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Press F1
Thread ID: 18663	2002-04-29 11:18:00	Ok it's time to stand up and be counted. Who also hates this bloody stupid Compaq Ipaq ad chasing us around the damm screen!!!!	Guest (0)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
46372	2002-04-29 21:20:00	???? Have I missed something? What ' Bloody stupid Compaq ipaq add'?? I have'nt seen it PP	Guest (0)
46373	2002-04-29 22:12:00	Maybe the message finally got through to Press F1 after so many complaints :-)	Guest (0)
46374	2002-04-30 03:48:00	Hi Terry - Yes I think it IS coming over a little strong to be honest. We have 12 people working in some way on the numerous websites we publish here - 10 in total. All of those people are professionals - programmers, editorial staff, salespeople etc. And all of those people need to be paid in order for us to continue to be able to publish the sites that we publish. In answer to your question about whether PressF1 attracts people to be readers of the magazine and vice-versa, the answer is both yes and no. Some of our audience only use the website, some only read the magazine and some do both. But the website needs to hold its own as a publicaiton in its own right - and does I feel, as evidenced in part byt the popularity of this forum and by the traffic that IDG sites receive. I agree that people will probably continue to use adblockers and the like - I don't like it, because morally I think it is parasitic .. there is an unwritten 'understanding' that the advertising you view pays for the content or services we provide for your use. Do you also not pay busfare for honesty-based systems? But like it or not, people will do use adblockers. And when it becomes so prevalent that it seriously affects ad revenue on websites, web publishers will simply find another way to deliver the ads in such a way that they can't be blocked ... it's reality. The reality being that if someone is publishing quality content or providing quality services they are generally doing it to make money. They are not doing it just to be public-spirited. That said, many existing publishers are providing web components to their publications as an added value to their readers (PressF1 is such a service). Yes you are correct that the internet started as a 'not-for-profit' service. But it's long since ceased being that, and has become just another medium for the publication and proliferation of information. Because the delivery costs are relatively small you see do see free 'fanzine' sites of the sort you describe, where you don't (as often anyway) see the print equivalent (i.e free newsletters or magazines) that are not advertising supported. But when it comes to reliable and professional publishers producing trustworthy and useful content, then the reality is that somewhere, someone is going to have to provide enough money to cover the costs of doing this (and let's face is, make a profit in doing so too - that's commerce). We have tried to be as unobtrusive as possible with the advertising. We have also communicated with people and taken note of their objections (and will feed these objections back to the advertiser and their agency). But we do have to continue to try and get revenue to support our online efforts, and this means that at times we may try things that may backfire - as this has obviously done. It has not been the first time that we have done things that have annoyed users, and it probably won't be the last. But if you compare what we offer with other offerings here in New Zealand, I personally would say we do a pretty good job on the whole. We try, and I believe most of the time we get it right. I had hoped that by being open about exactly what we were doing and why, that I would appeal to the reasonable amongst you. I hope I have. I fear I may not have. Regards Mark Evans Business Manager Online IDG Communications Ltd	Guest (0)
46375	2002-04-30 09:46:00	I am the same except for the 7.2 bit I have 7.1 and havn't seen it once. Simon	Guest (0)
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