Regular readers may have noticed that TTAG attempted to launch a new website this morning. Yeah, well, we pulled it down to fix a few key issues. With a bit of luck we’ll give it another go tonight, delivering a baby with ten fingers and toes Wednesday morning. Rest assured that the site is pretty much the same, only better — as in cleaner, faster and less buggy. Same comment system, same type, amount and quality of content. What this new site designĀ doesn’t fix areĀ . . .
ad-related issues.
I’m fully aware that the ads served to this site have hijacked browsers at times and generally been a major PITA. We recently read our ad provider the riot act. I’m convinced by our conversations — and their actions — that they’re doing their level best to avoid anyĀ issues in the future. And that their best is good enough.
That said, I give you my word that I will stay on top of this problem and kick ass each and every time there’s an issue. Which there shouldn’t be. But if there is, I’ll be all over it.
The big news: we’re getting closer toĀ sending out personalized emails for our readers who opt in. And when I mean personalized, I mean emailsĀ designed forĀ you, theĀ individual reader, based on your specific reading habits. With easy opt-out, of course.
These emails will give you the news, reviews and/or editorials you want and leave out stuff you don’t. They’ll also generate much-needed revenue — without resorting to the kind of crap ads you (and I and especially Nick) hate.
No matter how slick and efficient the new site and emails, there’ll always be room for improvement. As always, we welcome yourĀ feedback. When you see something you don’t like, send a heads-upĀ directly to me at [email protected] with SUGGESTION in the subject bar. I promise that theĀ TTAG team will read and consider every suggestion.
Meanwhile and in any case, thank you for your time and attention. We couldn’t do it without you. And that’s the truth.
Are you going to get rid of all those god awful ads on the side that make it impossible to read at work given that they appear super inapporpriate?
I’m hoping that the ad content will improve too instead of tons of barely clothed individuals. First of all, I don’t even want to see those ads because I’d like to be able to read at work. Second, I won’t EVER click because who knows what these scammers are trying to pull.
Aye, the adwords links are the worst part for me.
Get rid of those and improve the sidebar/midroll ads, and I’ll turn AdBlock back off.
There’s a side bar with ads? Huh, I never noticed….
This! Please do address the raunch in all the ads however you can.
Thanks!
We’re on it.
I don’t want to see those ads. And using a mobile device 99.99% of the time, the occasional click while scrolling happens and is always immediately followed by a frantic attempt to close the window before it loads.
A similar thing happens on desktops too. I’ll go to click on something (like, for instance, “Reply” and just as the click happens, the whole page jerks downwards (or upwards) because some damn thing loaded and resized itself, and I’ll end up going who knows where instead of the reply window. Or I’ll be typing IN the reply window and my keyboard focus gets jerked away in mid-first-word, and ten seconds later, I’m finally permitted to continue typing.
Come on, you didn’t like those penis cross sections?
Let’s either get rid of those slightly raunchy ads, or go full on buck nekkid all the way.
But guys! Don’t you want to know how my dad got laid by 64 girls with this one weird trick!?
It’s not really a trick. You just have to be willing to do two-baggers.
Perhaps consider a soft launch with beta.thetruthaboutguns.com on a separate ghost for 24 hours to evaluate stability.
NO. Go back to the Brown Site not this or the new one. Geez people seem to think that changing is going to be better. No Just NO.
You must be fun at parties..
I saw the new style and thought it was pretty good.
Esthetically, it was a bit of an improvement.
It did seem to load VERY slowly this morning; I am guessing that had something to do with whatever it was that caused you to undo it temporarily.
Oh, the irony. One of the ads I am seeing right now is something titled “2015 Successes and Drawbacks of the Ad Monetization Landscape”
Of course it will be great . . . and Hillary will never infringe our rights.
When the new layout, font and color popped into view, I thought I had stumbled onto another USA Today site. Gave me a bad case of the heebie jeebies until I figured out I was in the right place.
I will be keeping Adblock on regardless of your site redesign/assurances that the ads won’t suck. Sorry but you jam your sponsored articles down my throat already and your ads are obnoxious. If you fail, it’s your own fault for not having a good business model, not mine for ignoring your ads.
Ok, I guess I can turn off adblock pro and ghostery and try the new site out when available.
Sorry, but we’ve been through this before.
Adblock stays on.
Sure guys…and I was accused of basically making up my issues with your site. An ad is trying to hijack me as I type too…
I don’t know how you got the impression that we thought you were making things up. All of us on this side take all of your comments — and the comments of other commentators –100% seriously. Seriously. Call me on 401 835 5054 for an immediate apology and discussion.
Also, SEND ME THE DETAILS! We forward them to our ad provider and follow-up, Now more than ever. Meanwhile, sorry.
Twarn’t YOU guys Robert. Just another regular touting how everything ran perfectly…however my computer does need some upgrades/cleaning/replacement so anything is possible. We also have Comcast which can often get hinky. 4 people use this who knows what sites are compromised.
Well, on one hand… three autoplaying videos on the right sidebar. On the other, at least the sound is muted, and I have a computer with sufficient oomph that it’s not causing any performance issues.
Main issue for me is that the lockerdome ad for “food that kills diabetes” is 1) almost certainly some kind of scam, and 2) the “food” in the ad could easily be mistaken for a badly-made sex toy from a distance. Or close up, y’know?
I’d love to kill the Lockerdome ads. Believe it or not, they pay really well. When we have a new income stream from the emails . . . down they go.
I like the look of the new design. The main issue, as I’m sure you’re well aware was that various links were broken and comments were unaccessible, which was a tragedy, because I had several witty, erudite, and incisive insights that are all now lost, like tears in rain…
Anyway, good luck with the launch, take two.
I’m just happy I haven’t been getting the” your device has a virus” hijack this week, at least so far. It was annoying last week, almost every third article would redirect to a pop up spam can of crud.
Still hoping the massive ad block of genital cross sections, reasons to not do drugs, and other junk is removed. Scrolling through it is repugnant. I could understand actual industry related content, but typical you probably shouldn’t be on this site advertising, no way.
Worse things in the world than 15 celebrities you forgot.Or tinnitus tips!
And who doesn’t need a quick cure for herpes?
And the bonus of TTAG trolls!
I attend for the useful info, experienced fellow gun owners and the random operators operating operational insanity.
Good work… on all counts.
“And the bonus of TTAG trolls!”
The trolls are a part of the TTAG experience, in my view.
(Somewhat) honest trolls like ‘2Asux’ I don’t have a problem with, he-she-it actually engages in conversation, and makes decent practice for honing 2A debate skills.
The ‘Cut-n-Paste’ variety, on the other hand, can get cancer and die a slow death with lots of ‘breakthrough pain’ and hopefully insufficient opiate pain killers.
(For those who failed to notice, I’m not a nice person.) š
I posted this a few weeks back when the “customized email” thing was announced, but got no response, so I’ll try again…
Question: if one opts out of the e-mails, does that also opt them out of the tracking? Or will you be tracking everyone all the time, and āopting outā just means no e-mails, but youāll still be building a profile?
I would advise you to tread very lightly in this area. Lots of gun folk take their privacy extremely seriously, and unfortunately, TTAG has an absolutely abysmal track record on security and privacy issues. Four years of malware hijacks and the like being served in your name (you can try to blame your ad service if you want, but itās your brand being dragged through the mud every time it happens) understandably makes some of us a bit nervous when you start talking about building a database of our preferences and browsing habits. Do I trust TTAG to not to misuse that data? Probably. Do I trust you guys to build a site that’s secure enough so that someone else can’t misuse that data? Not at all.
I would wager most of your more intelligent commenters are the ones most likely to be worried about privacy, too, and you canāt afford to lose the content they generate. There are about a half-dozen or so people here whose insight and commentary amount to about half the value of the site (in my opinion ā at least, thatās why I come here so frequently, to read what those folks are adding to the discussion).
I saw the new site, and wasn’t too impressed. Ugly blue, the font was a bit too ‘uptight’ for me. Was wondering how I ended up on the NYPost (or the likes) website for a moment. Was a bit ‘naked/simplistic’, but might be nice on a mobile device. I’ve not had a chance to check on android or ipad.
Keep the san-serif font. It is a slightly less formal visual.
I saw the site this morning. I didnt like that you had removed the post previews and had just a pic and a headline. With out some kind of preview its highly unlikely I’ll be clicking through to the content, especially since I only read about every 3rd post as it is.
Same here. That is probably my biggest gripe.
site needs an html -NOT SCRIPED- forward / backward link to the next article
Hope the new TTAG works as well as advertised.
I’ll still browse the site on my computer regardless of ad-based shenanigans. If the ads aren’t relevant to me (and they’re never relevant) then that’s just the ad company’s failure to monetize.
What I enjoy most about TTAG are the gear reviews. The Kahr pm9 I carry every day was first brought to my attention here. Someone’s love of FN convinced me to check out an FNX-45; it’s possibly my favorite handgun now. I think I also bought a deSantis pocket holster based on a recommendation here.
Thanks for your support. We will continue to write honest gun and gear reviews, no matter what. They are our meat and potatoes and always will be.
I don’t dislike your reviews, but they aren’t even close to the reason I frequent. And I do mean multiple times a day. I can get a review anywhere. I come here because there is this atmosphere about TTAG that is very inviting, accepting, and helpful to everyone. Sometimes, a bit rash, but Ralph always makes me laugh. (LOLZ!)
People here go out of their way to answer questions, point people in the right direction, and always have new insight you can’t find by just hitting up Google. The thing I love the most though, is just the utter plethora of different topics to read (most) every day.
Keep it up RF, Nick, JWT, Dan, and the others I may have forgotten.
…and stay classy Ralph š
Anyone else getting emails from someone purporting to be “Robert Farago”? It seems that this just started happening as the site is being “updated”.
“Robert Farago says:
May 31, 2016 at 23:24
Iād love to kill the Lockerdome ads. Believe it or not, they pay really well. When we have a new income stream from the emails . . . down they go.”
You are so full of crap.
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