Ads on the forum website?

[klweimer]

Just a few days ago, I noticed the front page of the forum website had a different layout and now the front page and the index page both have ads on them. Is this a change to the website? Or has some sort of adware take up residence in my computer?
Kirk

[aj81spider]

I don't have that.

[RRoller123]

I don't have that either. No changes. You have a bug apparently. But ads would be welcome by me if they funded the site to the point that we could properly and easily post pictures here without all the hosting nonsense. It hurts the utility of this site tremendously, always has for the 6 years I have been here. I hear that the Mira site allows direct picture posting, Can anyone verify this? I may consider a move over there.

[njspider]

I've got the new look and the ads. What's going on??

[So Cal Mark]

you do not have a bug, there are some changes coming to the site

[AriK]

A bit annoying when you click on the tab to bring you to the last post and instead it brings you to the ad on the bottom of the page and you need to scroll up to find the most recent post. (Using IPhone6 IOS 10)
Hopefully it's still under construction and that issue gets resolved.

[Site Owner]

All,
As Mark indicated there are changes coming to the web site and I have implemented some of those changes by adding Google Adsense ads to the home page and a couple of other pages. The actual forum code has been untouched and there are no changes to the forum itself. After twenty years of service, we have come to the point where FiatSpider.com has to generate revenue. Donations have been a huge help over the years, and I, in fact all of us here, should thank those of you that have been generous enough to pitch in. But donations are not enough to keep this site going, at least not at the level of "going" that I want for it.

The site and traffic continue to grow, which is a good thing, but that all costs money. Since I launched the site in 1997, I have never charged a registration fee to participate in the forum. I still would like to keep it that way so I am trying to raise some additional revenue from advertising. The site averages between 3.5 - 4 MILLION hits per month and is visited on average by over 15,000 individuals every month. In just the first 4 months of this year, (JAN-APR) over 274,000 pages have been consumed on Fiatspider.com. That's a lot of traffic by any measure. I am currently in discussions with some potential premium sponsors on the site in addition to the ad placements. I am also looking to build out more content on the web site itself, outside of the forum. All of these changes are in the spirit of elevating FiatSpider.com to even more of a community hub and resource for this car than it is now. The ads should not have any negative effect on your use of the forum at all, again, nothing has changed on the forum itself, only the web pages around it. I'm excited about the potential here and equally excited about some of the additional content we are considering in addition to the forum itself. Stay tuned, FiatSpider.com is going to get even bigger and better as we approach 21 years of continuos service to the Fiat Spider community.

Evan
FiatSpider.com
Owner & Founder

[geospider]

Many cudos to those who started and have kept this going. I am relatively new, but it is invaluable and just the sense of "community" has been amazing. Nice to see how human nature can work with those of like minds and interests.

Hats off to you all.

geospider

[klweimer]

Agreed. This forum has been a godsend for me and my efforts over the last few years. I had no idea there was so much traffic on the site!
Kirk

[Jrscobra]

By far, this is the best Fiat website. Keep up the great work! I'm still fairly new, but I love it and truly appreciate the mature nature of the members and the help I've already received!

[Site Owner]

Thanks Jrscobra! Glad you're here.