I have been to sites where the ad bots are there and I don't stay too long. Maybe I am just too old school .. I know what I want to purchase and I know where to look when I want to research something that I am looking at purchasing. I don't want to be bombarded by adverts in threads that I view and those that have adverts in them I would likely avoid.
I know things change so I hate to make this a dissertation into the reasoning behind adding the google bots. I will make a few observations and let the membership browbeat me.
1) it is my understanding that theswamp was started in part, to avoid the barrage of advertisements seen on other sites
2) theswamp is hosted locally by its owner at a much higher cost than it would be were it hosted on a public site
3) the maintenance of theswamp has been (presumably) a labor of love
4) annual public hosting, without advertising, can be had for about a single month of local hosting, not to mention the savings in electrical power and hardware outages.
5) many people, me included, will avoid the threads with advertising, thus restricting the usability of the site
6) advertising controlled by other sites (google included) will introduce links to other websites that may not be safe or trustworthy, including subsequent links on the advertisers website.
in short, I don't like it ... not sure what I will do if/when they come ... I'll make that decision when it happens I suppose
