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This is from Gamespot, the site I visit for gaming news apart from SR.
It doesn't sell games, it's an information site.
Read and say what you think, personally I find this kind of honesty and bluntness refreshing:
-------------
To our trusted users,
If you're reading this page, it's probably because you've just seen a new ad unit on GameSpot--a Taco Bell ad that appeared prior to our home page loading--and were surprised, curious, or indignant enough to want to find out more about it. If so, you've come to the right place.
First, a little background. My name is Vincent Broady. I am a cofounder of GameSpot and its original editorial director. I designed the first manifestation of our site back in 1996 and was involved with GameSpot on a day-to-day basis until the end of 1999. After a hiatus to work on other properties for our then parent company ZDNet, I returned to GameSpot earlier this year and once again have been very involved with the site's product development and overall business strategy.
In the year or so that I was away, a lot changed in the game site market. Those changes have been well documented, and chances are you've experienced many of them firsthand, so I won't belabor them here. Suffice it to say that for several reasons, the economic viability of sites offering free game information has been called into question. Indeed, most "pro" sites have gone out of business. And, in almost every case, those that remain have undergone significant changes to their model, involving either (1) reduced content (2) paid- or subscriber-only areas and/or (3) invasive advertising units.
GameSpot has largely resisted these changes. We are producing more content for more games on more systems than at any time in our history, and we are continuing to invest in new and better ways of bringing you the information you want. Although we pioneered paid services with our original Game Guides program (yes, at one point you did have to pay for them), it has generally been our position that game content should be freely available to our users. In other words, as fast as we get it, you get it. And while at certain times in our history we have pushed the limits with onscreen advertising--at one point we had as many as 30 ad units on a single page!--in recent months we have pulled back on this front considerably. Indeed, GameSpot now features only one ad unit per page and does not accept the pop-up, pop-under, interstitial (between two pages), or superstitial (the ones where things fly around on the screen) ads that have become so pervasive on other gaming sites.
We've been able to do this because we--and, as importantly, our parent company CNET Networks--fundamentally believe that GameSpot's long-term future will be determined by how well we enable you to find the right games to buy and to get the most out of the games you already own. So, from our perspective, once you are in our site looking for information about games, anything that gets in your way is a negative, not a positive, and that includes any ad unit that obscures content and/or interrupts you while navigating the site. Again, this is why we don't accept any of the invasive ad units so common on other sites.
Just so you know, this decision has cost us money. Our advertisers are persistent in wanting us to provide an ad mechanism whereby they can be assured both that you see their message and that they can have enough creative freedom to accomplish their communication goals. Since we won't accept pop-ups, pop-unders, superstitials, or interstitials--and since all of our competitors do--we needed to come up with something that met these advertisers' needs.
So, after carefully considering the alternatives, we have created a new unit on our site, technically known as the "prestitial," which many of you have seen for the first time today. This ad unit loads, displays, and disappears prior to the loading of our home page, with a related ad appearing on the home page so that you can get follow-up information if you're so inclined. The ad unit appears only once for each user during each "flight"--normally two or three days--regardless of how many times you come to the site during that period. We expect to run only a limited number of these units during any given month, so even if you are a hard-core GameSpot user, chances are you will see the prestitial ad only occasionally during your visits to the site. And once you are past it, you can browse GameSpot for free and without interruption, just like you always have.
Does this mean GameSpot has sold out? We don't think so. Rather, we are doing our best to strike the right balance between the needs of both our users and the advertisers that keep our site in business.
Obviously we want to know more about your thoughts on this issue. So please, write us and tell us what you think--good or bad. And for those of you who feel strongly that you do not want to see this type of advertising unit on our site, please tell us what other ad units you would like to see instead or if you'd consider subscribing to a paid version of GameSpot that had no advertising at all.
We're in this together--we want to keep GameSpot your number one destination for gaming information. Please tell us what you think.
Vince Broady
GameSpot Cofounder
Senior Vice President, Consumer Brands and Services
CNET Networks
It doesn't sell games, it's an information site.
Read and say what you think, personally I find this kind of honesty and bluntness refreshing:
-------------
To our trusted users,
If you're reading this page, it's probably because you've just seen a new ad unit on GameSpot--a Taco Bell ad that appeared prior to our home page loading--and were surprised, curious, or indignant enough to want to find out more about it. If so, you've come to the right place.
First, a little background. My name is Vincent Broady. I am a cofounder of GameSpot and its original editorial director. I designed the first manifestation of our site back in 1996 and was involved with GameSpot on a day-to-day basis until the end of 1999. After a hiatus to work on other properties for our then parent company ZDNet, I returned to GameSpot earlier this year and once again have been very involved with the site's product development and overall business strategy.
In the year or so that I was away, a lot changed in the game site market. Those changes have been well documented, and chances are you've experienced many of them firsthand, so I won't belabor them here. Suffice it to say that for several reasons, the economic viability of sites offering free game information has been called into question. Indeed, most "pro" sites have gone out of business. And, in almost every case, those that remain have undergone significant changes to their model, involving either (1) reduced content (2) paid- or subscriber-only areas and/or (3) invasive advertising units.
GameSpot has largely resisted these changes. We are producing more content for more games on more systems than at any time in our history, and we are continuing to invest in new and better ways of bringing you the information you want. Although we pioneered paid services with our original Game Guides program (yes, at one point you did have to pay for them), it has generally been our position that game content should be freely available to our users. In other words, as fast as we get it, you get it. And while at certain times in our history we have pushed the limits with onscreen advertising--at one point we had as many as 30 ad units on a single page!--in recent months we have pulled back on this front considerably. Indeed, GameSpot now features only one ad unit per page and does not accept the pop-up, pop-under, interstitial (between two pages), or superstitial (the ones where things fly around on the screen) ads that have become so pervasive on other gaming sites.
We've been able to do this because we--and, as importantly, our parent company CNET Networks--fundamentally believe that GameSpot's long-term future will be determined by how well we enable you to find the right games to buy and to get the most out of the games you already own. So, from our perspective, once you are in our site looking for information about games, anything that gets in your way is a negative, not a positive, and that includes any ad unit that obscures content and/or interrupts you while navigating the site. Again, this is why we don't accept any of the invasive ad units so common on other sites.
Just so you know, this decision has cost us money. Our advertisers are persistent in wanting us to provide an ad mechanism whereby they can be assured both that you see their message and that they can have enough creative freedom to accomplish their communication goals. Since we won't accept pop-ups, pop-unders, superstitials, or interstitials--and since all of our competitors do--we needed to come up with something that met these advertisers' needs.
So, after carefully considering the alternatives, we have created a new unit on our site, technically known as the "prestitial," which many of you have seen for the first time today. This ad unit loads, displays, and disappears prior to the loading of our home page, with a related ad appearing on the home page so that you can get follow-up information if you're so inclined. The ad unit appears only once for each user during each "flight"--normally two or three days--regardless of how many times you come to the site during that period. We expect to run only a limited number of these units during any given month, so even if you are a hard-core GameSpot user, chances are you will see the prestitial ad only occasionally during your visits to the site. And once you are past it, you can browse GameSpot for free and without interruption, just like you always have.
Does this mean GameSpot has sold out? We don't think so. Rather, we are doing our best to strike the right balance between the needs of both our users and the advertisers that keep our site in business.
Obviously we want to know more about your thoughts on this issue. So please, write us and tell us what you think--good or bad. And for those of you who feel strongly that you do not want to see this type of advertising unit on our site, please tell us what other ad units you would like to see instead or if you'd consider subscribing to a paid version of GameSpot that had no advertising at all.
We're in this together--we want to keep GameSpot your number one destination for gaming information. Please tell us what you think.
Vince Broady
GameSpot Cofounder
Senior Vice President, Consumer Brands and Services
CNET Networks
Grix Thraves wrote:
But he does deserve credit for
finding things that would entertain or interest us, and going around making
inane comments about people without even bothering to check to see if you are any better is something that definitely deserves no ones respect. No wonder these forums are as crap as they are.
Yes, he deserves a lot of credit and I read all of his posts and agree with the post below, he comes here to contribute and take in account other peoples opinions. Not for one second did I say he didn't, I just couldn't see a reason to post this as it was not his work, sorry if anyone took offense to that, but it is true.
But he does deserve credit for
finding things that would entertain or interest us, and going around making
inane comments about people without even bothering to check to see if you are any better is something that definitely deserves no ones respect. No wonder these forums are as crap as they are.
Yes, he deserves a lot of credit and I read all of his posts and agree with the post below, he comes here to contribute and take in account other peoples opinions. Not for one second did I say he didn't, I just couldn't see a reason to post this as it was not his work, sorry if anyone took offense to that, but it is true.
Grix Thraves wrote:
Did Goatboy write this? No.
Does he
> deserve credit for having more words? No.
Does Goatboy care one single little bit about word count and being top of some chart?
Nope
Does Goatboy type massive posts all of his own words about subjects that fire his heart and make him think in the Life and DVD forums?
Yes
Why is this?
To trigger a response, to induce discussion.
And it works, go check the threads I start and see the number of responses to them.
That is why I put long posts, and it's very rare that I copy and paste. And if I do, then I make sure it's relevant to something and always credit the source, just in case it wins GAD and little kids start whinging and crying because it's not fair.
Christ, why do I even bother?
NEW TOPIC FROM GOATBOY
X-Box smash gaystation
There? That better?
Did Goatboy write this? No.
Does he
> deserve credit for having more words? No.
Does Goatboy care one single little bit about word count and being top of some chart?
Nope
Does Goatboy type massive posts all of his own words about subjects that fire his heart and make him think in the Life and DVD forums?
Yes
Why is this?
To trigger a response, to induce discussion.
And it works, go check the threads I start and see the number of responses to them.
That is why I put long posts, and it's very rare that I copy and paste. And if I do, then I make sure it's relevant to something and always credit the source, just in case it wins GAD and little kids start whinging and crying because it's not fair.
Christ, why do I even bother?
NEW TOPIC FROM GOATBOY
X-Box smash gaystation
There? That better?
If you stopped for a second and posted something remotely interesting I might even start to think that there are only about ten people in these forums who actually make it any fun to be here.
Did Goatboy write this? No.
Does he deserve credit for having more words? No.
But he does deserve credit for finding things that would entertain or interest us, and going around making inane comments about people without even bothering to check to see if you are any better is something that definitely deserves no ones respect. No wonder these forums are as crap as they are.
Did Goatboy write this? No.
Does he deserve credit for having more words? No.
But he does deserve credit for finding things that would entertain or interest us, and going around making inane comments about people without even bothering to check to see if you are any better is something that definitely deserves no ones respect. No wonder these forums are as crap as they are.
No wonder you're at the top of the word count list in the last 30 days. If I posted things like this everyday I would be there aswell.
*Starts to locate other sites for information to copy and paste*
*Starts to locate other sites for information to copy and paste*
Well good for them.
This is from Gamespot, the site I visit for gaming news apart from SR.
It doesn't sell games, it's an information site.
Read and say what you think, personally I find this kind of honesty and bluntness refreshing:
-------------
To our trusted users,
If you're reading this page, it's probably because you've just seen a new ad unit on GameSpot--a Taco Bell ad that appeared prior to our home page loading--and were surprised, curious, or indignant enough to want to find out more about it. If so, you've come to the right place.
First, a little background. My name is Vincent Broady. I am a cofounder of GameSpot and its original editorial director. I designed the first manifestation of our site back in 1996 and was involved with GameSpot on a day-to-day basis until the end of 1999. After a hiatus to work on other properties for our then parent company ZDNet, I returned to GameSpot earlier this year and once again have been very involved with the site's product development and overall business strategy.
In the year or so that I was away, a lot changed in the game site market. Those changes have been well documented, and chances are you've experienced many of them firsthand, so I won't belabor them here. Suffice it to say that for several reasons, the economic viability of sites offering free game information has been called into question. Indeed, most "pro" sites have gone out of business. And, in almost every case, those that remain have undergone significant changes to their model, involving either (1) reduced content (2) paid- or subscriber-only areas and/or (3) invasive advertising units.
GameSpot has largely resisted these changes. We are producing more content for more games on more systems than at any time in our history, and we are continuing to invest in new and better ways of bringing you the information you want. Although we pioneered paid services with our original Game Guides program (yes, at one point you did have to pay for them), it has generally been our position that game content should be freely available to our users. In other words, as fast as we get it, you get it. And while at certain times in our history we have pushed the limits with onscreen advertising--at one point we had as many as 30 ad units on a single page!--in recent months we have pulled back on this front considerably. Indeed, GameSpot now features only one ad unit per page and does not accept the pop-up, pop-under, interstitial (between two pages), or superstitial (the ones where things fly around on the screen) ads that have become so pervasive on other gaming sites.
We've been able to do this because we--and, as importantly, our parent company CNET Networks--fundamentally believe that GameSpot's long-term future will be determined by how well we enable you to find the right games to buy and to get the most out of the games you already own. So, from our perspective, once you are in our site looking for information about games, anything that gets in your way is a negative, not a positive, and that includes any ad unit that obscures content and/or interrupts you while navigating the site. Again, this is why we don't accept any of the invasive ad units so common on other sites.
Just so you know, this decision has cost us money. Our advertisers are persistent in wanting us to provide an ad mechanism whereby they can be assured both that you see their message and that they can have enough creative freedom to accomplish their communication goals. Since we won't accept pop-ups, pop-unders, superstitials, or interstitials--and since all of our competitors do--we needed to come up with something that met these advertisers' needs.
So, after carefully considering the alternatives, we have created a new unit on our site, technically known as the "prestitial," which many of you have seen for the first time today. This ad unit loads, displays, and disappears prior to the loading of our home page, with a related ad appearing on the home page so that you can get follow-up information if you're so inclined. The ad unit appears only once for each user during each "flight"--normally two or three days--regardless of how many times you come to the site during that period. We expect to run only a limited number of these units during any given month, so even if you are a hard-core GameSpot user, chances are you will see the prestitial ad only occasionally during your visits to the site. And once you are past it, you can browse GameSpot for free and without interruption, just like you always have.
Does this mean GameSpot has sold out? We don't think so. Rather, we are doing our best to strike the right balance between the needs of both our users and the advertisers that keep our site in business.
Obviously we want to know more about your thoughts on this issue. So please, write us and tell us what you think--good or bad. And for those of you who feel strongly that you do not want to see this type of advertising unit on our site, please tell us what other ad units you would like to see instead or if you'd consider subscribing to a paid version of GameSpot that had no advertising at all.
We're in this together--we want to keep GameSpot your number one destination for gaming information. Please tell us what you think.
Vince Broady
GameSpot Cofounder
Senior Vice President, Consumer Brands and Services
CNET Networks
It doesn't sell games, it's an information site.
Read and say what you think, personally I find this kind of honesty and bluntness refreshing:
-------------
To our trusted users,
If you're reading this page, it's probably because you've just seen a new ad unit on GameSpot--a Taco Bell ad that appeared prior to our home page loading--and were surprised, curious, or indignant enough to want to find out more about it. If so, you've come to the right place.
First, a little background. My name is Vincent Broady. I am a cofounder of GameSpot and its original editorial director. I designed the first manifestation of our site back in 1996 and was involved with GameSpot on a day-to-day basis until the end of 1999. After a hiatus to work on other properties for our then parent company ZDNet, I returned to GameSpot earlier this year and once again have been very involved with the site's product development and overall business strategy.
In the year or so that I was away, a lot changed in the game site market. Those changes have been well documented, and chances are you've experienced many of them firsthand, so I won't belabor them here. Suffice it to say that for several reasons, the economic viability of sites offering free game information has been called into question. Indeed, most "pro" sites have gone out of business. And, in almost every case, those that remain have undergone significant changes to their model, involving either (1) reduced content (2) paid- or subscriber-only areas and/or (3) invasive advertising units.
GameSpot has largely resisted these changes. We are producing more content for more games on more systems than at any time in our history, and we are continuing to invest in new and better ways of bringing you the information you want. Although we pioneered paid services with our original Game Guides program (yes, at one point you did have to pay for them), it has generally been our position that game content should be freely available to our users. In other words, as fast as we get it, you get it. And while at certain times in our history we have pushed the limits with onscreen advertising--at one point we had as many as 30 ad units on a single page!--in recent months we have pulled back on this front considerably. Indeed, GameSpot now features only one ad unit per page and does not accept the pop-up, pop-under, interstitial (between two pages), or superstitial (the ones where things fly around on the screen) ads that have become so pervasive on other gaming sites.
We've been able to do this because we--and, as importantly, our parent company CNET Networks--fundamentally believe that GameSpot's long-term future will be determined by how well we enable you to find the right games to buy and to get the most out of the games you already own. So, from our perspective, once you are in our site looking for information about games, anything that gets in your way is a negative, not a positive, and that includes any ad unit that obscures content and/or interrupts you while navigating the site. Again, this is why we don't accept any of the invasive ad units so common on other sites.
Just so you know, this decision has cost us money. Our advertisers are persistent in wanting us to provide an ad mechanism whereby they can be assured both that you see their message and that they can have enough creative freedom to accomplish their communication goals. Since we won't accept pop-ups, pop-unders, superstitials, or interstitials--and since all of our competitors do--we needed to come up with something that met these advertisers' needs.
So, after carefully considering the alternatives, we have created a new unit on our site, technically known as the "prestitial," which many of you have seen for the first time today. This ad unit loads, displays, and disappears prior to the loading of our home page, with a related ad appearing on the home page so that you can get follow-up information if you're so inclined. The ad unit appears only once for each user during each "flight"--normally two or three days--regardless of how many times you come to the site during that period. We expect to run only a limited number of these units during any given month, so even if you are a hard-core GameSpot user, chances are you will see the prestitial ad only occasionally during your visits to the site. And once you are past it, you can browse GameSpot for free and without interruption, just like you always have.
Does this mean GameSpot has sold out? We don't think so. Rather, we are doing our best to strike the right balance between the needs of both our users and the advertisers that keep our site in business.
Obviously we want to know more about your thoughts on this issue. So please, write us and tell us what you think--good or bad. And for those of you who feel strongly that you do not want to see this type of advertising unit on our site, please tell us what other ad units you would like to see instead or if you'd consider subscribing to a paid version of GameSpot that had no advertising at all.
We're in this together--we want to keep GameSpot your number one destination for gaming information. Please tell us what you think.
Vince Broady
GameSpot Cofounder
Senior Vice President, Consumer Brands and Services
CNET Networks