Anybody else having issues?

m8man

Moderator
I don't see the issue as being caused by those logged on whether member or guest logins. I was not able to access the discussion board again all day Thursday. I was beginning to think the plug had been pulled. I have no explanation for this, however, I have seen a huge uptick in the google ads that appear not to mention how many of the same ads bombard the discussion board. I don't know if that has any relevance to the issue at hand, just an observation. I hope that someone can find & correct this issue soon.
Could we all pay $$ something per year to help w this or is it beyond our control
 

dfattack

Well-known member
Could we all pay $$ something per year to help w this or is it beyond our control
I suggested that a few years ago when John was still with us. I didn't get a response. If the pop ups and adds are for money maybe we could all simply pay a membership fee to get rid of all the crap. At least worth looking into.
 

whitedust

Well-known member
I suggested that a few years ago when John was still with us. I didn't get a response. If the pop ups and adds are for money maybe we could all simply pay a membership fee to get rid of all the crap. At least worth looking into.
So how would that work pay to play can’t get in unless you’re a paid member? Just the discussion board or entire website?
 

JimAndros

Active member
I am probably the most computer illiterate person on this site. That being said, I have "2 Cups & a String" internet at home, a windows 7 & a 10 laptop & my cheap Samsung phone. (Also Windows 11 & high speed internet at work). Either they all work or none do. Getting onto JohnDee is no problem, it's the Discussion Board where it locks up.

I've been around over 20 years & the site kept expanding yet I typically only checked weather, Discussion Board & periodically Journal & webcams.

Now if I remember correctly, when John retired the pop-ups started & I just assumed they were to generate some revenue to fund the site in his retirement. It also seems to me that there were a few questions about the pop-ups & not everyone was having issues. Back to my cheap phone & my lack of skills (ad blocker? I don't know how to turn it on or off & not about to push buttons at random for experimentation). So I tolerated them.

Recently things are bad, real bad. Worse than this week's meltdown. And obviously everyone is enjoying them equally.

I don't know about making it a pay as you go site. Obviously no one will pay until before they know what it is. So free to view, pay to post?

Gary, do you have any access to usage #s. By this I mean by category. For example Discussion Board overall & breakdown by topic. It seems Misc, Snowfall & Area Conditions are the top 3 categories by a huge margin. Are there enough active posters to generate enough revenue?
 

gary_in_neenah

Super Moderator
Staff member
As you might expect, Miscellaneous has the most interest. When there's storms/snow, the Current Conditions jumps to the top. Vintage probably comes in a close third almost certainly due to Skiroule's continued posts of his restorations.

A couple of thoughts on the pop ups and I have to be careful here for obvious reasons. When John was still with us, he was selling advertising to cover the costs of having his own site. I recall his saying that the revenue wasn't enough to live on, but it covered his expenses and was a nice bonus for his efforts. It was a win-win, for him and us.

Present day, I don't see any, or very little advertising outside of the pop ups. But they do generate income to cover the cost of having a place on the Internet. Unfortunately, it seems like the wild west for the volume of ads and I believe that's the cause of our outages.

When we lost John, many had suggested another placeholder for winter forecasts. Nora was adamant that no one else would be doing weather forecasts in place of John. She wanted to keep things as they were in memory of John. Apparently, the advertisers have been replaced by Adsense or whatever is placing the pop ups and we're being overrun. Which in turn causes the continued outages.

If you sense some frustration on my part, you're right. After we lost John I had a short discussion with Nora regarding future plans. We didn't have a webmaster, as that was all John's doing. Since then, I've had very little guidance. I'm responsible for content but have no control over the technical end of things. Sure wish I did, or I'd have a tech on my speed dial, but I don't. And that's where we are today.

It's not my place to tell someone how to run their business, so I won't. I'm hopeful that changes are made, at a minimum to eleviate these ads. This has been a special place for many of us over the years and I would like to see that continue. John wanted a website for the snow lovers that was a place you could catch a laugh, post an opinion without getting flamed or maybe find a solution to problem your having. I think we've managed the last part, the other stuff is up to someone else. Let's hope that it happens.....

Gary
 
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