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What really turns me off to StackOverflow is how much the ads flow into the content and are really difficult to ignore. I know that they've got a user-base that

What really turns me off to StackOverflow is how much the ads flow into the content and are really difficult to ignore. I know that they've got a user-base that needs some extra coaxing to look at ads, but it really diminishes the site's utility, and fundamentally I think this sort of thing should be an open repository of knowledge like Wikipedia.

mdg 16y ago
Ads do suck, but it is a small price to pay, and for us, the end user, that price is free, for the service the site provides. I see this article follows typical codinghorror-notation. EDIT: I think SO and reddit are "ads done right". Anyone remember '97?
- petercooper 16y ago
  I think SO and reddit are "ads done right". I don't particularly agree on SO, but on Reddit - totally. I frequently click on the ads there because advertisers seem to make the effort to make them fit into the gamut of typical Reddit links (because most advertisers are Reddit users, I guess). The "open source" ads on SO are good, but there needs to be more of a "users are the advertisers" revolution going on across the Web.
rnicholson 16y ago
Could something as niche as StackOverflow be supported through a donation system like Wikipedia?
- mdg 16y ago
  Meh, if they did do this, I could see the blogosphere bitching every couple of months because SO is asking for money. Its almost as if... The only winning move is not to play
- DrSprout 16y ago
  I don't necessarily have anything against ads, but less obtrusive ones would be nice, and more importantly the core data should be free. I don't see why something closer to Reddit (but with a slightly more evolved interface) couldn't function as a non-profit in StackOverflow's place.
  - gecko 16y ago
    The core data is free, both through the API, and through the data dumps that happen every several months.
- andrewf 16y ago
  Presumably they'd like the money coming in to blast past supported into the realm of profitable.
mhp 16y ago
Once you get 200 reputation, I believe the content ads that appear inline disappear.
- troygoode 16y ago
  Thanks for pointing this out. If you're using StackOverflow and are annoyed by the ads, consider giving back to the community and voila, no ads! I would estimate that it takes ~5 answers to hit the 200 points you need.
  - DrSprout 16y ago
    I prefer having unobtrusive ads for everyone. I'm not a "no ads" person, just a "ads should not get in the way of the content." The worst thing for me right now is that when there's a question, there's an ad located right where the header should be.

mdg 16y ago

Ads do suck, but it is a small price to pay, and for us, the end user, that price is free, for the service the site provides. I see this article follows typical codinghorror-notation. EDIT: I think SO and reddit are "ads done right". Anyone remember '97?

petercooper 16y ago
I think SO and reddit are "ads done right". I don't particularly agree on SO, but on Reddit - totally. I frequently click on the ads there because advertisers seem to make the effort to make them fit into the gamut of typical Reddit links (because most advertisers are Reddit users, I guess). The "open source" ads on SO are good, but there needs to be more of a "users are the advertisers" revolution going on across the Web.

rnicholson 16y ago

Could something as niche as StackOverflow be supported through a donation system like Wikipedia?

mdg 16y ago
Meh, if they did do this, I could see the blogosphere bitching every couple of months because SO is asking for money. Its almost as if... The only winning move is not to play
DrSprout 16y ago
I don't necessarily have anything against ads, but less obtrusive ones would be nice, and more importantly the core data should be free. I don't see why something closer to Reddit (but with a slightly more evolved interface) couldn't function as a non-profit in StackOverflow's place.
- gecko 16y ago
  The core data is free, both through the API, and through the data dumps that happen every several months.
andrewf 16y ago
Presumably they'd like the money coming in to blast past supported into the realm of profitable.

mhp 16y ago

Once you get 200 reputation, I believe the content ads that appear inline disappear.

troygoode 16y ago
Thanks for pointing this out. If you're using StackOverflow and are annoyed by the ads, consider giving back to the community and voila, no ads! I would estimate that it takes ~5 answers to hit the 200 points you need.
- DrSprout 16y ago
  I prefer having unobtrusive ads for everyone. I'm not a "no ads" person, just a "ads should not get in the way of the content." The worst thing for me right now is that when there's a question, there's an ad located right where the header should be.