The Off-Topic Thread

[KS95]

Just to avoid spamming threads, how about an off-topic thread.. basically to ask stuff and talk about stuff that doesn't need it's own thread or isn't very relative.

I'll start lol. Is anyone else having problems downloading from tracciontrasera? I just get redirected to the homepage every time

 

[GizmoPower]

Im ok!

 

[Harey]

I have internet, and it works, and i almost never yell at it, isn't that good enough? lol

 

[Ian Strom]

Speaking of yelling at things, I have been yelling at my Saturn's automatic transmission again.
Actually, I lie. I never stopped yelling at it. There is nothing wrong with this specific transmission though, just that it is automatic.. I do not discriminate all automatics require equal hate.

Really need another manual trans.

 

[Silver Ranger]

POWER!

 

[KS95]

Hard to believe it's almost a year since RC5 was released!! 3 years since 0.6.5 and 0.5.0 stable was 10 years ago?!

 

[Mr Whippy]

Yeah lets hope Ruud turns up again soon and finished up some stuff.

I'm hoping for either physics/tyre model stuff to get some big boosts/fixes.

Or graphics re-visited to refine the shader selection and optimise somewhat (LOD methodology, shading, cube maps, HDR yadda yadda)

Or maybe multiplayer/networking so we can reliably host games and enjoy our content a bit more.


I'm easy whatever Ruud does, I just would like to see *something* updated and improved

Dave

 

[boomer541]

I'd just like to see the bugs fixed!

 

[Harey]

After the bug fixes, I'd like to see better clutch/engine physics, as well as 4wd really done properly into Racer. But I'm just dreaming lol

 

[Cosmo°]

The forum seems to be using skimlinks in user posts now. I don't mind these things if they are in official website articles and the likes, but they have no place in forum posts where they appear to represent the opinion or affiliation of users. In my reading of the terms and rules they shouldn't even be allowed in the first place.

 

[Alexander Knoll]

i see nothing from this 'new' style...i disabled all via addblock or cooky block...i don't need this stuff...

 

[Cosmo°]

Whether it is visible to me all the time or not doesn't matter in my opinion. Of course it can be blocked, but the forum software is still putting advertisement links onto keywords in the posts users make. They are in your posts, they are in my posts, boomer's, Dave's and everybody elses posts if they contain certain vocabulary.

I'll say again that I think that is fine if it is applied to articles, product reviews or news posts that are released in an official RD forum kind of way. If that is the image that RD wants to portray within their messages I have no issue with it.

To allow it to be acting on user posts is not alright however, because as a user I did not agree to advertise third party businesses within my utterances. In fact, the forum rules explicitely state that any form of advertising is forbidden. I do not put ads on my video uploads on a certain popular site either, because it is my choice not to do so. They asked me, I chose. If you go into my post on the first page of the RC6 release thread, where I mention some PC hardware bits, it now links to an online shop - I'm not a spam bot who hides links in his messages, so why does RD make me look like one now?

Put ads on the front page, the site background and so on, if you have to - but leave the discussions and exchange of information free of it like any decent forum does.

 

[Alexander Knoll]

ahh..ok understand...but i have also no adds in posts...every thing blocked...

 

[boomer541]

Those little blue highlited word ARE links to advertisements and a short search notes that they are every where.
Cosmo is right they should not be there.

 

[Mr Whippy]

I can't see them either, probably auto-blocked.

But it does seem rather an odd thing to do, to scatter them in forum users posts like they have advocated those links.

More than anything it gets tiring. Half the adverts I get are for things I've decided to buy already, or have bought already... it's not even very effective. It's just annoying and stupid, just like 99% of advertising.

It has no place in the content of users posts on a forum like this imo.

Dave

 

[Stereo]

I get nice ads on here, for new cars I can't afford (2013 Z4) and nice sim hardware I can't afford. (all of it)

 

[Mr Whippy]

Yep, 99% of web-ads are just out of place and irrelevant to me.

Those 1% that are useful are only because I've already decided that item is for me any way... and usually they are just reminding me what I already bought

And to think businesses pay money to have their ads used like that. Waste of time imo.

Dave

 

[Ian Strom]

The bills do need to be paid somehow. One does not simply run a massive forum with organized racing on private servers out of their own pocket. At least not for very long.

But yes. I tend to use an adblocker so I should not be the one talking.

 

[KS95]

The bills do need to be paid somehow. One does not simply run a massive forum with organized racing on private servers out of their own pocket. At least not for very long.

But yes. I tend to use an adblocker so I should not be the one talking.

http://www.racedepartment.com/forum/threads/skimlinks.74468/

That's pretty much what Bram said.

I do agree, it's not what you'd call tasteful advertising but they have to pay the bills and people can't just expect something for nothing! I only use 2 forums (RD included) and I pay for a premium membership on both. I know we all have bills to pay but it's not a lot of money and they clearly could do with it.

 

[Mr Whippy]

Does the in-line advertising really bring in that much revenue vs the banners at the sides etc?

I guess they need to pay the bills but I guess my point is why not do something that is more tasteful and probably makes more money too?

In-line adverts just feel cheap and desperate to me. RD isn't in desperate times is it?

Dave

 

[KS95]

Does the in-line advertising really bring in that much revenue vs the banners at the sides etc?

I guess they need to pay the bills but I guess my point is why not do something that is more tasteful and probably makes more money too?

In-line adverts just feel cheap and desperate to me. RD isn't in desperate times is it?

Dave

I don't know how things are money-wise but I know how costly it is for another smaller forum so I wouldn't like to think just how expensive it is for a forum as big as RD. Shame there's no real easy way for them to make money without advertising.