Hey, all, In case it isn't obvious, we just installed our new context-sensitive ad engine, which will be delivering ads for schools, programs, and other related things that are (hopefully) relevant to the specific threads and posts in which the ads appear. I know that people find ads annoying, but we're trying to find a balance between covering the costs for the upgrades, bandwidth, server costs, maintenance/upkeep expenses, etc and having loud, obnoxious ads like many other sites have done. This ad engine was in development for about 7 months, and was custom designed and coded to our specifications, specifically with the intent of providing relevant, minimally intrusive ads in each thread. It's our hope that by taking this approach, we can provide some real value to the 90% of our readers who never post, but who search our site every day for information on specific programs, and at the same time, provide minimum intrusion for our regular posters and long-time members. One of the things we plan to be able to offer soon, if there is interest, is an "ad free" option which will be available to those who want it for some sort of reasonable annual fee. There might be some additional features or benefits that come with that as well, it's something we're still working on. So this is the first live test of the context engine. It may be a little buggy, and it only knows the ad context for about 5 or 6 sets of keywords at present, but we've been testing the functionality for about a month on our testbed and it seems to function pretty well. If you note any weirdness (wrong-sized ads, links that don't work, etc), please post in this thread or send me an email. We'll be trying to keep a pretty close eye on it. And... once again, I and the rest of the team appreciate the support and contributions of all our members, and particularly our fantastic team of moderators. DegreeInfo simply wouldn't exist without the support of the community. As always, thoughts and (constructive) criticism are welcomed and appreciated.
I think they look good and are tastefully placed. I hope you start making lots of (or just cover the cost of you time and effort)
