Am I Missing Something?

[Ming the Merciless]

Well, yes, hair, 'cause I shave it off.

What puzzles me (high falutin' term, "cognitive dissonance") is seeing scattered among various posts many ads touting things that seem completely the opposite of this board and the forums.

What are they?  Ads for hair restoration techniques, hair growth nostrums, that sort of thing.

Are they getting tucked in for some off-the-wall reason that escapes me?  I see HeadBlade stuff--that seems appropriate, but "miracle cures for baldness"?

What gives?  All I assume, since I see them saying "ads by Google," is that Google's search engines see "bald," and "baldness" in some text and immediately think, "These posters must want to have their hair back.  Let's get this guy peddling 'laser hair restoration' some exposure."

Hey, SLY guys, I thought we were supposed to rise above this kind of thing?  Please don't disillusion me!

[Tom McGarry.]

The adds as I believe Tyler once put it are a Necessary EVIL!!! It's what helps pay for this site,, I think.

[SultanofSwing86]

I find the presence of some of them quite humourous, definately barking up the wrong tree!

[Mikekoz13]

I don't think that their ads here are getting them any business. Kind of ironic isn't it?

[crazy.irish.celt]

Definitely a necessary evil.  Running a website of this caliber is a big deal, and pretty expensive.  We don't seem to get pop-ups either, for which I am extremely thankful.  I'll take hair restoration ads any day over those. 

[Antimidas]

Just thinking off the cuff here.  Maybe we should all click on the Donate button in the upper left so that Tyler can be more selective on his ad sources.  Just thinking outside the box.

[Tyler]

Hey Ming, you are correct in that you see the hair restoration ads, but I assure you, I do everything I can to keep them off this site.  The problem is that I give about 30% of my inventory to Google to run ads.  This is because the I have not sold 100% of the inventory.  They see the word "bald" in the site and the highest paid advertisers for that word are hair restoration companies.   I can filter them out and spend two days a week trying to, but they keep coming.

One of the ways that you can deter them is to click on the ads that you do like.  Google is smart in that they will start running ads that more people click on versus the ad that has the highest bid.

Other ways that you can support the site:

Click on the donate button.  By doing this you also get Team Sly status, which gives you special access to boards and higher discounts on things.

Buy a t-shirt.  Check the discount section for 40% off.  You help the site and get a great quality shirt to wear.

Buy from our advertisers - Any ads that don't say Ads By Google.  The more you buy from our advertisers, the more they will advertise.

Thanks for the support everyone!

[GaryT]

Antimidas you got it right. Let's ALL click that button and watch the site improve!!  Hey if you reallly enjoy this board then sending a few bucks is no big deal! Send what is a stretch for you. If it's ten bucks go for it. If it's a grand, go for it!!

Just my 2 cents.