One thing that confuses me is why anyone would take marked offense about
gently said opinions -- mostly from people who DO donate and have donated
a lot of time, money, or both to helping ferrets -- opinions in posts
which did not yell, did not harm, and which provided constructive
solutions.
 
No one ever said that they did not want to see any advertising.  In fact,
the advertising has been continuing.  Maybe it is just less noticeable
in the last few days because it is being done BETTER -- for example, as
parts of interesting posts.
 
Those of us who had become very concerned said that the list was becoming
unbalanced, with often repeated advertising from the same places which
didn't even show an effort to try to draw people in with some interesting
text.  Balance involves a need for many types of posts and topics.
 
We all know that advertising is important and does belong here, but when
it is done in ways that cause people to just skip the uninteresting
posts, and when it is done in such quantity and with such a degree of
frequent repetition by the same people then it can even cause people to
skip the entire FML.
 
I've been on here since day one and am the sole list member who has
always been here, but in recent months I'd gotten in the habit of reading
the table of contents and if it looked like it was entirely ads and
topics that had been talked into the ground then I didn't read the list
at all that day.  This happened often enough to raise red flags for me.
That is saying a lot when you realize that for the first ten years of the
FML I read every single post, only scrolling past some after that first
decade).  Now, if my longevity here says something about extreme loyalty
to the FML then perhaps the reality that the lack of balance was causing
even me to skip the FML means that it may have had the same effect on a
number of others.
 
I think that the others who voiced similar opinions obviously agree.
Even more I think that the recent increased participation with behavioral
and informational posts says a lot about a wide-spread desire for balance
here to keep the FML interesting -- and it has been more interesting in
the last week, and you know, that has been with ads present -- because
those posting the most recent ads often made them interesting and didn't
abuse their readership.  There is a place for a range of post types --
hence the regular mention for BALANCE.
 
The point of advertising doesn't include driving away readership.
 
Not only is it possible to easily write ads that also have intriguing
content (for instance when shelters give an update -- telling us about
the ferrets there before they advertise things) but such ads also are
more successful, and that success is ultimately what the shelters want
and need.  Interesting ads don't teach anyone to skip that individual's
posts, and they aren't boring, and they don't make a reader feel like he
or she is only a wallet to the poster.
 
So, those posts weren't yelling; they were more of a wake-up call to
those advertisers whose METHODS made them their own worst enemies in
terms of potential for success.
 
No one ever said that there should not be ads.  No one ever yelled at
those placing ads -- at least here on the list where I posted and read.
No one ever yelled here or said here that there should not be ads.  (If
some people did privately then I can't address why they did so because
I don't know.)
 
This is a problem with solutions.  It IS possible to made an
advertisement interesting, even if just by giving an update on shelter
ferrets and shelter news.  It doesn't even have to be more creative than
that, though more creative solutions can get even better participation.
 
The methods for making advertising successful apply everywhere including
here, and driving people away with monotonous and repetitious ads is not
a solution.
 
Using good advertising methods and keeping the FML a balanced read that
draws in members rather than sacrificing them will only help the shelters
which advertise here.
 
(Now I have been repetitive, but I am tired and I just don't get why
there are readers who ignore what was said and instead automatically put
the worst spin on it.  That is not reading; it is imagining, or reading
into a post -- perhaps letting one's worry or anger take over to the
point where the actual statements made by multiple people have been
turned on their heads.  If this post made you angry or if you think it
is yelling or calling for no ads then, please, re-read until you notice
what is actually said instead of what you want to assume is being said.)
[Posted in FML issue 4861]