I guess all good things must come to an end.

Too bad I liked this site.

Pretty crass. I enjoy the site and don't really like the ad-domination. I understand the need for ads to support the site, but this just looks terrible. Your site had a nice clean look to it; now the background looks like some kid's overly busy myspace page. Stick with the unobtrusive ads on the side.

jeff h's comment is adorable in all its pouty-ness...
i say as long as the content remains the same, all's fair. you won't lost my readership so long as you continue to provide interesting things to read. simple as that - unless i suddenly start lusting after a mini... then i'll begin questioning the insidious ads on this page.

I don't mind the mini in the banner image or even the ad in the sidebar. But who in their right mind thought that the tiled background image would be appealing? The background wouldn't be so bad if only there were some whitespace between the logos.

Just a suggestion but how about trying a more subtle ad-based revenue system like google adsense?

ads are fine, i would rather have a floating flash image than a tiles mini cooper background.

what might be more effective for you guys would make a 50% transparent background and make the tiles 5x as large. that way it won't be so hard to read this site. It really really hurts my eyes right now.

Hi Lucas,

Thanks for the comment. We do use Google Adsense. It's ok but it bring in very little money. Advertisers pay very little money to advertise through Google and on top of that Google takes a big cut. So, Adsense isn't really a solution we can use to pay the bills.

Thanks everyone else as well for your feedback. We're going to look at modifying the background so that it doesn't remind everyone of myspace.

I'm with KJ. Keep the content cool, and all's good. I usually just follow the RSS feed anyhow.

Yeah. Don't worry. There's a definite separation between church and state. Advertisers have absolutely no influence on the editorial on this site.

Thank goodness for RSS :)

If advertisers did have influence on this site, maybe you guys might ever form an opinion or make a stand or say something interesting about anything.

The mini in the banner shot in gastown is sort of cute and when i scroll down i don't have to see it anymore.

The 101.5 mini logos that are staring at me the entire time i'm here make me want to shoot myself.

At least with the annoying popup ads that are trendy right now, such as the heinikin one that's often found over there at the straight, I can quickly click it off and it disappears. This background is just obnoxious and inescapable.

I suppose ultimately I should thank you though because I'll take the other commentors' suggestion and finally figure out this RSS deally. Interweb 2.0 here I come.

Tiled side bars make me dizzey! Also Booooo on the parking job of my favorite beer spot! It looks like Kits now.

Tiled side bars make me dizzey! Also Booooo on the parking job in front of my favorite beer spot! It looks like Kits now.

I understand the concept, but horrible execution. Mainly, it is the background that makes this scream MySpace. Content is only as good as you present it, and BR just took a step down.

Funny, funny, silly, baby, Dickerson, who I note always posts a 'I hate this site' comment and yet seems unable to stay away.

As for the ads, a necessary evil, I'm sure. Can I also just say that the quality of writing on the site has generally improved quite a bit since you started, whilst still retaining a refreshingly alternative feel. I hope that with the revenue from ads does not come any kind of dumbing down.

I want a mini cooper! How much do they cost? Oh, wait, I don't even have a license.

The logos are too small and un-aesthetically pleasing. They detract from the site. Perhaps a larger watermark in the background would work better and be less hard on the eyes.

"During our discussions we made sure that whatever we came up with it would not negatively impact your experience on the site."

We weren't exactly sure how the background image would look until we implemented. But our hearts were in the right place. Seriously, we surf the web too and hate annoying advertising just as much as everyone else. So we were really trying to do something that wouldn't piss people off. Anyway, such is the reason for an open forum like this where we can learn from our mistakes and incorporate your feedback.

my eyes are burning with this new background.

You goofballs. Don't like the background? Turn it off! Plug http://www.beyondrobson.com/template_include/miniad.jpg in to your FireFox adblock filter and it's a done deal!

Of course, folks who read the site's posts through RSS subscriptions don't get any ads -- not even Google's texty ones! (Personally I think it's a big loss of potential revenue, but I'm not going to complain.)

All the same, host more text and fewer graphics and your bandwidth needs should be down to bus fare. Running your site need only be as expensive as you choose to make it!

That banner ad is a confusing cut&paste of Gastown - Six Acres isn't where it should be!

I don't mind the banner at the top. I liked that it changed from the usual skytrain station. Although not a fan of advertising, I understand the reasons behind it. I find the click-able background pretty annoying.

I would rather prefer the banner the wallpaper makes this site look rather ... cheap than the previous elegant clean chic look

I also use RSS most of the time, but you need to visit the site to view longer articles and post/read comments.

Get rid of the Mini background and I could live with the advertising.

Ditto what everyone else says. The banner image is OK; almost cute. You could even ask each advertiser (if you get others similar) to place their product in some Vancouver scene. Could give rise to some inventive images.

But the background images: ugh. ugh. ugh. Really!

now that a car company is paying the bills, does this mean less anti-car, let's bike, anti-iraq and stop global warming posts? or does the shit ad simply make those posters hypocrites?

I agree, the background hurts my eyes. Keep the banner at the top but please get rid of the background. (Or at least start posting full articles in the rss feed so I don't need to come back here ;)

My first thought was "is it April Fool's Day already?" Because this seems like the sort of crazy thing you do on April 1 to rile everybody up and then laugh at them when they fall for it.

I think it's a bit over the top, especially the background. One or two ads might be less obnoxious, but all three is just too much. This site isn't ABOUT the Mini, after all.

Guess I'll stick to reading through RSS.

maybe if all the people who enjoy this site so much considered donating a few dollars, br wouldn't need to advertise...

the entire thing looks like one big ad. and all the little ads in the big ad are making me feel a tad ill.

i would rather have a pop-up that i could just close and be done with.

Hey Let's Ride, as a BR writer, i just write whatever the hell i want to. i don't cater to advertisers and if someone instructs me to, i'll just stop writing. Sure i think cars stink, and Mini knows it too. they're not unaware of what's on BR. And also, it could be way worse. What if it was Hummer or Esso?

Thanks Rowan for the pop-up blocker suggestion (didn't know I could do that!)

Don't really mind advertising, obviously it pays the bills, but come on...this background thing is horrible!

Its hard on the eyes and takes away from the rest of the site.

I have to close the page now cause I think its actually making me feel sick.

i don't see what you're all complaining about. the background is black. i guess they changed it.

i accidentally clicked on the black and all of a sudden i'm at mini.ca. It should at least say maybe in white if you click here by accident you will go to mini.ca. you should not send me to an advertisers website without telling me that you are sending me to an advertisers website. do you know what i mean?

Thanks everyone for your feedback. We listened and have updated the background with something that we feel is much less jarring. If you're still seeing the logos just refresh your browser and they should go away.

38 comments later, readers have developed the content, and subsequently affected the advertising. Stuff like is one of the many reasons I love this place.

"Sure i think cars stink, and Mini knows it too."
YEAH, I'M REALLY SURE THEY DO.

"And also, it could be way worse. What if it was Hummer or Esso?"
WHATEVER HELPS YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT GUY

I cannot see the logos, but the link is still there. Remove the link and the people will have spoken. Thanks.

Tim,

Please remove the hyperlink to Mini's site that is hidden on the webpage's background. Its both deceiving (appears as a black background, displays no href address in a browser's status bar), plus any accidental click sends you to Mini's webpage (even if you right click on the background).This is very deceptive.

Ahh, much better. It could have been way worse, like multiple annoying poker pop-ups and one of those fricken talking smiley banners...god DAMN I hate those things...

The link to Mini's web site isn't meant to be hidden. The whole background is part of the ad campaign and tied into the look of the banner (which is also black and has a blue border) so we're not trying to be deceptive and say that the background isn't an ad. It is. And as such I think it's reasonable to link through to the advertisers site.

That said, I agree it may be a bit of a usability issue for those who aren't intending to click through (such as clicking on the background just to activate the browser window).

cars = boooooo

Just because every other media is supporting themselves off the pollution industry doesn't mean you have to. Or maybe it does, but I won't like it.