Based on later comments I want to add the following to my reasoning for not supporting this at all.

1. Yeah for some people posting an ad for kicks and giggles may be enough reason to spend money, but I highly doubt that this group is enough to create a high and steady enough stream of income for Lorwolf in comparison with 3rd party ads. This might cause them to (re)introduce more p2w elements in order to make up for the income lost, and that would not be a welcome change

2. if people are using the ads to advertise their ingame shops or art, it'd make it very p2w. People who have money to spend can buy ads, make themselves more visible, get more sales through it and get richer in the process. That is highly unfair to people who are underage and/or don't have money to spare to buy the ads.

If you want to support the site, disable adblock, buy moonstones or buy a subscription. If you want to share silly things for kicks and giggles, do so on the forum. I see no need to implement this, and only downsides if they do.

@Gaia - Apologies for the ping. (If you don't want me to ping again, do let me know.)

1. I extremely doubt that people posting for kicks and giggles would be the only group of people paying for ads. I doubt they'd even make up the majority.

I totally understand your concern about the possibility of them having to add more premium elements, though, even if their first move was to bring back the 3rd party ads, since they don't usually have a great payout.

2. I can kiiiiiinda see what you mean about it being P2W, if the user paying was earning more than they were putting into the ads, and what they were earning was put into the game. (Though, I feel like IRL earnings are more likely to be used for things off site, like spare cash to treat yourself with, or saving up for a costly item.)

But yeah, if I was underage, didn't have the spare funds, or just didn't want to risk not making back what I would spend on advertising, then my only other option of advertising would be a linked banner in my signature. And while the latter is free and doesn't automatically get blocked by ad blockers, it's limited to just the forums and requires posting fairly regularly to get it seen enough, which not everyone is able or wants to do.

@Shadowbanish I don't mind the ping at all! Good discussion is always more than one side! :)

1. I am not saying that people posting for kicks and giggles will be the majority that will be using it, but rather that if that is the reason people would use it, I fear not many people will do it, because a lot of people don't have the spare money to spend on kicks and giggles (Especially if you can spend that same money and actually get something in return in the shape of moonstones)

2. Looking at this from a quality perspective (People are paying RLC for a service, so quality of what you get is quite important, me thinks). If they do not make back what they spent on the ad, why buy the ad? That's just throwing away money. It's not a question for you to answer, more a rethorical thing. But to me, it would really make me wonder; if the ads do not generate increased sales to actually make up for the cost of buying the ad, why would you buy the ad? It's be useless. If the ads do generate increased sales, it's pay to win (not everyone is gonna advertise for RLC services). So in my opinion, no matter what way you slice it, it is not a desirable addition to this game.

@Gaia - Oh, good. 😅 I'm usually nervous about pinging, mainly in the suggestions forum, as I worry that it might come across as me being mean or something, when I'm just trying to clarify my viewpoint and/or wanting to gain a better understanding of someone else's.

1. Right, I getcha. If people think the purpose of user ads is mainly for fun, then there's a big risk of it not doing well. Yeah, I do agree with that.

2. True. At the very beginning, there might be decent enough revenue, as those that can, might buys ads to see how it goes. Then, if the majority of those users see no worthwhile increase in sales, then the ad revenue will sharply drop and potentially stay low.

I'm still not too sure how I feel about the concept of ads being P2W, though. For example, Artist A advertises their shop and makes back double the ad cost, meanwhile, Artist B doesn't use ads, due to already being very popular, and makes at least x5 what Artist A makes, in the same amount of time. Which is worse? (Just in case, to any artists seeing this, I have no issue with either, since both users are having to put in their time and effort to supply a service that the customer is willing to pay for.)

Best of both worlds: there's a section on the site specifically for ads. Maybe on the forums, under "Recent Topics" (or any other empty space after the forums re-design). That way, third-party providers are still used, but players can submit ads as well.

An ad would not inherently be pay to win because you still need to have something that people want to buy. I could spend five dollars on an ad for my art but if no one wants it then I don't make anything from it. I could spend five dollars on a wild wolf shop but if no one likes the wolves, they don't sell. But, sales threads shouldn't be allowed anyway, because if what you're selling sells instantly, then the ad doesn't matter anymore.