit earn their revenue, but I have my limits...  --Steve-o 05:46, 10 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Wikia can tell the ad providers to not include ads with audio in general. Wikia can block very specific ads given enough details (usually the url the ad links to helps a lot).  Various undesired ads do seem to slip under the radar from time to time, and needs to caught manually, so please actively report advertisements you find unacceptable to Wikia staff (including url, and reason why it's unacceptable -- I agree that auto-play audio crosses the line), so that the staff can remove them ASAP.  (ps. I'm not a staff) -PanSola 13:58, 10 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Hi guys -- thanks for letting us know about that ad. I just looked at it, and you're right -- completely unacceptable. I reported it, and that ad's been turned off -- you won't see it again.


 * This wasn't something that anybody at Wikia saw and approved... We use ad servers that feed us ads. Every once in a while, an ad server will try to slip in something that crosses the line, like constantly-flashing video. When we spot it, we can go in and block that ad.


 * Unfortunately, that means that once in a while, users will notice a problematic ad before someone on staff does. So please keep letting us know when you see something like this. We know that audio and flashing video make life hard on the users -- especially for wikis, where you're supposed to be writing and editing! If you see something like that, it's not intentional on our part -- you're just spotting it before we do. Thanks again for the heads-up on this one. -- Danny (talk ) 22:45, 10 February 2008 (UTC)


 * The number of ads that seem to me inappropriate on w:c:sca21 over the past few months seems sometimes too big to deal with in the way suggested, even had I known about it. I come here to edit, not to spend all my time fighting what might look to me like legalised spam. I reported one of the first instances I saw via these forums, but there seemed to be no response whatsoever. It may be just my imagination but this period seems to have coincided with a drying up of contribution to w:c:sca21 from anyone else, and a feeling that wikia as a whole ain't what it was, or at least ain't what it could be. It depresses me if this problem doesn't seem to be being addressed. Suppose it'd be an idea to copy this rant (yes, I know it's a rant, sorry about that) to someone on the staff (done) Philralph 10:27, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Hi Phil: I'm sorry that you're getting that burned-out feeling about Wikia; I know how frustrations can pile up. I'm the Community Development Manager, and I'd be happy to help you out with this. I'll leave a message on your wiki, so we can figure out which ads are getting you down.

If anybody else is having a problem with ads, please let me know by leaving a message on my talk page. Thanks! -- Danny (talk ) 17:38, 15 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Hi Danny, here's a summary


 * 1) Violence - the trigger to my message here was an ad I saw Friday morning, also on w:c:sca21 when I look this morning with the text "click to kick". I find this offensive, and against the spirit of the terms of use.
 * 2) Movement or flashing - some of these can be very distracting and there seem to have been lots of them over the past few months.
 * 3) Spam-like - ads which for example are lots of flashing text saying something like "you're a winner" remind me of sites which allow pop-ups
 * 4) inappropriate for specific wiki - if w:c:sca21's main page (the wiki being about sustainability) contains an ad for say a low cost airline, (as it has done on at least a couple of occasions) I can understand how someone considering editing it for the first time would see this as beyond inappropriate and really rather perverse.
 * Context - when I first started editing wikia, over 3 years ago I understood that the hosting was supported by advertising and over that period I've had no problem with the vast majority of old style Google ads which don't flash or jump around, and might have content appropriate (or at least not perverse) to the page's content Philralph 08:40, 18 February 2008 (UTC) ps just looked at your talk page and agree with comments re spotlight ads. New skin sounds promising.


 * Great, this is very helpful. I'm working with some folks on defining how we use ads, and having this kind of feedback really helps. Unfortunately, this isn't a problem that's going to get solved immediately -- it's a big-picture discussion that will take a little while to figure out.


 * Meanwhile, I can help to get specific ads dumped, if they're offensive or flashing at you. I report the bad ads when I see them, but I don't always see them all. I don't think I've seen the "click to kick" one; that doesn't sound good.


 * I don't think we can do anything about ads that are inappropriate for a specific wiki -- we have thousands of wikis on Wikia, and we can't manage ad space on each wiki individually. It would be nice if we could only have ads for sustainable projects on SCA, but we just can't do it. But a violent ad is inappropriate on any wiki, so we can do something on that level.


 * Feel free to leave a message on my talk page when you see a specific ad that you think is inappropriate. Describe the ad in as much detail as you can -- a screenshot would be helpful -- and tell me which wiki you saw it on.


 * As I said, this is going to take a little while to take care of, so I can't make any promises about it. I really appreciate your patience while we're working on it. -- Danny  (talk ) 17:28, 18 February 2008 (UTC)