What is it with these new "sponsored threads/posts" that are randomly popping up in the forums?

Particularly when one shows up in the midst of the active threads in our club forum, it's just like an uninvited guest has showed up and tried to steal the conversation.

A request to IB: Please stop this practice. In protest, I refuse to patronize any associated vendor, and I encourage others to adopt this practice.

 

Passed along to IB, unfortunately I and the person I pass it along to are just messengers, and I've pushed other complaints about this, up the chain this week as well; hopefully you will be contacted by IB.

 

Actually, I thought there would be more NAMers out there who were equally annoyed by those unwelcome advert posts. Given the number of replies to this thread (*crickets chirping*) maybe it doesn't bother other folks as much as it does you and I...

...meaning we may not have sufficient leverage to get IB to change their ways.

Thanks for your response.

 

I have not seen any "sponsored threads/posts", so I'm not real sure what they are. Just based on the description, I'm pretty sure I'd be joining you complaining about them if they did start to show up for me.

 

An example: The Zinio posts at the top of the R59 :: Roadster Talk and the R58 :: Coupe Talk forums

These sorts of posts have popped up in our local club forum too (although they're not there right now; maybe because I complained ) -- and for those of us who regularly monitor a forum for new threads and responses to prior posts they are, indeed, an annoyance.

 

Wow. Talk about some sneaky, intrusive advertising.

I noted that the posts don't appear to have a timestamp on them. I wonder if that is why I don't see them since I usually just check for New Posts instead of going to specific forums.

Really glad right about now that our club has a separate web site.

 

Funny...since my lunchtime post those two examples I gave have disappeared from the forums too.

Maybe it does pay to be a squeaky wheel.

 

Glad you brought this up...was bumming me out to. I don't come here to read fiat posts!

 

I never noticed them since I normally click "new posts" too, but then that means they aren't effective, either. So, some people don't even see them , and the others are annoyed by them. Sounds like a lose-lose.

 

Noticed. Annoyed. Agreed.

 

Seriously? Even in 'Off Topic'?

 

Yeah, it's lame. But the revenue generated is more powerful than our whining. That's why I've been spending a lot more of my forum time on the MU lately. Plus there's less "I'm annoyed at the car I just bought" types of people.

 

I can ignore them, but I'm more surprised at the lack of relevance. The only one I can remember seeing was for FIAT... You would think that as we are pretty much a bunch of self-confessed MINI obsessives that FIAT's ad buyers would have more sense. It was there for several days without a single view, let alone a reply!

I think our best course of action is to completely ignore the ones that don't interest us. Most of these ads have some "pay per click" element, so don't even open the thread, and certainly don't reply. That way we're doing two things:
1) directly denying (probably a small amount of) revenue to the people (IB I assume) who are foisting these things on us because fewer clicks = less cash. Hopefully this will help them see that this is a pointless addition that no-one wants or cares about.
2) sending a direct message to the advertisers buying the spots that no-one is interested in whatever they are selling, so don't waste your money buying sponsored threads here. These campaigns are usually closely monitored, so ads falling on deaf ears will get noticed.

Maybe these actions would have more direct effect than complaints. After all, if you complain it shows that you have noticed the ad, which is step one of their mission, after all. By totally ignoring them we might effect some change.

 

if they keep the board online and free, i don't mind them

i don't click them either

it's no different than the ads at the bottom of yahoo im, you quickly learn to ignore them

scott

 

The difference, of course, being that these appear at the top of a stack of posts, somewhat disguised as a legitimate entry and exactly the spot where I'm looking for replies to previous posts. Much harder to ignore involuntarily like most ads.

 

I just noticed this thread and these sponsor threads and posts are just down right stupid. I don't care about Honda or New Zealand or what ever new automatic butt wiper that some company jsut came out with. Hopefull they will disappear.

 

After a bit of a reprieve...they're back.

Motor Trend is the offending sponsor this time, though I wonder if they even realize how IB is whoring their sponsored links in our forums.

 

These suck almost as bad as all of the FS bumps. Almost.

Growing weary of NAM shoving all of this crap down my throat. Thinking seriously about taking our club forum to another site.

 

This is basically the same as PostRelease in the past: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...cky-spams.html

Seriously, it's probably part of IB's sales pitch when they sell ads, and I'm sure that the buyer has to pay extra for this feature.

 

This is just like the ad creep on Facebook. Text ads in the sidebar were a fair trade off, but now it's "Sponsored Link" or "We Thought You Might Enjoy This Ad!" with huge photos and a paragraph of copy in the Newsfeed. I've taken to PM'ing the offending companies and politely explaining that I think this particular brand of advertising is intrusive and obnoxious, and I won't be supporting them.

 

Aren't these because the ownership of this forum changed a year or two ago? Is it what funds this site, by selling advertising?

I did notice Mazda and Motor Trend threads. When will Victoria Secrets sign up?

 

The Sponsored Threads to me are questionable ... but I do understand that the forum is here to make money . Really don't kid yourself . WE ... the active folks make the forum not them but with out them we can't make it .

I was a "vendor , but when the rates outweighed the return I had to back out . their entry level is not for the side biz owner or a hobby.

To be a bit "off topic" I find the fact the vendors seem to chime in on SO many threads and really are just pushing products. Those are the ones I do not support.

 

They're getting worse...

 

I don't see them either. I just look and respond to the new posts and the ones I've subscribed to.

Maybe you should try that.

Dave

 

This is what I do most of the time now as well. I use the Android app a lot, and it has a "Current" list that shows new posts and topics, and a "subscribed" list that shows all I have replied to or subscribed to, just like the New Posts and the List Subscriptions links here (the second one is a bit buried on the User CP, I just bookmark it).