Staffing Affiliate etiquette

[Honorem 219]

Has anyone else witnessed this growing trend of listing affiliates on a separate page? As in not in a box on the main page, but in a list which people have to physically click a link to view? This, in my opinion, is ridiculous. When I check for our button I have to go on a treasure hunt multiple links deep just to find my banner? Uh, no.

 

I've noticed this trend a lot during advertising sprees. I'm not sure if it boils down to the most popular premade templates using this system or what (almost could have gone in the skin trends you dislike thread) but it's another 'innovation' I do not like.

 

Mini meltdown complete.

[Morrigan 1,826]

lol, I hate it. We actually, over a year ago, had to nix a lot of that for DF as we were being treated as a "second rate" directory. It was infuriating to me and all of the staff because DF has been around since before many other directories. This year we are celebrating our.... 13th year anniversary from the original foundation of the site.

 

I've personally, actually shut down that sort of thing on any site I run. Basically I make it to where I must be a static on the main page or else I don't want it. I don't do marquees or affiliate pages on my site, I don't want my site buried in marquees or affiliates pages on your site.

 

Arguably, it's another link back to your site for more views but I find that if I treat you like a first rate affiliate then you should treat me like one. Golden rule and all that.

[Honorem 219]

1 minute ago, Morrigan said:

lol, I hate it. We actually, over a year ago, had to nix a lot of that for DF as we were being treated as a "second rate" directory. It was infuriating to me and all of the staff because DF has been around since before many other directories. This year we are celebrating our.... 13th year anniversary from the original foundation of the site.

 

I've personally, actually shut down that sort of thing on any site I run. Basically I make it to where I must be a static on the main page or else I don't want it. I don't do marquees or affiliate pages on my site, I don't want my site buried in marquees or affiliates pages on your site.

 

Arguably, it's another link back to your site for more views but I find that if I treat you like a first rate affiliate then you should treat me like one. Golden rule and all that.

Glad I'm not alone. I can only imagine you've dealt with it tenfold running this place, so I'm really in no condition to complain.

 

I do agree, give what you get. I only have one rule with my affiliates, to display our button on the main page since we do this for them. Still get multiple requests where our button is nowhere to be found. I'm sure they don't intend it to be rude, but it is nonetheless.

 

It's like the equivalent of a bad trade. Oh hey I'll give you this sweet new iphone 6, what can you give me back? An old iphone 2? Yeah that's a great deal! How about we go all out and you give me an old nokia brick phone instead because I love a fair deal! -Sarcasm-

[Morrigan 1,826]

Affiliate Etiquette is huge for me, personally, just because I don't like feeling like "that site". That one that someone else deemed not good enough for the front page because they had other areas for it. It makes me feel like I've done something wrong or offended that admin to get such a placement.

 

I mean there are multiple levels to it for me (especially since I took over DF). One of the biggest is a fair trade thing. There is more to that but we'll leave in there.

 

I think the biggest issue with "page" affiliates is not only the work that goes into adding people to that page but when should someone stop and think "I have so many affiliates I need a PAGE of affiliates... maybe I have too many"?

[Varos 0]

I absolutely hate it.

 

Ok, to be fair, my affiliates have a little bit of a scroll, due to the size of the box, but to make up for this I made sure they are right where you will see it, near the chatbox so that people will actually look there, and is linked not only to my home page, but every page, so they are always there, plain to see.

 

But when it's a collapsable box that is, by default, collapsed, that's just saying you want other people to show your button, but you don't want your members to go explore your affiliates. It's like one-sided advertising. 

[CovertSphinx 710]

5 hours ago, Varos said:

But when it's a collapsable box that is, by default, collapsed, that's just saying you want other people to show your button, but you don't want your members to go explore your affiliates. It's like one-sided advertising. 

^ - This.

 

I don't mind scroll boxes, I don't mind Marquees, but the whole box fully hidden or on a sub-page by default? Yeah no thanks.

[VirusZero 176]

Affiliate pages aren't exactly new, they've been around since IPB 1.3 (since JFH has an affiliate page system that was based off an existing mod from Invisionize). But they had largely fallen out of favour in the roleplay world, though it seems they're returning.  I can sort of understand why people might use them (since in many cases they offer features like stat tracking, adding a description, title and etc... ) but at the same time it kind of sends the message that you want to hide your affiliates away.

 

When it comes to affiliates... I hate scrolling and affiliate tabs that you have to click to view. I'm not overly fond of affiliate pages either truth be told. Though some of that stems from a bad experience with affiliate pages.

Spoiler

I was affiliates with a fairly large site, but they wanted a banner on my index and they put my banner on an offshoot page rather than their affiliate box in the footer. I figured that since they were large enough, like a half-million plus posts... that I'd get some traffic anyway. But nope, not even a click a month. They also had this bit where they would move affiliates from the page to the main section at the bottom of their forum as they noticed sites on the index either were dead or had closed. But no matter how many they removed my banner never changed spots. Then finally they silently eliminated the affiliate page entirely.

 

Nowadays though I refuse to affiliate with any site that wants to hide or obscure my minibanner. Simply put it's incredibly unfair to me for them to stick my banner into a tab or other page when they expect to be put into a static spot. (Even if they'd be ok with being put into a tab or whatever, I don't think that's fair.) I mean very few check those tabs, mostly site staff. So any hits you get from them are going to be few and far between.

[Honorem 219]

Absolutely agree VirusZero. I don't have a problem with marquee. And I might not have a problem with affiliate pages either if they were the norm and I was also using them. But it grinds my gears if I'm expected to affiliate when I display buttons on main page and the same isn't given back in return.

 

You also raise a good point about affiliation in general. I don't consider it to be a major factor in gaining members. I've always got the majority of mine from directory listings and advertising sprees. So with that logic I believe affiliates should be in a prime position, not tucked away, because as you said you can receive no clicks even on a large site.

[Rune 1,099]

My site has a limited number of static affiliates. I've had so many people with purely static affiliation request one of our 8 static spots them dump us in their massive heap and get mad when I decline affiliation.

 

I've noticed the "let's hide our affiliates" thing. I dislike it, but I also harbor a vicious hate of affiliates in forum descriptions. I don't even know why, I've done it in the past!

[CovertSphinx 710]

 

Quote

I've noticed the "let's hide our affiliates" thing. I dislike it, but I also harbor a vicious hate of affiliates in forum descriptions. I don't even know why, I've done it in the past!

I personally find that if you add more than a half dozen, or make them a marquee in the description, it looks like lazy junk.

[VirusZero 176]

I've seen that marquee in the description thing also. (A semi-popular directory did it, they had like 4-5 rows of affiliates scrolling along.) I can kind of understand why they did it... But did it ever look ugly. Plus for anyone who wasn't in the first 5 or so affiliates, they were so far buried that I'd doubt anyone ever saw their links, let alone clicked them. I felt kinda bad for anyone who gave that site a static spot only to be stuck towards the end of that huge mess...

[Guest Archaic Cyborg]

Moat of these affiliate trends have been happening for a few years; displaying banners in board descriptions; at the top of the main board; in a footer table; in a 'click to view all affiliates!', etc. Staff use whatever they like best, be it for board space/location, easy editing, whatever.

 

Personally, I just want static spots, and lastly short & fast marquees. As if people even read affiliate requirements :T I've had affers paste my banner, buried deep in marquees that move at a snail's pace.. Even though I don't allow such spots. No one's going to sit and watch a marquee move at 3px a second!

[Rune 1,099]

3 hours ago, Blackjack Bart said:

Personally, I just want static spots, and lastly short & fast marquees. As if people even read affiliate requirements :T I've had affers paste my banner, buried deep in marquees that move at a snail's pace.. Even though I don't allow such spots. No one's going to sit and watch a marquee move at 3px a second!

 

Ugh, the READING.

 

My static spots require you be active for at least 2 months because of our limited number... There's one site that pops up every six months or so, that first month they request affiliation (with purely static affiliates, see above) and then die within the month. Maybe a jerk move on my part (probably is) but  I don't even bother telling them I'm not adding them anymore since they clearly can't read and apparently didn't get the message the first time.

 

Another weird thing I've seen pop up in the past: Sites that add you as an affiliate... But don't request it, you didn't request them. You just so happen to go to that site and there's your button, trucking along.

[Honorem 219]

So I have something more to add. When you request affiliation, and wait for over a month. When you get tired of waiting and take their banner down, they will finally check your request and leave a remark in your CBox like 'hey our banner is not up, please put it up before you apply for affiliation'. Yeah it was up, for a full month, and you finally checked on the day I took it down? -Rips hair out-

[CovertSphinx 710]

3 hours ago, Rune said:

Another weird thing I've seen pop up in the past: Sites that add you as an affiliate... But don't request it, you didn't request them. You just so happen to go to that site and there's your button, trucking along.

 I wish people would do that with mine XD lolol

 

 I personally like having everything all static myself, but normally (because mine now are generally pretty new) I tell sites I'm requesting upfront that its totally okay to put me in their marquee because of my smaller member base.