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As you will all no doubt be aware, we have, in the last few months been experiencing some issues with regard to how the moderation of this site has been affected by certain conditions related to the advertising content. Whilst some of you don't appear to be too bothered by any of it, others clearly are. It may come as a surprise to hear that none of us are entirely satisfied with the situation, but hopefully this brief explanation should make things a little clearer.
Firstly, this site needs revenue to operate. Although there are some "Free" hosting providers out there, they are not necessarily reliable and the providers can sometimes disappear with almost no notice, which isn't a great situation for a fan's messageboard.
Clearly, with all of the footballing networks having a Rangers site, the route of independence was the only real option, but happened to fit in quite nicely with some other goals, such as charity donations, prizes etc.
This happened many years ago and during the interim period, various funding options were explored. These included site sponsorship and local advertising, but never really achieved enough support in order to pay all the bills. Quite recently we also had adverts that would appear mid page and some that played video content, much to the annoyance of many members.
Some while ago now, we decided to go with an advertising provider that offered content targeted to the individual rather than just blanket adverts for some irrelevant product. They have proven to be reliable, but at a cost. That cost being the quite stringent guidelines which we are forced to operate within, in terms of language used and certain photographic images for want of a better phrase.
We are well aware that this doesn't always sit well with an audience of mainly male football fans, but the simple facts are that we have no real choice in the matter. We all need to make some small compromises here. We have removed the annoying videos for example, but we need our members to just respect the rules a little better. They are not there entirely from choice. We have no desire to treat the members of this forum as naughty children, but they need to understand that there would be no site without this arrangement, at least until a suitable and proven alternative emerges in the future. The vast majority of posters fully abide by the rules anyhow, so in reality, it's only a few that really cause us a problem.
What none of you will probably be aware of, is that quite recently, we were suspended from this advertising network, due to the content posted on this site. This meant that all revenue stopped too and we needed to go through an appeal process, on more than one occasion, in order to be accepted back. This is the reason for more words being censored, posts having to be deleted etc. over the last few weeks.
Regardless of that, we are being closely monitored now and are simply asking all members to be fully aware of the situation. We have absolutely no desire to spoil the enjoyment of this site for our posters, but the reality is that certain words are simply not acceptable, although we do feel that far too many are currently restricted and will be looking into ways of cutting this number down.
We also understand that on occasions, when disagreeing with one another, particularly if someone is just being a total plank, that feelings can run high. We are going to take a much more relaxed view when it comes to name calling, as we know that a bit of old fashioned "blokes being blokes" can be quite amusing at times if done in the right way.
This isn't to say that we are advocating a "free for all", just realising that it's a two way street and in return for people not using certain words, (if the filter turns them into asterisks they are not acceptable), then we need to go a bit easy on those up for a bit of passionate banter.
We are pretty certain that the vast majority of you will understand the situation we find ourselves in and will adhere to the rules accordingly. Unfortunately, sanctions will need to be imposed on those who break them. If anyone posts up unsuitable images, then their ability to post any images will be removed. This also applies to unsuitable avatars, where those that break the rules will be limited to a couple of default options. Much the same process will apply to signatures too. If anyone is at all uncertain and requires clarification on any matter, pease just feel free to PM one of us for clarification.
No doubt, as time goes on there will be further issues to contend with in regards as to how the site is run and changes will need to be made accordingly. What we have neglected to do at all well over recent times is to communicate these better to members, so that is something that needs to be drastically improved upon. And just to make it abundantly clear, there are no "egos" within the admin team, just a bunch of blokes who are committed to ensuring that this site continues and is as enjoyable as we can make it.
Finally, with regards to finances, this site receives income from advertising. It's not a secret, it's a fact. Without it, the site would not exist. It costs money to pay for proper, reliable hosting and increased server capacity in order that we don't crash during busy periods. Upgrades to the forum are not free either, it all needs paying for. The intention is to bring in enough revenue to pay for all of this, make small charity donations, offer the odd small prizes through competitions in future and shock horror, extra if we can. Assuming we are successful, some of the surplus can be put aside to protect us in the event that we have any issues down the line. Costs need to be met and they cannot be funded by goodwill alone.
Firstly, this site needs revenue to operate. Although there are some "Free" hosting providers out there, they are not necessarily reliable and the providers can sometimes disappear with almost no notice, which isn't a great situation for a fan's messageboard.
Clearly, with all of the footballing networks having a Rangers site, the route of independence was the only real option, but happened to fit in quite nicely with some other goals, such as charity donations, prizes etc.
This happened many years ago and during the interim period, various funding options were explored. These included site sponsorship and local advertising, but never really achieved enough support in order to pay all the bills. Quite recently we also had adverts that would appear mid page and some that played video content, much to the annoyance of many members.
Some while ago now, we decided to go with an advertising provider that offered content targeted to the individual rather than just blanket adverts for some irrelevant product. They have proven to be reliable, but at a cost. That cost being the quite stringent guidelines which we are forced to operate within, in terms of language used and certain photographic images for want of a better phrase.
We are well aware that this doesn't always sit well with an audience of mainly male football fans, but the simple facts are that we have no real choice in the matter. We all need to make some small compromises here. We have removed the annoying videos for example, but we need our members to just respect the rules a little better. They are not there entirely from choice. We have no desire to treat the members of this forum as naughty children, but they need to understand that there would be no site without this arrangement, at least until a suitable and proven alternative emerges in the future. The vast majority of posters fully abide by the rules anyhow, so in reality, it's only a few that really cause us a problem.
What none of you will probably be aware of, is that quite recently, we were suspended from this advertising network, due to the content posted on this site. This meant that all revenue stopped too and we needed to go through an appeal process, on more than one occasion, in order to be accepted back. This is the reason for more words being censored, posts having to be deleted etc. over the last few weeks.
Regardless of that, we are being closely monitored now and are simply asking all members to be fully aware of the situation. We have absolutely no desire to spoil the enjoyment of this site for our posters, but the reality is that certain words are simply not acceptable, although we do feel that far too many are currently restricted and will be looking into ways of cutting this number down.
We also understand that on occasions, when disagreeing with one another, particularly if someone is just being a total plank, that feelings can run high. We are going to take a much more relaxed view when it comes to name calling, as we know that a bit of old fashioned "blokes being blokes" can be quite amusing at times if done in the right way.
This isn't to say that we are advocating a "free for all", just realising that it's a two way street and in return for people not using certain words, (if the filter turns them into asterisks they are not acceptable), then we need to go a bit easy on those up for a bit of passionate banter.
We are pretty certain that the vast majority of you will understand the situation we find ourselves in and will adhere to the rules accordingly. Unfortunately, sanctions will need to be imposed on those who break them. If anyone posts up unsuitable images, then their ability to post any images will be removed. This also applies to unsuitable avatars, where those that break the rules will be limited to a couple of default options. Much the same process will apply to signatures too. If anyone is at all uncertain and requires clarification on any matter, pease just feel free to PM one of us for clarification.
No doubt, as time goes on there will be further issues to contend with in regards as to how the site is run and changes will need to be made accordingly. What we have neglected to do at all well over recent times is to communicate these better to members, so that is something that needs to be drastically improved upon. And just to make it abundantly clear, there are no "egos" within the admin team, just a bunch of blokes who are committed to ensuring that this site continues and is as enjoyable as we can make it.
Finally, with regards to finances, this site receives income from advertising. It's not a secret, it's a fact. Without it, the site would not exist. It costs money to pay for proper, reliable hosting and increased server capacity in order that we don't crash during busy periods. Upgrades to the forum are not free either, it all needs paying for. The intention is to bring in enough revenue to pay for all of this, make small charity donations, offer the odd small prizes through competitions in future and shock horror, extra if we can. Assuming we are successful, some of the surplus can be put aside to protect us in the event that we have any issues down the line. Costs need to be met and they cannot be funded by goodwill alone.
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