Windows Secrets charges for questions?

[ruirib]

Just the lounge please.

Anything related to the newsletter should be reported through this contact information, so that the editors can address it directly (otherwise, its an extra step for me to pass on your question to them):
http://windowssecrets.com/contact/

Here's a rhetorical question... Take the registry cleaner for example. All someone has to do is search on the site or ask in the lounge and we'd give them good guidance. If they want to be well informed, we provide the information they can use and we'll answer questions directly if they are unsure of anything. But if they don't want to get educated with the resources we provide or if they don't want to join in our discussions - they're just visitors from google passing through and they aren't contributing to the growth of the site or the community. Is it also the site's responsibility to protect those people from clicking on an ad that supports the site?

Reg cleaners and pc matic certainly aren't for me either, but I don't know that they really hurt anything. I'm open minded though and can be influenced otherwise.

Yeah, I understand the difficulties. Surely the advertising revenue is important and there are a lot of products about which we could have long, protracted discussions and reach no conclusions. Reg cleaners would be among those, for sure.
Personally I find it more unacceptable when you see a columnist advising a known bad product, like System Mechanic, but that's for another thread.

[CLiNT]

Here is an excellent example of an ad I would find inappropriate and highly questionable...
Untitled.jpg
To have any portion of our logo in an ad is just plain wrong.
This needs to stop. This is an embarasment to all of us.


There obviously needs to be a bit more scrutiny when it comes to the ads placed on this site.
Someone is dropping the ball here, plain and simple.

[I.M.O.G.]

Agreed, working on that one once the week starts up.

[Deadeye81]

I can only imagine Lincoln Spector's initial reaction to seeing his name on the 'by line' of the "Three exceptional apps for every Windows version".

After seeing the PC Matic TV ad, the Newsletter ad for PC Matic became even more distasteful.

I never noticed our Lounge Lizard appearing in one of those junk program ads. It certainly looks as though we endorse just about every piece of junk software currently on the market!

Until such ads are dealt with, it is difficult to recommend the Newsletter to friends and family.

[midnight]

I can only imagine Lincoln Spector's initial reaction to seeing his name on the 'by line' of the "Three exceptional apps for every Windows version".

How in the world did this article get in the Newsletter in the first place?? I started reading it when the letter came out, and didn't like what it was "selling" and did not finish the article, nor had I read the posts here under that topic........ until now. WHAT is going on??

Barbara

[ruirib]

All these things can have a dramatic impact on some people. You can gather from member posts on the Lounge that some members just buy a product because it is recommended on the Newsletter. They simply buy it. When they realize the product is not what was advertised, the money is already gone and the newsletter reputation is damaged, possibly behind repair. What's more, you need years to build a reputation of integrity and all you need to tarnish it in seconds is something like one of these ads (where the logo is abused) or like the exceptional apps column. Is it worth it?

[Medico]

The ad in question from post 17 is appearing as I type this in my Lounge this morning. Ads have to be vetted more than they have been in the past. Just because someone ponies up some dollars is not a reason to sell them ad space. I guess we would need someone to check the site or product to determine if it is appropriate for our Lounge. Unfortunately this would involve some personal opinions. Perhaps a panel of to vet ads would be appropriate. Obviously the original poster thought we were charging for our answers so there is definitely a need for this.

[CLiNT]

The newsletter article about System Mechanic is perplexing, I mean, are we being hacked or something?!
I don't know anybody in their right mind who would professionally recommend that product.

The increased spam as of late, the creepy ads, and now that rotten newsletter article, it's like a very deliberate attempt to discredit the lounge and the newsletter.

[Medico]

The particular ad in question is still running. Can't anyone pull this ad? It has to be some kind of copyright infringement if nothing else. I do not know the abilities of Admins or iNET interactive should be able to pull this particular ad.

The Spam attacks seem to have lessened considerably recently. Our proactive approach to these individuals must be working.

Mike Lasky has done an injustice to the Lounge and Windows Secrets with this one article. Articles like this will cause people to leave Windows Secrets rather than bring them in. More research must be done for these articles. System Mechanic is rated very poorly in all reviews I have read. Come on Mike, you can do better.

[Deadeye81]

The particular ad in question is still running. Can't anyone pull this ad? It has to be some kind of copyright infringement if nothing else. I do not know the abilities of Admins or iNET interactive should be able to pull this particular ad.

I can assure all that Lounge advertising is beyond the scope of Joe or my duties as Admins. We will have to wait to see what Matt comes back with.

I too am very concerned about the Lounge's reputation, and I am confident that some positive action will be forthcoming.

[Browni]

I too am very concerned about the Lounge's reputation, and I am confident that some positive action will be forthcoming.

Let's hope so.

[I.M.O.G.]

3 important things to note right now.

1. Those dissatisfied with any newsletter content, please forward feedback on the matter to editor at windowssecrets.com. While the Lounge and the newsletter works together, emailing at that address is a direct line to those who directly manage newsletter content. Posting in the lounge about it is good to ensure you aren't the only one who takes issue with an article, however to gain direct impact from your feedback from those who can make a difference in the newsletter directly - email editor at windowssecrets.com.

2. The ad misusing our mascot was brought to my attention at 1:45AM EST this morning. I live in the eastern time zone, and I posted 30 minutes after it was brought to my attention to reassure everyone that I received the message, and that the issue would be followed up at the first opportunity. When I mentioned I'd work on it as soon as the week starts up, I meant the people who have the ability to control ads will not be available until Monday morning during regular office hours - they are "normal" people and don't work at all hours of the day or night like I do. Keep in mind the importance of mutual respect also - just as no one else can come into the lounge and change the lounge administrators without my knowledge, the lounge administrators or I cannot come into the lounge and change the advertising lineup overnight - we work as a team, but we have to communicate with teammates to address issues. As none of us likes this ad, and this isn't a problem which has ever came up previously, after discussion we'll adjust as necessary to resolve the issue and avoid similar issues in the future.

3. I'll be direct to keep this simple, but my intent is not to be coarse... No sales team is going to tell us how we should run the forums, and with equal respect, we are not going to tell the sales team how to sell advertising. Fortunately we all work as a team respecting each others role in keeping WindowsSecrets running smoothly. Sales doesn't want to run ads that we hate, and we don't want to be responsible for selling advertising. Thus, healthy communication is the key to good teamwork - it is the community's role to make it known if they are dissatisfied, so you've done your part. Now its my role to see that we work together to ensure the problem is resolved to satisfaction, and there is sufficient understanding of the sensitivities so that similar issues can be avoided in the future.

Thank you all for your membership and readership, together we all work towards making the Lounge and the newsletter better for everyone involved.

[ruirib]

Thanks, Matt. I have followed your advice and have emailed the newsletter editor.

[I.M.O.G.]

The ad in question has been removed. Within 15 minutes, you should notice the change has taken affect. If the ad appears again, the product it promotes should be clearly recognizable, and the lounge logo will not be part of the ad.

[Tracey Capen]

There seems to be more than one topic floating through this thread. On the ad, all of your comments are on point. Thanks for pointing it out. I always look at the ads in the newsletter, but not always in the Lounge. Notifying Matt was the right call.

As for ads in general. As Matt mentioned, the editorial/Lounge admin staff will never tell the business side what ads they can insert. Just as they cannot tell us what content to publish. I will, however, request the removal of ads that are in bad taste, deceptive, or otherwise potentially harmful to our readers and forum members. (Since almost no one wants to pay to support forums, ads are a necessary source of revenue.)

We frequently get suggestions that we should vet all products advertised on the site and in the newsletter. It's impractical for various reasons. For example, if we were even able to get ads from the companies whose products we gave positive reviews, most of you would automatically assume we're paid by the companies for those reviews. (Was that the case, I'd be driving a much better car, I can assure you.)

As for reg cleaners and tune-up applications, I'm not expert enough to discount the entire category. I assume there might be one or two of those products that do some good, especially on the millions of older XP systems that are still in use. For the System Mechanic review, I checked various user-review sites and saw mixed results - some poor scores, some excellent. Given that user reviews are often inaccurate and highly opinionated, I have to give the writer the benefit of the doubt. Especially someone who has been in tech publishing for many years.

That said, constructive feedback is always welcome. However, if you are going to condemn a specific product, it's only right that it be because you've used the version reviewed, and you really should give specific examples of how it failed.