Hello HP!

As many of you know, recently we have been working on getting HP approved for an ad network, and today we got the email that we've been approved!

While everything is getting set up, please excuse our dust while we place ads and get them up and running.

As I've talked about before in The HP State of the Union Address and this topic, we're not going to place ads that will get in the way or slow down the functioning of the site. They won't pop up or start singing or float across the screen and will be placed in areas which are visible but not right up in your face! But, please know that while we're figuring everything out, things may be kind of a mess! (As with any new project!)

Hope everyone is having a good morning! If you have any questions, please message me.

Happy Wednesday!

-Sam

:(

When I logged on this morning (as I did so on my phone) I noticed the ads immediately. I'm a bit of a 'generally-goes-to-places-on-the-internet-that-can-sometimes-be-shifty' kind of person (i.e, streaming sites) and am always bombarded with ads on every square inch of the page, so I have a negative view of them. Still, on desktop I actually have ad-blocking software installed so they don't bother me none :).

^ I have an adblocker as well and didn't even see the ads until I noticed this forum post and turned it off for HP. I'm not at all bothered by the placement (or even the existence) and I hope it brings in some good ad revenue!

I was concerned that the placement might mess with my coding, but it's perfect! *turns off adblocker across domain to support HP*

I'm sorry if anyone is not a fan of the ads. Hopefully once we have figured out the best placement and size for everything, everyone will get used to their presence on the game! For now we just have the one ad in the footer, but plan to strategically place them in other spots around HP - but I imagine there will be some trial and error involved in finding the most ideal places (where they are visible but not in the way). However, the footer ad will be the ONLY ad appearing on home pages or club pages.

Having advertisements is an important step in making sure that HP can continue to regularly get new updates/features, and reach the potential that it deserves. Most sites online partially support themselves through ads, and we're a small operation, so in order to do some of the things that we want to do (like maybe actually becoming mobile friendly), a revenue boost from advertisements could make a huge difference.

In addition to funding future development on HP, revenue from ads can also help fund advertising FOR HP so that we can bring more players in and help the game grow.

So, although I know it's not what everyone wants, I think it will be a good thing in the long term.

Is there a way to regulate the ads actually displaying? I am in a tab without ad-blocker and I'm seeing adds to 'Download' things, etc, and those are typically spam at the least or virus / ad-ware at the worst.

Ads have my support, Sam! Anything to help HP grow is a good thing, and ads aren't a big deal at all ^-^

I know I'm being a bit negative and I would like to say that I do support HP's decision to implement ads, however for me personally - I already support HP through upgrades ( I am an active seller ) and will take the step to keep it ad-free for my personal use, which I am sure others will do if it bothers them too much.

The ads themselves are targeted based on your browsing history because they use cookies, but you can turn that off if you want to so that google's cookies can't track you at all. There's a link in our privacy policy to do it! However, I know it can take a couple of days for them to show consistently, and I also have to get the crawler set up to see login-protected pages so that it can properly serve targeted ads based on our content. So, for now, I'm thinking once the full set up is done, that should correct itself, but if it doesn't then I will dig deeper about what type of advertising content is allowed :).

I must have a good ad blocker because I haven't seen any....yay?

Me, too, Trig. I can live with a few ads, so I'll just need to remember to turn off adblocker for HP.

Of course, it would've been nice to not need ads, and to fund HP more or less through upgrades and the cash shop. That can only be achieved if a steady, high amount of people are buying. So maybe one day, HP can be ad-free again!

While I definitely don't mind ads all that much, I honestly don't like the thought of more being added... As of now they are at the bottom of every single page... Is that really not enough? I do generally use an ad blocker, but I turned it off for HP. However, these ads all look like spam or malware, so I may turn it back on... I wondered the same thing as Tana. So once we have more players on the game, will the ads be removed? I don't know... I feel that isn't very likely.

I keep getting adds for SSO and stok sites. For the most part I don't mind it at all, because they are at the bottom footer. 

But I also come from HL where you couldn't even click on your Home page because they had ads that would take up your full screen, so, ads wise, I'm use to seeing them around, as I don't use an adblocker.

I think if they're easliey avoided, or stay in their own spots, they'll be ok, and will def help in the long run. 

Like, right now, I see an ad for Shutterstock - not even mad about that one, lol

^omg I hated HL and the Ads they had! I was always like serious its blocking the navigation links lol

I feel that since HP is on the slower side of things, this is a great way to fund HP. The ads I've seen so far are rather accurate to my life lmao. Saw one for PooPrints and Kuuipo is in their database so can't be mad about that. But like others I'm just concerned about the safety of the ads. They always teach us to avoid them and go to a site directly... and I trust you wouldn't allow malware or virus's onto HP. It's just an anxiety fear because I hate working on my computer when it's sick lol! #lazy 

So far, all my ads have been for Grand Canyon University (the school I go to ahaha) and Course Hero which is a homework database I use when I'm stuck on an assignment so it's not like it's been anything obnoxious or anything. xD

I made a post replying to these concerns and some other ones! I figured I'd make a news post for everyone rather than responding here, because if one person has a question, other people probably do too!

https://horsephenomena.com/viewpost.php?id=71970

the way i see it if you dont like them just turn adblock on?
i didnt even realize i had it enabled for hp and havent seen a single ad while on the computer...?
obviously ill turn it off for hp now.
but as a player that does ALL her training via an ipad it really wasnt that big of a deal with movement and what not for me

The ads don't bother me any.  They are all over the web and HP has been ad free for so long.  I would gladly have ads on the website in lieu of raising upgrade prices.  All I've seen so far has been the generic google ones, Star Stable, and now that I am at work a bunch of random mortgage ones. :P  

Not sure if this was answered elsewhere but how exactly do the ads work? Does HP get paid every time a page with an ad is viewed or only if the ad is clicked on?

Both! Google lets advertisers choose how they want to pay (per click or per impression/view), and then both of those types of ads show up, so it just depends on the ad :).