Site Stuff: Ad-free for subscribers? That's what you want? All right then!

By Dejan Kovacevic

Oct 14, 2023 • 1:45 am

6.3K

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Never let it be said we don't listen!

You, our subscribers, told us you wanted a completely ad-free experience and, beginning early next week, that's exactly what we'll deliver: No ads on the app, no ads on the site, no popups, no blank video player, no nothing!

And probably the best part of this is that you don't need to do a blessed thing. It'll just happen automatically once our developers flip the switch either Monday or Tuesday. Once it does, the experience here will be exactly what we'd hoped it'd be from the very beginning: Smoother, faster, cleaner than ever and nuisance-free!

Why now?

Well, to really stress this, you were the ones who brought this up when we made the content free while keeping a subscription level alive to offer an elevated community element, plus other perks. We were grateful that we lost very few subscribers in that time, but we did hear within this that we'd have a better chance of keeping subscribers long-term if we'd ditch the ads.

I responded at the time that I was open to this but that I was terrified of what it'd mean from a tech standpoint. And then, just within the past week, I found out that another app/site in the Boompress family already had this ability! And that we could add it with almost no cost or effort! So yeah, that took only about a five-minute discussion to decide that's the way to go!

If I sound legit excited over this, I am. I really am. I've known about this for two days, and it's been killing me to save it for Site Stuff, but that tends to be how we roll around here.

The only thing I hate more here than when things go wrong with the app/site is the effect it has on our readers and, in turn, the boomeranging back in this direction. In this setting, the only ones being annoyed by the ads or other related fare will be those who aren't subscribers, and we've now got a nice, simple remedy for those folks, too: Just buy one.

I'll gleefully be in comments on this!

ABOUT TROLLING, NASTINESS

I don't know if it's just because the football team's got everyone in a bad mood, or maybe it's because the commenting comes with a cost, but man, it's become unpleasant in some of our forums. Even with the new emojis, we've had one or two very bored people running up and down every thread pouncing on the angry face, the eyeroll face or whatever.

Being really clear about this: Anyone who's doing this will be booted sky-high off this platform.

Like Pressley Harvin high.

I'll happily lose a handful of people to keep the place fun, friendly and focused on sports. I'll just as happily lose a handful of people to keep me and my staff from facing the infantile writer-blaming that happens after some games. If you want to yell at a coach, buy a ticket. If you want to be upset about a loss, pound a pillow. (Leave the dog alone. The dog didn't make that fourth-and-1 call, either.)

You can't see who's trolling, whether it's through comments or emojis, but we can. And we'll end it emphatically when it happens.

Thanks in advance for not being that individual.

MILITARY DRIVE AT 382

Our annual Military Drive, aimed at connecting 1,000 veterans of our Armed Forces to a one-year subscription, added a contribution of 10 subscriptions from one reader, raising our total to 382 as we move closer to the deadline of Veterans Day Nov. 11.

Here's how it works: We sell a military subscription for $20, covering a full year for any veteran. That's one-third of the regular price. However many you'd wish to donate, even if it's just one, email me at DK@DKPittsburghSports.com, and Dali will do the processing.

Thanks to everyone who's already contributed!

NEW PAYMENT PLATFORM

If your subscription expired while we were recently switching platforms, this is our new subscribe page. Make sure you're logged in, tap on the link, and thumb down to the bottom for the SUBSCRIBE button to buy/renew at the monthly or annual level.

We also have our new pages completed for student subscriptions and senior subscriptions. If you're buying/renewing either, make sure you're logged in, tap on the appropriate link, and tap the big SUBSCRIBE button. These are all annual.

BACK TO BUSINESS

• Our page-view numbers for the past week were 983,628, with 50,124 unique users over the most recent full seven-day span. Our most-read original piece was my main column from the Steelers' victory over the Ravens, at 27,739. Our full top 10 files, right from our Google Analytics page, are at the bottom of this section.

• On the multimedia front, our podcast downloads for the past week were 153,627 and our YouTube video views for the past week were 154,905.

• Our company social media accounts are at 51,242 followers on X, 39,961 on Facebook, 25,341 on YouTube, 14,887 on Instagram ... and already 2,661 on the new Threads app!