Skimlinks trial on MSE forums

meher

i didn't know how important cashback sites were until I read this thread - by now I'm convinced that they should pay mse royalties

[Deleted User]

Question

Might it be a good idea to have a checkbox in the forum footer like:-

_ Transform links to support MoneySavingExpert.com Learn More...

Unticking it would stop the Skimlinks javascript from being used - until the box it re-checked by the user or cookies are wiped

Registered users could have a permanent option in their forum options so they wouldn't have to worry about it re-checking if they use a new browser or wipe cookies

Amilucky?

Not quite sure that the commercialisation of MSE is a good thing they have always been proud of the fact that MSE was free from advertising and affiliated links now they appear to be doing a complete u-turn albeit in a roundabout cloak and dagger sort of way

I appreciate that this maybe the only viable way forward but I have to ask as revenue will be generated by the vast majority of MSE users can we expect some kind of dividend or recompense for providing the information that they use?

robt_2

Amilucky? wrote: »

Not quite sure that the commercialisation of MSE is a good thing they have always been proud of the fact that MSE was free from advertising and affiliated links now they appear to be doing a complete u-turn albeit in a roundabout cloak and dagger sort of way

I appreciate that this maybe the only viable way forward but I have to ask as revenue will be generated by the vast majority of MSE users can we expect some kind of dividend or recompense for providing the information that they use?

MSE has had affiliate links for many years (maybe even since it began), this is just applying them to the forums too

Amilucky?

robt wrote: »

MSE has had affiliate links for many years (maybe even since it began), this is just applying them to the forums too

thanks for the heads up robt I didn't know that this was the case, I assumed quite wrongly that as I wasn't allowed to post affiliate links in the forums that MSE didn't use them anywhere themselves

Snooze

Amilucky? wrote: »

Not quite sure that the commercialisation of MSE is a good thing they have always been proud of the fact that MSE was free from advertising and affiliated links now they appear to be doing a complete u-turn albeit in a roundabout cloak and dagger sort of way

I appreciate that this maybe the only viable way forward but I have to ask as revenue will be generated by the vast majority of MSE users can we expect some kind of dividend or recompense for providing the information that they use?

:rolleyes:

Right, so in addition to the wealth of FREE and incredibly useful information that Martin already provides for us all, you don't think that is worthy enough on its own and you want Martin to pay you for clicking an affiliate link that might make him a couple of pence at best? :more rolleyes:

Do you realise how ridiculous and pathetic you sound?

Judging by the majority of the posts in this thread I think it would have been simpler for Martin to just give everyone two options :

1. All forum members pay £10 per month sub

or

2. All forum members accept that from now on there will be a non-noticeable affiliate redirect on some URLs

End of.

thelawnet

Snooze wrote: »

It's a referral. The 1x1 pixel image is how they collect the traffic.

--

In response to the thread itself I don't understand why the majority are up in arms over it. The main issues people seem to have are :

1. Wah! Wah! Wah! What are you going to do about my 2p loss your crappy links are going to cost me from the cashback sites!!!!!!!!!!!!??? Wah! Wah! Wail!

2. This is all stealth/undercover salesmen/blah etc. The site does/doesn't need the money etc because Martin is worth £gazillion pounds from having his dial in the papers/on tv every other day.

It's all irrelevant....

To answer 1. - Dan has already posted several times now that skimlinks WILL NOT BE USED in the referrals board, so that shuts up all those of you throwing your toys out about losing your 2 pence in cashback.

To answer 2. - How much money the site currently does or does not make is none of anyone's business except Martin's. If he wants to make some extra dollars to help pay the hosting costs or if he just wants to make some extra dollars so he can go out partying every weekend, it is entirely his choice and no-one on here should be holding him to ransome by threatening to boycott the forums/whatever.

The links do not affect the user in ANY WAY but if you click some of them you will be contributing a few pence towards the hard work that Martin puts into the site for the benefit of us ALL.

Wrong, people certainly can threaten to boycott the forums/whatever, that's exactly the kind of behaviour that is a reasoned response to a site doing something you don't like - leave.

And there certainly *does* seem to be a problem in that many people are clearly under the impression that the site is some kind of charity in need of donations, rather than an immensely valuable brand earning millions. Nobody is sending emails to Bill Gates saying 'Hey Bill, I'm a software developer, and I would really like to make a donation to support the huge amount of valuable content you make available on your website, which must cost you tens of millions of dollars to produce and maintain'. That would be ridiculous. But that's what's happening here, so clearly something is wrong.

And the links do affect users who are seeking cashback (this is supposed to be a money-saving site, which promises "the average person in the UK can give themselves the equivalent of a 25% payrise, by being an active, savvy consumer and shifting to the very best deals", so passing up a £100 commission on an insurance policy is madness)

Why people are having a problem with this I really do not know. There is nothing "stealth" about it at all - Dan has been completely transparent about it and explained everything that needs to be explained. You either accept it and carry on as normal or don't use the site. Simples.

Uh, you just said it was wrong for people to say that they would stop using the site, when in fact that is exactly the kind of feedback that woudl influence any decision to continue using it.

I already linked to the flyertalk thread. It was trialled there, the site's moderators met with the founder and discussed it, and it was then withdrawn.

It's not a case of 'accept it'; you might have trouble reading, but it says 'we are currently trialling' the software. This doesn't mean it is necessarily going to continue.

thelawnet

Remotely wrote: »

Question

Might it be a good idea to have a checkbox in the forum footer like:-

Unticking it would stop the Skimlinks javascript from being used - until the box it re-checked by the user or cookies are wiped

Registered users could have a permanent option in their forum options so they wouldn't have to worry about it re-checking if they use a new browser or wipe cookies

download firefox and just block it if you don't like it.

thelawnet

Snooze wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Right, so in addition to the wealth of FREE and incredibly useful information that Martin already provides for us all, you don't think that is worthy enough on its own and you want Martin to pay you for clicking an affiliate link that might make him a couple of pence at best? :more rolleyes:

Do you realise how ridiculous and pathetic you sound?

Yes it is pretty ridiculous and pathetic to be implying that affiliate links are worth a couple of pence at best.

You might want to go and take a look at the quidco rates, because if you only get 2p, you're getting ripped off big-time. Perhaps you should join some sort of money-saving site, I'd bet you'd be able to find information on how to make the most of cashback there.

Judging by the majority of the posts in this thread I think it would have been simpler for Martin to just give everyone two options :

1. All forum members pay £10 per month sub

or

2. All forum members accept that from now on there will be a non-noticeable affiliate redirect on some URLs

Well no, because this is a T-R-I-A-L. Opinions are being solicited. It is not your place to shut them down.

A subscription would actually be a really awesome way to kill the site though, free sites going to subscription expect a conversion rate of about 5%, so the huge majority of readers would leave, leaving a brilliant opportunity for another (new?) site to pick up the slack.

Unlike say The Times, where original content is being provided in return for a subscription, there is no original content on this site's forums, it's all user-generated.

My view is that separate ads (Google AdSense for instance) are far more honest than disguised ones like this - it's clear that the ads are separate from the content, whereas here the commercial relationship is kept hidden.

Snooze

It's irrelevant what the CPC or CPM rate is. It could be 2p or 2 grand - it doesn't matter. The bottom line is that the affiliate program Martin is thinking of implementing does NOT affect the forum user in any way. That is the end of it. He is entitled to make cash however he chooses - it is HIS site. Once again, if users don't like the usage T&Cs then they know where the door is.