Rotating Banner System

[y2ksw]

hi.. i saw in 2.3.3 version:

2.3.3: Fix: Copy selected forum ID's during banner duplication. Changed: start and end hours for new banners are set to 0:00 and 23:59 respectively. Changed files: admin_rbs.php.

but.. in here, the time still go randomly, sometimes 15.00, sometimes 17.00.

and let say i already set the start date to 1 March 2012, the end date 2 March 2013, then i save it. then i open the banner configuration again, without changing anything in the configuration, i press the save button, then open it again, the start date become 2 March 2012, and the end date become 3 March 2013.

is this a bugs?

I have the same issue, whenever I save a new or old banner, it forwards the time by 8 hours, so if I set the banner to expire on 1 March at 1pm, when I click save it will change the time 8 hours ahead to 9pm, if I click save again it will go forward another 8 hours and change the expiry date to 2 March 5am.
These are issues with the server time differing with the database time. Normally, your server and database must match the same time zone and of course be synchronized in order to match the saving. There is not much I can do. All I suggest is to keep your servers going with UTC and in-sync for at least once a week. On crontab you would typically use:

0 5 * * * root /usr/sbin/ntpdate xx.pool.ntp.org>/dev/null 2>&1

where xx is the country code. Please see ntp.org for valid pools. Also note that if your server time has gone wild, it may need first a manual setup, since NTP will not adjust differences larger than 59 minutes 59 seconds.

If you issue a "SHOW NOW()" query, you may find out if the database is in-sync. On the server side, you would issue a date command with your root account. On Windows servers, this may be a bit tricky, because your webserver account should sync with UTC+0, but normally isn't.

In any case there are other possible issues with it and I really don't want to come down to this level.

[I.G.O.T.A.]

Doesn't seem to work with 4.1.11. Any ideas?

[Rckcrwlr]

Doesn't seem to work with 4.1.11. Any ideas?

Working for me.

[y2ksw]

Doesn't seem to work with 4.1.11. Any ideas?
Works for me (http://www.vbulletin.it/), too :)

[rhody401]

It works very well for me too.

Here's an example to put a rotating ad under each thread, just before the reply button:

(It took me a while to figure this out, so here it is for anyone else in the same boat)

Admin CP: Styles & Templates -> Style Manager -> edit template -> postbit templates -> postbit_legacy

......at the VERY END add this:

<vb:if condition="$post['islastshown']">
<div align="center"><!--@vbbanners:0@--></div><br />
</vb:if>

Thanks for the great tool!

[TheDevil666Damo]

If I CTRL and select the forums to display and not display the banner in there is no option for it to display on the homepage, ie. It only displays on the homepage when it is set to display everywhere, as soon as as you start selecting forums there is no option for the forum homepage and the banner doesn't display there...unless I am missing something?

[y2ksw]

If I CTRL and select the forums to display and not display the banner in there is no option for it to display on the homepage, ie. It only displays on the homepage when it is set to display everywhere, as soon as as you start selecting forums there is no option for the forum homepage and the banner doesn't display there...unless I am missing something?
There is a checkbox for the home page, since there is no item for the home in the list. However if you want to show the banners everywhere, just leave everything unselected ;)

[K a M a L]

There is a checkbox for the home page, since there is no item for the home in the list. However if you want to show the banners everywhere, just leave everything unselected ;)

Check box for home page displays banner only on homepage , what if I want to display banner on forum1 + homepage ?

[TheDevil666Damo]

Check box for home page displays banner only on homepage , what if I want to display banner on forum1 + homepage ?

Exactly, which is what I want to do, its just not possible at the moment which seems strange, ideally 'home' should be in the list as an option.

[y2ksw]

Check box for home page displays banner only on homepage , what if I want to display banner on forum1 + homepage ?

Exactly, which is what I want to do, its just not possible at the moment which seems strange, ideally 'home' should be in the list as an option.
You may duplicate a banner and have one for the forum home alone plus one for a single forum section.

[y2ksw]

While adding some of the already requested features, revisiting the code, taking notes for the bloody beginners guide and general brainstorming, this is the one of the few occasions to get your 'last minute' smart features added.

Fore the next (coming) release we have:
+ 3 new options for disabling counters and squeeze a tiny bit of performance.
+ default banners locked into database; avoids me to explain how to get banners running and waste my time, while the 'experts' have them already deleted :); they can be modified though.
+ unsigned integers for all those database values which can't be less than 0.
+ external functions file adds php caching if there is one, thus enhances loading and esecution speed and generally reduces memory footprint a little; also solves the rare problem where functions are loaded twice.
+ width and height (if > 0) for img tags.

We won't add now:
- native in-place rotating, because it would add too many new options and a lot of questions I may not answer to.
- image rotation from a folder (N images for 1 banner). it was a nice idea, but unefficient in real live; maybe another time.
- style exclusion; there is no efficient way to know which style is running while handling the final output.
- section exclusion; would be another good reason why banners would not show up at all.
- banner payment, all the related front- and backend forms, scheduling and mails.

Checked:
- mailing feature: works! but it has also a relative option which must be enabled, and a cronjob which must be enabled, too.

[y2ksw]

BTW, I'm currently changing my publisher ID, thus the default banners may not show before the new release.

[Videx]

Feature requests:

Change the text from "Please list here one or more mail addresses to inform about banner events." to "A list of email addresses that will receive expiration notices".
Add an option to send expiration notices x days prior to expiration.
Add links to the phrase with the body and subject of the expiration emails.
Clarify option/text "Reset Notifications - If this option is checked, email notifications are enabled again.". There is no apparent reason expiration emails should be disabled, and no option to do it manually, so there's no need to 'enable them again'.

[Gripi]

Feature request:

Banner List > Able to sort the list by position number

thank you

[bimmerbuffs]

When do you anticipate the new release to be available?

[MatiasCandy]

This quit working for me when upgrade to 4.1.11. Anyone else having issues?

[y2ksw]

When do you anticipate the new release to be available?

This quit working for me when upgrade to 4.1.11. Anyone else having issues?

I'm waiting for my Google Publisher Code. Until then, I can't publish the upgrade, the default banners will not show up and it may look as if it doesn't work - but it surely is :)

[rhody401]

I upgraded from 4.1.10 to 4.1.11, and all is well here. Granted, I'm just using png files with links - not adsense.

[bposner]

for some reason the banners, even though have the correct url, are linking to:

"www.forumname.com/forum/www.forumname.com/forum/rbs_banner.php?id=3&userid=1"
Thoughts?

(site name changed for this post)

[bposner]

This quit working for me when upgrade to 4.1.11. Anyone else having issues?
Yes, banners are not linking to url, it adds a 2nd link, like this "www.forumname.com/forum/www.forumname.com/forum/rbs_banner.php?id=3&userid=1"

[MarkusB]

Hmm

Possibility to exclude/include each single Banner-ID from CMS, Blog,Forum,Forumhome by radio buttons would be fine if there is a reasonable way for doing so :up:

[MarkusB]

Yes, banners are not linking to url, it adds a 2nd link, like this "www.forumname.com/forum/www.forumname.com/forum/rbs_banner.php?id=3&userid=1"

bsponer, try to use the textfield and put Banner code in there, instead of the URL and Image field.
That should fix it temporary until its solved. (might be than the click counter will not work...) ;)

[viper357]

This new time feature where it sends out emails before the banners expire is definitely not working for me on 3.8.5. It works fine if I set it to 0, but I've tried both 7 days and 14 days but no emails get sent out.

[y2ksw]

for some reason the banners, even though have the correct url, are linking to:

"www.forumname.com/forum/www.forumname.com/forum/rbs_banner.php?id=3&userid=1 (http://www.forumname.com/forum/www.forumname.com/forum/rbs_banner.php?id=3&userid=1)"
Thoughts?

(site name changed for this post)
Try to use full URL's ... maybe you have changed your canonical URL settings or bburl?

[y2ksw]

Hmm

Possibility to exclude/include each single Banner-ID from CMS, Blog,Forum,Forumhome by radio buttons would be fine if there is a reasonable way for doing so :up:
Added to wish-list :)

[y2ksw]

This new time feature where it sends out emails before the banners expire is definitely not working for me on 3.8.5. It works fine if I set it to 0, but I've tried both 7 days and 14 days but no emails get sent out.
I'll check it again.

[Videx]

This new time feature where it sends out emails before the banners expire is definitely not working for me on 3.8.5. It works fine if I set it to 0, but I've tried both 7 days and 14 days but no emails get sent out.There needs to be a reminder/link for this setting in the spot where we enter the email addresses, if it's going to be off in a separate Settings>Options page. The last time I set up a banner I completely forgot this setting existed and that I had set it to 7 days long ago. Sorry I have no idea yet if it actually works as my newest banners won't expire for a while.

[rezwiebel]

Hi,

Mod is very good.

But (maybe that was asked in the 100 comments pages before) my problem is, that the div of the banner splits the threadview in half and takes a lot of place. So the text of the post itself (and of the followning posts without banner) are very narrow displayed.

How can i workout, that the text is floating around the banner?

Thanks for help!

Bye
René

[MatiasCandy]

for some reason the banners, even though have the correct url, are linking to:

"www.forumname.com/forum/www.forumname.com/forum/rbs_banner.php?id=3&userid=1"
Thoughts?

(site name changed for this post)

make sure you have the http: in the box

"http://www.forumname.com"

[MatiasCandy]

This quit working for me when upgrade to 4.1.11. Anyone else having issues?

I had wrong Google Pub id in the banner ad. Changed it and no more issues.

Thanks for great Mod and helpful people!

Cheers

[y2ksw]

Hi,

Mod is very good.

But (maybe that was asked in the 100 comments pages before) my problem is, that the div of the banner splits the threadview in half and takes a lot of place. So the text of the post itself (and of the followning posts without banner) are very narrow displayed.

How can i workout, that the text is floating around the banner?

Thanks for help!

Bye
Ren?
The banner div is only an example. You may use any HTML and physical location for your banners.

[bposner]

bsponer, try to use the textfield and put Banner code in there, instead of the URL and Image field.
That should fix it temporary until its solved. (might be than the click counter will not work...) ;)

this doesn't work, just displays the actual url not the image

Edit oh, ok, html code, I did that, and it works, see below. Thanks for the workaround!

<body>
<div align="center"><BR>
<a href="http://www.mysite.com/FAQs" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.mysdite.com/banners/image.jpg" border="0"></a><br>
</div>
</body>

and this seems to work

[bposner]

Try to use full URL's ... maybe you have changed your canonical URL settings or bburl?


Sorry, not sure what you mean by changed your canonical URL settings.
I use full urls in the URL field

[viper357]

This new time feature where it sends out emails before the banners expire is definitely not working for me on 3.8.5. It works fine if I set it to 0, but I've tried both 7 days and 14 days but no emails get sent out.
I'll check it again.
Thanks, I've had it set back on 0 but now today I got an email for a banner that expired 5 days ago? Anyway, I would really appreciate it if you could look into it. Thank you.

[Tri@de]

There's a way to display a banner in a certain date?

[bposner]

I still have this problem with all my sites, the banner does not go to the URL it adds
It keeps doing this


http://www.mustanggenerations.com/forum/www.mustanggenerations.com/forum/rbs_banner.php?id=12&userid=2

[nacaruncr]

I can't do anything to show the banner, I put <!--@vbbanners:0@--> or <!--@vbbanners:0--> in the ad_navbar_below or ad_footer_start and nothing, it doesn't show anyone image, I don't know if I have to put other choise in the code, or what I doing wrong? because I search in the video-tutorial and nothing :S
someone can help me please?

[vantastic]

Great mod. Really easy to use. Thank you.

I have one suggestion though, and that's a dropdown to allow "target" for the url. This would be really neat as some ads are for internal threads, others are for external sites etc.

Currently I'm doing it in the additional text field which is OK, but for ease of use it'd be nice to have this.

Great work otherwise!

[sonic83]

Hello. Thanks for the mod. I rename the folder 'admincp' by 'england2010'. A part of the name of the folder 'admincp' I downloaded renamed 'england2010', do I have to change the name somewhere else?

thank you very much

[ptceuro]

Thanks for the mod!!

[y2ksw]

There's a way to display a banner in a certain date?
Yes, just set the start and end date and time accordingly.

[y2ksw]

I can't do anything to show the banner, I put <!--@vbbanners:0@--> or <!--@vbbanners:0--> in the ad_navbar_below or ad_footer_start and nothing, it doesn't show anyone image, I don't know if I have to put other choise in the code, or what I doing wrong? because I search in the video-tutorial and nothing :S
someone can help me please?
Please have a tiny bit more patience (a few days). A few days ago I got my new publisher code and I'm now testing the new release, which comes with a new set of working demo banners. The old demo banners won't work right now.

[y2ksw]

Great mod. Really easy to use. Thank you.

I have one suggestion though, and that's a dropdown to allow "target" for the url. This would be really neat as some ads are for internal threads, others are for external sites etc.

Currently I'm doing it in the additional text field which is OK, but for ease of use it'd be nice to have this.

Great work otherwise!
I don't see a good way to store landing pages anywhere ... isn't intellisense of your browser good enough?

[y2ksw]

Hello. Thanks for the mod. I rename the folder 'admincp' by 'england2010'. A part of the name of the folder 'admincp' I downloaded renamed 'england2010', do I have to change the name somewhere else?

thank you very much
No, the installation reads the admincp destination from your configuration, thus renaming the package admincp folder should be just fine.

[y2ksw]

I still have this problem with all my sites, the banner does not go to the URL it adds
It keeps doing this


http://www.mustanggenerations.com/forum/www.mustanggenerations.com/forum/rbs_banner.php?id=12&userid=2
For some unknown reason, sometimes $vbulletin->options['bburl'] translates to these or worse combinations. I solved this issue by using a global replacement (styles) where I would translate 'www.mustanggenerations.com/forum/www.mustanggenerations.com/forum/' to 'www.mustanggenerations.com/forum/'.

I believe it has to do with the Friendly URL settings and Canonical URL's, but I'm not sure about it, nor was I able to reproduce the problem.

[Tri@de]

I want to put in header the banner, but i see the header and the banner. Can i select just the banner?

[regd87]

I've installed this and followed all the directions but it's still not showing at my forum. Help?

[vantastic]

I don't see a good way to store landing pages anywhere ... isn't intellisense of your browser good enough?

Sorry maybe I didn't make my suggestion clear. I'll try again.

When setting up an advert, you are prompted for imageurl and url

currently the output is something like:

<a href="http://www.yoursite.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://yoursite.com/image.png" /></a>


The 'target' should be a variable - so that one can select _blank, _self etc.

[sonic83]

No, the installation reads the admincp destination from your configuration, thus renaming the package admincp folder should be just fine.

Thanks for responding. For some reason it does not work. I have version 4.1.10 and reviewing past posts there is only one small mention of this version. They can confirm if it works for 4.1.10?
thanks

[Videx]

Thanks for responding. For some reason it does not work. I have version 4.1.10 and reviewing past posts there is only one small mention of this version. They can confirm if it works for 4.1.10?
thanksThis mod doesn't actually use vb much at all (except for the admincp page), so it works with all versions. Your original question was very confusing and made no sense, having to do with renaming folders or something.

[zackw]

I have a small issue. The script outputs the links in source code with unencoded ampersands.
When viewing source I might see this:

....k.com/rbs_banner.php?id=4&userid=40847"....

But I want to see this:

....k.com/rbs_banner.php?id=4&amp;userid=40847"....

The reason is because it won't validate in W3C. Can someone tell me what adjustment to make in php perhaps so those can be encoded with an htmlentities or something?

Thanks!

[Videx]

The reason is because it won't validate in W3C. Sorry I don't know the answer. But a question: What advantage does validation in W3C give you? I mean, does it work as it is, and if so, why should you want to change it?

[zackw]

Sorry I don't know the answer. But a question: What advantage does validation in W3C give you? I mean, does it work as it is, and if so, why should you want to change it?

Because it's good to follow standards. And when it comes to encoding html entities, it's safer in terms of URL hack attempts and MySQL injections.
It's common and normal practice to always encode URLs. Plus there is the satisfaction of having valid markup.

I imagine it is a very small thing indeed to encode the URL before echoing it, which is why somebody might know what file needs the edit added.

[Paul.]

OK, I'm probably being very thick here.. but I am confuzzled.

addons
upload
product-rbs
Rotating Banner System-EN

The above looks fine.
But when I look in the 'addons' folder, I've no idea where to put the rbs_iframa.php file. :(

Then in the 'upload' folder, I know where to put the details of the 'admincp' folder and the 'includes' folder.. but where do the three other files go? rbs_banner.php - rbs_stats.php - rbs_wrapper

I've read the PDF but don't really understand it when it says place them in the forum home.

[Videx]

1) Don't screw with addons until you have it working. Then if you really need that iframe, go for it.
2) Don't over think it. Just rename 'uploads' to 'forum' (or wherever you have your forum installed), then in an FTP program just drop it on /public_html. Everything will go where it belongs.

[jjdurrant]

I installed and uploaded files but I am not seeing "Advertising" in admincp

[Videx]

I installed and uploaded files but I am not seeing "Advertising" in admincpIt's supposed to be on the left pane just above Styles and Templates (vb4 only). If you can't find it anywhere, you should do some searches at vb.com and try to figure out why it's missing.

[Paul.]

1) Don't screw with addons until you have it working. Then if you really need that iframe, go for it.
2) Don't over think it. Just rename 'uploads' to 'forum' (or wherever you have your forum installed), then in an FTP program just drop it on /public_html. Everything will go where it belongs.

Thanks for this.
So when I go into my folder named 'forum', I just stick the three files there? ( rbs_banner.php - rbs_stats.php - rbs_wrapper )

I've installed odd plugins successfully in the past, but still manage to confuse myself!

Edit: I think I've failed..

I have this error message appearing at the very top of my forum:

Warning: strpos() [function.strpos]: Empty delimiter in [path]\includes\functions.php(7246) : eval()'d code on line 93

[sonic83]

This mod doesn't actually use vb much at all (except for the admincp page), so it works with all versions. Your original question was very confusing and made no sense, having to do with renaming folders or something.



Thanks for your responses.

[Videx]

I have this error message appearing at the very top of my forum:

Warning: strpos() [function.strpos]: Empty delimiter in [path]\includes\functions.php(7246) : eval()'d code on line 93That doesn't sound like an RBS error. But a site search (on 'Empty delimiter') turns up lots of hits here on vb.org and I imagine vb.com also. You're going to have to dig through some of those old threads and see what the problem is.

Yes, those files go in your forum root right next to register.php and forum.php.

[zackw]

Open the XML file.. Look at the 351st line (v2.3.4) there is a line looks like this

$url = $bburl . '/rbs_banner.php?id=' . $rs['id'] . '&userid=' . $rbs_userid;


Change it to

$url = $bburl . '/rbs_banner.php?id=' . $rs['id'] . '&amp;userid=' . $rbs_userid;


And i believe last step is reupload the XML file.

Yes that's what I was looking for! I had searched in all the included files but never looked in the xml itself. I hope this is the only location in code where the URLs are formed or I may have to make this change elsewhere.

Now the developer needs to add this to the source too.

Thanks!

[xtragic]

That video tutorial is horrible. Can someone just make a Youtube vid (with audio) tut for us that are visual?

Also, does this work for 4.1.10/11?

[vantastic]

Also, does this work for 4.1.10/11?

Yep It works on 4.1.11

[webmaster74]

grazzie mille y2ksw!

the mod is just great. I installed it and everybody on my site will love it surely.

I only regret that I can't use specific paramteres with the links, such as rel=nofollow

ciao!

[metalguy639]

You may use the flash wrapper (yes, it loads most images, too) and define a size (both).

Hi what do you mean by this? I want to resize some banners but none of the banners I'm using are flash based. I tried putting the values into the flash banner sizes and nothing happened.

[addamroy]

Awesome I've been using this, so far so good.

Can i ask a question though?

Is there anyway you can make this addon track clicks even if we don't use an image?

I'd assume if we use an image and a link url, the system will generate a unique link for the ad, that when clicked will add a click to the counter. Is there any way you can have the add-on display this link for us on the manage banner screen so we can put this link into the ad text manually?

The reason I say this is because I use this addon to display text ads, and not banners, but would still be able to track clicks on these ads as well, I believe generating the unique URL for us without requiring an image would be awesome.

[Paul.]

Apparently, this add on has closed my forum.

''This service is unavailable''.
I will remove all the uploaded stuff and hopefully it sorts it?
I can not get on the forum to remove or disable the add on.



nvalid SQL:
SELECT *
FROM rbs_banners
WHERE enabled=1
AND startdate<=1334402508
AND enddate>=1334402508
AND IF(forumhome, 0=0, IF(forumids='', 1, FIND_IN_SET('0', forumids)))
AND IF(maximpressions>0, impressions<maximpressions, 1)
AND IF(clicktrack, maxclicks=0 OR (maxclicks>0 AND clicks<maxclicks), 1);

MySQL Error : Table '321forumdb.rbs_banners' doesn't exist
Error Number : 1146
Request Date : Saturday, April 14th 2012 @ 06:21:48 AM
Error Date : Saturday, April 14th 2012 @ 06:21:49 AM
Script : http://www.EDITED.com/forum/blog.php?73-reggienavarro&m=8&y=1989
Referrer :
IP Address : ed.it.ed.it
Username : Unregistered
Classname : vB_Database
MySQL Version :

[addamroy]

Apparently, this add on has closed my forum.

''This service is unavailable''.
I will remove all the uploaded stuff and hopefully it sorts it?
I can not get on the forum to remove or disable the add on.

That's why they say you should backup your database and files prior to installing new modifications :) Just sayin...

Delete the files you uploaded via FTP and delete the tables from your database created by the addon, that's a start.

[addamroy]

I just noticed that the click tracking URL for image banners is not randomized at all.

A user could essentially take this url, and keep refreshing it in their browser over and over to simulate clicks on someone's ad.

If the URL was randomized before it's loaded, you could eliminate this and could cover up the banner id and user id from the URL.

Is this possible?

[Videx]

Apparently, this add on has closed my forum.

''This service is unavailable''.
I will remove all the uploaded stuff and hopefully it sorts it?
I can not get on the forum to remove or disable the add on.Even if some terrible error is preventing the forum from loading, you should still be able to get to the Admin Control Panel as it doesn't display banners.
http://myforum.com/forum/admincp/index.php

[Paul.]

That's why they say you should backup your database and files prior to installing new modifications :) Just sayin...

Delete the files you uploaded via FTP and delete the tables from your database created by the addon, that's a start.
Yes, thanks. They have been removed.
I get confused with the whole backing up thing.. how long does it take and is it difficult?
I didn't get to see the email errors until today when they were sent to me from a different email.

Even if some terrible error is preventing the forum from loading, you should still be able to get to the Admin Control Panel as it doesn't display banners.
http://myforum.com/forum/admincp/index.php
I can not get on to it, but I have a feeling I could before the hosting company did something that took down all three of the forums we have.

I'm not sure why it happened. Pity really!
Just waiting on them to check it now and see what the story is.

[addamroy]

Yes, thanks. They have been removed.
I get confused with the whole backing up thing.. how long does it take and is it difficult?
I didn't get to see the email errors until today when they were sent to me from a different email.



backing up is VERY important. in my opinion if you're a webmaster small or large getting used to creating backups is one of the first things you should learn.

essentially when you do a backup, all you're doing is downloading your website files to your computer, and downloading your website database to your computer.

You can download your site's files/folders via FTP, I use filezilla.

You can download your site's database via your PhpMyAdmin on your sever, select the database associated with your forum and export it.

Hope that helps, there's plenty of info regarding how to do a backup scattered throughout this forum and on the net, get in the habit. Create a folder on your harddrive just for backups and keep a copy of everything you have online, offline. that's just my .02 cents.

[Paul.]

I'll learn that and get in the habit of it.. how long does it take to do, on average?

( in response to the post after this; Sorry @ Videx.. I did actually think of that when I came to check on this thread. My bad!

[Videx]

This is not really the thread to be discussing backup strategies. Do a search here and at vb.com and you'll find a lot of things. On my shared server, I do a full website backup monthly via cpanel, download it overnight, then put it on one of two removable hard drives which are swapped out alternately and one is always kept off-premises.

I backup my db daily using a cron php script, and using DOS batch files I automatically download those every day at noon.

It takes me a minute to log into cpanel, and again to FTP, but averaged out I doubt it comes to a second per day.

[webmaster74]

grazzie mille y2ksw!

the mod is just great. I installed it and everybody on my site will love it surely.

I only regret that I can't use specific paramteres with the links, such as rel=nofollow

ciao!


y2ksw?

What do you think guys?

You don't want to pass all of your PR juice to advertisers, do you?

[Videx]

y2ksw?

What do you think guys?

You don't want to pass all of your PR juice to advertisers, do you?We only have a few paid sponsors at any given moment, and one of the few things we can offer them is to raise their rankings by appearing on our busy site. I sure wouldn't want to try to cut off the search engines from their ads with nofollow.

[webmaster74]

We only have a few paid sponsors at any given moment, and one of the few things we can offer them is to raise their rankings by appearing on our busy site. I sure wouldn't want to try to cut off the search engines from their ads with nofollow.

I respect your opinion Videx but beg to differ.

My advertisers paid to display their banners on my site, and they get that.

I don't want to lose my PR to them by providing them with links on every single page

[webmaster74]

is this mod still supported?

[addamroy]

click tracking doesn't seem to be working.

running 4.0.7

The link redirect works, the impression is counted, however no clicks are shown in the banner statistics.

[Dragonsys]

Here, as an unofficial addon, you get the autorefreshing page (tested). It needs:

- a text editor;
- a refresh time of your choice (see metatag refresh in file, now at 10 seconds);
- a banner location (see placeholder in file, now at position 0);
- at least a banner for that location;
- a global target of a new page aka _blank (RBS options), else you jump into the iframe;
- a template modification for a 468x60 banner:
<iframe src="rbs_iframe.php" align="center" frameborder="0" height="60" width="468" scrolling="no"></iframe>Please note: with smaller banners you get white borders, with larger than the iframe area, they are clipped.

Would it be possible to do this with ajax instead of using an iframe?

[webmaster74]

Here, as an unofficial addon, you get the autorefreshing page (tested). It needs:

- a text editor;
- a refresh time of your choice (see metatag refresh in file, now at 10 seconds);
- a banner location (see placeholder in file, now at position 0);
- at least a banner for that location;
- a global target of a new page aka _blank (RBS options), else you jump into the iframe;
- a template modification for a 468x60 banner:
<iframe src="rbs_iframe.php" align="center" frameborder="0" height="60" width="468" scrolling="no"></iframe>Please note: with smaller banners you get white borders, with larger than the iframe area, they are clipped.

could this be used to add a rel="nofollow" to links??

[djbaxter]

y2ksw?

What do you think guys?

You don't want to pass all of your PR juice to advertisers, do you?

I respect your opinion Videx but beg to differ.

My advertisers paid to display their banners on my site, and they get that.

I don't want to lose my PR to them by providing them with links on every single page

You are laboring under a widespread but nonetheless false understanding of how a page passes PageRank. A link pointing to another page is a "vote" for the destination page and may add PageRank to that destination page. The originating page loses nothing.

The equation for this is:

PR passed = .85 * {PR of originating page} / {total # outgoing links on the originating page, incl. internal navigation links}

Note that using nofollow still counts as an outgoing link in this equation.

[webmaster74]

You are laboring under a widespread but nonetheless false understanding of how a page passes PageRank.



Thank you djbaxter for your kind reply. I appreciate your taking the time to do so.




A link pointing to another page is a "vote" for the destination page and may add PageRank to that destination page. The originating page loses nothing.



That is not what I learned. I?d appreciate it if you could sustain your argument with any solid proof from the horse?s mouth (google in this case)


The equation for this is:
PR passed = .85 * {PR of originating page} / {total # outgoing links on the originating page, incl. internal navigation links}


Dj, such formula, if correct, would not be something that google published. So where does this come from Sir?
I?d appreciate it if you could provide any solid argument on this.

In fact, if that were true, my site should not be at all having any issues with PR because we have literally thousands of back links in facebook group discussions. Facebook as you surely know is a PR9.

My site used to be a PR4 for many years. It recently, in an enigma lost more than half a million of pages in google?s index (as estimated by site:mysite) and dropped to PR2. Despite thousands of back-links on Facebook groups, we are still PR2 and not moving any inch forward. The same can be said about the number of pages in Google index: stable at 150-200K.

Kindly check this where I explain this issue
http://forums.seochat.com/link-popularity-43/google-playing-the-yoyo-and-i-am-losing-customers-457075.html


Note that using nofollow still counts as an outgoing link in this equation.


Sir, if the nofollow has no effect on your PR, why do big sites such as Facebook add target="_blank" rel="nofollow nofollow" to every single external link?

[djbaxter]

That is not what I learned. I?d appreciate it if you could sustain your argument with any solid proof from the horse?s mouth (google in this case)

Sure. Look up the original patent for PageRank. It's in there.

Dj, such formula, if correct, would not be something that google published. So where does this come from Sir? I?d appreciate it if you could provide any solid argument on this.

See the original patent.

In fact, if that were true, my site should not be at all having any issues with PR because we have literally thousands of back links in facebook group discussions. Facebook as you surely know is a PR9.

As you yourself point out below, Facebook links are nofollow so they do not pass PR to you. Besides, there are other factors that may discount whether or how much PR is passed to your page by a link from another site. If you have kept up with Google updates over the years, you would know this.

My site used to be a PR4 for many years. It recently, in an enigma lost more than half a million of pages in google?s index (as estimated by site:mysite) and dropped to PR2. Despite thousands of back-links on Facebook groups, we are still PR2 and not moving any inch forward. The same can be said about the number of pages in Google index: stable at 150-200K.

1. Panda updates.
2. Recent additional updates targeting the value of certain types of links and content.
3. As I said, you yourself point out that those Facebook links are nofollow.

This is not rocket science.

Sir, if the nofollow has no effect on your PR, why do big sites such as Facebook add target="_blank" rel="nofollow nofollow" to every single external link?

Largely as a spam deterrent. And the target=_"blank" part opens the link target in a new browser tab or window. Nothing to do with PR.

[Steve038]

Hi guys, I just installed this mod, and its great! Well done to the creator of it.

Just one question, and I apologise in advance if this has been covered somewhere in the 123 pages of this thread so far, but I figured it'd be faster to just ask here than look through every page for an answer. Is there some code I can add to give me more margin space between my banner and everything around it? I've used it in ad_navbar_below but my banner is really close to some of the page link text above it, where its easy to accidentally click on the ad banner instead of the page link text. Eg, the ad banner sits really close to where I have: "Forum>my website name>General Discussion, and I'd like to move it down the page slightly.

[y2ksw]

Awesome I've been using this, so far so good.

Can i ask a question though?

Is there anyway you can make this addon track clicks even if we don't use an image?

I'd assume if we use an image and a link url, the system will generate a unique link for the ad, that when clicked will add a click to the counter. Is there any way you can have the add-on display this link for us on the manage banner screen so we can put this link into the ad text manually?

The reason I say this is because I use this addon to display text ads, and not banners, but would still be able to track clicks on these ads as well, I believe generating the unique URL for us without requiring an image would be awesome.
You may insert into your text banner the click tracker and refer to the banner id itself. We have talked about it several times here in this thread, last time not too long ago.

[y2ksw]

Hi guys, I just installed this mod, and its great! Well done to the creator of it.

Just one question, and I apologise in advance if this has been covered somewhere in the 123 pages of this thread so far, but I figured it'd be faster to just ask here than look through every page for an answer. Is there some code I can add to give me more margin space between my banner and everything around it? I've used it in ad_navbar_below but my banner is really close to some of the page link text above it, where its easy to accidentally click on the ad banner instead of the page link text. Eg, the ad banner sits really close to where I have: "Forum>my website name>General Discussion, and I'd like to move it down the page slightly.
This is a pure HTML question. You may put a div tag around the placeholder with the necessary margins.

[y2ksw]

You are laboring under a widespread but nonetheless false understanding of how a page passes PageRank. A link pointing to another page is a "vote" for the destination page and may add PageRank to that destination page. The originating page loses nothing.

The equation for this is:

PR passed = .85 * {PR of originating page} / {total # outgoing links on the originating page, incl. internal navigation links}

Note that using nofollow still counts as an outgoing link in this equation.
No matter how hard you try to keep your PR up, it doesn't work any more for already quite some time as it had before, because as far as I know, Google has not renewed their rights on a relative patent held by somebody else.

Also, the "ranking" (i.e. at which position your pages show in searches) is undergoing a lot of changes lately, all of which are favouring real information and penalizing "page rank thiefs".

Under these aspects, follow or nofollow have not a lot of meaning towards ranking, at most it does mean now the real thing: follow or leave that link ;)

[y2ksw]

Dj, such formula, if correct, would not be something that google published. So where does this come from Sir?
I’d appreciate it if you could provide any solid argument on this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PageRank

It is something which in fact was published world-wide by its inventor :)

The formula is far more complex but essentially the incoming page rank was somewhat (0.85 + adjustment) * (1/(# links on a page)). Thus it was a good idea to have very few links on the originating page.

Talking about most forums and sites, they have so many links on a page that looking for a good ranking was simply impossible.

For this reason, I believe Google has abbandoned the "old" ranking formula and now looks for better ways, giving a lot of SEO masters headache. Fortunately, genuine information is the winner, and always was. Thus, if you want to index your site well, produce real information :)

[y2ksw]

y2ksw?

What do you think guys?

You don't want to pass all of your PR juice to advertisers, do you?
The outgoing link is just voting that link.

The page from where you advertise from (originator) will loose a little of ranking, but you would loose it with any kind of link, internal or external. However, since ranking has changed, you should concern more about information. Now, good information adds way more rank, than a number or less of links to another site subtracts from.

[y2ksw]

is this mod still supported?
yes. time permitted

[leitel]

Hello, I have integrated questions2answers with vBulletin at http://www.noblood.org/answers/.

Although I realize Rotating Banner System is designed to run with vB, I am thinking that I can possibly call this mod from q2a. I have already implemented common user login with vB.

I can fish through the RBS code see how/where to wire it up with q2a.

Anyone else gone down this road?

Thank you :)

[y2ksw]

Hello, I have integrated questions2answers with vBulletin at http://www.noblood.org/answers/.

Although I realize Rotating Banner System is designed to run with vB, I am thinking that I can possibly call this mod from q2a. I have already implemented common user login with vB.

I can fish through the RBS code see how/where to wire it up with q2a.

Anyone else gone down this road?

Thank you :)
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?p=2125608#post2125608

Somewhere near to this post this argument was discussed extensively :)

[BadgerDog]

2.4.0 update installed with thanks.... :)

Regards,
Doug

[y2ksw]

Sorry it took so long, but getting a new Google Publisher ID was much more time consuming than expected, and after that I had no time ;)

[addamroy]

You may insert into your text banner the click tracker and refer to the banner id itself. We have talked about it several times here in this thread, last time not too long ago.

I went back 5 pages and couldn't find any instructions on how to do this, not looking forward to going through all 100+ of them.

Maybe add a note in the instructions or in the thread somewhere ;) ?

I did try using just the standard URL with the bannerid in the ad and not the userid and it didn't result in any clicks being tracked. id forumname.com/rbs_banners.php?id=11 will redirect to the proper URL but no clicks are tracked.

Edit - I just found out that clicks don't track if you go straight to the URL in your browser, you have to physically click the link shown via rbs :) lol, thanks. I was testing it by just pasting the URL with the banner ID into my browser and no clicks were showing :/

So will this still work if we change the name of the rbs_banner.php file? Just so I can have a pretty URL at the bottom.

So the links might show something like myforum.com/goodstuff.php?id=26 as the URL instead of myforum.com/rbs_banner.php

[webmaster74]

The outgoing link is just voting that link.

The page from where you advertise from (originator) will loose a little of ranking, but you would loose it with any kind of link, internal or external. However, since ranking has changed, you should concern more about information. Now, good information adds way more rank, than a number or less of links to another site subtracts from.

Ciao y2ksw,

Grazzie Mille for your very kind answers to djbaxter's post and mines. I highly appreciate your feedback and stand corrected.

I can't thank you enough for this great add-on. I believe vbulletin should pay you and adopt it in their core code.

[addamroy]

Just to clarify, you guys are all wrong about the pagerank thing.

If you understood what pagerank actually 'is', you'd have a better understanding of how to properly use nofollow.

Page rank is by definition, simply put, a calculation of the likelihood that a person entering the internet randomly clicking on links will land on any particular site.

The higher the chances of a person entering the internet randomly clicking links will land on your site, the higher your page rank. Go read up on it, go to wikipedia first, if you're unsure of my validity.

Think about it like this, facebook.

The chances of a person entering the internet randomly clicking links landing on facebook is extremly high if not almost guaranteed, which is why facebook has a pagerank of 9 or 10. Same with wikipedia, amazon, ebay, twitter, etc.

A link from pages with high page rank on these sites increases your pagerank because, again simply put, the chances of a person landing on the page your link is on is pretty high, thus making the chances of a user landing on your site higher, thus increasing your page rank.

This is why blasting out hundreds or thousands of those crap forum profile links does not mean you'll necessarily get ANY page rank, because chances are slim to none a person entering the internet randomly clicking links will ever land on your forum profile, therefore passing virtually ZERO pagerank.

So, understanding what pagerank IS... you will not LOSE pagerank by placing external links on your site (this does not decrease the chances of a person landing on your site), however you will PASS pagerank via the links on your site.

Pagerank is distributed EVENLY throughout all DOFOLLOW links on a page, once again simply put, all nofollow does is disallow the passage of pagerank to that site. NOFOLLOW tags eliminate that link from Google's 'graph of the web' thus eliminating it from their calculations when determining the 'chances a user entering the internet randomly clicking on links' will land on your site.

If you put nofollow tags on all the external RBS links, the only upside for YOU is you're distributing a little more pagerank throughout your own site from the page the link is on.

In my opinion, depending on how many external links you have in the first place, I honestly wouldn't worry about it.

[webmaster74]

If you put nofollow tags on all the external RBS links, the only upside for YOU is you're distributing less pagerank throughout your own site from the page the link is on.
thank you addamroy,
exactly, I don't want to distribute / pass my pagerank throughout my site to my advertisers.

[Alan_SP]

So, understanding what pagerank IS... you will not LOSE pagerank by placing external links on your site (this does not decrease the chances of a person landing on your site), however you will PASS pagerank via the links on your site.

Excellent post and very well written. :up:

I agree, page rank in a way isn't important, it is important that we create good content, page rank comes after that. Of course, vBSEO helps a lot, but the most important thing is content, we need to have content that people want and that gives us good PR. PR is measure of success we already achieved, not the measure of success we will achieve in distant (or not so distant) future.

[addamroy]

Quick question, can anyone help me get the banner statistics page for customers to work inside a custom vbulletin page as shown by lynne here? https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=228112

I'd like to put that banner stats page on a forum page. Basically I followed the instructions in that thread and pasted the content of the rbs_stats.php file into the new template but for some reason it breaks the code and won't work.

If anyone could get this to work, probably going to require fanangaling some code around but I'd appreciate it if someone could help me figure it out!

[LuDawgs]

I will gladly pay someone to help me get this mod working. It's precisely what I need, but I can't seem to get my Image ads to appear (or any others).

[LuDawgs]

Got it working! Just awesome stuff. My sponsors are going to love it.

[LuDawgs]

Ok, it's working perfectly fine, but I'm not so confident in the statistics for each banner. I think the impressions are accurate, but the "clicks" are not. I know this because I've clicked a few myself in testing. I have that option enabled. Also, on the rbs_stats.php, the impressions vary slightly from what I see in "Banner List" for one ad. Not a big deal, but accurate reporting would be helpful to be able to show my sponsors.

[Videx]

... accurate reporting would be helpful to be able to show my sponsors.Only if they're naive enough to believe it means anything.

[LuDawgs]

Only if they're naive enough to believe it means anything.

Not sure I follow. Accurate impressions and clicks are of great interest to our sponsors - and in the business I run, that's very important. I'm not running Google Adsense ads...I have targeted sponsors and have ongoing communication and dialogue with the owners of those companies. I can provide them with Google Analytics stats for pageviews/etc....but being able to show them how many times their banners were displayed and also clicked would both be valuable metrics.

[y2ksw]

I went back 5 pages and couldn't find any instructions on how to do this, not looking forward to going through all 100+ of them.

Maybe add a note in the instructions or in the thread somewhere ;) ?

I did try using just the standard URL with the bannerid in the ad and not the userid and it didn't result in any clicks being tracked. id forumname.com/rbs_banners.php?id=11 will redirect to the proper URL but no clicks are tracked.

Edit - I just found out that clicks don't track if you go straight to the URL in your browser, you have to physically click the link shown via rbs :) lol, thanks. I was testing it by just pasting the URL with the banner ID into my browser and no clicks were showing :/

So will this still work if we change the name of the rbs_banner.php file? Just so I can have a pretty URL at the bottom.

So the links might show something like myforum.com/goodstuff.php?id=26 as the URL instead of myforum.com/rbs_banner.php
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?p=2202969&highlight=rbs_banner.php#post2202969

Here is the last post of a series which is showing how to achieve click tracking with text banners :)

And thanks for your post about page ranks. Although I know very well how it works, your information added some aspects explained much better than I ever could do :)


Anf yes, you may rename the rbs_banner.php file and the call, but then you must remember at every upgrade to make these changes.

[y2ksw]

Ok, it's working perfectly fine, but I'm not so confident in the statistics for each banner. I think the impressions are accurate, but the "clicks" are not. I know this because I've clicked a few myself in testing. I have that option enabled. Also, on the rbs_stats.php, the impressions vary slightly from what I see in "Banner List" for one ad. Not a big deal, but accurate reporting would be helpful to be able to show my sponsors.

The statistics are only reliable in the moment you are taking the snapshot. On busy sites all the counting can advance very fast. Also, some data may arrive later due to the nature of queries pushed into the shutdown queue of queries, and some may never arrive if a service doesn't reply in time.

In the end however, the statistics are very reliable, just try it on a test board and watch what it does. At the backend you may monitor the rbs_* tables, too. Under normal circumstances, every click is traced.

[addamroy]

y2k, wanna let me know what the chances are of you looking into this for us?? https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost.php?p=2322484&postcount=1852

I think you missed it :)

[LuDawgs]

I've installed the most recent release. I noticed that if I input a destination URL (for an image), then input the image HTML in the text area, my banners are not clickable. I have to actually input the <a href=" in the text area to have my banners linked. Is that by design? What is the destination URL form used for?

[Videx]

You're overthinking it. The "URL" is where you want someone to go when they click a banner (e.g. http://advertiser.com). The "Image / Flash" is a link to the banner on your site (e.g. "../banners/adbanner.jpg).

[LuDawgs]

You're overthinking it. The "URL" is where you want someone to go when they click a banner (e.g. http://advertiser.com). The "Image / Flash" is a link to the banner on your site (e.g. "../banners/adbanner.jpg).

Ahhhh....ha! Thank you, I'm an idiot.

[y2ksw]

y2k, wanna let me know what the chances are of you looking into this for us?? https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost.php?p=2322484&postcount=1852

I think you missed it :)
Ha! You wanna black magic!

I imagine you are talking about a static HTML page on CMS?

Please try iframe, it's the one ... for example:

<iframe src="url_to_any page" style="border: none; overflow: hidden; width: 100%; height: auto;" >
Please wait while loading ...
</iframe>Please do the styling with somebody else, I just tried to guess right :)

[addamroy]

Ha! You wanna black magic!

I imagine you are talking about a static HTML page on CMS?

Please try iframe, it's the one ... for example:

<iframe src="url_to_any page" style="border: none; overflow: hidden; width: 100%; height: auto;" >
Please wait while loading ...
</iframe>Please do the styling with somebody else, I just tried to guess right :)

Not on CMS, just a static page.

The iframe works but there's no way to show a different iframe automatically when an advertiser wants to view their ad statistics. I need the banner stats file itself to be formatted to match the forum.

In this thread here by Lynne, it teaches you how to create your own custom vbulletin page.
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=228112

So what I tried to do was simply, take the code from the rbs banner stats php file and add it to the template for the custom page. The only problem is for some reason when you copy/paste the code from the original stats file into the template for the custom page it breaks the page, it's not formatted correctly.

Any way you can help me (or us) achieve that?

[Alan_SP]

I think that you need to look into template for that page, not php code.

I don't have RBS installed, so I don't know what template is used, but you need code that is in the template.

[y2ksw]

Not on CMS, just a static page.

The iframe works but there's no way to show a different iframe automatically when an advertiser wants to view their ad statistics. I need the banner stats file itself to be formatted to match the forum.

In this thread here by Lynne, it teaches you how to create your own custom vbulletin page.
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=228112

So what I tried to do was simply, take the code from the rbs banner stats php file and add it to the template for the custom page. The only problem is for some reason when you copy/paste the code from the original stats file into the template for the custom page it breaks the page, it's not formatted correctly.

Any way you can help me (or us) achieve that?
There is no way to "rotate" also the statistics. If you need the forum styles, you also will have to create a plugin with the styles for those pages and compile the recordsets accordingly for your customers. There is no way to guess which pages are going to show to a customer rather than another. It is not in the scope of this project to show custom pages for statistics to individual customers beyond the simple and plain thing. The iframe-d reports may be included in CMS pages and thus gain the forum style in some way, but still, you will have to filter the pages in some way for each customer and I believe this is not too easy.

If this is going to be a request of say 100 paying users of this product, I may think about it. But just for one, I'm sorry, that's too much work for a small looking, but quite complex addition ;)

You may try to modify the statistics page to make it look better. I believe a fairly clever designer may give it a visual boost via CSS ...

[addamroy]

There is no way to "rotate" also the statistics. If you need the forum styles, you also will have to create a plugin with the styles for those pages and compile the recordsets accordingly for your customers. There is no way to guess which pages are going to show to a customer rather than another. It is not in the scope of this project to show custom pages for statistics to individual customers beyond the simple and plain thing. The iframe-d reports may be included in CMS pages and thus gain the forum style in some way, but still, you will have to filter the pages in some way for each customer and I believe this is not too easy.

If this is going to be a request of say 100 paying users of this product, I may think about it. But just for one, I'm sorry, that's too much work for a small looking, but quite complex addition ;)

You may try to modify the statistics page to make it look better. I believe a fairly clever designer may give it a visual boost via CSS ...

Thanks for the reply but I think you're misunderstanding what I'm getting at entirely.

I understand there's no way to rotate the iframe, I'm not trying to do that.

Let me try to explain this better, because I'm pretty sure it's not as much work as you think it is.

All I'm trying to do, is format your statistics page to look like the forum.

The link I provided, is instructions from Lynne on how to create a custom vbulletin page. Read that thread.

So, the custom page is editable via a custom template in the style manager.

You paste the content of your custom page into this template... Which means, ideally you should be able to copy and paste all code from rbs_stats.php into the custom template.

So now your 'custom page' should be doing the same exact thing rbs_stats is doing.

The only problem is the code is not formatted correctly when you paste it into the new template. It might be as simple as removing a couple <?php's and a couple >'s might solve the problem but I'm not sure.

Does that make more sense?

[y2ksw]

Thanks for the reply but I think you're misunderstanding what I'm getting at entirely.

I understand there's no way to rotate the iframe, I'm not trying to do that.

Let me try to explain this better, because I'm pretty sure it's not as much work as you think it is.

All I'm trying to do, is format your statistics page to look like the forum.

The link I provided, is instructions from Lynne on how to create a custom vbulletin page. Read that thread.

So, the custom page is editable via a custom template in the style manager.

You paste the content of your custom page into this template... Which means, ideally you should be able to copy and paste all code from rbs_stats.php into the custom template.

So now your 'custom page' should be doing the same exact thing rbs_stats is doing.

The only problem is the code is not formatted correctly when you paste it into the new template. It might be as simple as removing a couple <?php's and a couple >'s might solve the problem but I'm not sure.

Does that make more sense?
The statistics are made of PHP code and HTML. There is no way to just paste the contents in a new template and hope it will run. It needs coding (and maintaining) on one side, where the maintainment is my concern.

If I had a page I would also have to follow up each time vBulletin updates. As it is now, I can easily forget about it and keep it going from version 3.6.5 onwards with no additional problems.

If you look into rbs_stats.php, you I have already included the basics, because it is a custom page. But it doesn't use templates, because they wouldn't show on 3.x boards ;)

[addamroy]

Ahh I see. Bummer, not as simple as I thought :(

Thanks for putting up with me though.

[webmaster74]

Where do I find information on how to upgrade to the new version ?

I can't find a readme file in the package, and can't find this information here

Enough to disable the product and install the new one ?

do I need to uninstall the product first before upgrading?

[y2ksw]

Where do I find information on how to upgrade to the new version ?

I can't find a readme file in the package, and can't find this information here

Enough to disable the product and install the new one ?

do I need to uninstall the product first before upgrading?
There is a PDF file included which holds all the help and news.

If you have installed the product, you already know how to upgrade: replace all files found in the upload folder and upgrade as any other product (import the product_rbs.xml file and enable upgrade). And yes, it may be a good idea to close a busy forum for a second :)

[webmaster74]

thank you y2ksw

[HKp30]

Great add-on! Just a few things I need to learn. I can't seem to position the banner correctly as I was able to with using just HTML banners.

For example:

<div align="right"/>
<img src= "http://www.test.com/images/misc/text.jpg" style="margin-top: 30px; margin-right: 15px"/>
</div>

Put my image where I needed it in the "ad_global_header 2" template.

However I can't figure out how to ad padding while using "<!--@vbbanners:03@-->", any ideas? I need this add position in a particular spot in "header 2" to not interfere with the log-in area.

[michaelbang]

Can I use all kinds of sizes and formats for my banners? E.g. a square ad?

[rhody401]

Did you try something like this?

<div align="center"><!--@vbbanners:0@--></div><br />

[HKp30]

Did you try something like this?


I did, but it still rides to high in the section and interferes with the log-in. I need to be able to adjust the top and right side padding.

[sonic83]

Hello friends.
A customer has complained that the statistics of Rotating Banner System and Gogle Analytics do not match.

The banner goes on ALL pages (impressions = 530.655) and Google Analytics says were visualized (142.962 pages).:confused:

Attach Photos. Can you help with the explanation?

Thanks

[viper357]

Hello friends.
A customer has complained that the statistics of Rotating Banner System and Gogle Analytics do not match.

The banner goes on ALL pages (impressions = 530.655) and Google Analytics says were visualized (142.962 pages).:confused:

Attach Photos. Can you help with the explanation?

ThanksNo idea if it's all related but maybe because Google does not have access to ALL pages, like PM's and member profiles where the banners are being displayed but not counted by google as google does not have access to those pages. Just a thought.:confused: And I'm sure pageviews and impressions are not related?

[sonic83]

No idea if it's all related but maybe because Google does not have access to ALL pages, like PM's and member profiles where the banners are being displayed but not counted by google as google does not have access to those pages. Just a thought.:confused: And I'm sure pageviews and impressions are not related?

Thank you. I think in theory, pageviews and impressions are the same, but I hope they are not.

Anyone know if they are? Client pressures me :confused:

[Alan_SP]

It depends on many things.

Basically, pageviews are how many times your pages are viewed. Any pages, with any content.

Impressions, from ad's point of view is how many time ad was showed on any of your pages.

So, it is really hard to tell if the two corresponds and how exactlly. You can have one ad showed on all of your pages two times. In that case, you'll have double impressions (for that ad) for pageviews. Or, ad could appear once in every ten pages, so you'll have 1/10 impressions for pageviews...

[sonic83]

It depends on many things.

Basically, pageviews are how many times your pages are viewed. Any pages, with any content.

Impressions, from ad's point of view is how many time ad was showed on any of your pages.

So, it is really hard to tell if the two corresponds and how exactlly. You can have one ad showed on all of your pages two times. In that case, you'll have double impressions (for that ad) for pageviews. Or, ad could appear once in every ten pages, so you'll have 1/10 impressions for pageviews...
Thank you. This placed a banner I have it once in every page. For that reason think that should match.

To you match google analytics and rotating Banner System, for example?

Thanks again

[ohadpartuck]

hi,
I have installed the rotating banner system (https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=188328&highlight=rotating+banner+system) long ago, and the banner worked fine in the forum section -
see here s-maof.com/Forum
but now, for no reason the banners show up in the blog page also
see here - http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/blog.php (http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/blog.php)

how did this happened?

[Ice UK]

I'm using this forum skin http://www.completevb.com/demovb4/forum.php?styleid=85

and as you can see there is a custom advertising space at the top of the skin.

The HTML for this ad space is this

<div class="bannerBox"><a name="top" href="URL" id="BannerBox"><img src="images/styles/twisteddark/style/bannerBox.png" alt="" /></a>


My question is, is there any way to make this custom ad space rotating by adding a hook such as @vbbanners-custom@

Sorry if this has already been answered but I don't have time to go through 126 pages ;)

[FrankP]

I found a weired behaviour of the RBS, and I hope one can help me to figure out what to do.

I want to display a banner after every 5 and 10 Posts of a Thread. So I simply added one Banner Definition for Position2 and another for Position 3 and modified the postbit_legacy as follows:

<vb:if condition="(THIS_SCRIPT == showthread) AND ($post[postcount] == '5')">
<div class="thread_controls">
<div style="width: 100%; text-align: center">
<!--@vbbanners:2@-->
</div>
</div>
</vb:if>
<vb:if condition="(THIS_SCRIPT == showthread) AND ($post[postcount] == '10')">
<div class="thread_controls">
<div style="width: 100%; text-align: center">
<!--@vbbanners:3@-->
</div>
</div>
</vb:if>

In most of the threads the banners are displayed as required. But there are some threads where not, and I have no idea why.

I tried to use the "show only in Forums" setting by selecting all Forums, as well as to select not one, because it's ok to show the banner in all forums.

I don't have a limitation on the usergroups, as all of them should see the banners.

I have absolutely no idea where there could be the difference between two threads in the same forum, where in one thread the banners are displayed and in the other thread not.

Btw., it doesn't matter if a thread has more than one page. If the banner is not displayed on page 1 of a thread, it's not displayed on page 23 of 45 neither. If it's fine on page 1, it's fine on the following pages, too.

Maybe one has an idea.

We're running VB Suite 4.1.11

[FrankP]

I'm wrong,

the way I described is only working on Page 1 of a thread, I want to have it on every page.

Our default "Posts per Page" is hardcoded to 15, and the users can't switch to another value.

Any idea how to modify the postbit_legacy to support what I want?

[FrankP]

UPDATE:

I did it now by using:

<vb:if condition="(THIS_SCRIPT == showthread) AND (in_array($post['postcount'], array(5,20,35,50,65,80,95,110,125,140,155,170,185, 200,215,230,245,260,275,290,30 5,320,335,350,365,380,395,410,425,440,455,470,485, 500,515,530,545,560,575,590,60 5,620,635,650,665,680,695,710,725,740,755,770,785, 800,815,830,845,860,875,890,90 5,920,935,950,965,980,995,1010,1025,1040,1055,1070 ,1085,1100,1115,1130,1145,1160 ,1175,1190,1205,1220,1235,1250,1265,1280,1295,1310 ,1325,1340,1355,1370,1385,1400 ,1415,1430,1445,1460,1475,1490,1505,1520,1535,1550 ,1565,1580,1595,1610,1625,1640 ,1655,1670,1685,1700,1715,1730,1745,1760,1775,1790 ,1805,1820,1835,1850,1865,1880 ,1895,1910,1925,1940,1955,1970,1985,2000,2015,2030 ,2045,2060,2075,2090,2105,2120 ,2135,2150,2165,2180,2195,2210,2225,2240,2255,2270 ,2285,2300,2315,2330,2345,2360 ,2375,2390,2405,2420,2435,2450,2465,2480,2495,2510 ,2525,2540,2555,2570,2585,2600 ,2615,2630,2645,2660,2675,2690,2705,2720,2735,2750 ,2765,2780,2795,2810,2825,2840 ,2855,2870,2885,2900,2915,2930,2945,2960,2975,2990 ,3005,3020,3035,3050,3065,3080 ,3095,3110,3125,3140,3155,3170,3185,3200,3215,3230 ,3245,3260,3275,3290,3305,3320 ,3335,3350,3365,3380,3395,3410,3425,3440,3455,3470 ,3485,3500,3515,3530,3545,3560 ,3575,3590,3605,3620,3635,3650,3665,3680,3695,3710 ,3725,3740)))">
<div class="thread_controls">
<div style="width: 100%; text-align: center">
<!--@vbbanners:2@-->
</div>
</div>
</vb:if>
<vb:if condition="(THIS_SCRIPT == showthread) AND (in_array($post['postcount'], array(10,25,40,55,70,85,100,115,130,145,160,175,19 0,205,220,235,250,265,280,295, 310,325,340,355,370,385,400,415,430,445,460,475,49 0,505,520,535,550,565,580,595, 610,625,640,655,670,685,700,715,730,745,760,775,79 0,805,820,835,850,865,880,895, 910,925,940,955,970,985,1000,1015,1030,1045,1060,1 075,1090,1105,1120,1135,1150,1 165,1180,1195,1210,1225,1240,1255,1270,1285,1300,1 315,1330,1345,1360,1375,1390,1 405,1420,1435,1450,1465,1480,1495,1510,1525,1540,1 555,1570,1585,1600,1615,1630,1 645,1660,1675,1690,1705,1720,1735,1750,1765,1780,1 795,1810,1825,1840,1855,1870,1 885,1900,1915,1930,1945,1960,1975,1990,2005,2020,2 035,2050,2065,2080,2095,2110,2 125,2140,2155,2170,2185,2200,2215,2230,2245,2260,2 275,2290,2305,2320,2335,2350,2 365,2380,2395,2410,2425,2440,2455,2470,2485,2500,2 515,2530,2545,2560,2575,2590,2 605,2620,2635,2650,2665,2680,2695,2710,2725,2740,2 755,2770,2785,2800,2815,2830,2 845,2860,2875,2890,2905,2920,2935,2950,2965,2980,2 995,3010,3025,3040,3055,3070,3 085,3100,3115,3130,3145,3160,3175,3190,3205,3220,3 235,3250,3265,3280,3295,3310,3 325,3340,3355,3370,3385,3400,3415,3430,3445,3460,3 475,3490,3505,3520,3535,3550,3 565,3580,3595,3610,3625,3640,3655,3670,3685,3700,3 715,3730,3745)))">
<div class="thread_controls">
<div style="width: 100%; text-align: center">
<!--@vbbanners:3@-->
</div>
</div>
</vb:if>

This way I'm prepared for threads with up to 250 pages, but this is much more dirty than quick :-)

[Videx]

If I forced my users to use 15 posts per page they would revolt. Or they would just use that add-on that strings pages together. Do you also go to great efforts to force them not to use an adblocker? Because I know if I saw ads every 5 posts I would sure use one.

It seems to me you could have put two ads on each page simply by putting one at the top and one at the bottom, or after the first post. No custom coding required.

[FrankP]

The Issue is we moved from an old Board using SMF, and our contracts with our advertisers are set for a place between post 5 and 6 and between 10 and 11.

We don't want to change the contracts. Probably, to switch from 5 to the top will be accepted, but from 10 to the bottom for sure not....

If our users are using adblockers is not our issue...

[y2ksw]

Thank you. I think in theory, pageviews and impressions are the same, but I hope they are not.

Anyone know if they are? Client pressures me :confused:
No, they aren't. Impressions is the number of times a banner has been shown. The more active banners you have in your database, the less will be the impression count on each, provided they are evenly distributed.

[y2ksw]

hi,
I have installed the rotating banner system (https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=188328&highlight=rotating+banner+system) long ago, and the banner worked fine in the forum section -
see here s-maof.com/Forum (http://s-maof.com/Forum)
but now, for no reason the banners show up in the blog page also
see here - http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/blog.php (http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/blog.php)

how did this happened?
this depends on which template you have changed in order to show the banners. if you change only forumhome and eventually forumdisplay, the banners cannot appear elsewhere. But if you have sidebars, widgets, special templates or use global templates such as header and footer, the banners may appear everywhere.

[y2ksw]

UPDATE:

I did it now by using:

<vb:if condition="(THIS_SCRIPT == showthread) AND (in_array($post['postcount'], array(5,20,35,50,65,80,95,110,125,140,155,170,185, 200,215,230,245,260,275,290,305,320,335,350,365,38 0,395,410,425,440,455,470,485,500,515,530,545,560, 575,590,605,620,635,650,665,680,695,710,725,740,75 5,770,785,800,815,830,845,860,875,890,905,920,935, 950,965,980,995,1010,1025,1040,1055,1070,1085,1100 ,1115,1130,1145,1160,1175,1190,1205,1220,1235,1250 ,1265,1280,1295,1310,1325,1340,1355,1370,1385,1400 ,1415,1430,1445,1460,1475,1490,1505,1520,1535,1550 ,1565,1580,1595,1610,1625,1640,1655,1670,1685,1700 ,1715,1730,1745,1760,1775,1790,1805,1820,1835,1850 ,1865,1880,1895,1910,1925,1940,1955,1970,1985,2000 ,2015,2030,2045,2060,2075,2090,2105,2120,2135,2150 ,2165,2180,2195,2210,2225,2240,2255,2270,2285,2300 ,2315,2330,2345,2360,2375,2390,2405,2420,2435,2450 ,2465,2480,2495,2510,2525,2540,2555,2570,2585,2600 ,2615,2630,2645,2660,2675,2690,2705,2720,2735,2750 ,2765,2780,2795,2810,2825,2840,2855,2870,2885,2900 ,2915,2930,2945,2960,2975,2990,3005,3020,3035,3050 ,3065,3080,3095,3110,3125,3140,3155,3170,3185,3200 ,3215,3230,3245,3260,3275,3290,3305,3320,3335,3350 ,3365,3380,3395,3410,3425,3440,3455,3470,3485,3500 ,3515,3530,3545,3560,3575,3590,3605,3620,3635,3650 ,3665,3680,3695,3710,3725,3740)))">
<div class="thread_controls">
<div style="width: 100%; text-align: center">
<!--@vbbanners:2@-->
</div>
</div>
</vb:if>
<vb:if condition="(THIS_SCRIPT == showthread) AND (in_array($post['postcount'], array(10,25,40,55,70,85,100,115,130,145,160,175,19 0,205,220,235,250,265,280,295,310,325,340,355,370, 385,400,415,430,445,460,475,490,505,520,535,550,56 5,580,595,610,625,640,655,670,685,700,715,730,745, 760,775,790,805,820,835,850,865,880,895,910,925,94 0,955,970,985,1000,1015,1030,1045,1060,1075,1090,1 105,1120,1135,1150,1165,1180,1195,1210,1225,1240,1 255,1270,1285,1300,1315,1330,1345,1360,1375,1390,1 405,1420,1435,1450,1465,1480,1495,1510,1525,1540,1 555,1570,1585,1600,1615,1630,1645,1660,1675,1690,1 705,1720,1735,1750,1765,1780,1795,1810,1825,1840,1 855,1870,1885,1900,1915,1930,1945,1960,1975,1990,2 005,2020,2035,2050,2065,2080,2095,2110,2125,2140,2 155,2170,2185,2200,2215,2230,2245,2260,2275,2290,2 305,2320,2335,2350,2365,2380,2395,2410,2425,2440,2 455,2470,2485,2500,2515,2530,2545,2560,2575,2590,2 605,2620,2635,2650,2665,2680,2695,2710,2725,2740,2 755,2770,2785,2800,2815,2830,2845,2860,2875,2890,2 905,2920,2935,2950,2965,2980,2995,3010,3025,3040,3 055,3070,3085,3100,3115,3130,3145,3160,3175,3190,3 205,3220,3235,3250,3265,3280,3295,3310,3325,3340,3 355,3370,3385,3400,3415,3430,3445,3460,3475,3490,3 505,3520,3535,3550,3565,3580,3595,3610,3625,3640,3 655,3670,3685,3700,3715,3730,3745)))">
<div class="thread_controls">
<div style="width: 100%; text-align: center">
<!--@vbbanners:3@-->
</div>
</div>
</vb:if>

This way I'm prepared for threads with up to 250 pages, but this is much more dirty than quick :-)
If this function works in styles, you may do it much cleaner:
range(10, 5000, 15);

[FrankP]

Unfortunately, the range() function call is not allowed in templates.

Thanks!

[y2ksw]

well you still could use a plugin :D

... actually % (modulo) should work ... thus if (n % 15) == 0 then do something

[Ice UK]

I'm using this forum skin http://www.completevb.com/demovb4/forum.php?styleid=85

and as you can see there is a custom advertising space at the top of the skin.

The HTML for this ad space is this

<div class="bannerBox"><a name="top" href="URL" id="BannerBox"><img src="images/styles/twisteddark/style/bannerBox.png" alt="" /></a>


My question is, is there any way to make this custom ad space rotating by adding a hook such as @vbbanners-custom@

Sorry if this has already been answered but I don't have time to go through 126 pages ;)

Can anybody answer my question?

[y2ksw]

Can anybody answer my question?
Yes we can: you may :)

Like this, maybe? (You need a banner there at location 0):

<div class="bannerBox"><!--@vbbanners:0@--></div>

[valdet]

Hi Giovanni,

Any chance of implementing the thumbnails in banners list ?

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost.php?p=2299933&postcount=1714

[FrankP]

Many thanks to Mystics from vb-germany.com. He gave me the following code for the postbit_legacy and this one is working like a charme:


<vb:if condition="THIS_SCRIPT == 'showthread' AND (($post['postcount'] % 15 == 10) OR $post['postcount'] == 10)">
<div class="thread_controls">
<div style="width: 100%; text-align: center">
<!--@vbbanners:3@-->
</div>
</div>
<vb:elseif condition="THIS_SCRIPT == 'showthread' AND (($post['postcount'] % 15 == 5) OR $post['postcount'] == 5)" />
<div class="thread_controls">
<div style="width: 100%; text-align: center">
<!--@vbbanners:2@-->
</div>
</div>
</vb:if>

[Ice UK]

Yes we can: you may :)

Like this, maybe? (You need a banner there at location 0):

<div class="bannerBox"><!--@vbbanners:0@--></div>

Thank you :up:

[y2ksw]

Hi Giovanni,

Any chance of implementing the thumbnails in banners list ?

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost.php?p=2299933&postcount=1714
Not yet and maybe never. Banner thumbnails are difficult to implement unless resized ... and since paging is not available, it may have a lot of undesired side effects.

[godoveryou]

Then, most probably your eb server can't access the files. Please check the access rights ;)

Hey,

I'm not going to waste a lot of time here...

Let's just say you run a forum that is prone to attracting a lot of hackers, crackers, etc... Do you have a patched file that won't produce the all-too-common to not be addressed error:

Please upload the files that came with the product before installing or upgrading!


If not, fine. If so that would be great.

[y2ksw]

Hey,

I'm not going to waste a lot of time here...

Let's just say you run a forum that is prone to attracting a lot of hackers, crackers, etc... Do you have a patched file that won't produce the all-too-common to not be addressed error:



If not, fine. If so that would be great.
I can't see the point why this message would be a problem of being attractive to hackers. If you like hacking, it should not be a problem to remove the part of installation code from the XML file (see code installation tags). But after all, then you may install half of the product and enjoy driving us mad with problems not coming from the product itself ;)

[godoveryou]

I think you completely misunderstood that. Thanks anyways... I think?

[Videx]

I think you completely misunderstood that. Thanks anyways... I think?I know I couldn't figure out what you were asking, so I was surprised he took a crack at it. You might want to rephrase the question. And be sure to search the thread for the answer first because it's probably already been asked and answered.

[rhody401]

My interpretation is that the original poster was being snarky/demanding because they didn't follow the instructions and received an error that some installation files were missing :)

Hopefully I misunderstood it, too!

The product works exactly as it should, with a clean install and current version(s). There could be a conflict with something else you installed, i suppose.

[delta88]

Can you use multiple position/placeholders for a banner, without making a banner for each position separately?

Using the same placeholder would not work as I could not limit the banner in additional positions

[leftwich86]

I have an issue.

http://realsportslounge.com

How come they are opening in a new window? Any help?

[y2ksw]

I have an issue.

http://realsportslounge.com

How come they are opening in a new window? Any help?
Banners open in a separate window, because in the options the target is set to "_blank" by default. If you leave this field empty, banners will open to the current page.

[y2ksw]

Can you use multiple position/placeholders for a banner, without making a banner for each position separately?

Using the same placeholder would not work as I could not limit the banner in additional positions
There is no such function and never will, because the single banner/location combination is used to rotate banners, and guarantees also no single banner is ever shown more than once in the same page (unless duplicated for the same location).

[godoveryou]

My interpretation is that the original poster was being snarky/demanding because they didn't follow the instructions and received an error that some installation files were missing :)

Hopefully I misunderstood it, too!

The product works exactly as it should, with a clean install and current version(s). There could be a conflict with something else you installed, i suppose.

Yes, you misunderstood it. No harm, no foul on this end. On your end... well I can't help that :) Just know that it wasn't intended to be snarky/cocky/arrogant/etc...

It's a matter of my forum has exploit attacks several times a hour, every hour. Changing permissions is NOT an option, which solves the problem for just about everyone else. I was looking for a file set that didn't require us changing certain requirements set by our server security administrator, such as those permission requirements.

That's all, wasn't trying to pee in anyone's cheerio's.... Sorry if it was taken that way.

FWIW, I'm definitely not the technically minded behind our forum... I'm just the guy that pays the bills :)

All forgiven? If not, well... I really did try :) I'm being sincere when I say the original post and this post are meant with only the best possible intent.

[Videx]

So, a non-technical explanation: It's highly unlikely that those hourly attacks are anything more than bots trying to find an easy way in. Don't worry - as long as you keep vb and the server updated they really aren't too much of a worry.

I don't think "check your access rights" is the same as saying "set all your file permissions to allow yourself to be hacked". In general, vb files should all be 644 and directories 755.

I missed the part where you explained what error(s) you're getting, and where you gave us a link and test login (if required) to look at things. Have you already simply asked your tech people (your host's tech support?)? It's very common for them to set security in such a way that you can't run your own files. When that happens they can set exceptions. If you ask them nicely. :)

[ohadpartuck]

hi,
I am trying to validate my site and getting this error:

general entity "userid" not defined and no default entity
?.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_banner.php?id=1&userid=0" target="_blank"><img src="http?

I am trying to replace it to


?.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_banner.php?id=1&amp;userid=0" target="_blank"><img src="http?

where in the code could I find that? :D

[ohadpartuck]

never mind - I managed - it's in the - dbtech/vbnavtabs/includes/functions.php

[y2ksw]

never mind - I managed - it's in the - dbtech/vbnavtabs/includes/functions.php
I don't think so ... vbtech isn't rbs :)

Please verify after the changes, the banners are still cliccable, since a some servers don't accept "amped" URL's without side effects.

[sadiq6210]

Great mod. Thank you very much

-------------

In next release you may improve this:

In the file (includes/functions_rbs.php)

Replace this:
$url = sprintf('%s/rbs_banner.php?id=%d&userid=%d', $bburl, $rs['id'], $rbs_userid);


With:
$url = sprintf('%s/rbs_banner.php?id=%d&amp;userid=%d', $bburl, $rs['id'], $rbs_userid);



Before:

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=138573&stc=1&d=1337679644



After:

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=138574&stc=1&d=1337679823

:)

[ohadpartuck]

thanks. they are.
you are wright,btw, I changed it in the mods now that I think about it..

[y2ksw]

Yeah ... we have this problem handled for many times, and all I can tell about is, once again: not all web servers accept "amp"-ed & symbols. The unamped version is however handled everywhere and I prefer to have always cliccable banners than rather some not.

[ohadpartuck]

by servers you mean browsers? becasuse if you mean servers I have only one and I am not going to change it any time soon . I think getting rid of the validation errors is a noble enough cause.

[y2ksw]

I mean servers. Since not all are Apache nor IIS, and not all redirect mechanisms work the same way, some of the web servers redirect "amp"-ed URL's to nowhere.

I agree with you, that most servers should by now adhere to the standards, but since the problem has happened in the past and still there are strange things in the wild, you maybe are better off with changing this piece of code yourself ;)

[godoveryou]

So, a non-technical explanation: It's highly unlikely that those hourly attacks are anything more than bots trying to find an easy way in. Don't worry - as long as you keep vb and the server updated they really aren't too much of a worry.

I don't think "check your access rights" is the same as saying "set all your file permissions to allow yourself to be hacked". In general, vb files should all be 644 and directories 755.

I missed the part where you explained what error(s) you're getting, and where you gave us a link and test login (if required) to look at things. Have you already simply asked your tech people (your host's tech support?)? It's very common for them to set security in such a way that you can't run your own files. When that happens they can set exceptions. If you ask them nicely. :)

:)

No not the host's support, we have a dedicated server security admin as SEO forums attract a certain 'type' of web user. As soon as I put it in his hands, he had it running in under 5 minutes. The problem was unique to our server's configuration.

So that just goes to show you that I shouldn't handle these things...

But none the less, I wanted to apologize to anyone that may have been offended or misunderstood my previous posts. Sometimes I type things that end up sounding a lot different than how I meant them, so... I totally take the blame there.

Again, apologies. :)

[sonic83]

No, they aren't. Impressions is the number of times a banner has been shown. The more active banners you have in your database, the less will be the impression count on each, provided they are evenly distributed.
Thanks for the reply y2ksw. But I do not understand exactly the difference CMS to charge for my sponsors:confused:.

I did not understand this part, may explain it a little more?
The more active banners you have in your database, the less will be the impression count on each, provided they are evenly distributed.

thanks

[floridaideal]

Hi

Is there anyway to display all the banners on one page? So say 10 banners list down a page with a space inbetween for example?

For example

Banner 1

Bannner2

Banner3

Banner4

Any ideas if this is possible with a tweek maybe?

Thanks

Stu

[Videx]

A while back, in the context of counting impressions and clicks, I reminded everyone that banner ads are practically useless to sponsors. While most of us old timers know this and understand it, I saw a very interesting article today that reinforces the concept of "banner blindness". Ignore this and keep counting at your peril.

http://www.businessinsider.com/eye-tracking-heatmaps-2012-5?op=1
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/banner-blindness.html

[kamran_dotnet]

anyone test "Rotating Banner System" in vbulletin 4.2 ?

[clauz]

anyone test "Rotating Banner System" in vbulletin 4.2 ?

It is working fine.

[Rckcrwlr]

anyone test "Rotating Banner System" in vbulletin 4.2 ?

Working fine on mine...

[ohadpartuck]

Hi,
My site is here (http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/forum.php)

I have added a banner today. It's the 2nd from the top to the left.
If i click on it after the movie is over (it's without loop), it opens the landing pgae.
If i click on it before the movie is over , it opens the landing page + the swf itself!!
why ??


<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=10,2,0,0" border="0" width="150" height="75"><param name="movie" value="http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_wrapper.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="banner=http://s-maof.com/LandingPages/options/exc150x75.swf&amp;jlink=http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_banner.php?id=16&amp;userid=5&amp;bwidth=150&amp;bheight=7 5"><embed wmode="transparent" src="http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_wrapper.swf" flashvars="banner=http://s-maof.com/LandingPages/options/exc150x75.swf&amp;jlink=http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_banner.php?id=16&amp;userid=5&amp;bwidth=150&amp;bheight=7 5" loop="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/get/flashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="150" height="75"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>

[y2ksw]

Hi,
My site is here (http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/forum.php)

I have added a banner today. It's the 2nd from the top to the left.
If i click on it after the movie is over (it's without loop), it opens the landing pgae.
If i click on it before the movie is over , it opens the landing page + the swf itself!!
why ??


<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=10,2,0,0" border="0" width="150" height="75"><param name="movie" value="http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_wrapper.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="banner=http://s-maof.com/LandingPages/options/exc150x75.swf&amp;jlink=http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_banner.php?id=16&amp;userid=5&amp;bwidth=150&amp;bheight=7 5"><embed wmode="transparent" src="http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_wrapper.swf" flashvars="banner=http://s-maof.com/LandingPages/options/exc150x75.swf&amp;jlink=http://www.s-maof.com/Forum/rbs_banner.php?id=16&amp;userid=5&amp;bwidth=150&amp;bheight=7 5" loop="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/get/flashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="150" height="75"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>

The wrapper does nothing to the banner, it just loads and shows it in a private container. It has proven to work with a large number of banners, but not literally all. There are always masters who break any best rule :p

[y2ksw]

Hi

Is there anyway to display all the banners on one page? So say 10 banners list down a page with a space inbetween for example?

For example

Banner 1

Bannner2

Banner3

Banner4

Any ideas if this is possible with a tweek maybe?

Thanks

Stu
Yes, with N placeholders one below another such as:

<!--@vbbanners:0--><br />
<!--@vbbanners:0--><br />
<!--@vbbanners:0--><br />
<!--@vbbanners:0--><br />
<!--@vbbanners:0--><br />
<!--@vbbanners:0--><br />
<!--@vbbanners:0--><br />
<!--@vbbanners:0--><br />
Where N is the number of the banners you want to show at once. Of course, you need that number of banners on that location, too :)

[y2ksw]

Thanks for the reply y2ksw. But I do not understand exactly the difference CMS to charge for my sponsors:confused:.

I did not understand this part, may explain it a little more?


thanks
The more banners you have for your pages, the more they are split. Say you have 1 page and 100 banners, so each banner will randomly show about every 100th page view and thus count each 1 for 100 page views.

With 10 banners and 1 page each banner will randomly show about every 10th page view and thus count each 10 for 100 page views.

With 1 banner and 1 page the banner will randomly show every page view and thus count each 100 for 100 page views.

Now: with 50 banners and 2.000 pages, how many impressions will each banner have for 1.000.000 page views? :D (sorry, I made it a little more challenging)

[ohadpartuck]

The wrapper does nothing to the banner, it just loads and shows it in a private container. It has proven to work with a large number of banners, but not literally all. There are always masters who break any best rule
didn't quite get the answer. What are you saying? that there is no solution for this problem? my users will have to get the landing AND the enlarge banner when they click on the SWF through 'Rotation banner system'?

[ohadpartuck]

The wrapper does nothing to the banner, it just loads and shows it in a private container. It has proven to work with a large number of banners, but not literally all. There are always masters who break any best rule :p

soo... what do suggest doing?

[y2ksw]

didn't quite get the answer. What are you saying? that there is no solution for this problem? my users will have to get the landing AND the enlarge banner when they click on the SWF through 'Rotation banner system'?

soo... what do suggest doing?

This product is about rotating banners and problems about banners itself are out of scope.

I was trying to help you anyways, suggesting there is something wrong with your flash banner, not with the wrapper, else there would have been hundreds of complaints the past years and I would have removed it probably at all.

Since flash can override anything about browsers, it is also capable to override the wrapper function, in order to do whatever it was designed for. If the flash banner has a weird design and you are unhappy with the wrapper, you still can include the banner without wrapper by simply coding the HTML yourself and setting as if it was a text/script banner.

[cloferba]

I had this plugin installed and working but an admin uninstalled it. Then I installed it again but the banners are not shown.

Could you please tell my why this? I can give you admin details in order to access and help to show them.

Thank you, I appreciate your support :)

[nrms?]

Installed, but after a few hours, I'm noticing an excessive delays when loading a page with this plugin active.

Use version 2.4 and vBulletin 4.1.12 with just a flash banner at the top right side.

What could cause this ...?

[y2ksw]

I had this plugin installed and working but an admin uninstalled it. Then I installed it again but the banners are not shown.

Could you please tell my why this? I can give you admin details in order to access and help to show them.

Thank you, I appreciate your support :)
Maybe there were style changes which have deleted the placeholders.

[y2ksw]

Installed, but after a few hours, I'm noticing an excessive delays when loading a page with this plugin active.

Use version 2.4 and vBulletin 4.1.12 with just a flash banner at the top right side.

What could cause this ...?
Is the banner loaded locally or from a remote site? Does the banner load or access external data? If you use a simple image banner, it still slows down?

[wan4all]

could it be, that this plugin is slowing down my whole vBulletin site?

[y2ksw]

could it be, that this plugin is slowing down my whole vBulletin site?
no.

But it could be very well, you have banners which pull in external data and slow to load. One example could be Google Adsense, which is sometimes less performant on sites with 1000+ unique IP accesses per hour. Another typical example is simply.com, which is de facto very slow even on small sites.

[wan4all]

no.

But it could be very well, you have banners which pull in external data and slow to load. One example could be Google Adsense, which is sometimes less performant on sites with 1000+ unique IP accesses per hour. Another typical example is simply.com, which is de facto very slow even on small sites.

Thanks for your swift reply. I will start also updating because my version is still. 2.3.2 Are there any consequences / concerns or is an upgrade a piece of cake?

[Reef Man]

Maybe there were style changes which have deleted the placeholders.

No. Not changed, they are still there. We tried unninstalling and installing it again and not results.

Any idea?

[nrms?]

Is the banner loaded locally or from a remote site? Does the banner load or access external data? If you use a simple image banner, it still slows down?
All banners are housed in locally, but I think I've managed to solve it was a banner in flash and always carried with it rbs_wrapper.swf, changed and apparently decided ... Let's see the behavior from now on ...

Anyway, congratulations to the author of this Mod...

[gazza2008]

I am getting no where with this

if someone can install for me thagt be great

gaz

[Palmcone]

Marked as installed.

Documentation is better than a lot of others but had to do trial and error for some things to figure them out.

Thanks for the mod.

[y2ksw]

No. Not changed, they are still there. We tried unninstalling and installing it again and not results.

Any idea?
have the banners expired?

[y2ksw]

I am getting no where with this

if someone can install for me thagt be great

gaz
please send me via PM the credentials for and admin account and eventually an FTP account, if you haven't uploaded the files yet (I prefer not to do this part)

[y2ksw]

Marked as installed.

Documentation is better than a lot of others but had to do trial and error for some things to figure them out.

Thanks for the mod.
You may contribute by telling us what you had to try and how you solved it. :)

[Samsine]

I've installed vB at localhost and I can see all banners.
vB: 4.2.0
PHP: 5.3.8
without vBSEO

The liveforum does not display a banner.
vB 4.2.0
PHP: 5.3.13
with vBSEO

The templatecode:
<div class="c2"><!--@vbbanners:1@--></div>


The HTML-Code from localhost:
<div class="c2" align="center"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://localhost/taf/rbs_banner.php?id=3&userid=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://localhost/taf/images/werbe/taf_ad_banner.png" border="0" alt="Free pos 2" width="128" height="70" /></a>


and the HTML-Code from my liveforum:
<div class="c2" align="center"></div>


What's the problem?

Is there a user with installed vbseo and can confirm the error?
Or is the PHP version the problem?
I don't no ...

The deactivated Plug-in- / Hook-System show me no result.


Regards
Samsine

[y2ksw]

I've installed vB at localhost and I can see all banners.
vB: 4.2.0
PHP: 5.3.8
without vBSEO

The liveforum does not display a banner.
vB 4.2.0
PHP: 5.3.13
with vBSEO

The templatecode:
<div class="c2"><!--@vbbanners:1@--></div>
The HTML-Code from localhost:
<div class="c2" align="center"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://localhost/taf/rbs_banner.php?id=3&userid=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://localhost/taf/images/werbe/taf_ad_banner.png" border="0" alt="Free pos 2" width="128" height="70" /></a>
and the HTML-Code from my liveforum:
<div class="c2" align="center"></div>
What's the problem?

Is there a user with installed vbseo and can confirm the error?
Or is the PHP version the problem?
I don't no ...

The deactivated Plug-in- / Hook-System show me no result.


Regards
Samsine
As told in the help file, if you have vbSEO active and its HTML optimisation, you will have to change the placeholder in the options. Since vbSEO may remove HTML comments, it also will remove the banner placeholders.

[Samsine]

Hello,

I've read the help file, but it does not work ;)
Do you have any idea how the problem can be solved?


The templatecode
<div class="c2">@vbbanners:1@</div>


Rotating Banner System Options
@vbbanners:%d@


The HTML-Code from my liveforum
<div class="c2"></div>


Regards
Samsine

[Samsine]

ok, the banner will run.
The date and time were not saved as I had set it.

Regards
Samsine

[Reef Man]

have the banners expired?

Nop, no of them are expired.

[y2ksw]

ok, the banner will run.
The date and time were not saved as I had set it.

Regards
Samsine
Right. This is one of the most frequent problems, glad you worked it out :)

[y2ksw]

Nop, no of them are expired.
please send me via PM the credentials for an admin account (+ url) in order to look into the problem. I'm pretty much sure something insignificant was just overseen :)

[dog-tag]

I'm totally exhausted trying to fix this...

My ads won't show at all, even though they work fine with VB adverts feature.

Can someone run over what exact code should be inserted into the ad_navbar_below

For example this <!--@vbbanners:%d@--> is my banner options.
If I place the above code into it, it won't work.

If I place any of the above variations it also won't work. (I've read back about 20 pages now)

FYI - I'm in the middle of an argument here with GF over why my hair has been torn out over our bed sheets.... im serious too.

The tutorials are all very nice looking, and time has been put into them, but at the end of the day I've watched and read everything and man I am clueless as to what is going wrong.

I'm on 4.2.0 by the way. And thanks for any replies to my question... now back to arguing with my gf.

[Alan_SP]

This could be something very simple you overlooked. But, on the other hand, it could be very complex why it doesn't work. Just saying that it don't work couldn't give any clue.

You should say what you did, from installing this mod, settings you used, code you used for your banner etc. You mention that you placed banner code that will be replaced with actual banner. Well, this is just one step in successfully using this mod and one that is at the very end of installation process.

My best bet is that you go from the beginning, upload all files, install product, check all settings etc.

[dog-tag]

Hi :)

I have tried many different ways.. here is one example of using HTML with images from an external site -

<center><a href="http://www.afas.org/"><img src="http://imgur.com/osde8.jpg" /></a></CENTER>


It's not a case of what have I not done, it's more a case of what I haven't.

I'm focusing on this side of the problem, but I have tried them all (my site caches fine BTW)

In order to catch all possible errors, please make sure, your placeholder in the options looks
like <!--@vbbanners:%d@--> or like @vbbanners:%d@ (if you have vbSEO or other software
which cleans HTML). It may have any other combination of characters, as long as a %d
appears inside. %d is replaced with numbers between 0 and 9 at runtime.

vbSEO or HTML cleaning software users:
vBulletin Options - Rotating Banner System Options - Nth Placeholder: @vbbanners:%d@

All other users:
vBulletin Options - Rotating Banner System Options - Nth Placeholder: <!--@vbbanners:%d@-->

(2)
Now put a:
vbSEO or HTML cleaning software users:
<div align="center">@vbbanners:0@</div>
<div align="center">@vbbanners:1@</div>

All other users:
<div align="center"><!--@vbbanners:0@--></div>
<div align="center"><!--@vbbanners:1@--></div>
in the template: ad_navbar_below


(3)
and enable the default banners, moving the second banner to position 1. Both banners should
appear, one below the other.
---
On a standard installation, this combination of settings works 100% guaranteed on 4.x. I
have set it up once again from scratch just to be sure. If it doesn't work for you, I'll install a
test board with these settings on, in order to demonstrate the facts.

Possible issues:

- You are using a style which does not implement ad_navbar_below, or which comments out
that template. In this case, no banner appears.

- Your system caches pages (e.g. Apache mod_cache). Unless you refresh the page
explicitly, the banners don't seem to rotate or won't even appear. 24 / 25

- Your vBulletin Options - Rotating Banner System Options - Nth Placeholder is setup like:
<!--@vbbanners:0@--> or @vbbanners:0@. In this case, only banners at location 0 appear.
You should have set: <!--@vbbanners:%d@--> or @vbbanners:%d@ instead.

[y2ksw]

I'm totally exhausted trying to fix this...

My ads won't show at all, even though they work fine with VB adverts feature.

Can someone run over what exact code should be inserted into the ad_navbar_below

For example this <!--@vbbanners:%d@--> is my banner options.
If I place the above code into it, it won't work.

If I place any of the above variations it also won't work. (I've read back about 20 pages now)

FYI - I'm in the middle of an argument here with GF over why my hair has been torn out over our bed sheets.... im serious too.

The tutorials are all very nice looking, and time has been put into them, but at the end of the day I've watched and read everything and man I am clueless as to what is going wrong.

I'm on 4.2.0 by the way. And thanks for any replies to my question... now back to arguing with my gf.
You could watch the movie (very first post), or the quick starter help (included PDF), to exhaust less :)
make sure you have a banner. if you deleted the default banners, reinstall the product and keep them; after testing, disable them
don't change options unless you have to
use <!--@vbbanners:0@--> in your templates unless you have banners at other locations and unless you haven't changed the options
use the placeholder in a template where you can see it at once, decide later where to put it definitively
change banners after you have made sure they actually do show up
verify changes
please think simple ;) ... most of the fuzz arises when hurry comes in and no reading of the included help and believing everything must work in a way you already know ...

[salvador21]

For example this <!--@vbbanners:%d@--> is my banner options.
If I place the above code into it, it won't work.


It won't, you need to replace %d with a banner location (0 - 9)

e.g. you replace the %d with 0 and place that code in an ad position (either in Options:>manage ads or in an ad position template)

Then you go the RBS control panel in the Admin options menu, click on manage banners and create a banner (New).

Choose position 0
In the text box you put either Google adsense code, an html link top your banner, or just plain text if that's what you want to appear

Do the same for any of the other possible positions (1 - 9)

[dog-tag]

Hey guys, thanks a million for your tips, I wish I had all that info ages ago.

I un-installed it, and used this one here instead - VSA flash image banner (https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=236174&highlight=banner)

When I setup the new one just today, I spotted what I did wrong. It was SO stupid, but the hurry really ruined my head....

OK here is the embarrassing thing I did. When setting usergroups for the adverts to show, I viewed all my usergroups. Seen "admin" was #1 and set it that only #1 can see it. Looking back, admin is actually #6, and instead I was showing adverts to users who were not logged in.

I seen #1, but it really meant that was that amount of users who were admins. Feeling damn stupid now, I'm usually good with these things! I was so sure of myself too.

Thanks very much for clearing this up for me and others Salvador21 and Y2ksw :)

[y2ksw]

No problem, I felt you were in kind of a hurry :)

[rgreene1971]

I have attempted to use the default banner ad system in vb4 and found if I have a shoutbox installed teh banner system conflicts with it. Will this banner system work with shoutbox mods such as vsa's shoutbox? The problem I had run into is when I placed an ad below the navbar, any person who clicked to use the shoutbox would be taken to the ad.

[y2ksw]

I have attempted to use the default banner ad system in vb4 and found if I have a shoutbox installed teh banner system conflicts with it. Will this banner system work with shoutbox mods such as vsa's shoutbox? The problem I had run into is when I placed an ad below the navbar, any person who clicked to use the shoutbox would be taken to the ad.
The shoutbox hooks into the templates and makes some changes I guess. Maybe you will have to choose another template for the banners, or make sure that there are no template conflicts. Most probably you will run fine inserting the banner just a line below, using <br /> or something alike. I do have forums with shoutbox and banners and there were never problems.

[rgreene1971]

The shoutbox hooks into the templates and makes some changes I guess. Maybe you will have to choose another template for the banners, or make sure that there are no template conflicts. Most probably you will run fine inserting the banner just a line below, using <br /> or something alike. I do have forums with shoutbox and banners and there were never problems.


Thank you, I will be on the lookout for a new template for my site.

[killerford]

Just wondering if this is working for 4.2?

[rhody401]

It works like a champ with 4.2 pl2

[axix20xx]

Thanks for this mod
Is it possible to MOD look only for one usergroup permission?
do you have any idea?

[dsantana]

Is it possible to place ads in a forum sidebar block?
See image...

[princesspepper]

Is it possible to place ads in a forum sidebar block?
See image...

Yes. you can place them anywhere.

[princesspepper]

What would be REALLY useful for me is if you could specify a username to associate with each ad, and then that username would be associated with a particular usergroup, such as 'sponsors' or 'advertisers'.

I have a section where only advertisers can post, to announce offers, or post updates and it's a pain to have to remember to put them in or take them out of this group when the ads expire.

[y2ksw]

What would be REALLY useful for me is if you could specify a username to associate with each ad, and then that username would be associated with a particular usergroup, such as 'sponsors' or 'advertisers'.

I have a section where only advertisers can post, to announce offers, or post updates and it's a pain to have to remember to put them in or take them out of this group when the ads expire.
This feature makes sense only for a fully driven ad management. You may however think about the "notes" field together with the final date/time and/or enabled flag, and some home-brewed cronjob which may solve this problem just for you.

[dsantana]

Yes. you can place them anywhere.

Awesome!!! Can you give me a little more info on "How to" do this please?

[J709AB9E5C42]

I am having trouble with it only rotating the first three ads on the main forum page, then showing all ads when I go into a forum, then only showing the first three ad banners on the actual thread pages, why is this happening? I've reinstalled it too, I'm running vbulletin 4.2 L2 and rotating banner 2.4.0
www.fordgtalley.com

[y2ksw]

I am having trouble with it only rotating the first three ads on the main forum page, then showing all ads when I go into a forum, then only showing the first three ad banners on the actual thread pages, why is this happening? I've reinstalled it too, I'm running vbulletin 4.2 L2 and rotating banner 2.4.0
www.fordgtalley.com (http://www.fordgtalley.com)
I'm not sure if I understood your question. On the other hand, I see you have banners all over the place ... if there are problems, maybe we rather handle each single instance than all together ... :)
What should happen in forum home, and what happens instead?
What should happen in the forum sections, and what happens instead?
What should happen in the threads, and what happens instead?

[Nelson58]

I just started using your mod and have a simple question.

Do I have to put the vbb code in the advertising section in the cpanel for each location I want to have an ad?

How then can ads be placed anywhere, if I am limited to the positions in the Advertising function?

Thanks in advance!

Nelson

[y2ksw]

I just started using your mod and have a simple question.

Do I have to put the vbb code in the advertising section in the cpanel for each location I want to have an ad?

How then can ads be placed anywhere, if I am limited to the positions in the Advertising function?


Thanks in advance!

Nelson
cpanel isn't vbulletin :)

In Admin CP of vbulletin you will have to add one or more new banners into one or more locations as you wish. Normally you would just occupy location 0 for all banners and put one or more <!--@vbbanners:0@--> at any template you wish, even into CMS widgets or forum blocks. If you have for example the need to show specific banners in your signature, or if you wish to show a page peel, then you would use a different location and a different placeholder, e.g. for location 8: <!--@vbbanners:8@-->.

[ComoEstaEso-com]

Hello,

Question:
Is there a way to have a specific banner not display on a specific CMS/article page?

I am interested in displaying all our rotating banners everywhere on the site, yet there's one Article, where I would like not to display 1 specific banner, yet display the others.

Is there a way?

Thank you!

[SimonB]

Is there any way to weight an ad using this mod? For example if one wants an ad to be 5 times more likely to show up than another, how would one do this (other than the obvious and duplicate the ad 5 times :rolleyes:)

[dsantana]

I'm still looking for specific instructions on how to put ads in a sidebar block?

[SimonB]

I'm still looking for specific instructions on how to put ads in a sidebar block?

Create a new HTML block and put the ad code in there as previously instructed

[dsantana]

Create a new HTML block and put the ad code in there as previously instructed

I've obviously missed this post. I read back to where I first asked the question and still didn't see the answer.

Where would I get the "ad code" from?

[Videx]

I've obviously missed this post. I read back to where I first asked the question and still didn't see the answer.

Where would I get the "ad code" from?The code is given in the instructions. But don't start with it; instead, create a simple .jpg the size you want and make sure that shows up correctly where you want it. Then you can use the RBS code in place of it.

[y2ksw]

Hello,

Question:
Is there a way to have a specific banner not display on a specific CMS/article page?


I am interested in displaying all our rotating banners everywhere on the site, yet there's one Article, where I would like not to display 1 specific banner, yet display the others.

Is there a way?

Thank you!
You may try a style condition based on the article ID and use 2 different locations, where one banner set has all and the other set all but one of the banners. Based off the article ID, you then show the one or the other location.

[y2ksw]

Is there any way to weight an ad using this mod? For example if one wants an ad to be 5 times more likely to show up than another, how would one do this (other than the obvious and duplicate the ad 5 times :rolleyes:)
Do the obvious :)

[y2ksw]

I'm still looking for specific instructions on how to put ads in a sidebar block?

Create a new HTML block and put the ad code in there as previously instructed

Sample code:
<!--@vbbanners:0@-->

[SimonB]

Do the obvious :)

I was hoping you wouldn't say that... just makes reporting on that ad a tad more difficult I guess. Perhaps something to consider for a future version?

Now if I can try work out why the ad wont show up in my "Below Navbar" position but it works in all my other custom positions...

[y2ksw]

I was hoping you wouldn't say that... just makes reporting on that ad a tad more difficult I guess. Perhaps something to consider for a future version?

Now if I can try work out why the ad wont show up in my "Below Navbar" position but it works in all my other custom positions...
The weight calculations would add far too much overhead on loading, since it would need to query also the impression history each time, and also the start and end dates, and, and, and ... trust me, you would not like this plugin any more after you got proper weight handling :)

If we would work around this history, making it just "more probable" to show up, we would run in a new bunch of problems, such as showing weighted banners too often. The only weighting we have been playing with for a while, was the favouring of new banners until they have somewhat levelled compared to the old banners, but even this method was then abbandoned.

---

Most banner problems are due to a wrong time frame, spelling errors and/or too restrictive additional rules ;)

[SimonB]

The weight calculations would add far too much overhead on loading, since it would need to query also the impression history each time, and also the start and end dates, and, and, and ... trust me, you would not like this plugin any more after you got proper weight handling :)

If we would work around this history, making it just "more probable" to show up, we would run in a new bunch of problems, such as showing weighted banners too often. The only weighting we have been playing with for a while, was the favouring of new banners until they have somewhat levelled compared to the old banners, but even this method was then abbandoned.


Not sure if it needs to be too complex, just basing the ad placement on probabilities. If one's site carries enough traffic and it has a decent "randomiser" the probabilities should work out in the end.

I use Advertisment Management (http://lithiumstudios.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=1132) on my phpBB site (which is being migrated to vBulletin, hence the "need") and it works pretty well.

PS, the missing banner seemed to be a problem with the vbulletin ad side - just deleted the ad and created a new one.

[y2ksw]

Not sure if it needs to be too complex, just basing the ad placement on probabilities. If one's site carries enough traffic and it has a decent "randomiser" the probabilities should work out in the end.

I use Advertisment Management (http://lithiumstudios.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=1132) on my phpBB site (which is being migrated to vBulletin, hence the "need") and it works pretty well.

PS, the missing banner seemed to be a problem with the vbulletin ad side - just deleted the ad and created a new one.
I understand perfectly well, but I would not like to make this product work like a full driven advertising management. For that, much more work has to be done, it's just not only banners weight, but also reports, graphics, payment, channels, customers, providers, resellers, Google integration + 100 other small and big features :)

[Nelson58]

<font size="3">What do you guys use to create the banner ads for your sites?

I want to use this modification to rotate banners that I create for users that write excellent articles for my site. A banner such as "Project of the Month Winner John Smith" is what I want to create.

How do you guys create these types of banners?

Thanks!!

Nelson</font>

[FannBlade]

What do you guys use to create the banner ads for your sites?

I want to use this modification to rotate banners that I create for users that write excellent articles for my site. A banner such as "Project of the Month Winner John Smith" is what I want to create.

How do you guys create these types of banners?

Thanks!!


Nelson
I've been using Laughingbird's logo creator for years now and work great for those quick little banners and logos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XYaLuPFa-I

[Videx]

We just use Photoshop or whatever other graphics app is handy. No special software required. My biggest problem is creativity. It's not easy to keep coming up with brand new designs. Especially ones that fit in with all of our styles.

[Nelson58]

We just use Photoshop or whatever other graphics app is handy. No special software required. My biggest problem is creativity. It's not easy to keep coming up with brand new designs. Especially ones that fit in with all of our styles.

I assume you simply store them in the images file on your site and point the rotating ad mod to that URL.


Nelson

[Videx]

I assume you simply store them in the images file on your site and point the rotating ad mod to that URL.


NelsonYes, is there any other way?

[Breixo]

Working on 4.1.12, it takes some time to learn how to use it but it's well documented.

Thanks!

[J709AB9E5C42]

I'm not sure if I understood your question. On the other hand, I see you have banners all over the place ... if there are problems, maybe we rather handle each single instance than all together ... :)
What should happen in forum home, and what happens instead?
What should happen in the forum sections, and what happens instead?
What should happen in the threads, and what happens instead?

It's taken me a while to get back to the site, but I'm still having trouble.

So I found that little box in settings that says to show only on homepage... I unchecked that so that all the banners should be rotating evenly throughout the site. NOW the problem I have is that NONE of the banners are showing up on the homepage! How do I get the banners to show up on the homepage? I've selected ALL the forum selections in the Forum options of the settings. Thanks! (the banner area I'm referencing is the top main header area)
www.fordgtalley.com

[tamiyausa]

Ok I have a weird one.

VB4.2
VBadvanced CMPS

Banners show
But you can not click on them? Yes there is a link in the "URL" spot.

Any ideas?

[rhody401]

I have noticed a small one too, in the past several versions:

The start and end dates fields... The times will change sometimes, after you save them.

Set it, save it, go back and check and it has different times.

I always assumed it had to do with me and my server being in different time zones - or something of that sort.

Has anyone else seen this behavior?

[y2ksw]

Yes, is there any other way?
You may also hotlink banners from other sites and link them to your landing pages :D

[y2ksw]

It's taken me a while to get back to the site, but I'm still having trouble.

So I found that little box in settings that says to show only on homepage... I unchecked that so that all the banners should be rotating evenly throughout the site. NOW the problem I have is that NONE of the banners are showing up on the homepage! How do I get the banners to show up on the homepage? I've selected ALL the forum selections in the Forum options of the settings. Thanks! (the banner area I'm referencing is the top main header area)
www.fordgtalley.com (http://www.fordgtalley.com)

To show a banner on all pages, deselect the "Home" option and also don't select any of the sections; this is the default for new banners.
To show a banner on home and pages which have no section (PM, profile etc), select the "Home" option and don't select any of the sections.
To show the banner in one or more sections but the home, deselect the "Home" option and select the desired sections and subsections (they don't propagate permissions).
To show the banner in one or more sections and the home, you need to create one banner for the home and one for the sections.Hope this helps :)

[y2ksw]

I have noticed a small one too, in the past several versions:

The start and end dates fields... The times will change sometimes, after you save them.

Set it, save it, go back and check and it has different times.

I always assumed it had to do with me and my server being in different time zones - or something of that sort.

Has anyone else seen this behavior?
It is a server issue. If the time zone of the MySQL server isn't the same as the server's timezone, there may be a time shift for one or more hours each time you save. The problem goes usually away when synching time with NTP once and then on all servers.