Hi Itch.io - Team,
Whats the reasoning behind showing ads on our download pages? If you need money I'm sure many creators would support you with some dollars per month just for the great services you provide.
The topic already came up last year, but the thread was archived without a conclusive reply. https://itch.io/t/501822/ads-on-free-itch-games-when-not-logged-into-itch
This tweet lead me to researching this topic, so there are at least two persons witnessing ads on itch: https://twitter.com/ryguygames/status/1330541234876805123
1) use browser thats not logged into itch.io
2) ensure browser has no adblock installed / tracking protection enabled
3) go to https://faxdoc.itch.io/kattespill
4) click on download now
5) click on No thanks, ...
6) click on download
7) Wait a second for the ad to load on the post download pop up
I also get the ads on my Arch Linux Notebook so I'm pretty sure my PC is not infected. HTTPS cert is signed by Sectigo so I think it's also not MITM by my ISP:
Could the ads at least be more clearly separated as promotional content so as to be less misleading?
I 100% agree with this. I want to send 10 year olds who don't read every word and I know they specifically fall prey to these scams.
Sponsored content and clear ads are great. Please use them as you see fit. I just wanted to make sure itch was scam free.
I would also gladly donate to itch to keep the platform healthy (wikipedia style, etc.)
Thanks for the offer. I’ve frequently considered the idea of asking for money (whether it’s one time donations, or monthly subscriptions, etc) as a way to cover costs but I’m never really sure of the viability of it. Here are a few considerations:
Again, thank you for the detailed and considerate response. Perhaps this is solvable from a graphics design/affordances approach and can avoid almost any engineering costs. I mocked up a version that shows what I'm thinking. Separating the ad with white space and a bar so it is not associated with user's "where do I click?" thinking. Add a redundant but visually dominant Download button with an icon that suggests its purpose. That way even if the user can't or won't read they are less likely to click on the wrong thing even if it is a phishing button. Last, a bit of text explaining the purpose of the ad so it doesn't look like Itch is going the way of Sourceforge, Neopets, or Download.com and that this is a limited and mutable feature of the site. Logged in users can retain the old download window, it is perfect as is. Perhaps some version of this would work?
I appreciate you and the invaluable service Itch provides to the indie community. Thank you for your hard work and attention to this.
re
Thanks for the suggestions. I would not add another download button. This particular dialog has appeared because the download has already started, it is confusing to then present a new download button to the user.
Thanks for the detailed reply and all your work you put in this platform! Since you've asked for some ideas:
I think itch should allow for donations. If you guys didn't have the open revenue sharing model I think it would be weird but as you do I think it would be okay. Especially if it's something simple like getting a badge on the forums and a role in the Discord server. Maybe there could even be a cool little tag on games that says the dev supports itch.io. Regardless though even if it doesn't bring in a lot of extra income it's better then nothing.
For cost saving measures I'd look into web torrent. You might be able to make downloads torrent based which would save a lot of bandwidth costs. You could also offer a subscription if someone doesn't want to use a torrent for a few dollars. Another cost saving measure would be to use hashes to prevent duplicated files being stored.
Random revenue ideas:
Anyways I know that's a lot of random ideas but I hope you guys figure something out because I love itch.io and I don't think I would be even attempting game dev without it.
Also is there anyway I can help?
I get where you’re coming from but offering premium options for money also means locking them away behind a paywall for a certain subset of developers and other artists. Particularly the kind that have to create some kind of fundraiser every time any part in their (hand-me-down-)computer breaks, that it would be more expensive than a new mouse…
Certain people might think having a computer automatically means somebody would have enough financial cushioning to afford a monthly subscription to something that directly affects their (second) job, but there are software developers, game developers, and various other artists out there that are keenly aware of the prices of food items at the supermarket.
P.S.: I do not blame you for trying to help or for maybe not knowing these things. Sometimes something about the way I write seems to give the impression that I’m angry. Right now I’m not.
Sorry if it came off that I'm okay with putting everything behind a paywall. More what I meant for that is someone could pay itch.io to run their infrastructure for them. The last thing I want is itch.io pay walling things.
I, as somebody who already owns quite the backlog who doesn’t buy/download many games, would also throw some money directly at itch.io on about a yearly basis, given the opportunity.
Just to clarify: I think it’s a good idea having ads showing for unregistered users when download free games - because it’s fairer (“more fair”?). Just a clearer separation from the page content would be nice. I don’t even care about kids/children - it’s a bad look for itch if ads and real content are so close together. (Although free online hosting services do exactly the same. It is kind of hard to blame leafo for doing the same thing.)
The misleading ads are definitely not good, I’m looking into that. It looks like they are delivering ads that look like fake download buttons. I think there may be a report button on on the top right. We’re using Adsense here which I assumed wouldn’t serve stuff like that, but apparently this doesn’t appear to be against their policies or they don’t enforce it.
Thank you for taking this seriously. I understand you aren't personally responsible for whatever Google bubbles up. Knowing that, any way you are able to push back to keep the system safe is all I want (and the main point).
Also, again, any way to "purchase out" of the ad kerfuffle via donation campaign, developer subscription, or minimum percentage split would be good in my book. This does assume that the ads in question are actual ads and not scams, of course.
