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SkimLinks

Discussion in 'Sorcerous Sundries' started by Taluntain, Apr 27, 2011.

  1. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    Remove all ads!
    In an effort to secure some additional funding to help support running the site and the forums, as well as to simplify affiliate linking on the boards, I've implemented a service called Skimlinks. Skimlinks comes in two flavours, namely SkimLinks and SkimWords.

    SkimLinks first. What this does is very simple, straightforward and helpful to boot. Any existing or new links to online retailers which have affiliate programs that reward websites for referring customers to them (such as Amazon, NewEgg, ThinkGeek, etc.) posted on Boards o' Magick will automatically be converted into affiliated links. When such links are followed and items bought via them, Sorcerer's Place will earn a small commission. The providers of this service take a 25% cut from our earnings, but in return are able to convert links to over 12.000 retailers automatically, which basically means that when you post an external link to practically any online store, SP will get credited for sales resulting in the following of that link.

    For example, if you find a computer part on NewEgg and want to recommend it to other members of the Boards o' Magick, you simply link to the NewEgg url of the part and that's it. Your link will be converted into an affiliate link automatically, with no action required on anyone's part.

    There is no real downside to this service as it simply takes our own affiliate linking to the next level by simplifying and automating it.

    SkimWords is the second part of the service, which is a bit more controversial. What SkimWords does (in theory) is basically go through the whole content of any given threads, identify certain words in it which could translate into advertisement links and convert the words into ad links.

    For example, if there was a post from MemberX who posted:

    What SkimWords would likely do would be to convert the words "Canon PowerShot S95" into an external link to a website selling the cam in question. Such conversions would only be applied to a handful of words in any given thread, so the linking would be kept to an acceptable level.

    THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF SKIMWORDS IS THAT IT WOULD ONLY BE SEEN BY UNREGISTERED MEMBERS. And just for emphasis, again, at present I have no plans to test or implement SkimWords for registered members. This type of advertising would show only for those of our visitors who would choose to read the threads without registering or logging in. Meaning that anybody who would take a minute to register, or log in, wouldn't see any SkimWords ads.

    Please also keep in mind that right now, we are simply testing this type of advertising, which was never used on Sorcerer's Place before. If for any reason we decide that it isn't suitable for us, the decision to implement it could be reversed.

    If anyone's got any questions, concerns or comments regarding SkimLinks or SkimWords, please don't by shy and post them here. In the spirit of full disclosure, I've also added a "Skimlinks Disclosure" button to the bottom of every page of the boards. Clicking on this button will provide you with more information on what Skimlinks is and how it works.

    Side note: As there have been a number of problems with the SkimLinks integration (all on their side) I've held off posting this announcement even though we've been using SkimLinks for a while. Unfortunately, all with very little effect, as in about a month of using this service, we're earned only $3.15 from it. Their SkimWords service is not functioning properly as only a small number of forum threads have been indexed so very few SkimWords ads actually show. In the future, it's likely that I'll be replacing SkimLinks for VigLinks, which is basically the same kind of service only from a different provider.
     
    Taluntain, Apr 27, 2011
    #1
  2. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    What if I want to see the skimwords? Why should I be denied access to all the valuable links to stuff I may want just because I'm registered?!
     
    Blackthorne TA, Apr 27, 2011
    #2
  3. 8people

    8people 8 is just another way of looking at infinite ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran

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    [​IMG] Log Out? :p
     
    8people, Apr 27, 2011
    #3
  4. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Ha! But then it won't show what threads I've looked at and which I haven't! I demand SkimWords while logged in to my registered account! :)
     
    Blackthorne TA, Apr 27, 2011
    #4
  5. Harbourboy

    Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    I want my SkimWords! Motsly just because you say I can't have them.
     
    Harbourboy, Apr 27, 2011
    #5
  6. Silvery

    Silvery I won't pretend to be your friend coz I'm just not ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran

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    In all seriousness, it is pretty daft not to have them on registered accounts. It's not like you're thrusting adverts at us, it's just a handy link to another site.
     
    Silvery, Apr 27, 2011
    #6
  7. Cap'n CJ

    Cap'n CJ Arrr! Veteran

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    Personally, I HATE SkimWords. HATE HATE HATE it.

    SkimLinks, however, is an excellent idea!
     
    Cap'n CJ, Apr 27, 2011
    #7
  8. 8people

    8people 8 is just another way of looking at infinite ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran

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    [​IMG] If it's the ones where the words are underlined/a different colour and have a little pop out if your mouse goes in them I'd vote a 'please no to registered users' unless there's an option to hide it :mommy:
     
    8people, Apr 27, 2011
    #8
  9. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    :tobattle: :tobattle: :tobattle:
    What do we want? SkimWords!
    :tobattle: :tobattle: :tobattle:
    When do we want it? Naow!
    :tobattle: :tobattle: :tobattle:
    :lol:
     
    Blackthorne TA, Apr 27, 2011
    #9
  10. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    They're not really all that valuable. :shake:

    Well, some people don't like it as there's potential for confusion if links appear on various words in members' posts that they didn't make. For the members not familiar with the concept, this would be confusing at best. Though I made the SkimWords links green, so they do stand out from our regular links.

    No pop-ups, only mouseover text. The links appear just like regular links but a different colour. You can see some examples in this thread (you'll need to log out).
     
    Taluntain, Apr 27, 2011
    #10
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