Automatic Litterbox Central

Subject says it all... What are your thoughts?

I don't mind ads. Sometimes, I even find out about something I might want to purchase, so I'm not really interested in paying for the "convenience" of an ad free site. However, if things were desperate, I would be willing to make a donation, as meager as my offering might be, to keep this site up and running. I donate yearly to a couple other sites that I love (in the order of $3-$15,) and it seems that everyone is usually willing to chip in to keep "our" sites up and running. So, to sum up my ramblings: keep the ads, but if ads are not enough, be sure to give those of us who use and enjoy this site a chance to help out before giving up.

I don't see any ads . Surfing the web was so frustrating, that I keep ad blocking turned on in my firewall. Non intrusive ads don't bother me and I enjoy that they help provide free stuff to me. It's those darn pop ups and multiple ads appearing on one page that make me angry. I too would consider making a donation, but if responsible ads will cover the costs, let them.

Personally, I have no problem with ads. Alternatively, I also have no problem making a "small one-time donation" in order to keep the site up and running.

My only reservation is this: if it were necessary to make a one-time contribution in order to post or view messages, it's possible that 1st-time visitors who just happened to find the site wouldn't want to pay, and would therefore not post, or visit again. This would make the board less interesting/lively/diverse/etc.... Maybe free-to-view but donate-to-post, which would draw people in? Or make donations optional? I donno...

What about allowing those who donate to view the site without ads... I assume thats possible to do. That might be more (programming/site maintenence) trouble then it's worth, though.

Ok, I'll stop brainstorming now.


-e.

I agree that a small donation would not keep me from being a part of this group.

However, I know that I would never have joined this forum if I had to pay first. I reallly appreciate the fact that I was able to read posts on this site so that I could make more informed decisions on my pet purchases. I never would have purchased a Litter Robot if I didn't get a chance to read all the info contained in this site first.

I honestlly don't 'see' the ads either. It is the pop-up ads that tick everyone off the most; the ones here don't bother me a bit.

I'd hate to see anyone stop participating in this forum because they didn't want to pay for membership. I prefer the idea of ads and voluntary contributions.

Pay a fee to continue participating in a cat box forum?

LOL. No, I think I could go cold turkey without much of a problem.

I agree with those who may actually LEARN something from an ad! It is difficult enough to find good new pet products and I trust this site more than others...while I might be willing to pay a small fee now, paying anything to join a site called "Automatic Litterbox Central" would have brought boatloads of laughter! This is a great site. Lets consider keeping the ads and allowing the maximum exposure and ideas to flow.