banner advertisers

While not normally one to complain (or even notice) such things, I feel compelled to register my disapproval regarding one of the advertisers that has banner ads on faunaclassifieds.

It seems highly inappropriate for armslocker.com to advertise a gun-enthusiast website on this otherwise herp-oriented website. In addition to being *way* off topic, links to such a site make faunaclassifieds.com less appropriate for children that (I hope) are visiting to learn about herps. I understand that some administrators and users of this forum also happen to have an interest in firearms, but I really think those interests are dichotomous enough that they needn't link to one another.

I'd be interested to read replies to anybody that finds this combination of hobbies here on faunaclassifieds defensible.

Day Ligon

First off Rich, who owns Fauna Classifieds also owns ArmsLocker, so he can pretty much do as he pleases. Even though that more or less ends the debate, I'll add a couple of points.

Firearms have been discussed at length in threads on this site over the years and will undoubtedly be discussed again in the future, since many of the members here are also gun enthusiasts.

Lastly, there is no reason whatsoever that that banner would make this site any less suitable for children. It's not a porn site.
The discussion of responsible gun ownership can in no way be detrimental to children, and I would be interested in hearing an actual rational argument to the contrary. By rational I do not mean baseless leftist propoganda and unfounded rhetoric.

First off, let me say here that this site has not been, is not, and probably never will be targeting children as the bulk of the clientele visiting. Although children are welcome to participate in the discussion forums to learn as much as they can, the business aspect of this site is decidedly leaning towards an adult audience.

With that aside, I feel that children are not apt to be overly influenced by seeing a banner ad for a gun related site. I have been pleasantly surprised to find that a healthy majority of people interested in herps appear to have also an interest in firearms or at least a neutral opinion of them and their use.

Sorry, but I do not cater to a minority group, unless it is myself, of course.

If it will help you to block the ad from your own children's eyes, I suggest that you stick a piece of duct tape in the upper right hand corner of your monitor to block that and other ads from view.

I'm glad to hear others points of view on the matter. Though I made the point in my original post that links to Armslocker.com makes the site less suitable for children, my primary objection was the unsuitablility of the link because the content seemed so completely unrelated to the topic at hand (herps). Though I likely wouldn't have taken the time to post about it, I'd be equally dismayed to see banner ads for car dealerships, as such ad placement would make it appear that faunaclassifieds was for sale to the highest bidder rather than remaining focused on its core mission.
That Rich owns both sites is news to me, and makes the cross-advertising seem more reasonable (i.e., not simply an issue of selling advertising space). And if a strong contingent of the users here enjoy perusing both sites, then by all means link the two.

Thanks for the brief debate on the issue.

And incidentally, I haven't any kids, but even if I did I woudn't put duct tape on my monitor-- the sticky residue is hell to remove.

-Day Ligon