Rockbox Technical Forums
Rockbox General => Rockbox General Discussion => Topic started by: Bagder on February 25, 2008, 07:05:16 AM
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I know this has been discussed in the past but I feel it is a topic that can be taken another round.
Let's say someone mailed us with a suggestion to put (non-intrusive) text ads on the front page of rockbox.org and they're willing to pay us 500USD/month for this.
Would this be agreeable?
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Non-intrusive as in a couple of sentences at the bottom for example? Personally I don't really have a problem with it so long as the front page looks like rockbox with the odd advert and not some adverts, oh and here is rockbox too!
However, I tend to take a pragmatic view that for reasonable amounts of cash it is worth it, others are more idealogical.
My £0.02
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I would have nothing against it, certainly not text adds.
As long as the content/adds ratio remains sane ;)
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Yeah go for it - 500USD a month is nice little addition to the Rockbox fund.
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I wouldn't object to adds at all as long as they're never misleading or disruptive.
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Wouldn't you be able to make more than $500 per month with stuff like Google AdSense? (According to alexa rockbox.org has a respectable traffic rank so that must surely be worth some money)
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I wouldn't mind as long as the ads are sensible, and they're not disruptive.
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Google Ads only provide good money if you have an audience of frequent ad-clickers, which my experience says hackers (like Rockbox kind of hackers) are usually not. So, no I doubt google ads would come close to 500 USD/month.
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As a non-developer site denizen, I would have no issue with non-obtrusive and non-numerous ads, especially if they don't impede load time (at some sites, I have found that ads are set to load first and there can be considerable delay, especially over, yes, dial-up).
In fact, I would encourage a trial as to this. Quite candidly, even $100-$200 per month would be beneficial, for developer equipment (and beer) runs.
Indeed, if the ads are keyed well, they could be informative. Such as, ads to emerging DAP player marketers.
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If it is only a small, non-obtrusive Ad, go for it, its worth the money...
if we had 10 of this ads, we could a pay a dev full time for rockbox ! :-)
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I say go for it, I for one use adblock with firefox so it won't affect me at all. ;D But even if I didn't use it I wouldn't care, as long as it's a banner at the top or something and doesn't impede browsing I won't care.
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Go for it, I know the money will be put to good use.
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I am definitely for non-obtrusive text ads, however I don't know if we should discount AdSense so soon. We could have a month to try out a few things...
And I think we have enough "Go for it"s, so please only say something if you are discussing or saying "no".
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My position would be that putting text only ads on the rockbox.org frontpage (or maybe on all wiki pages?) would be a great idea.
I have a question about how these google adsense things work. So say we tell people to click on the ads just for the sake of raising money. Would this get even more money for the rockbox fund if it's on a click and pay basis?
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I have a question about how these google adsense things work. So say we tell people to click on the ads just for the sake of raising money. Would this get even more money for the rockbox fund if it's on a click and pay basis?
Yes, that's how google adsense ads work, but if we'd go with them we could never ever write anything that would encourage people to do this. In fact, just mentioning the ads (on the same or a related site) has been deemed inappropriate by google in the past (and then they revoke your rights to display their ads). Which is another reason I like ads that pay a fixed amount per month.
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Part of me admires the fact Rockbox runs no ads.
The pragmatic part of me, though, feels exactly as LL expressed:
I wouldn't object to adds at all as long as they're never misleading or disruptive.
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I love tha we're ad free too, but I think I'd love more being confident that if something crazy happens (lawsuit, multiple server failures) we won't be as dependent on a donation drive. I know we have some money but frankly, more is probably better. I am of course also secretly hoping that there wil be enough to make one of the devcons, probably the one not in the US, more accessible to those of us an ocean away in years to come. I've been around for some years now and frankly I'm looking forward to the chance to shake a few specific hands.
Anyway, text ads were mentioned and personally I think that's fairly safe.
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I would like large, flashing, neon, animated banners reminding me to get off the computer occasionally. Perhaps a shopping center would pay for something like that.
Really, though, my gut reaction is "Get that money, sonny! Why not be rewarded for your labour?". But I also realize that advertising has a tendency, no matter how subtle, tastefully, humourously or hiply it's done, to sully the things it's attached to. Not that I really mind, I just get a sort of rotten feeling in my stomach imagining the frontpage with ads on it.
Approximate retail value: 2 cents.
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Hi:
I say go for it in a big way. Anything to keep Rockbox moving forward.
It would be nice for the devs to have some travel funds to shake the hands that need shaking as well as enabling the networking needed to keep the creative juices flowing.
I use my Gigabeat Rockbox every day--it's awesome. It's also nice to know that when the supply dries up on Ebay, there are so many other Rockbox platforms.
You might also consider asking us users for donations tailored to specific projects.
Tom
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I agree with most of the comments already in this thread, i'm sure a reliable source of cash would help in many ways.
Slightly off topic, but how is rockbox's finances organised? Not knowing too much about finance and tax, but i'm guessing tax would need to be paid on this regular income?
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Really, though, my gut reaction is "Get that money, sonny! Why not be rewarded for your labour?". But I also realize that advertising has a tendency, no matter how subtle, tastefully, humourously or hiply it's done, to sully the things it's attached to. Not that I really mind, I just get a sort of rotten feeling in my stomach imagining the frontpage with ads on it.
Approximate retail value: 2 cents.
I echo your thoughts.
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Since rockbox is non-profit, shouldn't it be tax-exempt?
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Tax exempt status is tricky issue that would probably require some tax lawyers to resolve cleanly. The requirements for non-profit tax exemption will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
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Just remember that Rockbox is not a formal organization of any kind. We're just a team of individuals.
And yes, with ad revenue of this kind I think the tax situation would need to be cleared up...
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¥£$!
Get that money!
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As long as they are not obtrusive, go for it.
As for the tax situation, my wife is a tax CPA with her own firm. We could answer a few of your questions.
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Could she also answer those questions if they were about Swedish law? I have looked into some umbrella organizations, but they are all based in the US, which I think we don't really want to do, as then Rockbox would be considered based in the US and subject to certain other laws that may impede progress.
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Asking questions about US tax rules when the Rockbox account is held in Sweden wouldn't make a whole lot of sense - and neither would moving it to the US so we could ask those questions imo. Let's find a Swedish tax expert, and ask them.
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@GodEater & scorche:
VivianC was offering free tax advice, even though the advice might not be applicable to rockbox, a "thanks but no thanks" wouldn't go a-miss.
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Sorry - didn't wish to appear ungrateful :-\
Thanks indeed for the offer.
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Just noticed the little links at the bottom of the forum pages. I don't think they can get any less obtrusive.
I assume those are new? Maybe I just never saw them before.
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Very nice! Unobtrusive, yet still making revenue!
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I assume those are new? Maybe I just never saw them before.
I don't know, but seeing as I never noticed them before and only did now when this thread pointed them out, I think they are pretty unobtrusive :)
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I'm pretty sure those shouldn't be there, but am gonna have to find out for certain. At the very least, nobody mentioned them to me in advance. ;)
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I didn't notice the ads until someone mentioned them... on the Rockbox main page, i would prefer unobtrusive ads (text?) at the bottom of the page.
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I put them there. A little revenue to assist with server costs each month. ;)
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Shouldn't you guys work out anything with taxes now?
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Shouldn't you guys work out anything with taxes now?
The forums aren't hosted by Rockbox, they are hosted by Jeff (from MisticRiver), and he is the one who has put the adverts there. I'm sure you can rest assured that he has sorted out his tax situation, but it is nothing to do with Rockbox per se.
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So, if you guys were to put up ads for rockbox, they would only be on the homepage, header, and/or side bar, not the forums?
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So, if you guys were to put up ads for rockbox, they would only be on the homepage, header, and/or side bar, not the forums?
Yep, the main site, not the forums. The ads that have appeared are not directly related to Rockbox itself - indirectly Jeff hosts the forums.
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So is Coupon Cactus the big payola or did the site get hacked? :)
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So is Coupon Cactus the big payola or did the site get hacked?
That's the first "text ad" added. There will be more added soonish.
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Out of curiosity, how much do those tiny text ads bring in?
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Bagder mentioned $500/month on IRC - for one box containing up to 10 links.
Should help the DevCon beer fund a little...
pondlife
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Wow! That might help rockbox just a little.