"Sponsorship is different from ads" therefore Paid users will see it

[ex_uniquewo]

In September 2006, brad was saying : sponsored "whatever" are ads. don't worry, we (at least most of us?) realize sponsorships are the same as ads. and we remember which account levels see ads and which don't. Paid users won't see sponsored stuff -- ignore the previous post. paid users won't ever see ads. that's why you paid, and we're not in the

Comments

[janinedog]

I'm curious, since this was brought up when sponsored themes first went live with Havaianas...how would you suggest that Paid users be opt-ed out from sponsored themes? There really isn't a good solution for that that we've come up with, because making a user's style look different to some users isn't a good idea for the owner of the journal (who more than likely wants people to see their journal as they set it).

Same with the mood themes. Should we really be changing the way users' preferences show to different viewers? I don't think so. I think we all know that many LJ users are very sensitive about how their journals look (remember when the navigation strip went live?).

So, I really am curious...what's your proposed solution? How can we not display sponsored journal settings (like styles and mood themes) to some users while still respecting the settings of the journal owner?

Re: Easily Feasible

[zorkfox]

Yes, I read all the threads before I chose to reply, but I don't see an effective solution suggested in that thread.

I also don't see why my idea won't work for future themes. If the mood theme has a logo embedded, it's going to be part of a graphic, or it will be placed over a background image. Either make two versions of the graphic if it's flat, or simply don't display the logo and let the background show through.

It's software; something this basic can be handled with ease. It's not like they're writing a program to model star formation. This is simple user preference.

Re: Easily Feasible

[foxfirefey]

A sponsored mood theme made of movie screen stills, much like fandom makes. There's no way NOT to make that not part of the advertised product and still use the mood theme. Same as if the happy bubble was itself bore the color markings of the Pepsi logo.

Also, this is not necessarily simple to implement.

Re: Easily Feasible

[ex_uniquewo]

A sponsored mood theme made of movie screen stills, much like fandom makes.

No logo? No nothing? I think I would like that actually. :)

Re: Easily Feasible

[foxfirefey]

Well, there could be other things, too. Like if someone got creative and dressed up a Pepsi can as all the moods.

Re: Easily Feasible

[ex_uniquewo]

Well then no, thanks. Though I think it'd be better than what they have now.

Re: Easily Feasible

[zorkfox]

Good point.

[queerbychoice]

We don't want to block all mood themes. We only want to block advertisements masquerading as mood themes.

[dzurlady]

I see what you're saying, but for me:
a) it's my friends page, ie part of my journal - I don't want to see ads on it
b) the mood themes my friends use tells me something about them, and adds variety to my flist - forcing all moodthemes to look like mine means I lose that.
I don't see why I should be 'paying' (by looking at an ad) for someone *else* to have extra features, especially when I have already directly paid lj.

Previous and current proposed solutions

[foxfirefey]

For me, the difference was the ad tracking in the sponsored mood theme. I figured that displaying the theme as it was was the journal choice, but that including the web bug or the ad links when a paid user was viewing was the thing that crossed the line.

The web bug and ad links, a " requirement from the sponsor so they can see their return on investment" turn the layout, which was chosen by the user, into part of an orchestrated ad campaign. Taking out the web bug and the ad links (replacing them by direct links to the site in question, ie feetwantout.com) if a paid user was viewing would mean that the paid user was no longer included in the advertising's calculated ROI, but would preserve the layout's aesthetics as chosen by the user. The advertiser would still have their logo shown and their site linked to. I considered that an acceptable compromise.

However, after deliberation, it was decided that the web bug didn't violate the guideline, and furthermore, "expected as this data is used to by both the advertiser and by us, to

[dda]

How can we not display sponsored journal settings (like styles and mood themes) to some users while still respecting the settings of the journal owner?

You can't, which is why the idea is full of fail; sponsored themes can not be implemented in a way that respects paid users so (and here's the key part), it shouldn't be done.. The only correct solution is to back out sponsored themes (and those hideous mood icons) and admit it was a total Charlie Foxtrot.