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Responding to email notices you receive.
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In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.
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IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed
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Posted 08/15/2025
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Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.
Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."
Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....
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Addendum: 01/10/2026
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Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....
Change to mobile device appearance/format?
- Thread starter nickolasanastasiou
- Start date
My desktop is fine, but the phone app is the one with all the advertisements. when I turned it on this morning, I had only chewy advertisements. I had to sign off, then sign back in, then they were gone the second time. I've rebooted my phone several, remove the app from my phone, then reinstalled it again. I think your system has been hacked or something.
But it has been the chewy advertisements that take over your site.
But it has been the chewy advertisements that take over your site.
AppEcto
Active member
Not complaining, just offering feedback as requested-the new mobile layout makes it much harder for me to use and navigate. I still prefer using desktop mode on my phone. Ads are very intrusive and include full screen pop-ups in mobile mode. Picture attachments not displaying until clicked on is tedious and prevents side by side comparison.
It may not be possible, but I wish there was a way to change the view in user settings so I could keep it locked in desktop view. Every time I visit the site, I have to scroll down and look for that small link near the bottom and then it resets away from whatever page I was viewing to return to the forum list if I make the switch to desktop view.
It may not be possible, but I wish there was a way to change the view in user settings so I could keep it locked in desktop view. Every time I visit the site, I have to scroll down and look for that small link near the bottom and then it resets away from whatever page I was viewing to return to the forum list if I make the switch to desktop view.
Well, i finally broke down and took a look at this site myself on my own "smart" phone. Yuck. I would go insane if I had to do this all day long for my internet access. But that is just me, I guess.
Anyway, personally I HATE popup ads and the intrusive nature I see on a lot of other sites using my desktop system. On a cell phone with such limited screen real estate, it is just murder.
Yeah, Google Adsense revenue has increased, but still, all total that I make via that method isn't enough for me to just let Google take over my sites and flood them with ads willy-nilly where ever they want. Lord knows I have abandoned enough sites myself when I felt that enough was enough with all the damned ads.
So I am going to ask my programmer to roll back the changes he made with this Adsense stuff. The coding he did to make it more mobile friendly should be independent of the Adsense changes, so we'll just see how that goes.
Quite frankly, if Google keeps on sending me insane notices that something on another on my sites offends them, I might just tell them to go pond sand anyway.
Thanks for the feedback. Seriously, it is important. Not saying I will, or even can, make changes based on some feedback, but I need to know the gripes to even consider making a change. Just please don't get pissed if I don't implement something you want changed. In many cases there are technical issues involved that make some changes not practical, and in some cases down right impossible. Or perhaps so expensive to implement that from a cost based perspective, it would be senseless for me to attempt.
Anyway, back to my desktop computer's LARGE screen and full sized keyboard. To those of you who use your cell phones for all of your internet access, more power to you. Just not my thing at all.
Anyway, personally I HATE popup ads and the intrusive nature I see on a lot of other sites using my desktop system. On a cell phone with such limited screen real estate, it is just murder.
Yeah, Google Adsense revenue has increased, but still, all total that I make via that method isn't enough for me to just let Google take over my sites and flood them with ads willy-nilly where ever they want. Lord knows I have abandoned enough sites myself when I felt that enough was enough with all the damned ads.
So I am going to ask my programmer to roll back the changes he made with this Adsense stuff. The coding he did to make it more mobile friendly should be independent of the Adsense changes, so we'll just see how that goes.
Quite frankly, if Google keeps on sending me insane notices that something on another on my sites offends them, I might just tell them to go pond sand anyway.
Thanks for the feedback. Seriously, it is important. Not saying I will, or even can, make changes based on some feedback, but I need to know the gripes to even consider making a change. Just please don't get pissed if I don't implement something you want changed. In many cases there are technical issues involved that make some changes not practical, and in some cases down right impossible. Or perhaps so expensive to implement that from a cost based perspective, it would be senseless for me to attempt.
Anyway, back to my desktop computer's LARGE screen and full sized keyboard. To those of you who use your cell phones for all of your internet access, more power to you. Just not my thing at all.
Thank you for checking into the cell phone app problem,
Best Regards; R Bichler
Best Regards; R Bichler
The mobile version is gone? My phone is now defaulting back to the desktop version.
Yes, I disabled it because of the excessive ads that were showing up. I haven't been able to get in touch with my programmer to disable the changes he did to the Google Adsense ads, so I figured this would have to do in the meantime.
If I am in error, and you all would prefer to have the mobile option re-enabled, please let me know. The change he did was getting me a lot more hits on the ads, but I thought if it was too much of a burden to you, I could do without the additional income it was producing. Some people were complaining to me about the barrage of ads so I just did what I could.
Anyway, please let me know your thoughts. I don't use a mobile device for the internet myself, so no skin off of my nose if you all prefer the mobile version even with the warts.
If I am in error, and you all would prefer to have the mobile option re-enabled, please let me know. The change he did was getting me a lot more hits on the ads, but I thought if it was too much of a burden to you, I could do without the additional income it was producing. Some people were complaining to me about the barrage of ads so I just did what I could.
Anyway, please let me know your thoughts. I don't use a mobile device for the internet myself, so no skin off of my nose if you all prefer the mobile version even with the warts.
I prefer the desktop version. It was a pleasant surprise to see it come up without me having to scroll down to select it.
So I am looking for more feedback. I have disabled the mobile skin to kill the change to the Google adsense ads that seemed to be grating on some people's nerves. But it seems that at least some people preferred the desktop version on their mobile devices any way. Is that because of the excessive ads on the mobile version? Would the mobile version be preferred by anyone without the extra banner ads from Google being displayed?
Talk to me, please.
Talk to me, please.
Randall Turner
Well-known member
I prefer using the desktop site, on my desktop. On my phone (which I check periodically throughout the day) I found the mobile version appealing, other than the volume of ads. I had to reload new posts twice every time I would try to see what had been posted, because a pop up would load and when I'd close it, it'd go back to the preloaded page.
Well, maybe I just jumped the gun by disabling that mobile skin. Doesn't seem to be a big deal to very many people, so I might as make a little bit of pocket change by using it. Doesn't affect me anyway, since I only use my desktop for this stuff. 
The changes to the format are somewhat annoying to me.
When I click the Fauna icon on my phone (Android, if it matters), the site pops up in mobile format. Not really a fan, because I can't view classified categories to the far righthand side.
I just click on the desktop site from the drop-down menu, and it's fine.
The only issues I've had, is when I'll click on a classified ad heading, the site kicks me back to the mobile version login screen. Then I have to choose the desktop site from the menu again, and log in again.
That's a pain, because it was doing it every time I clicked on an ad. It seems better now; I've only had to log back in once.
When I click the Fauna icon on my phone (Android, if it matters), the site pops up in mobile format. Not really a fan, because I can't view classified categories to the far righthand side.
I just click on the desktop site from the drop-down menu, and it's fine.
The only issues I've had, is when I'll click on a classified ad heading, the site kicks me back to the mobile version login screen. Then I have to choose the desktop site from the menu again, and log in again.
That's a pain, because it was doing it every time I clicked on an ad. It seems better now; I've only had to log back in once.
Attachments
If you have to continually log in again and again, that usually means that you have a corrupted cookie on your device. I am not sure what the equivalent is on a mobile device. But on a PC, you have to delete the cookie for this site to end that problem.
Usually, anyway. I can't say that it will always 100% be that problem.
Usually, anyway. I can't say that it will always 100% be that problem.
Well, I haven't heard anything from my programmer in over 2 weeks now. I hope he is OK. He is located outside of the USA in the middle east area, so I hope he's not caught up in that coronavirus stuff. It seems a lot of countries are clamming up concerning their own internal situations, so perhaps they are clamping down on external internet transmissions altogether.
So I still have the mobile skin still active along with the "enhanced" Google Adsense ads. My programmer told me that Google is very pro "mobile" and by not having the mobile skin, I was really hurting my rankings in the search engine, making it much more difficult for people to find this site on a cold search. And honestly the Google Adsense ads have improved things noticeably with the clickthroughs, so I'm thinking it may have to be here to stay. Will it piss off some people? Certainly! But when have I ever made a change here that didn't?
Not sure if the Adsense ads will grow on you using your mobile devices to visit this site or not, but honestly, at this point, my hands are really tied concerning doing anything about it anyway. And push come to shove, maybe it will help to offset any traffic loss we had here because of the closing of the BOI earlier this month. As I mentioned then, if the loss of the BOI meant that the site itself would die, then I was just going to have to accept that fate.
So, just a status report of sorts.
So I still have the mobile skin still active along with the "enhanced" Google Adsense ads. My programmer told me that Google is very pro "mobile" and by not having the mobile skin, I was really hurting my rankings in the search engine, making it much more difficult for people to find this site on a cold search. And honestly the Google Adsense ads have improved things noticeably with the clickthroughs, so I'm thinking it may have to be here to stay. Will it piss off some people? Certainly! But when have I ever made a change here that didn't?
Not sure if the Adsense ads will grow on you using your mobile devices to visit this site or not, but honestly, at this point, my hands are really tied concerning doing anything about it anyway. And push come to shove, maybe it will help to offset any traffic loss we had here because of the closing of the BOI earlier this month. As I mentioned then, if the loss of the BOI meant that the site itself would die, then I was just going to have to accept that fate.
So, just a status report of sorts.
I’m getting used to the mobile app. Some things are fine, and it works. If I want more details, I shift to the desktop.
The Reptile Man - Dan
The Reptile Man
Ads I’m sure are needed, but on the mobile version they are now enlarged and very annoying.
I have heard back from my programmer, and he indicates that we should be able to make the Google Adsense ads less intrusive for Contributing level members and above. But, of course, that won't help everyone.
When I get a chance, I will look into it.
Another perk!
And there’s another great reason to be a Contributing Member! Fewer ads!
Score!
And there’s another great reason to be a Contributing Member! Fewer ads!
Score!
Yeah, but I need to just observe things first before making any further changes.
With the demise of the BOI, the mod for the new mobile skin, and the changes to Google Adsense, I need to just let the dust settle for a while to see what impacts have been made to the traffic to this site. For instance, if I find that the Adsense ads make more revenue for this site, and those ads are offsetting the lost traffic from the BOI going away, and it has absolutely no impact on increasing paid memberships if I change to what I mentioned above, would it really be wise for me to make a change that might hasten the total demise of this site?
Remember that I have speculated that the BOI getting the axe might be instrumental in traffic going into a nosedive here, causing the entire site to eventually die. So I feel like I am walking a tightrope right now.
With the demise of the BOI, the mod for the new mobile skin, and the changes to Google Adsense, I need to just let the dust settle for a while to see what impacts have been made to the traffic to this site. For instance, if I find that the Adsense ads make more revenue for this site, and those ads are offsetting the lost traffic from the BOI going away, and it has absolutely no impact on increasing paid memberships if I change to what I mentioned above, would it really be wise for me to make a change that might hasten the total demise of this site?
Remember that I have speculated that the BOI getting the axe might be instrumental in traffic going into a nosedive here, causing the entire site to eventually die. So I feel like I am walking a tightrope right now.
Did something happen here to make it difficult for new members to post? In less than a week, we have had 100 new registered members and only one (1) of them has made even a single post on the site.
That is just real unusual, so I'm wondering if something happened that I need to be aware of.
That is just real unusual, so I'm wondering if something happened that I need to be aware of.